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1 Primavera provides flexible reporting features to meet your reporting requirements. In addition to the predefined reports included with Primavera, you can use InfoMaker to customize existing reports. This chapter includes instructions for modifying and formatting an existing Primavera report and dunning letter, as well as creating an executable to run a series of reports using InfoMaker. You can follow the same basic steps to customize or create forms. For more detailed information about InfoMaker, consult the InfoMaker online manuals. In this chapter Starting InfoMaker Getting Started Basics Anatomy of a Primavera Report Using InfoMaker’s Design Mode to Edit Primavera Reports Organizing Information in a Report Formatting Elements in a Report Previewing Reports Running a Report Series and Multiproject Reports Customizing Primavera Reports using InfoMaker

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Page 1: Info Maker

1

Primavera provides flexible reporting features

to meet your reporting requirements. In

addition to the predefined reports included

with Primavera, you can use InfoMaker to

customize existing reports.

This chapter includes instructions for

modifying and formatting an existing

Primavera report and dunning letter, as well as

creating an executable to run a series of reports

using InfoMaker. You can follow the same

basic steps to customize or create forms. For

more detailed information about InfoMaker,

consult the InfoMaker online manuals.

In this chapter

Starting InfoMaker

Getting Started Basics

Anatomy of a Primavera Report

Using InfoMaker’s Design Mode to Edit Primavera Reports

Organizing Information in a Report

Formatting Elements in a Report

Previewing Reports

Running a Report Series and Multiproject Reports

Customizing Primavera Reports using InfoMaker

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Starting InfoMakerTo start InfoMaker, from the Windows desktop click Start, then choose Programs, Primavera, Expedition Professional Utilities, InfoMaker.

For more information about the InfoMaker workspace, see Chapter 1, The World of InfoMaker in the InfoMaker User’s Guide.

To make sure InfoMaker can connect to the Primavera database, you must start Primavera at least once before opening InfoMaker. Close Primavera before you launch InfoMaker.

The InfoMaker PowerBar enables you to access InfoMaker functions.

Button Function

Manage and organize reports—you can store several reports in one InfoMaker environment, copy or move reports between environments, or create an executable that enables you to run one or more reports without opening InfoMaker or Primavera.

Create, modify, run, and print reports.

Run and print reports.

Define database connections and connect to a different database.

View the database to which your computer is currently connected, create and update tables in the database, or save a table in the database to a different format.

Create or edit ODBC data sources.

Run the Query Painter.

Select query options.

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Customizing Primavera Reports using InfoMaker 3

InfoMaker manuals are provided on the Primavera CD-ROM. To open the online documentation for InfoMaker, you must have access to a CD-ROM drive and you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. To view the online documentation, place the Primavera CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive. On the Windows desktop, click Start, then choose Programs, Primavera, Expedition Online Documentation. Click InfoMaker User’s Guide.

To purchase printed InfoMaker manuals, contact Primavera Sales at 1-610-667-8600 or send your request via e-mail to [email protected] in the United States. In the United Kingdom, call 44-20-8563-5500 or e-mail your request to [email protected]. In Hong Kong, call 852-2111-8288, or e-mail your request to [email protected].

Search the Help.

Tile open reports vertically.

Tile open reports horizontally.

Tile open reports in layers.

Tile open reports in cascaded windows.

Learn details about InfoMaker tasks.

Exit InfoMaker.

Button Function

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Getting Started BasicsInfoMaker uses special libraries, called environments, to hold similar reports and forms; each environment is a separate .PBL file. Each module in Primavera has one environment for its reports and another environment for its forms. By default, Primavera stores form environments in C:\Expwin\Forms and report environments in C:\Expwin\Reports. To locate your reports and forms folders, open Primavera, choose Define, User Preferences, then click the General tab and review the Path to Reports and Path to Forms fields at the bottom of the User Preferences dialog box.

The name of each form environment starts with f_, while report environ-ments start with r_. Report environments include reports, dunning letters, and multiproject reports.

In Primavera, a report contains comprehensive data from an active Primavera project or project group, while a form is a representation of one Primavera document, such as a letter or request for information (RFI).

