IBI Focus/WebFocus Smart Date Quick Reference Guide :

IBI Focus/WebFocus Smart Date Quick Reference Guide :

Date Format Separators:

YMD     - yy/mm/dd
Y|M|D  - yymmdd
YBMBD  - yy mm dd
Y-M-D  - yy-mm-dd
Y/M/D  - yy/mm/dd etc..

Smart Date Format Components:

YY    - 19xx - 20xx
Y      - xx
Q      - 1 -> 4
M      - 1 -> 12
MT    - JAN -> DEC
MTR  - JANUARY -> DECEMBER
Mt,tr - Mixed case
JUL   - 1 -> 365 (prefixes 2 char Year by default)
D      - 1 -> 28-31
W     - 1 -> 7 (If used alone, Else MON -> SUN)
w      -  " Mixed case
WT    - MON -> SUN
WTR  - MONDAY -> SUNDAY
Wt,tr -  " Mixed case

Internal smart date integer values:

YMD, YYMD, DMY, DMYY, MDY, MDYY, JUL, YYJUL - nbr. Days from the base date
Y,YY - nbr. Years " " "
YQ    - nbr. Quarters " " "
YM    - nbr. Months " " "
Q      - nbr. Quarters/Year, add/sub in modulo 4 (ie: 3 + 2 = 1)
M      - nbr. Months/Year, add/sub in modulo 12 (ie: 7 + 7 = 2)
D      - nbr. Days/Month add/sub in modulo 28-31 (depending on month)
W     - nbr. Days/Week, add/sub in modulo 7 (ie: 5 + 5 = 3)
JUL   - nbr. Days/Year add/sub in modulo 365-6 (depending on year)

Amper Variable Date Formats:

&DATE - mm/dd/yy
&YMD  - yymmdd &YYMD - yyyymmdd &DATEYYMD - yyyy/mm/dd
&MDY  - mmddyy &MDYY - mmddyyyy &DATEMDYY - mm/dd/yyyy
&DMY  - ddmmyy &DMYY - ddmmyyyy &DATEDMYY - dd/mm/yyyy

Smart Date Functions:

DATEADD(smart_date_field, 'unit', add_integer, *result_fldnm*) ;
The smart date field must have a day component.
*result_fldnm* is for Modify only.
The add_integer can be + or -, to add or subtract.
The units are: Y, M, D, WD (weekday), or BD (business day).

DATEDIFF(from_date_field, to_date_field, 'unit', *result_fldnm*) ;
Returns an integer value (may be rounded).

DATEMOV(smart_date_field, 'new_point', *result_fldnm*) ;
The new_points are:
BOW, BOM, BOQ, BOY, EOW, EOM, EOQ, EOY, (Begining Of, End Of)
NWD, NBD, PWD, PBD, WD+, BD+, WD-, BD-. (Next, Prior, later, earlier)

DATECVT(smart_date_field, 'input_format', 'output_format', *result_fldnm*) ;
Input is a smart date or literal date(&).
Output is in an old date, or non-date format.

TODAY(tempfield) ; (/A8 for mm/dd/yy, or, /A10 for mm/dd/yyyy)

Notes:

• The base date is 12/31/1900 (value = 0).
• Smart Dates are stored as I4's internally.
• Invalid or unassigned Smart Date values are zero and display as blanks.
• Missing date components (qtr, mon, day) default to '01'.
• To input a Quarter value use a 'Q' prefix: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4.
• To assign a smart date field value using a date &Variable in a (define/compute) expression, the variable (ie. &DATE) must be in quotes to force a date conversion, otherwise Focus will use the integer value.

Ellucian Banner Reporting with Webfocus

So I have been a bit of a transition for the last few months as a embarked on a new endeavor into the world of higher education.  My current role is the Financial Services reporting analyst so I have been tasked with creating webfocus reports and dashboards to service the operational users, department managers, directors, and chancellors of a fast growing public university.  My challenges are going to be learning the BANNER ERP system's modules, tables, data, and realtionships.  This is phase one, as I learn and go along I will use this blog a reference manual for myself and hopefully it can help another analyst who may need to find a "how to" guide in reporting on Ellucian Banner systems using information builder's WebFocus.

Deferred Reports

A deferred report is a report that you can run as a background task, while continuing other work. You can view information about a deferred report in the Deferred Report Status interface window. The window indicates the time the report was submitted and whether the report was completed, and provides Delete, View, Save, and Parameters options
Any output from a deferred report can be saved. When you save output from a deferred report, it will be saved in the My Reports folder of the respective domain.

1. Select an item in the Domain Tree, Role Tree, Folder or List block.
2. Select Run Deferred from the menu. A notification window displays indicating that the report was successfully submitted for deferred execution, as shown in the following image.
3. To view the status of the deferred report, click Utilities from the Dashboard banner and then Deferred Status from the menu. The Deferred Report Status interface window opens.

The status of deferred requests are organized under the following sections within the interface:

• Completed. Indicates that the Deferred Receipt request has finished processing.
• Running. Indicates that the Deferred Receipt request is processing.
• Queued. Indicates that the Deferred Receipt request is queued for processing.
• Unknown. Indicates that the Deferred Receipt request cannot be identified. This can occur when the file containing the deferred report results cannot be found.

The following image shows a sample Deferred Report Status window with one completed report and two Queued reports.

Selecting a Domain

All of the domains that a user is authorized to access are displayed in the Domain Tree by default. A user can limit the number of domains displayed in the Domain Tree by selecting a subset (Favorite Domains) of the available domains in the Domain Tree section of the Personalize Options window.

