Report Wizard Explorer

The Reports Explorer appears as follows:

There are four main areas in the Reports Explorer:

• The toolbar across the top has functions to create, copy, edit, preview, and print reports, as well as displaying help.

• The reports list at the left shows which reports you can access. These reports are organized into folders, much as you'd organize real paper reports into folders. Although you can create as many folders as you wish, one folder is automatically created for you: Favorites, intended to hold reports you use frequently. This folder appears first in the reports list. Reports can actually exist in more than one folder (much as you can have shortcuts to files on your Windows desktop), so you can have a report in both a Management Reports folder and your Favorites folder. If there are other Student Manager Reports users on your network, you see their Favorites folder appear as "Username's Favorites" (for example, "Bob's Favorites").

• The area at the right has different pages of information and settings for the selected report or folder. To choose a particular page, click the tab you're interested in. Depending on the report you select, not all of these pages may be available.

• The Information page shows information about the selected report, such as its name, who created it and when, who last modified it and when, who last ran it and when, and comments. For folders, it shows the folder name, who created it, and when. It also shows what groups have access to the report or folder.
• The Filter page allows you to select which records to print.
• You can determine how the report is sorted on the Sort page.
• The Options page allows you to control things such as the header and footer for each page, the orientation, and the left margin.
• The Output page is used to specify where to send the report when you run it, such as to a particular file or email address.
• The Sample page shows a snapshot of what the report looked like the last time it was run. This page is disabled if there isn't a snapshot for the report, such as if it hasn't been run since the last time it was edited or the Create and display report snapshots setting is turned off in the Options dialog.

• The status bar at the bottom of the Reports Explorer shows the database name at the left and the current status (such as whether a report is running or not) at the right.

The version number displays in the title bar so you can quickly see which version you are running.

You can select functions to perform by clicking the appropriate button in the toolbar, choosing a function from the menu, or right-clicking anywhere in the Reports Explorer and choosing the desired function from the shortcut menu that appears.

You can resize the Reports Explorer window by clicking the lower right corner of the window and dragging until the window is the desired size. You can also adjust the relative size of the reports list and pages area by clicking the space between them and dragging left or right. Student Manager Reports remembers the size and position of the Reports Explorer, the sizes of the reports list and pages area, which folders were expanded and which were collapsed, and which report or folder was selected, and restores all of these things the next time you run it, so it comes up the same way it did when you closed it.

Selecting a Report

Until you have selected a report, many of the options in the Reports Explorer are disabled. When you select a report, its name appears in the title bar of the Reports Explorer (for example, "Orders - Student Manager Reports" when the "Orders" report is selected) and information about the report appears on the Information page at the right.

You can select a report from the list of reports in the Reports Explorer by finding it in the list and clicking it. Reports are shown in folders, which logically arrange the reports; folders make it easier to find a particular report when lots of reports are available. To expand a folder, click the + sign in front of the folder name; the + sign changes to a - sign. To collapse a folder, click the - sign in front of the folder name; the - sign changes to a + sign. You can also double-click a folder to expand or collapse it.

When you select a report, you may get a "Report contains tables and/or fields you do not have permission to access" message. This message means the report contains at least one table or field the administrator has determined you cannot access. You cannot do anything with a report that gives you this message.