In InfoMaker, most Primavera reports and forms are created in a list format, which enables you to use the same procedures to modify them in InfoMaker.

For details on using environ-ments, see Chapter 2, Managing Your Environment in the InfoMaker User’s Guide.

After you start InfoMaker, perform one of the following steps from the main window:

■ Click the Report button. You are prompted to open or create a report in the last environment that was open (this environment is the location of the .PBL files for a particular type of document, such as a Notepad).

■ Click the Environment button to display the last environment used and all reports contained in that environment. If necessary, change the environment to find the report you want. Primavera recommends this method because Primavera reports reside in different environments, or .PBL files.

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Customizing Primavera Reports using InfoMaker 5

Choose File,Open, to select

anotherenvironment

(.PBL file). Bydefault,

Primaverareports and

forms arelocated in

Expwin\Reportsand

Expwin\Forms.

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Anatomy of a Primavera ReportPrimavera reports, forms, and dunning letters can be broken down into several sections. Each section is made up of a shaded area that contains report data and a gray band identifying the section. The gray band is positioned below the section to which it belongs.

Header band The Header band contains information that appears at the top of every page in the report. When InfoMaker generates the report, the presentation style determines the contents of the Header band. Almost all of Primavera’s reports, forms, dunning letters, and multiproject reports use the list presentation style, so the headings are displayed in the Header band, and the columns are displayed in the Detail band.

Detail band The Detail band displays data retrieved from the active project or project group in Primavera. Almost all of Primavera’s reports, forms, dunning letters, and multiproject reports use the list presentation style, so the Detail band displays column names. You can specify the information InfoMaker should display for each column of the report, and you can add other objects, such as text, pictures, drawing objects, and graphs.

Summary and footer bands The Summary band is positioned after all the detail rows, often summarizing the information in the report. The Footer band displays at the bottom of each page of the report. You can use this band to display the page number and name of the report. These bands can contain any InfoMaker objects, including text, drawing objects, graphs, and calculated fields that contain totals.

Report header

Group header

DetailsGroup trailer

Report summary

Report footer

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Using InfoMaker’s Design Mode to Edit Primavera Reports

When you open a report, you enter InfoMaker’s design mode, and another toolbar displays at the bottom of the InfoMaker window. It contains buttons that enable you to edit the design of the report by organizing existing data, inserting new data, or inserting and formatting objects.

You can use the following formatting buttons in the Design toolbar in InfoMaker to make your printed Primavera report meet your company’s requirements.

To modify an existing report, open the report and choose File, Save As, to make a copy of the report. Then use the copy to make your changes.

Button Function

Display your report with data. You can print the report, save it in a different format, or send it via e-mail. Click this button to toggle between Preview and Design mode.

Define the tables and columns to include in the report and how the tables are related. You can also group, sort, and filter the data in this mode. Click this button to toggle between Data and the Design mode.

Save the report.

Undo your last command.

Remove the selected object from the report.

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Create an object in the report using the Objects drop-down toolbar. Click the down arrow to select the following types of objects: text, pictures, lines, ovals, rectangles, rounded rectangles, columns, calculated fields, graphs, reports, OLE objects, and large binary or text database objects.

Select the foreground color for the selected object using the Foreground drop-down toolbar. Click the down arrow to select a color.

Select the background color for the selected object using the Background drop-down toolbar. Click the down arrow to select a color.

Specify a border style for the selected object using the Borders drop-down toolbar. Click the down arrow to select border style. Available border styles include None, Underline, Box, Shadow, 3- D Raised, 3-D Lowered, and Resize.

Align, size, or space selected objects in the report using the Layout drop-down toolbar. You can align objects along the left, right, top, or bottom edges; align objects along horizontal or vertical centers; equalize the distance between objects along the horizontal or vertical axis; or equalize the height or width of objects. Click the down arrow to the right to display the Layout toolbar.

Automatically set the height of the field based on the height of the data displayed in the field.

Slide objects in the report to remove unwanted white space using the Slide drop-down toolbar. Click the down arrow to select the direction you want to slide objects. You can slide objects to the left, above all, or directly above.

