This window is where you create column-type reports which can be printed or exported. A report definition is like a template which defines which columns will be printed in a report as well as the overall look of the report.
Several places in this window allow you to change a measurement. For example, the width of a column. When the cursor is in one of these fields you can enter a number directly, but there are also some shortcuts you can use. If you type the Up-Arrow or Down-Arrow key, the field will increment or decrement the value by the equivalent of one pixel. If you hold the Shift key down while pressing either arrow key, the field will increment or decrement by the equivalent of ten pixels. This can be a faster way to zero in on a certain measurement.
If you directly enter a measurement, you may notice that Fusion sometimes changes it slightly. For example, if you are using inches and try to enter 0.9, Fusion will change it to 0.903. This is because Fusion works with pixels internally at a resolution of 72 pixels per inch and pixels can't be fractional. 0.9 x 72 = 64.8 pixels which rounds to 65 pixels which equals 0.903 inches.
Generally the first thing you do when creating a new report is to decide what information you want included in the report. Since advanced print reports are column-type reports, this means choosing which columns (or fields) will be included. In this tab the list of columns in the report are shown on the left and the available fields are shown on the right.
To add a column, Double-Click it in the Available Fields list. It will become the last column in the report. You can also drag an available field to any position within the report columns to add it. Finally, you can select multiple available fields and click the Add Selected button to add several fields at the same time. Note that it is possible to add the same column multiple times if you like.
If the list of fields to choose from is long, use the search field above the list to enter any part of the field name you remember. This will quickly shorten the list.
Notice that as you add columns Fusion shows the total column count below the report columns list. It also shows the total width of the columns so you can make sure they will all fit on the page. (The total width updates as you change the width of individual columns as well.) Also, notice that the Width column shows the width of each column in the report.
If you want to rearrange the order the columns will print on the report, drag and drop the fields within the list. The first field in the list will print on the left side of the report. The second field will print to the right of it, and so on.
To remove a column from the report, select it and click the - button.
There are several options you can choose from for each column in this tab. To make a change, select the report column in the list on the left and then make the changes you want.
button to insert a variable as part of the label. Put the cursor where you want to insert the variable and then click the button and choose a variable. When the report actually runs, the placeholder will be replaced with the contents of the variable (see Saved Variables Window.)| See the Page Setup Tab section below for information on how to determine which column the footer labels will be printed in. |
The next section in the Field Options tab is used to affect saved variables. You can have Fusion set a saved variable to the value of this column each time it prints a body, subtotal, and/or footer row. This can be useful when you are using inline reports with associated saved searches where you want to dynamically constrain the inline report data based on the value of columns in the parent report.
Here is an example. Let's say you wanted to know the percentage of a certain drug each lot used relative to drug usage across the entire feedlot in the same timeframe as the lot was open. One of the values you will need in this calculation is the total units of this drug used in the feedlot during the time the lot was open and this will be different for each lot printed. To get this value you would need to set up an inline report that grabbed the sum of units used for that drug and pulled it back to the parent report for use in a calculated column. And the inline report would need a saved search so it only looked for drug usage between two dates. You could define two saved variables, one for the start date and one for the end date and use these saved variables in the saved search. The, and this is where the magic occurs, you could instruct Fusion to set these two saved variables based on a lot's first in date and last out date each time it printed a lot record in the report. Having just set this from the lot that is printing, the saved search for the inline report will then use these dates when it looks for the drug usage.
Note that you can only choose saved variables that match the type of the report column. For example, for date type report columns, only saved variables of type Date will be available to choose.
This section helps take the guess work out of figuring out the ideal column width. The two red vertical lines represent the current column's width. The sample text will be in the same font (including style and size) as it will actually print. If you click on the sample text it will become editable so you can enter anything you like. We recommend that you enter some sample data typical of the selected report column or that would represent the longest value in the report column. Now, when you change the Column Width field, the red vertical lines will move so you can see how wide you need to make the column so the content fits.
You can create break levels in your reports and optionally have Fusion calculate subtotals for each break level. To do this, you tell Fusion which column to break on. It will then watch the value in this column as it prints each body row and each time it changes it will stop printing and, if you have requested, print a subtotal row before continuing. One common use for this feature is to print a report that prints a subtotal for each of your locations and then a grand total (footer) at the end.
| Break levels will not work correctly unless the list has been sorted correctly! Fusion needs to be sorting the list on each report column the report is breaking on, and in the same order. We recommend using a saved sort to make sure this is done correctly before running a report. |
To add a break level, either Double-Click a report column in the list on the left or drag and drop the report column you want to break on into the break level list on the right. The break level order is important so you can drag and drop the break levels to change the order if you need. (To remove a break level, select it and click the - button.)
