Report Builder

[iplaw67]

Hi Dan,

     The report wizard in both OOo and LO gives a choice of a static or
dynamic report. Where is this choice in the Report Builder? I can't find
it. Or, has it been decided that a static report no longer serves a
purpose?

I always thought that the ORB replaced the default report designer so
that once it was installed (and it is installed by default in the
current builds, although not necessarily by the Linux distribs), you
couldn't then go back to the old report designer anyway, effectively
barring any chance of creating a static report. What happens if the
report document is saved outside of the ODB container, does it then
become static ? How about if the file is set READ ONLY ?

Alex

[elderdanlewis]

Testing a database using LO which included the Report Builder: I
opened a database and used the wizard to create a static report on a
table. Then I added new data. When the report was run, the new data did
not appear. I then deleted the static report. I created a dynamic report
on the same table also using the wizard. Again I added new data. This
time the new data appeared in the report. So a static report can be
generated using the wizard even when the Report Builder is already
installed.

--Dan

[drew]

yes - when Report Builder is installed only the UI to the wizard is
disabled - Wizard generated reports can still be used in that
installation, just not edited or new ones created.

//drew

[elderdanlewis]

I'm not sure I understand what you wrote, or perhaps I disagree.
When I created the two tables mentioned above using the wizard, the
report builder was already installed. [LO 3.4.4 OOO340m1 (Build:402)
downloaded from the LibreOffice web site] When the wizard opened, the
report builder also opened in the background.
     Specifically, using fininacial.odb as my database and clicking "Use
Wizard to Create Report", in front I see the Report Wizard dialog.
Behind it I see "financial.odb: Report 1 - LibreOffice Base: Oracle
Report Builder". The wizard dialog was the active window, and Report 1
was not.
     Once the report is saved using the dialog, it can only be edited by
the report builder even though it has been created with the wizard
dialog. However, for all reports generated before the report builder was
installed, editing the report does not open the report builder. Instead
the Report Design dialog opens. (e.g., "financial.odb: Transactions -
LibreOffice Base: Report Design" is the title of the dialog).
     Perhaps changes will be made in this area in the near future with
3.5, I don't know. We shall see.

--Dan

[drew]

Hi Dan,

Well, I don't doubt I confused you, apparently I confused myself there
also, as I made a few misstatements there regarding Designer.

First - there are two different tools that I referred to.

Report Wizard is that functionality available if the user does not have
Report Designer installed. It has nothing to do with the wizard dialog
added to the designer.

I think everything I said regarding that Wizard is accurate.

When you install Report Designer you no longer have direct access via
the GUI to that functionality - though you can still execute dynamic
reports created with the old wizard, and of course you can always open
static reports no matter what.

With LO coming with Report Designer pre-installed and in fact making it
difficult to remove it or even disable it I doubt new users even know of
the Report Wizard code lurking in the Base core package.

Report Designer part I was wrong - the wizard dialog did bring back the
idea of dynamic and static report designation.

Dynamic reports are just Report Definitions - they do not contain any of
the actual data from a report run - only the report definition is saved.

When you create a static report you are saving only the realized
document created by executing a report definition - and the file does
not contain the actual definition of how the report is generated. I
don't think, I'll double check by diving into the xml of one to be sure.

When you edit a static report you are simply editing a standard
document, you can adjust layout of the data but not the definition of
what generated that data.

So - using the Report Designer wizard function:

If you select a Static report - the definition is used to generate a
report document and this document is saved into the ODB file.

If you select a Dynamic report - the report definition is saved to the
ODB file and the report document is created as a stand alone ODT file.

You can see it in action quite easily - just use the Report Designer
wizard dialog and select 'Dynamic' and 'Create report now' and you will
see that you actually create two items, the saved definition and the
rendered document in a separate window.

Anyway - at the moment I'm on a machine with LibO 3.4.4 and there are
few issues with report builder here - I'll try this all later tonight on
OO.o and LibO 3.5 just to be sure I'm not still taking you down the
wrong path.

Thanks

//drew

[elderdanlewis]

Thanks! I'm beginning to understand it now. And yes, this question
was with respect to the Base Guide.

--Dan

[jeanweber]

Sounds like the info about Reports in the Getting Started with Base chapter will need to be amended, too.

--Jean

[elderdanlewis]

You are right. It also makes it a bit more complex. For databases
created by LO, all editing of the report is made by the Report Builder
extension. However, for databases created by OOo, how the editing will
be done on reports depends upon whether Report Builder was installed at
the time of the report's creation. Only those reports who were created
after Report Builder was installed will use Report Builder to do the
editing. I have at least one database in which some reports are edited
by Report Builder (those created by it), and some are not (those created
by the wizard prior to Report Builder being installed).
     Anyway, I will modify the Report section of the Getting Started
with Base chapter. It should be ready by the time there is a place to
upload the chapter.
     
--Dan