Use currency format for the selected columns or fields.

Button Function

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Customizing Primavera Reports using InfoMaker 9

Use percent format for the selected columns or fields.

Don’t display after the first newspaper column.

Open the Property Sheet of the selected object. If no objects are selected, open the Property Sheet for the report or form.

Close the report or form.

Button Function

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Organizing Information in a ReportThe instructions in this section use the Submittal Log Report (r_sb_01) in R_SUBMTL.PBL.

For more information on sorting, grouping, and filtering reports, see Chapter 16, Previewing and Printing Reports and Chapter 19, Filtering, Sorting, and Grouping Rows in the InfoMaker User’s Guide.

Sort the report Choose Rows, Sort, to open the Specify Sort Columns dialog box. Drag sbmt_package_number and sbmt_submittal_no from the Source Data section to the Columns section to sort the report by package number and sort the submittals within each package by submittal number. Mark the Ascending checkbox to use ascending order for the sort. If you want to sort in descending order, clear the Ascending checkbox.

After you sort the data, you can display your report with data. Click the Preview button in the Design toolbar. If the package number is repeated many times in the report, group the data by package number to show each package only once.

Group the report Choose Rows, Create Group, to open the Band Object dialog box. Click the Definition tab, then drag sbmt_package_number from the Source Data section to the Columns section. Click OK.

InfoMaker sorts first by package number, then by submittal number.

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The report includes a header and a footer for each submittal package number. To format the header and footer, click the Group Header band for the submittal package number, and drag it down. This creates space for the data you want to include in the group header. Select sbmt_package_number from the Detail band, and drag it into the group header. Refer to the following Submittal Report:

Mark to start a newgroup on a new page.

Mark to start the page numberat 1 for each group.

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For more information on filtering reports, see Chapter 16, Previewing and Printing Reports and Chapter 19, Filtering, Sorting, and Grouping Rows in the InfoMaker User’s Guide.

Filter the report To filter the report so that only the data you require are included, choose Rows, Filter. In the Specify Filter dialog box, select sbmt_status to filter the report using submittal status. InfoMaker uses functions to create filter statements. Type “=” for “equals,” then type the value you want the filter to select in quotation marks, for example, “NEW.” The case must match exactly for the filter to find the correct records.

Click Verify to ensure that the filter expression is correct, then click OK to save the filter with the report.

You can use this method to filter the Submittals Report by ball-in-court (BIC), required start date, or required finish date.

You can use functions to create a variable value for the filter expression; for example, filtering with the sbmt_required_finish field and selecting Today() from the Functions list creates a filter that selects only submittals with a required finish date matching the computer’s current date.

Prompt for criteria when you run a report You can configure a report to inform InfoMaker which data you require when you run the report. Selection criteria are similar to filters, but selection criteria limit the rows that are retrieved from the database, while filters limit the display of rows in the report to a subset of the rows already retrieved.

Choose Rows, Prompt for Criteria, to open the Prompt for Criteria dialog box. Select the column you want to use for criteria, then click OK. You can select more than one field on which to prompt for criteria. InfoMaker displays only records that match all criteria.

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When you preview the report, InfoMaker displays the Specify Retrieval Arguments dialog box and then the Specify Retrieval Criteria dialog box. You must specify a criteria for each field to successfully generate the report. You can specify more than one criteria for each field. InfoMaker displays records that match any criteria.

The following report used Prompt for Criteria to retrieve submittal packages in which the BIC was DESIGN or MECH:

If you want to use multiplecriteria, select a column,

then press Ctrl and selectanother column.

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Formatting Elements in a ReportThe instructions in this section use the Submittal Log Report (r_sb_01) in R_SUBMTL.PBL. You can format this report using the following techniques:

■ Changing orientation

■ Modifying text

■ Removing, aligning, and spacing columns

■ Changing fonts and point size

■ Adding shading for emphasis

■ Sizing objects equally

Landscape vs. portrait The Submittal Log Report was created in portrait orientation, but you can print it in landscape orientation.

