Lucent Technologies Centrevu Report Designer Version 8 User Guide

							  Report Designer Basics CentreVu Report Designer Version 8 User Guide
Introduction4-1
4  Report Designer Basics
Introduction4
This chapter outlines the features of the Report Designer and teaches you 
general use of the Report Designer.
The following sections are included in this chapter:
lStarting the Report Designer
lExiting the Report Designer
lReport Designer Menus
lOnline Access to Database Definitions
lSteps Required to Create a New Report
lSteps Required to Edit an Existing Report. 
						

							  Report Designer Basics CentreVu Report Designer Version 8 User Guide
Starting the Report Designer4-2
Starting the Report Designer4
To access the Report Designer and to run Designer reports, you must 
have read and write permissions assigned for Custom Reports. These 
permissions are set using the U
ser Permissions tool. See the CentreVu® 
Call Management System Release 3 Version 8 Administration (585-210-
910) document for instructions on setting up user permissions.
You can start the Report Designer using one of four methods:
lSelect a report from the Designer category in any folder and clicking 
the Edit button on the Reports Selector window
lClick the New button on the Reports Selector window to create a 
new report
lRun a report and then selecting Design from the Report menu on 
the report
lEnter Report Designer from the Final page of the Report Wizard.
Any one of these methods of starting the Report Designer will take you to 
the Design Mode window (the window will be blank if you are creating a 
new report or will have report information if you are editing an existing 
report), as shown below: 
						

							  Report Designer Basics CentreVu Report Designer Version 8 User Guide
Exiting the Report Designer4-3
Exiting the Report Designer4
You can close the Report Designer using any of the standard Windows 
methods:
lSelect Exit from the Report menu.
lDouble-click the System button.
lSelect the Close button at the top of the window.
If you try to exit the Report Designer without first saving the report you 
have been working on, a warning gives you the opportunity to save the 
report before closing the Report Designer. 
						

							  Report Designer Basics CentreVu Report Designer Version 8 User Guide
Report Designer Menus4-4
Report Designer Menus4
This section details the Report Designer Design Mode window. The 
following picture illustrates the Report Designer Design Mode window:
Menu Bar4The menu bar lists the available drop-down menus. The following menus 
are available from the Report Designer Design Mode window:
lReport
lEdit
lFormat
lOptions
lInsert
lHelp.
The following paragraphs outline the options available from each menu.
Report4From this menu, you can test the report you are working on, save the 
report, and exit the Design Mode window. The R
eport menu has the 
following options:
Menu Bar Title BarMaximize/Minimize/Close
Window Sizing Buttons
System Menu Box
Menu Item Action
R
unSelecting Run takes you out of design mode and runs 
the report you are working on. You will use R
un to test 
the changes/additions you have made to a report.
S
aveSelecting Save saves the report on which you have been 
working. 
						

							  Report Designer Basics CentreVu Report Designer Version 8 User Guide
Report Designer Menus4-5
Edit4You will use the Edit menu (shown below) to add information to and 
delete information from the report output window, and to create the report 
input window and the queries that are used to retrieve data for the output. 
The E
dit menu has the following options: Save A
sSelecting Save As allows you to save the report on 
which you have been working with a new name or with 
the current name.
Ex
itSelecting Exit closes the Report Designer without saving 
the changes and additions you have made to the report. 
You are prompted to save changes if you made any 
modifications to the report. Menu Item Action
Menu Item Action
U
ndo 
Cut/DeleteIf you accidentally cut or delete an item from the report 
that you are designing, you can select U
ndo Cut/Delete 
to place the item back on the report.
Undo 
Align 
ControlsIf you are not satisfied with the alignment you made, then 
you can select Undo Align Controls to place the fields 
back to their original position.
Cut
Selecting Cut removes the item that you have selected 
from the report and places it on the 
Windows* clipboard. 
						

							  Report Designer Basics CentreVu Report Designer Version 8 User Guide
Report Designer Menus4-6
Copy
Selecting Copy copies the item(s) that you have selected 
on the report and places it on the 
Windows clipboard. You 
can copy only entire grids and entire charts. It is not 
possible to copy only a portion of a grid or chart. If you 
would like to rearrange the order of the columns on a grid, 
use the Format Grid window.
You can copy from one report to another report. To do so, complete 
these steps:
1. Open the report from which you want to copy.
2. Select the items that you want to copy.
3. Select C
opy from the Edit menu.
4. Open the report to which you want to copy. 
5. Select P
aste from the Edit menu.
P
asteSelecting Paste places the item(s) currently on the 
Windows clipboard to the report that is currently selected 
in Design Mode.
D
eleteSelecting Delete removes the currently selected item(s) 
from the report.
Align 
ControlsSelecting Align Controls aligns multiple fields and aligns 
them according to the controls in the Align Controls dialog 
box. This option is enabled only when multiple fields are 
selected.
I
nputsSelecting Inputs starts the Select Inputs assistant, which 
is where you choose the items that will be included on the 
report input window for this report.
For instructions on how to use the Select Inputs assistant, 
see Chapter 6, “Edit | Inputs.”
Q
ueriesSelecting Queries starts the Create a Query assistant, 
which is where you define the SQL queries that will be 
used to retrieve the data to be displayed on the report.
For instructions on how to use the Create a Query 
assistant, see Chapter 7, “Edit | Queries.” 
*Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp.
Menu Item Action 
						

