The Custom Reporting Tool utilities allow the advanced user to sort, group and output the information contained in TheGreatMultitude in a format specifically designed by the user.
The objective of this section is acquaint the user with the Custom Reporting Tool utilities available with TheGreatMultitude and show how the different modules interact with the Custom Reporting Tool utilities to produce outputs that meet the user’s specific and general reporting needs.
7.3 Accessing Custom Reporting Tool Utilities
The Custom Reporting Tool utilities
are accessed from the Main Partner Screen by clicking on Reports
(Alt+R) on the main menu bar. The module
currently active will determine the screen displayed.
7.4 Custom Reporting Tool (Partner Reports)
Clicking on the Partner Reports Module icon
on the Vertical Toolbar accesses the Partner
Reports Module. Once the Partner Reports Module is activated, The Custom
Reporting Tool can be selected form the available reports list.
Figure 7-1 Selection – Custom Reporting Tool
Selecting Custom Reporting Tool will open the Custom Reporting Tool page.
Figure 7-2 Custom Reporting Tool (Partner Module)
To build a custom report, the user must first
click on the Build New Report button
. This will open the Partner Module Report
Builder.
Figure 7-3 Partner Module Report Builder
Available Fields: This table shows all of the data fields in TheGreatMultitude that are available for output , sorting or as a filter/condition.
To add a data field to the output, the
user must highlight the desired field by clicking on it in the available fields
table (CTRL+Click to select multiple fields) and then, click on the Add button
or Add All button 
if all fields are
desired. Fields selected for output can be removed by highlighting the desired
fields and then clicking on the Remove
or the Remove All
button
. Note that
the Partner ID field is required for all outputs and cannot be removed.
Figure 7-4 Selected Output Fileds
Selected Output
Fields: This table shows a list of the data
fields selected as output in the order they are to be shown. The
order can be changed by highlighting the desired field to be moved and then
clicking on either the Move Up
or Move Down
link.
The selected field will then be moved one position up or down as
selected.
Selected Sort Order: This table shows a list of the fields
that will be used to sort the output. Fields that are added from the Available
Fields list must be designated as an Ascending (increases in value i.e. 1,2,3,
. . .) or Descending (decreases in value i.e. Debbie, Betty, Babs, Ann, . . .)
sorted field. The user can sort on a field that is not included in the output.
Figure 7-5 Selected Sort Order
When multiple sort fields are selected, the field at the top of the listing is the primary sort filed. This means that regardless of the search results for the other fields, the primary field will have precedence. If Last Name (Ascending) and Partner ID (Ascending) are chosen with Last Name Ascending as the primary sort field, as shown in the figure above, the results will show the names in correct alphabetical order regardless of their Partner ID. The benefit comes when two or more partners have the same Last Name. They will be listed alphabetically in the list of Last Names and then listed by Partner ID within the list of same Last Names.
Figure 7-6 Sort Result Example One
If the order is reversed, the results will show the Partner ID in correct numerical order regardless of their names.
Figure 7-8 Sort Result Example Two
The Selected Sort
Order can be changed by highlighting the desired field to be moved and then
clicking on either the Move Up or Move Down link.
The selected field will be moved one position up or down as selected.
To change a selected field from
Ascending to Descending or vice-versa, the
field must first be removed by highlighting the desired field and the clicking
on the Remove Sort
or Remove All
button. The re-adding the desired field as
either ascending or descending.
Even though partner ID is the default, it can be removed form the sort list.
Filters/Conditions: This is the most powerful feature of the Custom Reporting tool. By allowing the user to set their own parameters for defining which records are included in the final report, TheGreatMultitude has given the user a means for designing unique and meaningful report to meet his exact requirements.
To select a field to use as the parameter for the filter, the user must
click on the dropdown arrow.
This will open a
dropdown box showing all of the available fields. These are the same fields that were available
for sorting. The user then selects the
field he wants to use by clicking on it within the dropdown box.
To select a logical operator to
use, the user must click on the dropdown arrow.
Figure 7-11 Select a Logical Operator
This will open a
dropdown box showing all of the available logical operators. The user then selects the logical operator he
wants to use by clicking on it within the dropdown box. To change the operator
to a negative value, i.e. Is Not Equal To, the user must click on the Not
checkbox.
To select the
value for the field to be compared against, the user types in the value
desired.
If the value for
the field to be compared against is a blank field, then the user should place a
single space (press the spacebar on the keyboard) as the target value. An example would be a report to list the web
sites of all Partners. The
Filter/Condition would look like that shown below with a space as the target
value so that only those Partners with a web site would be listed, Web
Site Is NOT Equal to .
Figure 7-13 Web
Site Is Not Equal To
If the user wants
to be prompted for this value each time the report is run, he must click on the
Prompt User checkbox.
When the report is run the Enter User Defined Values for Custom Report
window will open prompting the user to type in the appropriate value for this
filter.
Figure 7-14 Enter User Defined Values Window
This option allows
the user to create one report format and change the filtering without creating
a new report for every possible filter.
After entering the
filter value, the user must click on the View Report button
to view the report,
or the Return to Custom Report Menu button
to return.
Once the filter has been
created, it is necessary for the user to click on the Add Filter/Condition
button
. This will
add the filter to the Filter/Condition list.
