Screen References - Custom Reports

The Custom Reports window is divided into two main sections: Field Entry and Report Text.

Please refer to the topics below and the help under related windows and dialogs for more in-depth information.

New (Report)

Click the New button on the toolbar to create a new report form. A sample report form will be created and listed in the Report Form pull-down list under the toolbar. You can then modify the new report form to your requirements.

Edit (Report)

Click the Edit button on the toolbar to edit the report text of the selected report form.

Delete (Report)

Click the Delete button on the toolbar to delete the selected report form. Caution: This action is permanent. Deleted report forms cannot be recovered.

Import

Import lets you import a report form into your form list. The report form to be imported must be an EAF file generated by Express Accounts. This is useful for sharing forms between separate installations of Express Accounts.

Export

Click this button to export or to back up the selected report form. Exported report forms can be imported later, or they can be shared with other users and on Express Accounts online forums.

Preview

Click this button to preview the generated report text before printing.

Print

Click this button to open the system's print dialog for printing the generated report.

Save

Click this button to save the generated report text into a PDF file. Note: If you wish to save it as a simple text file, please do so by copying the report text and pasting it in the text-editor of your choice.

Email

Click the Email button to send the report to an email. The generated report will be sent as an attachment to the email.

Fax

You can send a report by Fax as a PDF file by clicking the Fax button. Your fax settings must be set up before this operation can be completed, which can be done on the Other tab of the Options dialog in the Send Settings section.

Report Form

This drop menu lists all the available report forms from the active business. New report forms are automatically added to this list when the New button is clicked in the toolbar.

Rename

Click the Rename button to rename the selected report form. This must be unique and must not contain any of the following characters: /\<>|:*?

Period

Select a time period for the report from the pull-down-list. This will ensure account balances are pulled from the time period you are reporting on.

Start

When "Select Period" is selected in the Period drop-menu, you can select a start date from the date picker to generate the report for a specific time period. This is also an in-built field and can be accessed by typing the field name PERIODSTART in the report text.

End

When "Select Period" is selected in the Period drop-menu, you can select an end date from the date picker to generate the report for a specific time period. This is also an in-built field and can be accessed by typing the field name PERIODEND in the report text.

This section contains the user-defined fields list. Each row in the list displays the attributes of a field such as field name, its value or formula, and the current estimate or evaluated value. You will create fields to represent the values that will appear on your final report, or in other field equations. Each field has a field type (viewed by double-clicking the field), which determines the value displayed. Please see the Add/Edit Field Dialog topic for more information about field types.

Double-click on a row to view other attributes of the field or to edit it. A row displayed in red indicates an error in evaluating the field. The reason for an error can be viewed by double-clicking the field row.

You can add, edit or delete a field by clicking the respective buttons from the bottom of the panel.
A field's estimated value can be substituted in the Report Text section by using the field name in square brackets, e.g., [Field1].
There are few in-built system fields which cannot be modified or deleted:
PERIODSTART - Start date of the report.
PERIODEND - End date of the report.
COMPANYNAME - Name of the currently active business.
COMPANYADDR - Address of the currently active business.

Add (Field)

Click this button to add a field to the selected report form.

Edit (Field)

Click this button to edit the selected field.

Delete (Field)

Click this Delete button to delete the selected field(s). Deleted fields cannot be recovered.

The Report Text section lets you write the text for your report with the desired formatting, and is where you designate how the field values you created in the Field Entry section are displayed. To edit the text, click the Edit Report button at the bottom of the window, then type in the Report Text pane. Click Save Report to save your changes to the report text.

To enter field text into the Report Text, enclose the field name in square brackets, e.g., [Field1]. When the report is generated, the value will replace the field place holders.

The report is generated as a simple text/pdf file without any style or formatting to keep it simple for the majority of users. However, technically advanced users can easily create the reports in csv, html or xml format.