Below the break level list area are a few options you can apply to each break level. Select a break level and then make the desired changes.
So far the only possible report columns we have discussed come from the Available Fields list. Now we introduce another type of column you can add called a calculated column. Calculated columns are similar to normal report columns (you can change their field options, add them as a break level, change their look, etc.), but their value is calculated on the fly for each cell based on the columns formula which is somewhat similar to creating a spreadsheet formula.
To create a calculated column, click the Create A New Calculated Column button. The column will be added to the report column list. As with other columns, you can drag and drop it into a new position if you like. Don't forget to go to the Field Options tab and give the column a label!
There are five types of values that can be part of a formula:
The possible functions that can be inserted into a calculated column formula are:
The date related functions basically allow you to put day or week numbers on a date which you can then use for comparison or calculating the difference between two dates. Use the "Since2000" variations to get a number that is useful when the dates you are interested in might span multiple years. The last three functions are the reciprocal of the other "Since2000" functions.
When working with dates in a formula, you can do things like Last Date - First Date which will return a number representing the number of days in between the two dates. You can also add or subtract days from a date (ex. Date - 15) which will return a new date.
A simple example would be to calculate the average daily weight gain between two implants. In this example, assume that F1 is the first weight, F2 the second weight, F3 the first date, and F4 the second date. The formula would then be: (F2-F1)/(DayNumSince2000(F4)-DayNumSince2000(F3)).
Here are a couple example formulas to help you get the idea. Let's say you were printing a list of lots with their current count and weight and you wanted to see the total weight of all the lots. You would create a calculated column labeled something like Total Weight and then create a formula like this: F1 * F2 (assuming that you first choose the current count field which Fusion represented by F1 and then, after entering * you choose the current weight field which Fusion represented with F2.) If you turned on the Sum footer in the Field Options tab for this calculated column, you would also get the total weight of all the lots at the end of the report.
We'll build on the last example and add another calculated column to show the total dollar value for each lot. Let's say we have created a saved variable called Market Price which we can use to play with different pricing scenarios. In the new calculated column we want to multiply the Total Weight column (which is a calculated column itself—they can be used in other calculated column formulas) by the Market Price saved variable. So we would insert the Total Weight field (let's assume Fusion represents it as F1) and use the Variable… button to insert the Market Price saved variable. After finishing the formula it should look like this: F1 * <<Market Price>>.
| If you just want to display a value from an inline report (such as the sum of a column), insert it into a calculated column as shown above but leave it as the only part of the formula. So if the inline report column value was represented by L1, the entire formula would simply be L1. This is still a valid formula. |
The formula determines how Fusion comes up the value going into the cell and this area determines how the value will look and be used.
As previously mentioned, each time you insert a field or inline value into the formula, Fusion adds it to this list with a unique reference. It then uses the reference inside the formula. This makes the formula shorter and easier to read. If you forget what a reference is to, you can look it up in this list. To add the same field to the formula again, place the cursor where you want to add it in the formula and Double-Click the field in this list.
This field can be used to help you remember how the formula works or to store any other kind of note that pertains to the formula. It can only be viewed here.
An inline report is simply a way of pulling data from other lists to print with the main report. For example, when printing a report from the Lot Center window, you could inline a report from the In Cohort List window. The result would be that a list of associated in cohorts would print after each lot in the report. This can be a very powerful way of combining information for several areas of Fusion into the same report. We encourage you to watch the Inline Report Concept video to better understand this concept. (We also encourage you to become comfortable using child windows—see List Windows—which use the same internal mechanisms for displaying data. The only difference is that child windows show the related data on screen while inline reports show during a report.)
As explained in the Inline Report Concept video, there actually two ways to use an inline report. First, an inline report can be printed after each row of a parent report. So Fusion is essentially printing the main part of a whole other report after it prints each row of the main report. Second, an inline report can be used to pull one value from another list to be printed in it's own column or to be used in a calculation of a column in the main report. In this case you will choose which column of the inline report you want the value to come from and Fusion will use the last value printed in that column whether it is a body row or a footer row.
You can add as many inline reports to a parent report as you want. For example, you could inline an in cohort report, an out cohort report, and an animal report after each other in a lot report. An inline report can also have its own inline reports. This can continue up to 25 levels deep.
