svn commit: r1788756 - in /ofbiz/ofbiz-plugins/trunk/birt/documents: Creating reports.md How to use flexible reports.md Using the Birt Report Designer.md

Author: jleroux
Date: Sun Mar 26 17:27:47 2017
New Revision: 1788756

URL: http://svn.apache.org/viewvc?rev=1788756&view=rev
Log:
Documented: Complete Birt Flexible Reports documentation
(OFBIZ-9188)

This is the documentation about the Flexible Reports. It's done with Markdown
files with links to Confluence for images

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    ofbiz/ofbiz-plugins/trunk/birt/documents/Creating reports.md   (with props)
    ofbiz/ofbiz-plugins/trunk/birt/documents/How to use flexible reports.md   (with props)
    ofbiz/ofbiz-plugins/trunk/birt/documents/Using the Birt Report Designer.md   (with props)

Added: ofbiz/ofbiz-plugins/trunk/birt/documents/Creating reports.md
URL: http://svn.apache.org/viewvc/ofbiz/ofbiz-plugins/trunk/birt/documents/Creating%20reports.md?rev=1788756&view=auto
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+# Report creation - Admin/Super-User #
+
+## Introduction ##
+A flexible report is an OFBiz content of FLEXIBLE\_REPORT type that allows a final user to make use of the reporting module to obtain flexible reports, ie reports which are created from an entity or view definition and even from a service. A flexible report is created from a Report Master (content REPORT_MASTER), and an optional XML override of the parent form.
+
+## Pre-requisite ##
+- OFBiz framework
+- The Birt plugin
+- The BIRT Report Designer
+
+## Report creation ##
+1. Get to Birt component in OFBiz 
+2. Click on the "Flexible Report" menu (varies depending on themes)
+3. Click on the "Generate report" button, you get to this screen:
+4. Fill the form:
+
+ * The list "Choose report topic" will let you choose among predefined report masters your topic of interest.
+ * The report name is a simple short name from which the file name will be generated.
+ * The description is a short description which will allow you to recognise the report and its topic.
+ * The box "Generate filters in design" will add in the design the visualisation of the filters filled in the filtering form.  
+
+Finally, if you don't find what you want, you will need to create a new Report Master...
+
+
+Once the form is validated, OFBiz will show you the "Edit Report" screen. 
+
+## Report information ##
+This first panel allows you to change the report description and status. Actually it does not make sense changing the status to published before having downloaded the .rptdesign file (Birt Report Designer file) from the server (in database), edited and uploaded it back to the server. This is explained in the section below. Changing the status allows users to use your reports. But if you publish without any change the report will render as empty.
+
+## The .rptdesign report file: donwload, edit, upload and publish it ##
+To really use the report you need to download the .rptdesign file from the server in a location from where you can edit it with the BIRT Report Designer. So you need to install first the BIRT Report Designer. Then you can edit the .rptdesign file in the BIRT Report Designer. For that refer to the "Using the Birt Report Designer.md" file
+###  Editing the downloaded file ###
+Once you installed the BIRT Report Designer and have downloaded the .rptdesign file, you can edit it with the Birt Report Designer. When you have edited it suiting your needs you must upload it to the server for your changes to be taken into account by OFBiz.
+
+<span style="color:red">**This is when things begin to be really interesting**.</span> You can then test your report using the "Preview" panel. There you can temporarily filter the result, and use the export format you prefer, once done click "Send". You can then decide to change the report content in the Birt Report Designer again or keep your changes. Once done in the Birt Report Designer, simply select the changed file to upload, and upload it again. You can re-test your changes and continue until you really get what you want! You can then publish the report to allow users to select and use it. There are 2 ways to publish a report from the "Manage reports" screen or directly in the "Report information" panel. We will see the "Manage reports" screen below.
+
+## Filters Overriding  ##
+You may want to overide the default filters. You can then use the Xml "Override filters" panel to override and personnalize the form, once done click "Save". If you ignore that step, it will **NOT** prevent the report creation, **it is already done**, it will just be with the generic filtering form inherited from the master from.
+>_Note_: if no preview is available, it is usually due to a mistake in the master form code. You can edit it in the database.
+
+## Manage reports ##
+The "Manage reports" button get you to a screen which allows to edit (get back to current page), publish or delete a report.
+
+## Use a report ##
+Users can select and use any published report from that screen. When they select a report they then get the same "Preview" Panel and can do the same things than in the "Edit Report" screen. Refer users to  
+
+
+

