Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
02.12.2004
Contents...
Introduction............................................................................................................... 1
Things that you will learn by going through the steps in this manual .................................................................. 2
Create a selection for the figures accumulated for last year ............................................................................. 53
Part 11: Add the main heading and hide the detail rows .................................... 56
Enter the main report heading .......................................................................................................................... 56
Hide the rows within the expanding groups ...................................................................................................... 56
Introduction
To help you get started with the basics of creating reports in iLytix XL Reporter, this document
will show you how to build a report definition for a regular Profit & Loss Report.
To make the procedures in this document as straight forward as possible, we will not stop to
explain each element in the application. However, when we come across important terms or
expressions that need to be explained, you will find yellow notes with short definitions, such as
the following:
What is a report? It is a Microsoft Excel file (.xls) that has been saved in the database. It is
created on basis of a report definition.
The following is the sample report that we will create:
-1-
We need to define columns for the periods amounts for this year, last year, and for the
accumulated amounts.
We also want to make the report flexible so that it can be re-used from month to month.
Things that you will learn by going through the steps in this manual
During the exercises of this manual, you will learn to do the following:
2. In the worksheet, create the formatting, styles, text, and other information you want to
have on all new sheets of the same type. In our example, we do the following:
We give the first row some background colour and we add our sample company
logo.
In Row 6 and 7, we specify a darker background colour and Bold and white text
formatting. This is because we are planning to use these two rows for some of the
headings in the report.
We remove the gridlines from the worksheet. To do this, choose Options from the
Tools menu, and on the View tab of the Options dialog, remove the check mark
for Gridlines under Window options. Then, click OK to close the window.
-3-
3. When you have added what you want in the worksheet, go to the File menu and choose
Properties.
4. On the Summary tab in the properties dialog, check the Save preview picture box.
Then, click OK to continue.
-4-
3. This places a new folder in the pane with the temporary name "New Folder", like this:
4. Replace the temporary name with a descriptive name, for instance MyFirstFolder,
and press Enter.
5. Then, in the right window pane, right-click and choose New > Report Definition.
6. This places a new report definition in the pane with the temporary name "New
Definition".
7. Replace the temporary name with a descriptive name, for instance MyFirstDefinition,
and press Enter.
8. A dialog appears, asking you if you want to assign a Microsoft Excel template to your
report definition. Choose Yes to confirm.
-5-
9. In the New dialog that appears, select the template that you have already created
(MyFirstTemplate). Then, click OK to continue. You will now see that a report
definition is opened in the Report Designer, and as you can see, it uses the selected
template:
What is the Report Designer? It is an iLytix XL Reporter component that extends the
capabilities of and uses the interface of Microsoft Excel. In this component, you define report
definitions that are used as basis for the execution of finished Microsoft Excel reports.
To explain what you see in the Report Designer, we can say that it is divided in two:
On the left, you see the Advanced Report Builder window in which you define which
data you want to extract from the database and see in the report.
On the right, you see the Microsoft Excel sheet in which you define the layout of your
report. This is also where you specify calculations and where you use the data that you
extract from the database.
-6-
-7-
3. In the Selections box, locate the G/L Accounts dimension and click on it. This gives
you a small browse button,
, on the right.
What is a dimension? It is a data field or value of a transaction, which has an underlying table
in the database. Common dimensions are G/L Accounts, Financial Period, Customer,
Vendor, Department, Currency Codes, Warehouses and many more.
4. Click on the browse button to open the Dimension Lookup window.
-8-
5. In the Dimension Lookup window, select the accounts that you want to pick from the
database. In our example, we select the account codes between 400000 and 450040,
which are sales accounts.
Note: The data (accounts) that you have in your database might not match the data in our
example. If this is the case, please select a set of accounts that you see fit for this report.
6. Then, click OK to close the window.
7. Back in the Advanced Report Builder, click on the Apply button,
save the selection.
-9-
, to
This will give you markings that indicate where the selections are in the report definition.
