Report Templates

Report templates are batch applications that you create in RDA. They are the master specifications of reports. These specifications describe the report to the batch engine; they define what data is used and how the data is selected, sorted, displayed, and formatted.

Because you can create multiple versions of report templates, you typically want to keep the report template generic. This means that you want to leave the data selection and data sequencing in the report template open and create batch versions with different data selection and data sequencing to meet specific business needs.

Properties defined in the report template are read by the associated batch versions. There are two exceptions to this rule:

• Batch versions that contain specifications that have been overridden.

  Specifications that are overridden in the batch version are not read from the report template.

• Report level properties that have been modified after the report template is saved and RDA is exited.

  Note: When you create batch versions from the Director, the system uses the current report level values. If you change the report level values prior to saving the report template and exiting RDA, the new values transfer to the version. However, if you save the report template and exit RDA, then reenter RDA and change the report level values, the modified report level values do not affect any existing versions. New batch versions that you create do reflect the modified report level values. Batch versions that you copy reflect the template specifications at the time the original version was created.