To change the orientation, first make sure no objects on the report are selected, then click the Properties button in the Design toolbar to open the Report Object dialog box. Click the Print Specifications tab, then select Landscape in the Orientation field. Click OK.

Edit text blocks You can edit existing text, such as headings, on any portion of a report. Click Rcvd. in the Header band, then click the Properties button in the Design toolbar. Click the General tab, then type Received in the Text field. Click OK to save the text change.

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For details on adding text blocks and columns, see Creating Custom Reports and Forms with InfoMaker.

Remove columns You can remove unwanted columns from Primavera reports without removing the required database table links. Press Ctrl and select both the field and its column heading, then press Delete. For example, to delete the Ball In Court field, press Ctrl and select the BIC text box in the Header band and the sbmt_ball_in_court field in the Detail band, then press Delete.

Space and align columns After replacing the Rcvd heading with Received, this column no longer lines up properly with the Latest Dates column. To align and space columns equally, press Ctrl and select the Latest Dates column heading first, then the Received On column heading. Choose Edit, Align Objects, then click the Align Left Edges to First Selected button (InfoMaker displays the description of each button in the status bar). This procedure aligns the Received On heading and the Latest Dates column along their left edges.

Change fonts and point size To change font and point size for the entire report, choose Edit, Select, Select All. Select Times New Roman in the Font field and 8 in the Point Size field. Click anywhere in the report to save the changes.

All items in the report change to 8-point, Times New Roman font. If necessary, realign the column headings with their data fields.

Add shading for emphasis You can add a shaded bar behind infor-mation in a report, such as a group header, to make it stand out. To add shading to an object, you must first change its properties.

Select the sbmt_package_number field in the Header Group band, then click the Properties button in the Design toolbar to open the Column Object dialog box so you can specify properties for the column. Click the Font tab. In the Text Color field, select White. This makes the text white so that it stands out against the shaded background. In the Background field, select Black. This makes the background of the text box black.

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For details on adding objects, see Creating Custom Reports and Forms with InfoMaker.

Size objects equally You can size objects equally by using the Layout drop-down toolbar. First, select the object that is the correct size. Press Ctrl and select the black line at the bottom of the Header band and the sbmt_package_number field in the Header Group band. Click the Layout drop-down toolbar in the Design toolbar, then click the Size W button to make the sbmt_package_number field the same size as the line. This makes the field cover the width of the report so that groups are empha-sized.

Set other text attributes for the column if necessary.

InfoMaker displays a sample of the formatted text.

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Previewing ReportsThe instructions in this section use the Submittal Log Report (r_sb_01) in R_SUBMTL.PBL.

When you finish changing the Primavera report, choose File, Save As, to save your report using another name. Primavera Systems Inc. recommends using a different name for your tailored reports so that you retain the original Primavera report if you need to revert back to it later.

To preview your changes from InfoMaker, click the Preview button in the Design toolbar.

InfoMaker prompts you for retrieval arguments. Most Primavera reports require you to enter the project name and Company Directory for the report. If you use project contacts, enter the project name for the vendor_type retrieval argument. If you use group contacts, enter $GROUP for the vendor_type retrieval argument.

InfoMaker prompts you for selection criteria. Selection criteria restrict the information that InfoMaker includes in the report. Refer to the instructions provided earlier in this chapter.

Enter the project name as theproject_name retrieval argument.

Enter the Company Directoryyou are using as the

vendor_type retrieval argument.

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If you modify the report using the steps outlined in this chapter, your Submittal Log Report looks like the following example:

Troubleshooting report preview If you receive an error message when you try to preview a report from InfoMaker, you may not be connected to the correct database.

For details on creating database profiles in InfoMaker, see the technical bulletin, Profile.PDF.

Click OK, and InfoMaker displays the report without any information. Close the Preview window and return to your report. Click the DB Prof button in the InfoMaker PowerBar to select the correct database profile for your report. Select the name of your project group in the Database Profiles dialog box, then click OK. Expwin is the default database group for new installations of Primavera. If you create other project groups for Primavera, you need to create database profiles for them in InfoMaker.