Expanding groups are indicated by solid drawn lines, while later on in this manual, selections
will be indicated by dotted lines. In addition, if you hover the mouse pointer over the red dot in
the corner of a marking, a tool tip appears, showing you the criteria of the selection. In our
example, it looks like this:
- 10 -
- 11 -
- 12 -
3. In the Selections box, locate the G/L Accounts dimension and click on it. This gives
you a small browse button,
, on the right:
- 13 -
5. In the Dimension Lookup window, select the accounts that you want to pick from the
database. In our example, we select the account codes between 500005 and 660190,
which are cost accounts.
Note: Like mentioned before, the data (accounts) that you have in your database might not
match the data in our example. If so, please select a set of accounts that you see fit.
6. Then, click OK to close the window.
7. Back in the Advanced Report Builder, click on the Apply button,
save the selection.
- 14 -
, to
- 15 -
How to specify the dimension attributes for the selection of sales accounts
1. In the worksheet of the report definition, select the first cell of the row on which you
specified the selection of sales accounts. In our example, this would be Cell A8.
2. On the Report Designer toolbar, click on the Formula Builder button,
3. This opens the Formula Builder window, which displays the dimension attributes that
are available for the selected cell:
Note: The dimension attributes are placed at the bottom of the window, beneath the grey line.
- 16 -
4. In the Formula Builder, click on the plus sign, , in front of the G/L Accounts
dimension. This will expand the list so that you can see the attributes that are available
for this dimension:
5. Double-click on the attribute you want to view in the report. In our example, this would
be the Account Code attribute. This inserts the attribute into the selected cell in the
worksheet:
6. In the worksheet, select the second cell of the row on which you specified the selection
of sales accounts. In our example, this would be Cell B8.
- 17 -
7. In the Formula Builder, double-click on the Account Name attribute. This inserts the
attribute into the selected cell in the worksheet:
How to specify the dimension attributes for the selection of cost accounts
1. In the worksheet, select the first cell of the row on which you specified the selection of
cost accounts. In our example, this would be Cell A10.
2. If the Formula Builder is not opened, click on the Formula Builder button,
Report Designer toolbar:
- 18 -
, on the
3. In the Formula Builder, expand the G/L Accounts dimension again and double-click
on the Account Code attribute. This inserts the attribute into the selected cell in the
worksheet:
4. In the worksheet, select the second cell of the row on which you specified the selection
of cost accounts. In our example, this would be Cell B10.
- 19 -
5. In the Formula Builder, double-click on the Account Name attribute. This inserts the
attribute into the selected cell in the worksheet:
- 20 -
- 21 -
3. In the Name box, give the parameter a name, for instance MyPeriodParameter.
4. Click once in the Category box, then click on the button,
Dimension:
- 22 -
7. Then, double-click inside the Prompt box and enter the prompt you want to display
when the report definition is executed, for instance Specify the period. The
Parameters dialog should now look something like this:
- 23 -
3. In the Selections box, locate the Financial Period dimension and click on it. This gives
you a small browse button,
, on the right:
, to
- 25 -
2. In the Advanced Report Builder on the left, click on the Column selection button,
:
3. In the Selections box, locate the Financial Period dimension and click on it. This gives
you a small browse button,
, on the right:
- 26 -
6. In the Complete Selection box at the bottom of the Advanced Report Builder, locate
the selection syntax of the period selection you just made. In our example, the syntax of
the period selection is Code=@MyPeriodParameter.
What is the selection syntax? Selections in iLytix XL Reporter are described using a special
language called IXL, which is short for IX Language. IXL is made up of different combinations of
elements and is used internally by the system to specify the database selections made by the
user. To make customized selections, the user can modify the syntax used in a selection.
To manipulate the selection into picking the data of the same period from last year, we
add the period function, -12, which withdraws 12 periods from the one that is specified
upon execution. The new period selection will then be the following:
Code=@MyPeriodParameter-12:
- 27 -
- 28 -
2. In each of the two cells within the period selections, Cell C6 and D6, enter the text,
Actual, like this:
5. In the Formula Builder, click on the plus sign, , in front of the Financial Period
dimension. This will expand the list so that you can see the attributes that are available
for this dimension:
- 29 -
6. Double-click on the attribute you want to view in the report. In our example, this would
be the Code attribute. This inserts the attribute into the selected cell in the worksheet:
Note: The measures are at the top of the window, above the grey line.
