Run Reports/Documents

This page is accessed when generating a report or a report-backed document. For a report, it is accessed on most business objects via Actions > Business Process Automation > Reports.

Depending on how you reach the reports page, different options may be available to you. For example, if you reach it from the Shipment Management > Reports menu, the parameters section will be displayed so you can select a shipment. If you run the report from an actual shipment, the parameters section may not appear since it will use the shipment ID from which you ran the report.

When you run a report, you have the choice to run a report either online or offline. Doing so causes the report to be generated immediately.

Report-backed documents are generated from most action menus from the Business Process Automation > Documents > Generate Document action. See the Generate Document topic for document-specific information about report-based documents.

Entering Parameters

Parameters are filters used to limit the range or type of data included in a report or form (for example, a date range). The available parameters vary from report to report.

Note: When entering dates in the From and To fields, select the date from calendar. Using the calendar tool ensures that the date format is the same as the selected user preference date format.

Note: When entering a numeric value, only the equal sign (=) operator works; greater than and less than do not.

Note: For more information on date parameters, see the Search by Date section in Search Business Objects.

Delivery/Format

Use this section to determine how the report will be presented.

This section is displayed unless the request came from a standard document on the Documents tab.

1. Select the Use Default Report Format check box to use the default format specified in the report.
2. For user-defined format, clear the Use Default Report Format check box and specify the format using the Report Format drop-down list.
3. Select a Report Format. For reports with a report format of Excel which contain large amounts of data, save it in the xlsx format. This format reduces the size and enables you to generate large reports.

   There are different Excel report formats that are supported.

   • Excel (html): Can be enabled for reports with RTF format template and the output is backed by html. It is just a html re named with .xls extension.
   • Excel (mhtml): Can be enabled for reports with RTF format template and the output is backed by mhtml. It is just a mhtml re named with .xls extension.
   • Excel (.xlsx): Can be enabled for reports with RTF format template. This format provides binary content unlike the above two. The file with .xlsx extension.
   • Excel (.xls): Can only be enabled for reports with Excel format template. This format also provides binary content. The file will be with .xls extension.

2. Select a Delivery Method. Depending on your selection, more fields may be available.
   1. If you select "Email", indicate the email address in the To field, and the subject of the email in the Subject field.

   2. If you select a delivery method of "Print", provide the following information:

      1. Enter a Printer.
      2. Enter the Number of Copies.
      3. Enter the Page Ranges.
      4. Select the Wait check box if you think there is an error with the CUPS printing and want to see the error immediately without searching through the logs.

Storage

The storage section prompts you for a content management system to use for storing the report. If you do not specify a content management system, the report or document will not be stored.

This section is hidden if the report is configured as a 3rd party report for BROWSER ONLY. The assumption is the report contains relative links to the report server and should not be stored. It is also hidden if the request is for a standard document. Report requests are always stored in the content management system defined in the document type.

1. Select a Content Management System. This selection determines how the generated reports are saved as document attachments to each associated business object. If you leave this field blank, each report is generated for immediate distribution, such as email or printing, and not saved. If you select "DATABASE", a persistent document is attached to the business object containing the report content.
2. If you select the Allow Multiple Versions check box, business objects can have multiple attachments for the same report. Otherwise older report attachments are replaced with the newly-generated ones. This functionality exists only when the storage method is "DATABASE".
3. Click Submit to generate the report.

Document

This section is hidden unless the report request is for a standard document and is not a preview.

Note: If you are generating a standard document, you will be prompted for revision and annotation information. Non-standard documents are not tracked with revision information, so if you are generating a non-standard document the following fields will not be displayed.

1. If you are creating a revision of an existing document, select the Add New Revision check box.
2. Enter an Annotation to explain the reason for generating the document.
3. Click Submit to preview or generate the document.

Note: You can also create a user-defined action specific to a document type. The user-defined action allows you to either preview before generation or automatically generate a document. With a user-defined document action, all non mandatory parameters are left blank.