Report Editor

Reports are created and edited with the Report Editor.

The Editor

The Report Editor can be divided into six parts:

Menu Bar
Report Name Field
Report Parameters pane
Component Specification pane
Column Specification pane
Command buttons

As with some other PlantWise dialogs, the Report Editor has some areas highlighted to indicate a special pop up menu for those specific regions. A right mouse click over the highlighted area opens the pop up menu.

When editing an existing report, the editor opens with all the fields filled in with that report’s current information. For new reports, the editor opens empty.

The following sections discuss the creation and editing of the report. The output of this report is as shown in following section..

Report Menus

The Report Editor has two menus – Report and Display.

Setting	Description
Report	The Report menu allows you to: Output Report to Screen Output Report to File Save Report Close the editor
Display	The Display menu lets you: Highlight Report Components UnHighlight Report Components Highlighting report components draws the components on the Highlight level of CAD, showing you what items are being reporting on.

Report Name Field

This field is where you enter the report name. This name is used as the file name, with an .rpt extension, for the report in the \reports subdirectory of the current project. The name should be a contiguous string of alphanumeric characters without spaces or other Invalid Characters. After the report has been Accepted, the name is added to the Report Writer list for future use or edits.

Report Parameters

The report parameter controls are:

Setting	Description
Show Title	The check box when selected, the title entered in the Report Title field is displayed in the report output. When not selected, the Report Title field is disabled. For data export, the title is usually not included.
Show Headers	The check box when selected, the column headers or labels are displayed in the report output. For data export, the title is usually not included.
Output in XML	The check box when selected, generates the report output in XML format. The PlantWise XML reporting is as discussed in Standard XML Reports.
Show Separator Characters	The check box should always be selected. For data export, a separator such as a comma, space, or a tab is commonly used between each data item. The separator to be used is selected from the drop down menu. The available standard separators are: space, tab, comma ( , ), comma-space (,space), bar ( \| ), and asterisk ( * ). In addition, you may add extra separators by typing the desired character(s) in the drop down input field.
Title	The Report titles (which can be more specific than the report name) are entered in this multi-line input field. Variables that can be added to the report’s title are: the date of when the report was run, the model name, project main units, project master units, and project diameter units. This is information added to a report titles from the pop up menu opened by a right mouse click in the Report Title field. Report Title pop up menu In the sample report being used as an example for this chapter, the following is the Report Title entered: <date> Pipeline information for condensers And displays the date and time for when the report was generated followed by Pipeline information for condensers at the top of the report.
Comments	User comments regarding the report may be entered into this multi-line input field. The comments are readable only in the editor.

Component Specification

This pane allows you to define the topic, or scope, of the report.

Setting	Description
Component Expression	Here the report’s components are selected. The expression is a class name, or a series of related classes joined with periods. All instances of the component, or components, in this field will be part of the report output. In the case of the sample report used in this chapter, all nozzles and all pipelines will have an entry in the report output, regardless of connectivity. The right mouse button in the Component Expression field, displays an Open Helper pop up. Clicking on Open Helper opens the Report Component Expression Helper. Expression Helper for writing a Component Expression You are encouraged to use the Report Component Expression Helper dialog to define a Component Expression. This helper can prevent typographical errors and does not allow for the selection of non-related components. Component Selection – selects the initial Component Selection. Relationships – you can expand the scope of the report by also selecting related components from the Relationships drop down list. Apply Relationship – for the relationship to be accepted by the helper, the Apply Relationship button must be clicked. OK – you must click the OK button for entries defined in the Helper to be entered into the Report Editor.
Selection Criteria	Allows for an additional expression to be set, for filtering report output. The expression uses the Infix Language (see "Infix Expression Syntax") and may reference any attributes of the selected components. The Selection Criteria used in the report created filters the report to only include the condenser equipment class. You can open a Component Express Helper to assist in writing expressions for selection criteria. The right mouse button, displays an Open Helper pop up. Clicking on Open Helper opens the Report Expression Helper. Expression Helper for writing a Component Expression with a Relationship For Helper with a relationship. entries to take affect, you must click the Accept button.
Contained in	The Contained in Fence checkbox allows you to toggle the report to be used for fenced selections.

