Summary

The QBE Builder reporting tool is used to create customized reports in the Project Management module. Reports are created in the QBE Builder by selecting columns, creating arguments to remove records (such as Transaction Date < 01/01/2021), selecting how the report will group and sort, and then defining the totals that will display on the report. After the report has been created, it can be printed out or exported into an MS Excel, MS Access or CSV format. Reports that have been created using the QBE Builder tool can be saved and generated at any point.

This document will cover how to create a specific example report that provides an explanation of primary tables, secondary tables, arguments and totals. When creating your own QBE reports, it is helpful to know the general structure of the database and how the information entered into the fields on a window will be stored in the database fields and tables.

The Table/Field help feature (Help> Table/Field) is designed to be used in conjunction with database security (SS> Security> DB Security), but it can be helpful when building QBE Reports to help you determine where the information entered into a field on a window is stored. This tool will not always be helpful because it will display the exact name of the table and field where the information is stored, but QBE Builder uses simplified and more intuitive field and table names.

The report we will create in this example is a simple LEMS Code filtered Task by Date report. Every module with a QBE reporting tool offers a different example report, so if the report you want to create is different or more complicated than the report created in this example, refer to the QBE examples in other modules for more help. The QBE Report feature works the same in all of the modules, but the information that is available to report on is different from module to module.

Step by Step

1     View the QBE Reports.

• Open the QBE Maintenance window (PM> Maintenance> Query by Example).
• The QBE Maintenance window will display all of the reports that have been created in the PM module. Select a report in the left section of the window and the customized report information will populate in the right section of the window just like many of the other maintenance windows in the application.
• Highlight a report and press DELETE to delete the highlighted report.
• Click the Create icon or press INSERT to create a new QBE report.
• Highlight a report and click the Print icon to print an existing QBE report. The QBE report will be generated as soon as the resources are available on the server. You can view the progress of the print job using the Jobs Viewer window (Jobs Viewer icon   on the main application window).
• Highlight a report and click the Export icon drop-down and select Export Report to export the highlighted report data.
• Highlight a report and click the Export icon drop-down and select Export Definition to export the report definitions of the highlighted report. This exported report definition file can then be imported using the Import icon. This allows organizations to share QBE reports.

2     Select the tables that contain the information you would like to include on the report.

• The first step in creating a customized report is selecting the information you would like to display on the report. Information in a database is organized into tables and fields. Fields are used to store specific information, such as customer names. Fields are then grouped into tables. For example, a grouping could consist of a customer table that contains all of the general customer information, such as address and phone number. When information is entered into a window in the application, that information is stored in a specific field within a specific table. When creating a QBE report, select the tables that contain the information you would like to include on the report and then select the fields.
• Select a table from the Table Name drop-down menu in the Primary Table section. The Available Fields section will populate with the fields grouped into that table. If the table you select does not contain all of the fields you want to report on you will have to select a secondary table.
• Some tables in the database are linked together because they share a common field called a key. The key connects the data in the two tables together and defines how the data in one table is related to the data in another table. If the table you selected in the Table Name drop-down menu in the Primary Table section is linked to other tables, you can select a secondary table in the Secondary Table section. As you select a secondary table from the Table Name drop-down menu, new fields will be added at the bottom of the Available Fields section. If you need information from two different tables, but those tables are not linked together, you will not be able to create the report.
• From the Table Name drop-down menu in the Primary Table section, select Task.

3     Select the fields you would like to include in the report.

• After you have selected the tables you can pull the fields from those tables onto the report. Check the toggles of the fields you would like to include on the report in the Available Fields section. Only fields with a check will display on the report.
• In the Available Fields section, check PM Task ID, Description, Project, Begin Date and End Date.

4     Create a filter argument for the report.

• The fields below the Table Name drop-down menu are used to create an argument that will filter the information that will display on the report. These arguments are limited to 2048 characters.
  • Select Begin Date from the first drop-down menu directly below the Table Name field. Selecting a value for this field activates the two fields to the right.
  • The next field contains the operators that will give the argument meaning. Select >= from this drop-down menu.
  • Enter January 1st of the current year in the third argument field.
  • Click the Add button to save the argument to the Primary Table field.
  • Click the Test Query icon to confirm that the query is valid.
• The AND and OR buttons will be enabled after you add the argument to the report. The AND and OR buttons are used to link the conditions of an argument together so you can build more complicated filtering.
  • Click the AND button to add another condition to the argument.
  • Select End Date from the first drop-down menu directly below the Table Name field. Selecting a value for this field activates the two fields to the right.
  • The next field contains the operators that will give the argument meaning. Select<= from this drop-down menu.
  • Enter today's date in the third argument field.
  • Click the Add button to save the linked argument to the Primary Table field.
  • We now have an argument that will return only PM Tasks that began on or after January 1st and ended on or before today.
• Enter the arguments in the Secondary Table section.
  • When you enter an argument in the Primary Table and the Secondary Table section the arguments will be joined with an AND statement, meaning records must meet the conditions in both section before they will display on the report.
    • Select LEMS Code from the first drop-down menu directly below the Table Name field. Selecting a value for this field activates the two fields to the right.
    • The next field contains the operators that will give the argument meaning. Select Equals from this drop-down menu.
    • Type M in the third argument field.
    • Click the Add button to save the argument to the Secondary Table field.
  • The AND and OR buttons will be enabled after you add the argument to the report. The AND and OR buttons are used to link the conditions of an argument together so you can build more complicated filtering.
    • Our example does not use an additional condition for the Secondary Table.
    • The brackets are used to define the order in which the AND and OR statements will be applied. Arguments within brackets will be calculated before arguments outside of brackets. For example, you can create an OR statement inside an AND statement using the following format: (statement 1 OR statement 2) AND (statement 3 OR statement 4). The OR statements inside the brackets will be processed first, and then the AND statement will be applied.
  • Because the Secondary Table is now active, you will need to select the Available Fields associated with the Secondary Table that you would like to include in the report. Secondary Table fields appear below the Primary Table fields.
    • Select LEMS Code from the Available Fields field.

5     Set the number of records that will display on the report.

• The Limit field in the Primary Table section is used to define the maximum number of records that will display on the report. If you set this value to a very large number (99,999,999,999) you run the risk of creating a report that will take a long time for your server to process.
• Enter 25 in the Limit field to limit our Task by Date report to limit the results.

6     Modify the report layout.

• After the fields have been selected and the arguments have been entered on the report you are ready to set up the report layout. The report layout allows you to define how the report will be grouped and totaled, and also allows you to select which fields will total.
• Click the Modify Report Layout icon to open the QBE Layout window.
• Move the columns that display in the QBE Report Layout section to change the order in which the information will display on the report.
• Move column headings to the section above the column headings to change how the information is grouped on the report.
• The Column Totals section is used to select which columns should be totaled on the report. Check the toggle of the totals you would like to include on the report.
  • Only columns that would provide a meaningful total will be available in the Column Totals section.
  • Our example does not provide meaningful Column Totals.
• Click the Save icon when complete to save the report layout. The QBE report will print in the saved format when the report is generated.

7     Save the report.

• Enter a name for the report in the Report Name field.
• Click the Save icon when complete.

8     Print or export the report.

• Press ENTER or click the Print icon to generate the report.
  • You can view the progress of the report on the Job Viewer window (SS> Utilities> Show Scheduled Jobs).
• Click the drop-down arrow next to the Export icon   to select the export format. A window will open allowing you to select the path where the exported file will be created.
• If your report appears to be missing information but your filters seem to be correct, make sure the Limit field in the Primary Table section contains a large enough number to contain all of the records you want to include in the report.