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Continuing GoldMine Education

February 2011

GoldMine Data and Analysis

By Justin Hill

For

The Marks Group

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A few notes:

For a complete and detailed table structure, please reference the GoldMine 9.0 Administrator’s

Manual, provided with your software. The schema information contained in this manual is not

all inclusive and is just enough “to get you going”.

GoldMine Version 9.01

Crystal 8.0

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GoldMine Tables Or… Can you relate, man?

How GoldMine Tables Relate

The GoldMine table structure has actually changed very little since the good old

Windows ’95 days. Some data types have been modified, some columns have been

added, but essentially it’s the same.

So let’s talk about the GoldMine tables. In this manual I will only be describing

the major tables and their relationships to each other. The “main” GoldMine tables are

thus:

- CONTACT1 : Primary company information

- CONTACT2 : Userdefined fields

- CONTHIST : Company history

- CAL : Calendar information

The first thing we must understand is that the “key” field in GoldMine is the

ACCOUNTNO. This is how the different tables link to one another. So, in each table we

will have an ACCOUNTNO field. There is more information on this in the “Crystal

Reports” section of the manual.

Pro Tip: A quick and easy way to “see” the columns available in a table (and learn their

true back-end names) is this:

- Go to the SQL Query Tool in GoldMine (Tools | SQL Query)

- Type in the following query : SELECT * FROM TABLENAME (where

TABLENAME is the name of a GoldMine table)

- Hit Query

- After the rows are returned you will be able to scroll left and right to navigate

through the columns available

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The GoldMine Report Writer Or… Easy, but simple

The GoldMine Report Writer

GoldMine comes with it’s own reporting engine, which can be accessed to run a

variety of “canned” reports. To view your Reports Center, go to Go To | Reports |

Reports.

Your reports are listed along the left hand side. Let us consider one of the most

popular reports, the History Wide Line, which is found under the “Contact Reports”

folder.

To run the report, simply double click on it, bringing up the Print Report window.

Then Hit Ok.

Pro Tip : Before modifying anything about a report, do yourself a favor and back it up

by right-clicking on the report and selecting “Clone”.

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Using Report Options

You may choose advanced reporting options by right-clicking on a report and

selecting “Properties”.

Print your report to

either the Window

or the Printer. If

you’re playing

around, I highly

suggest the Window

option.

GoldMine reports

are easily printed

against the

“Current Contact”

or a Group/Filter.

Please note that

when Filter is

selected, the default

is ALL Contact

Records.

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The Profile tab allows you to provide notes about report usage and assign an “owner”.

This tab is typically left alone.

The Sort Orders tab allows you to (somewhat) change the way the report is

sorted. In this case, our History Wide Line report is sorted by USERID (GoldMine

Username). You may also use the “Start At” and “End At” text boxes to further “filter”

the data (much in the same way you use the Optimize tab within a filter).

Take care when changing the report sorts here! Some values will cause the report

to stop functioning. Always take care to make one change at a time.

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The Options tab is where we really want to be.

This allows us to really define what’s being returned in our GoldMine report.

***NOTE: When you change values in the Options tab, those values persist and

do NOT reset. Therefore, the next user running the same report should always go into the

Options tab and double check the values in use.

Use the History Data

checkboxes to control what

History Activity Types are

returned by the report. Use the Calendar Data

checkboxes to control what

Calendar Activity Types

are returned by the report.

Further filter by Username

for either Calendar or

History. Further filter by Date

Range for either Calendar

or History.

Further filter on “tertiary”

records. If you’re not sure,

leave them all checked.

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Crystal Reports …now we’re getting serious

The Case for Crystal

This next section of the manual covers (briefly) using Crystal Reports to access

GoldMine data. For those of you that have any serious reporting needs whatsoever, this is the

superior choice.

Crystal Reports : Database connections …Adding your GoldMine tables

Adding your Data Source

The first thing we need to do is get our blank report connected to a data source. I

like to use ODBC Data Sources almost exclusively for one simple reason; they greatly

facilitate deployment and maintenance of developed reports.

For this reason, it is desirable that you have already added your ODBC Data

Source and have tested it. In secure network environments, you may not have the ability

to define these for yourself. In this case, it’s recommended that you consult with your

network administrator.

From the top-level menu, select Database | Add Database to Report to show the

Data Explorer.

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Navigating the Data Explorer

Adding Tables

As I’m usually reporting

against the same source again

and again, I like to use the

History folder. This shows a

running history of your

connections.

All of your available ODBC

Data Sources are listed here, in

the ODBC folder.

This is a Database. Click the

“plus sign” to see the tables

available inside.

Simply select the tables you

want in your report and click

the Add button.

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Joining Tables Knowing your Database

Relational Databases

Most data sources are relational, which means that your total customer data is

split between separate tables. Having a good understanding of how your database works

is paramount when developing your own reports. This information, typically called the

Database Schema, can usually be found in your software documentation.

Again, the examples used are specifically for GoldMine Premium Edition.