Figure 7-15 Filter/Condition List
To remove a Filter, the
user must highlight the desired filter by clicking on it with the mouse and then
click on the Remove button
.
Search Codes can also be used as
a criteria for the search by the user clicking on the Search Codes button
. This will
open the Select Report Criteria Window.
Figure 7-16 Select Report Criteria Window
This will list all
of the Search Codes currently in use in TheGreatMultitude. Clicking on the
appropriate checkbox will make that Search Code a criterion for the report. By
clicking on the dropdown arrow, the user can then select whether records with
the selected Search Code are to be included or excluded from the report.
Clicking on the Cancel
button
closes the window without accepting the
selection(s).
Clicking on the Reset to
Default Values button
deselects all of the Search Codes but does not
close the window.
Clicking on the Accept
button
will move the selected search code into the
Filter/Condition list.
Figure 7-17 Adding A Search Code
To remove a Search Code,
the user must highlight the Search Code annotation in the Filter/Condition list
by clicking on it with the mouse and then click on the Remove button.
While sorts,
searches and filters can be powerful tools in generating specific reports, the
use of too many sorts, searches and filters can generate more confusion than
useful information.
Figure 7-18 Report Control Panel
Report Control Panel:
Once all of the
parameters have been set for this report, it is important for the user to
preview it to ensure that it produces the desired result. To preview the report, the user must first
give it a title in the Title of Report textbox. He will be able to change this
title before it is saved.
Figure 7-19 Title of Report Textbox
Once the title has been
entered, the user then clicks on the Preview Report
button
. If the
user has included a Filter/Condition that requires a user prompt, the user
should save the report as below and then run the report from the Custom Reports
Menu. If he does not run it from the
Custom Reports Menu, an error message will appear stating “Must Run Reports
From Custom Report Menu for Reports with User Defined Values”.
The preview of the
report gives the user the opportunity to confirm its accuracy, completeness,
and usefulness. If there are any aspects
of it which are not correct, this would be the time to change it.
The report may
also be previewed as an Excel file or
exported as an ASCII Delimited file for export to another database
or spread sheet file depending on the user’s desires.
Column headings
can be included in the report preview by selecting the Include Column Headings
box.
Anytime that the user
wishes to discontinue designing a report, he may click on the Return to Custom
Report Menu button
to return
to the Custom Report menu window.
Once the report is
completed and functioning as desired, the user should change the title to
something that makes sense and will remind them of the purpose or output of
this report. Then
the user must click on the Save Report button
to save
the report. A window will open confirming that the report has been saved. The user
needs to click on the Return to Custom Report Menu
button to return
to the Custom Report Menu window.
Once a custom report has been created and saved, the user can perform several functions with it from the Custom Report Menu window.
Figure 7-22 Custom Reporting Tool Menu
Select Report: The user must first select the desired report
from the drop down menu. Once the report has
been selected, the user may delete the repot by clicking on the Delete Report
button
. The user will be prompted to confirm the
deletion.
Or the user may
edit the report by clicking on the Edit Report button. This will reopen the Partner Module Report
Builder.
E-mailing Reports: The reports generated by TheGreatMultitude
can be e-mailed to other users. To do so, the user
must first click on the Manage E-Mail Accounts button
. This will open the User Emailer Manager
window.
Figure 7-23 User Emailer Manager
The user can edit this list of e-mail recipients by clicking on the
appropriate button
To add a users,
the user must click on the Add User button 
. This
will open the Add New User window.
The user must type
in the new user’s name and e-mail address and then click on the OK button
or the Cancel button 
as appropriate.
To edit a user, the user
must first select the user from the list on the User Emailer Manager window and
then click on the Edit User Button
. This will open the Add New User window.
To delete a user, the
user must first select the user from the list on the User Emailer Manager window
and then click on the Delete User button
. The user will be prompted to confirm the
deletion and then be returned to the
User Emailer Manager window.
Once the user has
a list of desired recipients for the generated repot in the emailer manager, he
should then click on the E-Mail Report button 
. This will
open the User Selection Form Window.
Figure 7-25 User Selection Form
The user may click
on the Cancel button 
to cancel this operation and return to the Custom
Reporting Tool Menu. The user must now select which users are to
receive a copy of the report. The
control key and the shift key may be used to select multiple recipients.
Once all of the
recipients have been selected, the user must now click on the Submit button
to generate the report and send it the
designated recipients. This will cause a message to appear confirming that the
report has been sent.
Figure 7-26 Emailer Confirmation Message
Other Buttons: The View Report 
, Excel
Version 
, Export
ASCII 
buttons and the Include Column Headings
Checkbox all function as described above.
The Return to Reports
Menu button
will
return the user to the Reports Menu.
7.7 Custom Reporting Tool (Contribution Reports)
Clicking on the Contribution Reports
Module icon
on the Vertical Toolbar accesses the
Contribution Reports Module. Once the Contribution Reports Module is activated,
The Custom Reporting Tool can be selected form the available reports list.
Figure 7-27 Selection – Custom Reporting Tool
Selecting Custom
Reporting Tool will open the Custom Reporting Tool page.
The Custom Reporting Tool
for the Contribution Reports module is identical to the Custom Reporting Tool
for the Partner Reports except for the available fields in the report builder.