- 31 -
3. In the Formula Builder, click on the plus sign, , in front of the Financials module.
This will expand the list so that you can see the measures that are available for this
module:
What is a module? When we talk about modules in the Formula Builder, we mean groups of
measures for which the data are somewhat related to each other. Common modules in iLytix XL
Reporter are Financials, Budget, Sales A/R, Purchasing A/P, Sales Opportunities and
Inventory.
4. From the list of measures within the Financials module, double-click on the measure
you want to view in the finished report. In our example, this is the measure, Amount.
The measure, Amount, is then added to the selected cell in the worksheet:
5. Back in the worksheet, click inside the cell that lies within the sales accounts selection
and the second period selection. In our example this will be Cell D8.
- 32 -
6. In the Formula Builder, find the Amount measure again and double-click on it. The
measure is then added to the selected cell:
7. In the worksheet again, click inside the first cell that lies within the cost accounts
selection and the first period selection. In our example this will be Cell C10.
8. In the Formula Builder, find the Amount measure and double-click on it. The measure
is then added to the selected cell:
- 33 -
9. In the worksheet, click inside the cell that lies within the cost accounts selection and the
second period selection. In our example this will be Cell D10.
10. In the Formula Builder, find the Amount measure once more and double-click on it.
The measure is then added to the selected cell:
How to multiply actual amounts with -1 to get positive figures in the report
1. On the row that contains the selection of sales accounts, select the first cell in which the
measure, Amount, has been specified. In our example, this is Cell C8.
2. In Microsoft Excels formula bar above the worksheet, you will see the formula,
=ixGet(Amount):
3. At the end of this formula, add the multiplication formula, *-1, like this:
4. On the row with the sales accounts selection, select the next cell in which the measure,
Amount, has been specified. In our example, this is Cell D8.
- 34 -
5. In Microsoft Excels formula bar above, you will again see the formula,
=ixGet(Amount). At the end of the formula, add the multiplication formula, *-1 once
more:
Note: In the cells where the actual amounts have been specified together with the *-1 formula
(in our example, these are the cells, C8 and D8), you will only see #VALUE!, like in the picture
below. This is because by adding *-1, we change the function into a formula, and because
Microsoft Excel expects numbers in the formula, the program is not able to calculate the formula
until the report definition is executed and the figures are actually extracted from the database.
However, if you look in the formula bar for each cell, you will see the actual formula:
- 35 -
3. In the Formula Builder window, click on the Functions tab. This gives you a list of
available functions:
- 36 -
5. Double-click on the Column Total formula. This will insert the summation formula into
the selected cell in the report definition. Temporarily, because the content of the cell
above (the cell that will get the amounts when the definition is executed) is #VALUE!,
you will only see #VALUE! in this cell:
6. Then, in the worksheet, click inside Cell D9 on the row that includes the heading Total
Sales.
7. In the Formula Builder, double-click on Column Total again. This inserts the
summation formula into the selected cell:
- 37 -
8. In the worksheet again, click inside Cell C11 on the row that includes the heading
Total Expenses.
9. In the Formula Builder, double-click on the Column Total formula. This inserts the
summation formula into the selected cell. Temporarily, because the measures are not
extracted from the database until you execute the report definition, you will only see a
zero (0) in this cell:
10. In the worksheet once more, click inside Cell D11 on the row that includes the heading
Total Expenses. Then, in the Formula Builder, double-click on the Column Total
formula. Again, this inserts the summation formula into the selected cell:
- 38 -
- 39 -
3. Then, on the same row, select the cell that lies within the next period selection, Cell
D12, and enter the formula, =D9-D11. Again, you will only see #VALUE! in the cell, and
the actual formula in the formula bar above the worksheet:
- 40 -
- 41 -
- 42 -
2. To make the calculation, enter the formula, =C8-D8. Like before, you will only see
#VALUE! in the cell, and the actual formula in the formula bar above the worksheet:
3. Select the next cell within the variance column, Cell E9, and enter the calculation
formula, =C9-D9:
4. Select the next cell within the variance column, Cell E10, and enter the calculation
formula, =C10-D10:
- 43 -
5. Select the next cell within the variance column, Cell E11, and enter the calculation
formula, =C11-D11:
6. Select the next cell within the variance column, Cell E12, and enter the calculation
formula, =C12-D12:
- 44 -
2. We then add some headings for the listing of accounts; the heading Account in Cell
A7 and the heading Description in Cell B7.
