1. On the Report Painter screen, choose Report ® Create.

The Report Painter: Create Report screen appears.



You can also define a Report Painter report from any Report Writer reporting screen by choosing Report Writer ® Report Painter ® Create report.

2. Enter the name of the library that the report is to use and a name and description for the report.
3. If you want to create your report using an existing report as a reference, enter the name of the report that you want to copy.

Both reports must use the same library.

4. Choose Continue.

The next screen displays an empty report containing four rows and four columns, that is, the basic structure for a report. You define your report on this screen.

5. Enter or change the description for the report by double-clicking the report description field.

Position the cursor on the element you want to define and choose Edit ® Element ® Define element, or double-click the element. A series of dialog boxes is displayed in which you define the element.

You are creating a Report Painter report and want to define the first column:

1. Position the cursor on the column and choose Edit ® Element ® Define element.
2. A dialog box appears in which you choose whether you want to enter a key figure with characteristics or predefined columns in the report column.

In this example, we are using a key figure with characteristics.

3. Select Key figure with characteristics and choose Confirm.

The following dialog box lists all key figures selected for the library that your report uses.

4. Select the key figure that you want to use in your report and choose Confirm.

The following dialog box lists all characteristics that can be entered in the column. These are the characteristics selected for the library that your report uses. The order in which the characteristics appear in the selection list is determined by the Position field in the library definition. This allows you to place the characteristics that you use regularly in your reports at the beginning of the selection lists.

5. Select the characteristic(s) that you want to enter in the column and choose Confirm.
6. In the following dialog box, enter the values for the chosen characteristic(s) and choose Confirm.

You can enter individual values, intervals of values, or groups for the chosen characteristic(s).

If you want to define all possible values for the chosen characteristic(s), enter an asterisk (*).

If you want to define an initial value for the chosen characteristic(s), enter the character #.

When you enter values for the chosen characteristic(s), you can use the Refresh function to display the texts defined for the values and/or variables you entered.

7. If you want to enter a variable instead of entering a specific characteristic value:

a) Position the cursor on the relevant entry field and choose Variable on/off.

An icon appears before the field, and the field size is adjusted accordingly.

b) Enter the name of the variable and choose Confirm.



You can only enter variables that already exist in your system.

For more information about variables, see Variables: Introduction .

8. In the following dialog box, enter three texts, which describe the element. If the element is new, the text from the ‘From’ characteristic of the first characteristic appears as the default. You can later decide which of the texts (short, medium or long text) you want to use as the column heading (refer to Formatting Rows and Columns).

If you want to later change the text you entered for the report column, you can simply overtype the column text or position the cursor on the column element and choose Edit ® Element ® Change text.



Beginning with Release 3.0C, you can use variables in your column headings. The variables are replaced with the default variable value when you execute your report if the column text type Key is selected in the report’s standard layout (Column Texts screen).

You enter the variable in the dialog box for the three texts describing the report column. To enter a variable as a column heading, enter & and the name of the variable.

For example, your report uses the value variable &PERIOD for the characteristic period and you want to display the current value for the period in a column heading. You enter the variable &PERIOD in the column heading of your report. If the column text type Key is selected in your report’s standard layout, the variable &PERIOD is replaced with the period value (for example, 5 ) when you execute the report. The period description is printed for all other column text types (for example, May).

Using the Formatting ® All columns ® Text length function, you can determine which of the texts you want to use as the column heading.

9. Define the second report column as described in steps one to eight.

The dialog box in step two prompts you to define the column as a key figure with characteristics, a predefined column, or formula.



When you define other elements in your report rows or columns, you can do so using the Select and Copy functions. Select the element that you want to copy, position the cursor on the row or column where you want to insert the copied entry, and choose Edit ® Selected area ® Copy. You can then change the copied element as desired.

10. If you want to define the second report column using a formula:

The options under Edit ® Rows allow you to select a variety of special functions for editing report rows. The Get row model option inserts a predefined row structure in your report rows. For more information, see Defining Row and Column Models. Insert blank line inserts a blank line in the current row (where the cursor is positioned).

The Edit ® Rows ® Hide function hides the report row on which the cursor is positioned. The hidden row retains its content and can still be used in formulas. You can edit hidden rows by choosing Hidden rows ® Change. You can also delete and display the hidden rows (Delete and Show functions).

The Edit ® Rows ® Explode function expands the hierarchical levels of the group/value interval defined for the row characteristic. For more information, see Exploding Report Rows .

The options under Edit ® Columns allow you to select a variety of special functions for editing report columns. The Get column model option inserts a predefined column structure in your report columns. For more information, see Defining Row and Column Models.

The Edit ® Columns ® Hide function hides the report column on which the cursor is positioned. You can process hidden columns in the same manner as the hidden rows.

For more information, see Using Formula Variables in Reports: Examples .