Reports are end-user tools. If a user has already created remote reports, Dataodyssey will display the report window at startup. In this case the report window will have only the button for making reports.

    If you need to create, edit and remove reports, you should close the window and open the report list by choosing the \Reports\Edit reports… menu item.

    Reports can be local and remote, like mission plans. Remote reports will be saved in the DATAMAP data source and will be accessible from any network place. Local reports are saved in the current directory on your computer and are not accessible from other computers.

    The reports can also use VFP report forms or Excel sheets. The properties of both report types are equal. Only the report forms differ.

    When you create or start editing a report, the report properties window will appear first. You should make the following entries:

• Select the types first: local/remote and VFP/Excel;
• Enter a purpose code or open query form by clicking ”purpose”, find and select the required destination.
• Type a unique report name.

    Then you should make a list of mission plans. You can join several missions from different data sources in the same report. Open the query form by pressing the button and choose “local” or “remote” plan.

    If the number of saved mission plans is not very large, just click Select. When there are too many saved plans, you have to build a filter condition before query execution.  For example, type the substring of a plan name or indicate plan destination.

    When you have found the required plan and the concrete mission in it, click "OK" and the link to this mission will appear on the report mission list.

    The alias with the first mission result will become active, when Dataodyssey creates data environment before executing the report or editing its form. You can move missions on the list, using buttons and .

    Thus, the report is also a tool for joining the results of different missions.

    You should describe mission relations when there are more than one mission.  Parent and child missions and expressions for them are defined for every relation. Select a parent mission in the mission list and click the left button above the relations list. A new string of relations with the link to the current mission will be created using its alias from the "Parent" column. Then select the child mission in the mission list and click the right button above the relations list to place a link to this mission by its alias in the "Child" column of the current relation.

    Make expressions for both missions then. Click the left and right buttons above the relations list in turn and select the fields, required to create a relation, in the order, same for both missions.

    Yet there are three fields at the bottom of the window where you can indicate date interval titles, necessary for making a report, which will be requested by the program. When you create filter condition for a mission you can check “Report dates 1,2,3” boxes for date-time fields. These methods allow user to indicate an interval of dates only once on top of the report dialog box instead of searching for dates through all pages of mission filters.

    The report properties window is not modal and will be closed when you click "Save". You can open several report properties and edit them simultaneously.

    When you save a new report, you won’t be able to change Local/Remote and VFP/Excel types.

    Then you are to create a report form. Click "Edit form".

    When you create a VFP report form, you will receive the following question: “Use data environment or edit without expression builders?". If your answer is “Yes” the program will:

1. Show a dialog box like at report forming. You will be able to see the date interval fields (if required) and pages with filter conditions for every mission of this report. If you indicate date intervals the program will find the date-time conditions with the "Report date 1,2,3" ticks on all pages and replace it with the user-introduced values.

2. Execute mission plans. Mission results with the aliases, defined for them in report properties will be opened, and the described relations will be established.

3. Download the report into the VFP report form editor in a modal window. It means that you won’t be able to activate other opened windows when the report editor is active. But you have already created data environment like at report making and you can use VFP expression builder. Read about the expression builder on MSDN site.

    The data is selected and opened in aliases, defined for the missions models, but will have R prefix (RA, RB, RC, etc.), and will be accessible from the expression builder.

    Besides, you can see the report preview directly in the expression builder. Click the left mouse button and choose the "Print preview…" menu item for this purpose.

    If you don’t need the expression builder and want to copy objects from one form into another, you can open several reports simultaneously and download forms into report editors without creating a data environment. You can switch between the opened report form editors and copy objects from one into another, using clipboard.

    Press CTRL+W to save the report form and close the report form builder. The form will be immediately saved in the base, without waiting until the report properties are saved.

    When you create an Excel report form, the program won’t ask you about data environment creation, and will just create it according to the scheme described above.

    After the creation of data environment the program will launch Excel and download the report form. A new window for Excel form management will appear in the window of report properties.

    Excel report form has the following areas: Header; Page header; Details; Totals. The borders of these areas must be described at the bottom of the sheet like in the picture.

    You can also define columns for grouping and summing of results using Group= and Totals= definitions with the links to the columns by their numbers.

    You can insert VFP expressions in any cell in the Area= borders. Any strings between ^ and ^ brackets will be interpreted as a VFP expression. If an expression is a part of a cell, it’s to return a string result. But if the whole cell value is a VFP expression the result can be of any type.

    If the expression is complex or you just want to use VFP expression builder click the cell once, go to Dataodyssey window and click VFP editor. Cell code will be downloaded into VFP editor’s window. You can open the VFP expression builder by clicking the right mouse button and selecting "Build expression" from the dropout menu.

    Press CTRL+W to save the cell code.

    Click "Save and close" to save the report form in the database. Make sure that the cell is not activated by double click in Excel! Otherwise you will have trouble saving. It’s better to save changes in Excel first and then in Dataodyssey.

    Use the button in the report list to make a report. The program will open the dialog box for mission starting and create data environment as described above. After that there will appear the report itself.

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