Enable Users to Generate Consecutive Reports
The "Iterations Entry" tool in the "Report Tools Library" enables users to specify a number of report iterations based on the configured time period. An iteration can be defined as one complete report. The next report starts where the previous report ended, but maintains the same duration. This enables you to set the report generator to produce a month's worth of daily reports at once (e.g. 31 daily reports for the month of January, rather than a single report for the whole month). Instructions for adding an iterations entry object to your custom reports page are as follows:
1. Click the "Libraries" button in the Configuration Toolbox.
2. Click on the Drawing Tools node to open the list of libraries and tools.
3. Select the "Report Iterations" node in the list and right-click to open its context menu.
4. Click the "Draw" button.
5. A sample report iteration selector is attached to the cursor. Left-click on the application page to place it.
6. The VTS Graphic Editor opens to allow you to configure the selector.
7. Enter a title to appear above the iterations entry field in the "Title" field.
8. Select a focus ID from the Focus ID spin box. This number indicates the position of this drop-down list in the tab order for all objects on the same system page. (You may wish to set the focus IDs for all objects after they have been placed on the page.)
9. Select the "Draw Bevel" checkbox if you wish a beveled border to appear around the completed iterations entry field.
10. Select the "All Users Can Edit" checkbox if you wish the completed iterations entry field to be enabled for all users whether they are logged on to the application or not. (If you do not select the "All Users Can Edit" checkbox, the iterations entry field is disabled until the user logs on.)
11. Click the "OK" button.
The next step in configuring a custom reports page is to provide users a means of selecting an output format for their reports. The section that follows provides details.