After you select the correct database profile for InfoMaker to use, click the Preview button in the Design toolbar again.

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Running a Report Series and Multiproject ReportsYou can generate standard and custom reports in a series by creating executable files in InfoMaker. You may want to use this option to group reports that are run every week or every month or to enable reporting for multiple projects in the same project group.

To create an executable application, first determine which reports or forms you want to include in the executable. Cost Worksheet Reports are used in the examples in this section.

Create an executable Start InfoMaker and select the environment (.PBL) that contains the reports you want to use in your executable. For Cost Worksheet Reports, select R_COST_PBL. Press and hold the Ctrl key and select the reports to include in your executable. Select any three (or more) reports relating to budgeted costs. Choose Entry, Create Executable.

In the Create Executable Wizard, enter a title and filename for the executable, or click Browse to select an existing filename. Click Browse in the Executable Icon field to select an icon for your executable.

Click Finish to use the default entries.

A preview of the selected icon

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20 Part 6: Working with Primavera Reports and Forms

When an executable is created and saved, a corresponding .INI file is also created and saved in the same folder. This file is given the same name as the executable, but it has an .INI extension (for example, BUDGET.EXE and BUDGET.INI). Both files are required for proper execution.

Run the executable Run the executable you created in the previous steps by clicking Start on the Windows desktop and then choosing Run. Click Browse and select the executable file.

In the Run dialog box, click OK to open the executable application. Click the Reports button in the toolbar and select one of the reports you included in your executable. Click OK.

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For details on retrieval arguments, see Adding Retrieval Arguments to a Report in the next chapter.

In the Specify Retrieval Arguments dialog box, enter the retrieval arguments that all the reports, by default, have associated with them.

This example uses the DEMO project, so enter DEMO for both the project_name and vendor_type, then click OK. This produces a preview of your report.

To print the report, choose File, Print.

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You can use the Filter, Retrieve, and Sort commands from the Rows menu in the executable application just as you would in a regular report.

Save your report in a different file format You can establish an export file from the executable application. Open the report, then choose File, Save Rows As, to create the export file from the report data shown. In the Save As Type field, select the appropriate extension for the file type compatible with the application to which you are exporting the data. For example, to import the report data into Microsoft Excel, save the report with an .XLS extension.

Use these instructions to create additional multi-project reports. Standard multiproject reports have an m_ prefix to distinguish them from single project reports.

Execute a multiproject report Multiproject reporting combines data from multiple projects into one report. The first steps in executing a multi-project report are to determine the report(s) you want to run, modify them, then create an executable that contains the modified reports. Since the existing reports are designed to select data from one project and either group or project contacts, you need to change the retrieval arguments to match your multiproject reporting needs. In addition to changing the retrieval arguments, you may want to adjust your filter and sort criteria to accommodate data from the other projects you include.

In InfoMaker, select the report you want to execute using data from multiple projects. For example, select r_cw_03 from the R_COST_PBL environment. Choose File, Save As, and give the report a different name, for example, m_cw_03. If you want to select specific projects for your report, rather than all projects in the group, click the SQL Data button in the Design window toolbar. In the PROJ table in the SQL Select window, select the Project Name field.

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Click the SQL Select button to return to the Design window, then scroll the window to the right and delete the Project Name field you just added.

Choose Rows, Prompt for Criteria. Select Project Name, then click OK. InfoMaker automatically prompts you for the project name when you run the report.

This field is selected by default.

Select this field, then press Delete.

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If the report you select does not contain any information from the Contact table (VNMT and/or VNDT), click the SQL Data button in the Design window toolbar, then right-click the Contact table (VNMT and/or VNDT); click Close.

From the SQL Select window, remove the vendor_type retrieval argument from the report. Choose Design, Retrieval Arguments. Delete both lines, then click OK.

In the Where tab at the bottom of the window, right-click each line, then choose Clear. You can now run this report and print data from all projects in the group, or you can select specific projects if you selected the Project Name field in the PROJ table in the SQL Select window.

Perform these steps for each project you want to include in the executable created for multiproject reporting.

Select each line,then click Delete.