3. In addition to the above, we right-align the cell contents of the Cell C7 to E12 and
center-align the contents of Cell C6 and D6. Our report definition now looks like this:
- 45 -
, on the
3. In the prompt dialog, click inside the Value field to see a small browse button,
the right:
- 46 -
, on
4. Click on the browse button to open the Dimension Lookup window. From this window,
select the period you want to apply. In our example, we choose to select the data in the
period of March 2004 (with code 200403). Then, click OK to close the window:
5. Then, click OK again to execute the report definition. The executed report definition is
opened as a new Microsoft Excel report, and it includes the data that are requested by
the formulas and functions that we have specified in the report definition so far:
- 47 -
2. In Cell G7, where you find the dimension attribute, PER- Code, replace the dimension
attribute with the heading, Accum. This Year.
- 48 -
3. To make room for the whole heading, right-click the cell and choose Format Cells. In
the dialog that appears, open the Alignment tab, go to Text control and check the
Wrap text box:
4. Then click OK to close the dialog. The heading will look like this in the report definition:
5. In cell H7, where you again find the dimension attribute, PER- Code, replace the
dimension attribute with the heading, Accum. Last Year. Then, wrap the text like you
did in step 3 above:
- 49 -
How to specify a period selection from January through the current period
1. In the worksheet, select the entire Column G and in the Advanced Report Builder on
the left, click on the Column selection button,
- 50 -
2. In the Selections box, locate the Financial Period dimension and click on it. This gives
you a small browse button,
, on the right:
- 51 -
4. In the Dimension Lookup window, click on the Parameters tab. From the list of
parameters, select the period parameter that we previously created, the one called
MyPeriodParameter. Then, click OK to close the window:
5. Back in the row of the Financial Period dimension, click once inside the Selections
field where you see the selection syntax. In our example, the syntax of the period
selection is Code=@MyPeriodParameter. To manipulate the selection into picking
the accumulated data of all the periods up to the current period, we add the Year-ToDate period function, YTD, in front of the parameter selection, like this (notice the
parentheses): Code=YTD(@MyPeriodParameter):
- 52 -
How to specify a selection from January through the current period, last year
1. In the worksheet, select the entire Column H and in the Advanced Report Builder on
the left, click on the Column selection button,
- 53 -
2. In the Selections box, locate the Financial Period dimension and click on it. This gives
you a small browse button,
, on the right:
- 54 -
5. Back in the row of the Financial Period dimension, click once inside the Selections
field where you see the selection syntax. In our example, the syntax of the period
selection is Code=@MyPeriodParameter. To manipulate the selection into picking
the data of all the periods up to the current period of last year, we add the Year To Date
function, YTD, in front of the parameter selection. We then add the period function, -12,
at the end, like this (notice the parentheses): Code=YTD(@MyPeriodParameter-12):
- 55 -
Part 11: Add the main heading and hide the detail rows
Before we execute the report definition again, we want to give the report a heading. We also
want to group the rows within each of the expanding groups so that they are hidden in the
finished report.
- 56 -
2. In the Microsoft Excel menu at the top, choose Data > Group and Outline > Group:
- 57 -
4. Select the second row that includes a selection of accounts, Row 10 (the second
expanding group), and from the Microsoft Excel menu, choose Data > Group and
Outline > Group once more:
- 58 -
, on the
2. Because we have specified a period parameter in our report definition, the prompt
appears again, asking us to specify a period:
3. In the prompt dialog, click inside the Value field to see a small browse button,
the right:
, on
- 59 -
6. Then, click OK again to execute the report definition. The report now looks like this:
- 60 -
- 61 -