About Report Structure

Reports Concepts

Before you make changes to the reports provided with the DDMS system, you should have a good understanding of report structure.

Sorting and limiting determine the order and grouping of details and the range of information included in a report. Sorts and limits are stored in selectors. This topic describes the different elements in report selectors and how they define a report.

Note: For detailed instructions on printing and changing individual reports, refer to the appropriate topic. For example, for instructions on printing and changing customer reports, see Printing Custom Customer Reports.

Sorts

By specifying sort parameters for a report, you establish the order and grouping of any information included in the report. This allows you to display the information in a report in a way that is useful to you.

For example, to print a list of customer names within each of the cities where you do business you need a report that groups customer names by city. To also list the customer names alphabetically within each city, you sort first by city, and then by name. (We refer to sorts by number: the first sort (city) is called sort 1, and the second sort (name) is called sort 2.)

You can specify up to five sorts for a report. When you specify multiple sorts, it is important to maintain a logical order. If your sorts are not logical, your report may not print. Always define your sorts beginning with the most general and narrowing to the most specific. For example, to print a report with customers sorted according to state, city and zip code, assign the sorts as follows:

Sort 1 = State

Sort 2 = City

Sort 3 = Zip Code.

When you print this report, the information is organized according to the sorts. The customers are sorted by state, by city within each state, and by zip code within each city.

Ascending and Descending Order

When changing sorts, you can specify ascending or descending order. Ascending order is the normal alphanumeric sort order, from A to Z, for example. Descending is the opposite, from Z to A.

In the alphanumeric sort order, numbers come before letters. For a complete description of the sort order, see the ASCII Sort Order Chart.

Page Breaks

When you use multiple sorts in a report, you can begin printing each sort group at the top of a new page. Using the example above, you can design your report to start a new page for each city.

Limits

Limits allow you to define what information is included in a report. Limits are specified as ranges, and several ranges may be specified. When several ranges of limits are used, the desired information must fall within every range to be included in a report. To create a report showing all customers in Keller, Texas, who are assigned to salesperson 204, for example, you set the following limits in the Custom Customer Reports screen:

Limits From: City:Keller

Limits To: City:Keller

Limits From: State:TX

Limits To: State:TX

Limits From: Slsm #:204

Limits To: Slsm #:204

For a customer to display on a report with the above limits, the customer's information must include Keller as the city, Texas as the state, and salesperson 204 as the assigned salesperson. A customer in Keller, Texas, who is assigned to salesperson 206, for example, does not appear on this report.

Detail Fields

When you modify an existing report, you have the option of adding a new column of information. This is called adding detail fields. When you add detail fields, you can specify the information for the column heading. This new column prints on the right side of the report.

Note: You cannot permanently save detail fields when saving the changes to a report. However, you can permanently add detail fields through the (+Z) Setup Formats for Reports screen.

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Changing the Body of a Customer Report

Saving Customer Report Changes

About Customer Reports

Changing the Body of an A/R Report

Saving A/R Report Changes

About Accounts Receivable Reports

About Vendor Reports

Saving Vendor Report Changes

Changing the Body of a Vendor Report

Inventory Sorts and Limits

Changing the Body of an Inventory Report