Setting

Description

Component Expression

Here the report’s components are selected. The expression is a class name, or a series of related classes joined with periods. All instances of the component, or components, in this field will be part of the report output. In the case of the sample report used in this chapter, all nozzles and all pipelines will have an entry in the report output, regardless of connectivity.

The right mouse button in the Component Expression field, displays an Open Helper pop up. Clicking on Open Helper opens the Report Component Expression Helper.

Expression Helper for writing a Component Expression

You are encouraged to use the Report Component Expression Helper dialog to define a Component Expression. This helper can prevent typographical errors and does not allow for the selection of non-related components.

Component Selection – selects the initial Component Selection.
Relationships – you can expand the scope of the report by also selecting related components from the Relationships drop down list.
Apply Relationship – for the relationship to be accepted by the helper, the Apply Relationship button must be clicked.
OK – you must click the OK button for entries defined in the Helper to be entered into the Report Editor.

Selection Criteria

Allows for an additional expression to be set, for filtering report output. The expression uses the Infix Language (see "Infix Expression Syntax") and may reference any attributes of the selected components. The Selection Criteria used in the report created filters the report to only include the condenser equipment class. You can open a Component Express Helper to assist in writing expressions for selection criteria.

The right mouse button, displays an Open Helper pop up. Clicking on Open Helper opens the Report Expression Helper.

Expression Helper for writing a Component Expression with a Relationship

For Helper with a relationship. entries to take affect, you must click the Accept button.

Contained in

The Contained in Fence checkbox allows you to toggle the report to be used for fenced selections.

Column Specification

Column Specification is where you define the content and form of columns (fields) in the report. This pane is also where sort, total, and filter criteria are entered.

The form and content of the fields in the report are defined column by column in the following fields:

Setting	Description
Label	This is the column header (label) in this field. The columns are presented in the order they are defined in the scroll list.
Expression	This is the PlantWise model data, or manipulation of model data, that you are requesting. The expression is written in Infix form (see Appendix C - Infix Expression Syntax). And Appendix E - Report Attributes defines the allowable PlantWise attributes. The Expression Helper is also available for forming references to component attributes and has a larger input field to simplify writing expressions. Select right-click > Open Helper. For expressions written in the helper to be included in the report form, you must click on the Accept button. You can implement relationships in the column expression as well as in the component expression. The key difference is that a relationship in the column expression lists only the first instance of the class that is not a member of the component expression. Left: Report Expression Helper showing an expression for Selection Criteria; and Right: for a Column Specification – this example contains a component, a relationship, and an attribute If the Component Expression for the sample report being used in this chapter was set only to pipeline, you could relate nozzles to pipelines in the Column Specification, but only the nozzles connected to pipelines (rather than all nozzles) would be included in the report output.
Width	Defines the width of the column in this field as character positions. If the data does not fit into the field, it is handled as follows: An over-size number is presented as an asterisk (*) string An over-long string is truncated
Align	Select the proper data justification in the field using this combo box. The options are: left, center, right, and none. The none alignment does not take column width into account. Therefore, values will not be truncated, nor will extra spaces be created. This alignment is recommended for XML reports as well as for other reports being used as input for other software packages.
Type	Defines the datatype. The available data types are: integer, real, length, dimensioned, string, currency, and text. When using real numbers you are prompted for the number of decimals and exponents. When working in a mixed unit project, it is best to use the real datatype for diameters. The output for dimensioned fields will be in the display units set in the project setup. You need to provide the number of decimals; e.g., 3 ft 5 in. The output for length fields will be in master units as set in the project setup. For reports output to screen, string is the preferred text format. When using currency, you can enter any single character currency symbol in the field provided. The text datatype does not take column width into account. Therefore, values will not be truncated, nor will extra spaces be created. This datatype is recommended for reports that will be generating a file for another software package.
Sort, Total, and Filter	These fields control the format of the report as discussed in Editing a Report section.
Accept Attribute	Once the input is completed for one column, the column is accepted as the last entry in the column definition scroll list by clicking the Accept Attribute button.

Command Buttons

The Command Buttons in the Report Editor are Save Report and Close.

Save – Saves the report to the Report Writer list.
Close – Closes the editor.

If you closes the editor without saving the report, you are prompted for confirmation. Closing without saving loses all changes made since the last Save Report.