Depending on how your Administrator has set up your view of Dashboard, you may not have access to the Domain Tree. There may also be a banner hyperlink called Tree, which you can select to display a floating Domain Tree in a separate browser window.

The following image shows an example of a Domain Tree displaying multiple domains, including the Sales Support domain which contains Standard Reports, Reporting Objects, My Reports, and Shared Reports folders, as well as subfolders and report icons.



A list of the domain’s folders and objects, populated from the Managed Reporting Domain, appear in a tree structure. You can access any of the items contained in the domain. When the contents of a Domain Tree change, such as when a My Report is added, the contents are automatically updated. You can also use the Refresh button (circle with arrow) in the control bar to update the Domain Tree contents. Note that the 'Refresh' option to the right of 'Submit' is for refreshing the list of domains to which the user has access.

The icons located next to each item represent the item type. In the following table, the first column lists the icons, and the second column describes what they represent.

Icon	Identifies...
- Reports	Reports and reporting objects in a domain.
- Internet hyperlinks	Web pages and reports run from launch pages.

Standard Dashobaord Look and Feel

This is how a standard dashboard looks and feels in the Webfocus analytical user tool.  The Standard reports and reporting objects are managed by your Webfocus administrator although you have the capability to add, change, and share reports in your MY REPORTS folder.  When you want to open a new Report painter you will right click the selected reporting object and select INFO ASSIST.

Managed Reporting Features

Managed Reporting offers you a selection of reporting tools that you use to create and edit reports, manipulate data in an existing report, submit a report for background processing, and view a report.

Power Painter. Power Painter is a Web layout and report creation tool that enables you to create output and page layout formats. It combines reporting, graphs, and page layout design in a single tool.

Report Assistant. Report Assistant is an HTML-based tool that you use to create tabular reports. From Report Assistant you select the data that constitute your report, create new data from existing data, apply screening conditions to the data, as well as format and style your report.

Graph Assistant. The Graph Assistant is an HTML-based tool that guides you step-by-step through the creation of a graph. The Graph Assistant enables you to create and style your graphs.

Graph Editor. The Graph Editor enables you to change the style or formatting of graph output after it appears. The Graph Editor may not be available with the graph that you run. Your Administrator will decide which graphs you can edit.

OLAP Selections Panel and OLAP Control Panel. The OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) selections panel and OLAP Control Panel enable you to view and manipulate data in your report. With these tools you can make changes "on the fly" and immediately see the output that results from your selections. OLAP offers you many analytical features to help you interpret the data in your report.

ReportCaster. ReportCaster is a tool that allows you to manage and schedule the distribution of your reports. Using ReportCaster you can distribute your reports at scheduled intervals via e-mail, ftp, or to a printer.

WebFOCUS Viewer. The WebFOCUS Viewer displays report output one page at a time. This tool is useful for reports that contain a large number of pages. Only the first page is sent from the Web server to your browser. The WebFOCUS Viewer enables you to page through the output, as well as search for a specific string of text.

Deferred Receipt. Deferred Receipt allows you to submit a report for background processing. Once you submit a report, you can continue working in Managed Reporting while WebFOCUS processes the report. You then use the Deferred Report Status Interface to view the report output and save the report as a My Report.

Managed Reporting Concepts

Managed Reporting includes the following components:

Domains. Domains are the highest level of organization. Domains provide data on a particular topic (such as sales, inventory, or personnel). The data is stored in different forms in the following domain components: pre-defined reports (Standard Reports), data sources used to create reports (Reporting Objects), and reports created and saved by users (My Reports, Custom Reports, and Shared Reports).

Standard Reports. A Standard Report is a pre-defined procedure that your Administrator creates and stores in a group folder or subgroup folder. You use Standard Reports to retrieve data that changes on a regular basis, for example, monthly inventory reports or weekly sales reports. Each time you run a Standard Report the output reflects the most current data, while the format of the report remains constant.

Reporting Objects. A Reporting Object is a tailored view of a set of data that your Administrator creates and saves to a group folder. You use the data contained in a Reporting Object to create personal reports quickly and in compliance with your company's reporting rules and guidelines.

My Reports. A My Report is a personal report you save while working in a domain. Once you access a Reporting Object and create a report, you can save the report as a My Report. Once saved, you can run or edit these reports. No other user has access to your reports.

Custom Reports. A Custom Report is a report that you create and edit using the HTML Report Assistant, HTML Graph Assistant, or the Editor. Custom Reports are located in the Custom Reports folder located under the My Reports tab in the Domains environment. Custom Reports are available to users who have been granted the Advanced privilege in Managed Reporting. Administrators automatically have the Advanced privilege and they can assign this privilege to other users and roles.

Shared Reports. A Shared Report is a My Report or Custom Report that another user has prepared and saved with the Shared Report capability. You can run a Shared Report from the Shared Reports tab. You can also copy it to your My Reports tab and then modify it without affecting the original report.

Note: Although you can share a Custom Report with other users, if the other user does not have the Advanced privilege, this user can only run and run deferred the report. Such users can not save the report. If the user has the Advanced privilege, the user can run, run deferred, save, and edit the saved copy.

Static Reports. A Static Report is a type of Standard Report in which the output never changes. Unlike a regular Standard Report that always reflects current data, a Static Report delivers a snapshot of data from a specific time. For example, a Static Report may be a Web page that contains a report.

Help System. Each domain may also contain a customized help system that you can access for specific information about your implementation of Managed Reporting.