							  Report Designer Basics CentreVu Report Designer Version 8 User Guide
Report Designer Menus4-7
Format4From this menu, you can edit the charts, grids, and fields that appear on 
the report. The F
ormat menu has the following options:
Menu Item Action
Ch
artSelecting Chart opens the Chart Format Options window. 
The Chart Format Options window gives you access to 
the General, Axis, Data, Data Labels, Fonts, Legend, 
Series Labels, Title, Type, and 3D Effects tabs for 
formatting charts on reports. 
For more information on using the Chart Format Options 
window, see Chapter 12, “F
ormat | Chart.” 
F
ieldSelecting Field opens the Field Format Options window. 
The Field Format Options window is where you will 
choose the formats for fields defined in queries. For more 
information on using the Field Format Options window, 
see Chapter 14, “F
ormat | Field.” 
T
ableSelecting Table opens the Table Format Options window. 
The Table Format Options window gives you access to 
the General, Data, Fonts, Format, Headers, Sort, and 
Summary tabs for formatting tables on reports. For more 
information on the Table Format Options window, see 
Chapter 13, “F
ormat | Table.” 
S
ort bySelecting Sort by opens the Table Format Options 
window with the Sort tab active. The Table Format 
Options window gives you access to the General and 
Sort by tabs for formatting tables on reports. For more 
information on the Table Format Options window, see 
Chapter 13, “F
ormat | Table.”
T
extSelecting Text when a text item on the report is selected 
opens the Text Format Options window. The Text Format 
Options window allows you to change the font display 
characteristics for the selected text.
For more information on the Text Format Options window, 
see Chapter 15, “F
ormat | Text.”  
						

							  Report Designer Basics CentreVu Report Designer Version 8 User Guide
Report Designer Menus4-8
Options4From this menu, you can define whether a status bar will appear on the 
report and set the alignment of text fields to grids. The O
ptions menu 
has the following options:
Insert4From this menu, you can add charts, grids, fields, and text to the report. 
The I
nsert menu has the following options: Menu Item Action
S
tatus BarSelecting Status Bar includes a status bar on the bottom 
of the report you are designing. S
tatus Bar is selected 
when there is a check mark next to the menu item.
A
lign To 
GridSelecting Align To Grid aligns the currently selected 
items on the report to the Design Mode grid when they 
are moved. The Design Mode grid is the grid that is 
shown on the window, behind any charts, grids, or text, 
when you are in Design Mode. A
lign To Grid is selected 
when there is a check mark next to the menu item.
Menu Item Action
C
hartSelecting Chart opens the Chart Assistant, which is 
where you define the contents of a chart (graphical 
presentation of the report information).
This menu item is grayed-out if no queries have been 
defined. For more information on using the Chart 
Assistant, see Chapter 8, “I
nsert | Chart.”
F
ieldSelecting Field opens the Field Assistant, which is where 
you define the contents of a field to be placed on the 
report. For more information on using the Field Assistant, 
see Chapter 9, “I
nsert | Field.”  
						

							  Report Designer Basics CentreVu Report Designer Version 8 User Guide
Report Designer Menus4-9
Help4You can access Supervisor on-line help for the Report Designer from all 
of the windows in the Report Designer. There are three ways of 
accessing the help:
lPressing the F1 key — displays help specific to the current 
window.
lSelecting the Help button (if available) — displays help specific to 
the current window.
lSelecting Help from the menu bar (shown below) — allows you to 
choose from the following options: T
ableSelecting Table opens the Table Assistant, which is 
where you define the contents of a table (standard CMS 
report presentation format) to be placed on the report.
This menu item is grayed-out if no queries have been 
defined. For more information on using the Table 
Assistant, see Chapter 10, “I
nsert | Table.” 
T
extSelecting Text opens the Text Assistant, which is where 
you can enter plain text that will appear on the report.
For more information on using the Text Assistant, see 
Chapter 11, “I
nsert | Text.” Menu Item Action
Menu Item Action
C
ontentsSelecting Contents opens the Help Topics: 
dialog for Report Designer.
T
echnical 
SupportSelecting Technical Support opens a window 
that provides Technical Support information.
A
bout CentreVu 
SupervisorSelecting About CentreVu Supervisor opens 
the Supervisor Help About window, which shows 
the software version number. 
						

							  Report Designer Basics CentreVu Report Designer Version 8 User Guide
Report Designer Menus4-10
Other Attributes 
of the Design 
Mode Window
4
In addition to the available menus, the Design Mode window also makes 
use of the following standard 
Windows conventions:
lSystem Menu Box — the system menu box allows you to perform 
common windows conventions, such as closing the current window 
or application.
lTitle Bar — the title bar shows the name of the application.
lMaximize, Minimize, and Close Buttons — these buttons adjust 
the size of the window, or close the window.
Online Access to 
Database 
Definitions
4
Report Designer provides access to online database item definitions 
when you are adding database items and calculations to a query. With 
this feature you do not have to refer to hard-copy documentation to learn 
about database items and calculations. To access a database item 
definition or calculation, do the following:
Online access to database items and calculations is located in the Query 
Assistant: “Add the database items and calculations for the SELECT 
portion of the query” window.
1. Click on the data group item or calculation for which you want a 
definition.
2. Select the Data Item definition button located under the Database 
Items and Calculations list boxes.