Reporting in KE EMu

1. Reporting in KE EMu

2. What is reporting? • Production of a “document” from the results of a search • Export information, uni-directional • Formatting of information • Interpretation of original data source • Possible data computation (e.g. totals, averages, counts) • Visual representation of search results (e.g. table, graph).

3. Why do we need reports? • Extract information in a portable format. • Provide information in a “user-friendly” format. • Interpret “raw data” in different ways. • Layout data in a specific pre-defined format. • Supply information to third party products. • The boss asked for it!

4. Why is it sometimes difficult? • Requires an understanding of the underlying data structures • Different data models between KE EMu (object) and reporter (relational) data sources • Need to deal with column names • Different data representations (e.g. partial dates) • Need to group fields to get correct table structure • Wide range of report writers available • Skills required to master each report writer

5. Differing data models – ODBC, CSV • emultime.csv • emultimedia_key • irn • MulTitle • MulDescription • MulCreat.csv • MulCreator_key • emultimedia_key • MulCreator

6. Differing data models - XML

7. How does KE EMu’s reporting work? texserver Server generates report data in XML S XML Media Filter Media filter adds in media paths XML System|Setting|Reports|Media Filter|crystal|reportsmedia Filter transforms XML to required format Filter CSV/XML/Other System|Setting|Reports|Filter|crystal|texxmlodbc Files are transferred from server to client Files to client CSV/XML/Other Report writer is invoked Action Reporter format System|Setting|Reports|Action|crystal|Run ODBC crystal.exe Report is viewed by user Report

8. Some Reporters for KE EMu • Crystal Reports • Microsoft Word • Microsoft Excel • Microsoft Powerpoint • XML • CSV

9. Admin Reports • Ability to run server side reports • Provides reporting across all modules and aspects of the system • Hooks into the client reporting system to produce standard reports • Provides scripting for full access to server side tables • Can be scheduled to run at designated times • Generally written by IT staff

10. XML Reports • XML (eXtensible Markup Language) provides a text based format for data interchange. • “Report writers” can process the data to produce a variety of output formats and structures. • XSLT (eXtensible Style sheet Language Transformations) provides a mechanism for transforming XML into a large variety of output formats (e.g, HTML, PDF, PCL, etc). • Still early days for XSLT but removes dependency on legacy ODBC style data formats.

11. XML based reporting texserver XML List of files to client XML XSLT Processor XSLT Document XML/HTML/PDF/PCL/Other Report

12. How can we make reporting easier? Simple reports • Are there any features that would allow simple reports to be produced more easily? • Are there other simple reporting mechanisms that would be useful? Complex reports • While recognizing that complex reporting requires powerful tools which require a level of skill to use, are there features that could make this process easier?

13. List / Worksheet Mode Reporting? While viewing records in List/Worksheet mode select records: • Copy onto Windows clipboard for pasting? • Select print button for “excel” like print?

14. Summary Reporting? While viewing matching records, produce a summary: • Copy results of summary to clipboard in a variety of formats (e.g. text, csv, RTF, etc)? • Provide a nicer printing option?