Support : Dialog Search Aids : Successful Searching : Tips for Using REPORT

REPORT (continued)

Tips for Using REPORT

1. Before connecting to Dialog, determine the data fields you want to display, the line widths necessary to accommodate them, and the order in which you want the columns arranged.
   
   
2. Eliminate the records in which the desired data is not available before creating the report. If a field in a given record does not contain any data, this is frequently noted as NA (Not Available). The exact method you use to eliminate these records from your strategy will depend on which database you are using. For example, sales data is not always present in all records; if you are preparing a report on sales data, you can usually NOT out these records with the search SA=NA, e.g., SELECT S1 NOT SA=NA.
   
   
3. Remember to adjust line width and page length to accommodate the content of the report and the parameters of your printer, if necessary. Defaults are 75 characters per line and 20 lines per page. You can combine the commands to change both settings into one. For example, to change line width to 100 and eliminate repeated column headings, enter SET V 0 H 100 before requesting your REPORT. The new page size remains in effect until you LOGOFF or reset it.
   
   
4. Presort the records (see SORT) by some useful criteria (e.g., company name or sales) before using the REPORT command, unless the kind of report you are using automatically sorts the records (e.g., Importer or Exporter preformatted reports with RANK).
   
   
5. In REPORT TITLES if you want to distribute the title list within your organization using ERA options REDIST n or ARCHIVE n, exit the REPORT TITLES menu after using ERA options. If you stay in the menu and display other format options, each of these options will be assigned with the REDIST or ARCHIVE
   designation(s) and charges.

Note: Post-processing formats apply to all Dialog files having the REPORT capability. They cannot be used with preformatted reports.

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