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+# For users: using a flexible report#
+## Introduction ##
+A flexible report is an OFBiz content of FLEXIBLE_REPORT type which allows the final user to obtain reports using the Birt reporting module. It will be produced at a specific time of your choosing, with your chosen output format, filtering the data with a few parameters defined during report design creation.
+
+## Pre-requisite ##
+- OFBiz
+- The Birt plugin
+- Pre-published reports created from report masters
+
+## Using the report ##
+1. go to the Birt component or to another page harboring reports.
+2. In the Birt component, click "Use a report".
+3. Select your report and hit "Send".
+4. The next screen will allow you to filter your data through a set of pre-defined criteria. Should you leave it empty, you will retrieve unfiltered data.
+5. Select the desired export format
+6. Upon validation, your report is now loaded and can be saved.
+
+>_Note_: Report loading can be a bit long depending on the data treatment
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URL: http://svn.apache.org/viewvc/ofbiz/ofbiz-plugins/trunk/birt/documents/Using%20the%20Birt%20Report%20Designer.md?rev=1788756&view=auto
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+# Introduction #
+The creation of a flexible report goes through a design step of the initial flexible report output under the Birt Report Designer.
+
+This document describes the simplest designs to connect to the data. It is not exhaustive, and simply attempts to cover basic needs. You will find much more documentation online. In our approach, the connection to the data is generated automatically by OFBiz, only the design part of the report will be discussed.
+
+###  Installing the BIRT Report Designer ###
+Installing the BIRT Report Designer is easy. If you use Eclipse, you can include it as a plugin. You can also install the whole BIRT Report Designer. I use Eclipse but I prefer the second way, to not mix things. So simply download and install the whole all-in-one thing. Or install the plugin if you prefer and use its "Report Design" view which allows to edit * .rptdesign files.
+
+>_Note_: if you installed the BIRT Report Designer under say, a Birt directory, then by default the reports will be accessed from the Birt\workspace\Report Builder directly and this is where you should put the .rptdesign files when downloading them. Your mileage may wary...
+
+# Different areas of the screen and their role #
+## Navigator - Report Builder ##
+This is where you will find the
+## Data Explorer ##
+The Data Explorer defaults to the right of your screen. It gives you access to two things. The data fields available for the report, and the filter fields that can be used for this report.
+
+
+
+## Palette ##
+The palette provides the various tools you can insert in the report. Simple text, image, table of data, layout table, graph, aggregation, etc. All objects are added to the report by drag & drop.
+
+
+## Tabs ##
+At the right bottom of the window is a series of five tabs.
+
+We will use two:
+
+- Layout, which will allow most of the design.
+- Master Page, which will give access by its owners to standard parameters such as the orientation or size of the report.
+
+The preview is not accessible because it can not be executed outside of OFBiz. Any changes to the scripts will be erased during the upload in OFBiz.
+
+## Simple design without break ##
+The simplest possible design is to insert in a table (table in the palette), a part or all of the data set data fields. To do this, right-click on Data Set in the Data Explorer -> Insert in Layout, and then select the fields you want to see appear.
+
+## Simple design with break ##
+A break is a collection of data made by Birt from the data. It permits to classify according to a field, and to give details for each category, then to aggregate certain fields, etc.
+
+1. Insert a table (Table) in the report -> OK
+2. Right-click on the table -> Edit Data Binding, select all fields
+3. In the data set field, change "None" in "Data Set", validate
+4. Right-click the table -> Insert Group. Configure your group, eg: 
+5. Your table then has five lines:
+ * A global title line
+ * A title line of the group
+ * A group detail line
+ * A footer of the group
+ * A global footer line
+6. Then insert some elements in the design: in the global header, everything that does not depend on the group, for example the title of the report. In the header of the group, everything that is common to the whole group and that you want to see in its title. In the details, the fields that may appear for each group line. As in the image below, the fields might be inserted by Copy/Paste from the Data Set, and titles via a text element of the palette. You can add lines and columns by right clicking on the end of the line (gray rectangle when the table is selected), etc. 
+
+## Construction of aggregation ##
+The aggregations may be on the whole table, or only on a group. They are characterized by an expression to aggregate (made up of different data fields), a possible filter on the data lines, and an aggregation function, eg:
+
+### Expression builder ###
+The *fx* (for expression and filter) buttons are used to open a complex expression construction window. It is possible to use predefined functions, Javascript, data fields, already built aggregations, and so on. This window can also be used by including a data element, which allows to construct non-aggregated data expressions.
+
+
+Footer lines often allow you to place aggregations, such as sums on the group or table rows, eg
+
+
+> Warning: any unused line must be deleted, otherwise it generates white spaces on the report.
+
+## Layout Management ##
+### General settings ###
+Right button leads to Properties Editor tab at bottom. Then click on the Master Page tab, just above. In the Property Editor you will see a series of general properties that will allow you to modify the general form of the report.
+
+### Styles ###
+By right-clicking on any item in the table, you have access to the menu of styles. From there they can be edited, applied, created. A style can be applied to the whole picture, to a row or column, to a cell, or to an element in that cell (text, data, ...).

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