Time Sheets
Scheduling
Project Management
Dashboards
Geo Location
Clock On / Off
Check In / Check Out
GPS Tracking
Electronic Forms (Compliance)
Client SMS notification
Knowledgebase
Timesheet and Leave Approval
Quoting
Purchase Orders
TimeTrak Report Writer is a fantastic tool for creating custom reports and forms to display in TimeTrak Professional and TimeTrak Mobile.
The TimeTrak Report Writer uses Dev Express and the coding behind the scenes to interact with TimeTrak is Visual Basic.
It is recommended that users are familiar with SQL, the MYOB Exo and TimeTrak databases and Dev Express Report Writing, before creating or editing reports within the TimeTrak Report Writer.
Below is a list of websites that the Exosoft Team utilise when creating TimeTrak Reports (2018)
DevExpress Reporting: https://documentation.devexpress.com/XtraReports/2162/Reporting
DevExpress Report Demos: https://www.devexpress.com/subscriptions/reporting/demos.xml
DevExpress Creating Reports in Code: https://documentation.devexpress.com/XtraReports/115726/Creating-Reports-in-Visual-Studio/Detailed-Guide-to-DevExpress-Reporting/Reporting-API/Creating-Reports-in-Code
Visual Basic Guide: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/
The Report Writer can be installed as its own piece of Software onto a PC or server.
Please ask your Exosoft Consultant to do this for you.
Otherwise, the Report Writer can be opened from within the TimeTrak Admin Console.
Log into the TimeTrak Admin Console.
To edit an existing custom report, right click on it and choose Open.
This will open the report within the Designer.
The other option is to click on the Report Designer button to open the Designer without a preloaded report.
The Report Designer is already set up to pull in two data connections.
One to the MYOB Exo database and one to the TimeTrak database. These do not have to be set up by the user.
Click on the New Report Icon (not the drop down option)
The New Report will load onto the main panel
Notice that the Data components have already loaded, one for MyobExo and one for TimeTrak.
In the Report Explorer, click on the Report.
In the Properties Grid, update the Reports Display Name (Under Behaviour) and Name (Under Design)
Click on Save – choose from the drop down option to Save As…
Save this either on the network or to a local drive.
Within the Report Explorer, right click on the Data Component that the data is coming from.
Click Add to add a new data query.
There can be any number of these to capture different information or the same information ordered differently in the Queries list.
Within the Query Editor, you can run the Query Builder or enter in a stored procedure into the SQL String box.
Within the Query Builder, you will see a list of the databases tables, and under that a list of the columns within that table.
Double click on a table to add it to the selection screen.
Select the fields that need to be visible on the report by clicking on the checkbox.
Click on Preview Results… to check the data that is pulled from the database.
To save the selected fields click OK.
Click Finish on the next screen.
Then the Manage Queries screen will show the list of queries.
If the Query needs to be edited click on the queries … to open the above process.
Click OK once all the required data is entered.
Save the report.
While in the Query Builder, add in more database tables by joins.
TimeTrak Report Writer allows two types of database joins.
INNER JOIN – This selects all rows from both tables as long as there is a match between the columns.
LEFT OUTER JOIN – returns all records from the left table (First Selected), even if there are no matches in the right table (Second Selected)
Choose the field from the second selected table that matches (one of) the first selected table(s).
Click OK.
The tables will show in the display box with a link between them.
Double clicking on the link allows the user to edit it.
Tick on the checkbox of required fields from the new table.
Add any number of required joins on the tables.
At the top left hand corner of the report is an expandable option where the default data query is selected.
The report will use this data and its main grouping information and data source by default.
Click on the Field List.
Expand out the Query to see all of the selected fields.
If all of the fields from the Query need to be in the report then drag and drop them from the Query Name onto the report.
Or drag and drop one field at a time onto the report.
Example of a populated report.
Before this process is started, make sure the image is the size it needs to be in the report for ease of adding.
From the Standard Controls menu, select a Picture Box.
Drag and drop it into the report where it is meant to be.
Resize it as required by dragging the edges of the box out (or in).
Click on the small arrow to see the image options.
An image can be linked to an image saved locally by clicking on the … from the Image option.
A Windows browser will open to find images.
If the image is saved within the database then it can be referenced via the Expression.
Best Practice – is to reference to an already hosted image.
Enter in the URL to the Image Url field.
Then set the sizing of the image, the options are:
Throughout the creation of a report it is good practice to preview the results.
There are two option to view how it will look:
At the top of the Report Designer, there are the two tabs that allows the preview to run.
Within the Print Preview is some options on exporting or saving the file so the final output can be tested.
A report might need to be filtered before it is run, to do this set up some parameters.
These are visible when the report is first run and the data within the report is filtered by what the user selects.
Within the Report Designer > Go to Field List Tab > Parameters
Right click on the Parameter field and select Add Parameter.
The Add New Parameter screen will pop up.
Give the Parameter a:
Optional:
The tick boxes:
Example of parameters setup
Once the parameters are set up then they need to be applied to the data queries.
Next to the And click on the plus icon
Select which data field is going to have the parameter applied against it – usually the same field.
Choose the filter criteria.
To match this to the parameter, click on the pen icon until it changes to the parameter icon.
Then bind the parameter to the filter.
Click OK, OK, Next, Finish to save the Query with the Filter by parameter applied.
When previewing the report it will now show the parameter (if visible) on the side of the report.
A report can have its data organised into bands and groups.
Right click on the Detail Band to see the options.
More information about Bands – DevExpress website
The bands work like this:
Set up a Group to group by a data field add the Group to the Report.
Click on the small arrow icon to expand options.
Click on … for the Group Fields to add in the data field.
Click Add.
Choose the data field and the order it is to be grouped by.
Move data fields into the Group Header to show what information is grouped by.
The Print or HTML Preview will now show the data in the group that was set.
A TimeTrak Report can be formatted to suit the organisation’s needs.
The report writer comes with WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) formatting built in and found along the top of the Report Writer Screen.
Any settings set here will flow over all of the content within the Report.
Each Control added to the report can have its own formatting though.
Users can use the above formatting tool to edit a selected Control or they can go into the Properties of the Control and set the Appearance.
To enter in dynamic formatting then use Expressions against the control (s) (More Advanced Users only)
For more information on Expressions look at the DevExpress Website
Click on the Control > Go to the Properties Grid > Click on the Formatting Icon
In the Formatting Option click on the …
Add in the expression to filter the data by into the Expression Editor
Click OK
A report can have a calculated field added to it via an already created query.
In the Fields List, right click on the Query’s name.
A new Calculated field will show in the fields.
Right click on the Calculated field and choose Edit Calculated Field.
Update the Field Name.
Within the Expression field click on the …
Add in the expression in the Editor.
The Calculated Field is now a field that can be added to the report.
Once the Report is completed and ready to be visible on the TimeTrak websites then you can publish it.
Click on the Publish Icon.
The Publish Report pop up will show.
If this is a brand new report you can set:
Alternatively, you can overwrite an existing customised report by choosing to Update Existing Report and it will write your latest copy over the existing report.
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