The Nutshell

This is the way it works: one table holds all your customer records. This would

include their names, phone numbers, addresses, etc. And each of these customer records

has many corresponding history records in a different table. The two tables, then, are

logically linked via a key. In GoldMine, that key is called ACCOUNTNO.

So each row in our customer table (CONTACT1) has an ACCOUNTNO. And

each row in our history table (CONTHIST) has one too. Our job now is to tell Crystal it

should link CONTACT1 and CONTHIST via the ACCOUNTNO.

The Visual Linking Expert

When adding multiple tables to a report, you’ll be presented with the Visual

Linking Expert, which is Crystal’s way of letting you define the relationships between

two tables.

ProTip: Crystal will automatically try to figure out what your database keys are

and “auto-link” your tables. This is almost always wrong. It may be necessary to “clear”

the Database Links before defining the correct ones.

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Inserting fields Putting your list together

A Note about “Sections”

Before we start adding fields to our Report Layout, we must understand where to

put them and why. Fields are inserted into sections. The section will determine how the

data is repeated, if at all. The different sections are briefly described below:

- Report Header/Footer : these sections are printed only once pre report, at the

beginning and ending, respectively

- Page Header/Footer : these sections are printed at the top and bottom of

every page, and are good places for the report title and page number

- Details : This section will create a single line on your report for each row of

data returned by the source. This is your “list”

- Group Header/Footer : These sections are not shown unless you are

grouping your data. These are printed once per “group”.

Using the Field Explorer

Almost all fields are added via the Field Explorer. From the top-level menu,

select Insert | Database Field. (In later versions of Crystal, this is under View | Field

Explorer).

We only want to link on

ACCOUNTNO. “Drag-and-

drop”

fields between tables to create

These are incorrect “auto-

links”, which should be

deleted before continuing.

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In this example, we’ve dragged COMPANY, CONTACT, CITY and STATE

from our CONTACT1 table into the Details section. This information will be printed for

each record in CONTACT1. The result is a “customer list”.

Inserting a Text Field

One of the first things you’ll do is put the report title in the Report Header

Section. Crystal has a powerful text field for use under Insert | Text Object.

After selecting this, you will need to place the field somewhere on the report. To

type in text, simply double-click on the text field and enter your text.

You can then use the formatting tools on the toolbar to change he font size, style, etc.

The result:

To insert any field,

drag it from the Field

Explorer and into a

report section.

Your database fields are

under each table, at the

top.

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Note: You will most likely need to resize your text object after changing the font

size. You can do this by dragging the edges of the text object.

Selecting Data Getting what you want

The Selection Criteria

At the heart of every report is a Selection Criteria. That is to say, a statement that

defines what records the report should operate with. The statement involved here is a

conditional statement: a logical condition must be met for a record to be returned to the

report.

Some examples include:

All customers where STATE = ‘PA’

All histories between 12/01/2009 and 12/31/2009

All customers where STATE = ‘PA’ AND SOURCE = ‘Referral’

In every case, the expression consists of a FIELDNAME (State), an OPERATOR

(equals) and a CONDITION (‘PA’). You may compound expressions by using AND’s

and OR’s in a Boolean fashion.

Using the Selection Expert

To access the Selection Expert, select Report | Select Expert from the top level

menu.

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If no selection criteria has been defined, Crystal will prompt you to select a field

to start with.

For our purposes, we’ll select STATE, as we will only be selecting records where

STATE equals ‘PA’.

You are now prompted with the Select Expert “wizard”. The first drop-down list

contains operators, such as “is equal to”, and “is greater than”. The second text box is for

the value we want to select. It’s important to type in the value exactly as it appears in

your database.

Hit Ok to proceed.

Note: Whenever the Selection Criteria changes, Crystal will prompt you to

Refresh the data, as shown here:

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Using Parameter Fields

Okay, so we know how to only select a certain state for our report. If we wanted

to re-run the report and choose a different state, we would need to modify the selection

criteria. This is unwieldy and can be, frankly, a pain.

Enter the Parameter field; a special user-defined field that prompts the user for

input each time the report is run. So instead of always changing the selection criteria, we

can simply enter in the value we want to select.

To create your parameter field, you need to go to the Field Explorer. Find the

“Parameter Fields” folder, right click on it, and select New.

Creating your Parameter

The name is how you will reference

the field within the Crystal Designer.

It’s a good idea to use something

short and without spaces.

The Prompting Text is

what the user will see.

This should be verbose

and descriptive.

The Value Type specifies

what kind of data the

parameter should be.

Examples include Date,

number and Currency. If the

data is simple text, then use

String.

Allow Multiple Values will

let you select a list of data

values to select.

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Hit Ok to proceed.

Using the Parameter within the Selection Expert

Now we need to modify the selection criteria to use the new parameter field. After bringing up the Select Expert, click on Del to delete the current selection

criteria.

Then choose State again, but this time, instead of typing in a value, drop the list

down and select your new parameter field. You’ll know which fields are parameters

because they all start with a question mark (?).

Now when the user refreshes the report, they are prompted to fill in the value for

the parameter field, as shown below.

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Sorting and Grouping Data First things first

Sorting your Report

Typically, you will want to sort your report based upon a data value. This will

make your report easier to read and help it to make more sense.

From the top level menu, select Report | Sort Records.

Choose the field(s) you want to sort on from the left hand side and click the Add

button. You can sort on many different fields at once by adding them to this list. You will

also note that each field can be sorted Ascending or Descending.

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Grouping Data on your report

Let’s suppose that the report is returning a few thousand records. In this case, you

may want to Group your data together, based upon a field. This can make the report

easier to read and also allows you to start using some of the summarization functions of

Crystal. This will also add Group Headers and Footers to your Report design.

From the top level menu, select Insert | Group.

As the group is

based on a field,

you must select it

using this drop-

down list.

You can choose to

sort your group in

ascending or

descending order

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Summarizing Data Analysis at last

Inserting a simple summary

Now that we’ve added a group, we can start to summarize some of our data. Let’s

assume that we want to display a simple count of the records in each state.

From the top level menu, select Insert | Summary.

The first drop down specifies

what kind of summary to

perform. The easiest is Count.

Here is where our groups really start to

shine. We specify into which group to

print the summary. This is an easy way to

generate totals and counts for all your

groups.

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Click Ok to proceed. You’ll notice right away that Crystal has thoughtfully

inserted the Summary Field into your specified Group Footer.

ProTip:

Using a simple summary is convenient because you may simply drag the summary

field between Group Footers or Headers to change where the subtotal is calculated.

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Exporting the Report Sharing with friends

Your export options

To export your report for distribution, click on the little envelope button

on the upper left hand side of the Crystal Designer.

Drop down the Format list to see the available export options.

Note: Once exported, the report may not look exactly like it did in the designer. The

best export options are, in my opinion, Word for Windows and PDF.

The Destination drop-down lets you export to a Disk File or to the Application

itself. Example, if you choose Word for Windows and Application, Word will start up

and open the exported report. This is typically a good idea as you’ll want to inspect

how the report looks before distributing it.

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Creating a Simple GoldMine Dashboard Doing it for yourself

A Very Simple Dashboard

We in the industry are all very excited about the Dashboard capabilities in

GoldMine 9. It is something that is not only very useful, but incredibly flexible.

Therefore, we will only be covering a basic Dashboard in this manual, both a Data Grid

and Chart view. Once you get the hang of it, there is much more to explore.

The Parts of a Dashboard

When we think of a GoldMine dashboard, we must understand the constituent

parts:

- Dashboard : The highest level object, think of it as a blank page to put stuff

on. A Dashboard is nothing but a collection of Controls.

- Control : Controls are objects which are dragged onto the Dashboard, and

display data. An example of a Control would be a Chart or a List of records.

- Data Source : What underlies each Control, and provides data to the Control.

Designing Your Dashboard

To access your Dashboards in GoldMine, select Go To | Dashboards.

You’ll notice in the top left corner you can navigate through the “canned”

dashboards. These are actually quite useful and can give you a good idea of what is

possible.

To get into Design mode, click the New Dashboard button at the bottom of the

Dashboards list.

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Adding a simple Grid

When working in the Dashboard designer, you drag Controls from the “Palette”

pane into your work area. Go ahead a drag a Table View into your workspace.

Now, each Control (like the Table View we just dragged into our Dashboard) has

a set of Properties, which are accessed from the “Properties” pane on the right.

You can change

most of the

cosmetic aspects

of how the

Control is displayed.

Use the Data

Binding browse

button to bind

data to this

Control.

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However, before the Table View will show us any information, we must Bind it to a Data

Source. Click on the browse button next to “Data Binding”. This is where everything

happens; all the heavy lifting that a Dashboard does.

At this point you can actually hit “Ok”, then click the “View” button to see your

Dashboard in action.

So, true to it’s name, the Table View gives you, well, a Table View.

Select a Data

Category. In this

case we simply

want a list of

records.

You must add items

to the Bound Fields

list to see them in

the Table View.

Column Properties

are available for

each field. Most

useful is the

“Visible” checkbox,

which can hide

system columns not

relevant to the end

user.

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Adding a simple Chart

Much in the same way we added our Table View, go ahead and drag a Chart

control onto your Dashboard. Just like you did for the Table View, click the Data Binding

browse button. Then go to the Details tab.

The data source must

be slightly different

from the Table View

source as we want

summarized values (in

this case a count).

As a Chart is a

Summary, you

must select what

to summarize the

data by. In this

case we are using

SOURCE. We

also need to

specify the

Summarized

Values as the

Items_Count.

Multiple series

are an advanced

function,

illustrating the

fact Dashboards

are quite flexible.

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So this is the finished product. Looks a little rough around the edges, but

hopefully you get the idea.