When you add an inline report, you will also specify some additional information so Fusion knows what information to return from the inlined list and what it should look like. This includes specifying a saved search and sort for the inline report. A little more explanation about what happens with these options may be helpful.
Let's imagine you want to print a report from the Lot Center window for several lots. Under each lot you want to print a list of animals that have a withdrawal. Each time Fusion prints a lot row, it will then print the animal list under it. By default, Fusion looks at all the animals that belong to the lot which means that all the animals in the lot would print. Since we only want the animals that have withdrawals, we need a way of telling Fusion to search within the lot's animals for those with a withdrawal date greater than or equal to the current date. The way to accomplish this is to create a saved search for the Animal List window with that search criteria. Then, when you add this inline report to the Lot Center window report, you will tell Fusion to use the saved search as well. Now when Fusion runs the report, after each lot it will get a list of all animals that belong to that lot and then it will apply the search criteria in the saved search, further reducing the animal list to those with withdrawals.
To add an inline report, click the + button and choose which list window the report will come from. It will then be added to the Inline Report list. The first column in this list (CC) indicates whether the purpose of the inline list is for a calculated column or not. The ramifications of this are explained more below. The second column is not labeled, but each inline report is given a number. It is possible to add the same list window as an inline report multiple times, each for a different purpose, so Fusion assigns a number to each one so that when it is referred to in other places you will know which instance is being referred to.
Non-calculated column inline reports will print in the same order they appear in this list and you can drag and drop them within the list to change their order. To remove an inline list, select it and click the - button.
When you select an inline report, you can change its options on the right:
Learning how to use inline reports usually boils down to playing around with them for a while. We encourage this as mastery of this feature can unlock a wealth of reporting possibilities in Fusion.
This tab contains settings that affect the look of the entire report.
Use these fields to change the size of the page margin on each side of the page. Note that many printers cannot actually print right to the edge of paper, so this needs to be taken into account.
These fields refer to the amount of space Fusion will place between the edge of a cell and the text within a cell. You can reduce these values to build a tighter report if you are having trouble fitting everything on a page, but it can also get harder to read.
These fields refer to the headers that will be printed on the first page of this report. These headers are always printed in a box at the beginning of a report. If you have added your company logo in the Preferences window, it will print on the left side of this box. Your company address will print on the right side of the box. These headers will print in the middle.
The Top header will print in the largest type at the top. The Middle will print in smaller type in the middle, and the Bottom header will print in even smaller type at the bottom of the box. (The date and time of printing are always included just below this box.)
You can enter anything you want in a report header including a variable. To insert a variable, place the cursor in the correct spot in the field and then click the button next to it. You can then choose from some built in variables as well as all your saved variables.
| If the headers might change a bit each time you run the report, make sure the Override Page Headers option in the Report tab is turned on. See further down in this topic for more information on what this does. |
These fields work very similar to the report header fields just described. The difference is that they print on every page starting with the second page. They will print in a small font size at the left, middle, and right at the top of each page. Inserting variables works the same way as well. There is an additional variable that can be added for the page number—use ## for this.
Use this field to determine if the report should be printed in Portrait or Landscape (sideways) mode. When the report is actually run, you will have the choice of overriding this option in the print setup windows.
Fusion has a default way of printing these reports and it is often simplest to just left Fusion handle the look. However, if you print a report often you may want to pretty it up a bit. This tab makes it so you can change colors, fonts, and many other settings affecting the look of the report.
To take over the look of the report, turn the Use Advanced Setup Settings option. When you do this, you become responsible for the entire look of the report. If you later turn it back off, Fusion will take over the look of the report, but your settings will not be lost so you can turn it back on again.
To make a setting change, first select the report column you want to affect and then make sure the correct type of row is selected in the tabs list. For example, if you want to change the font used in a column header, make sure that column is selected and that you are working in the Header Row tab.
| If you select multiple report columns, any changes you make will be applied to all of them so you can make changes much faster. (When multiple columns are selected, the settings area will shows the settings for the first report column in the selection.) |
The following fields apply to the header rows, body rows, subtotal rows, and footer rows:
If you are dealing with columns in the Subtotal Rows tab, you will notice an additional field called Break Level. Fusion lets you change the look of each subtotal row separately, so when you are using this tab, first select the break level here and then make the font and other changes for the subtotal for that break level. Then choose another break level and make changes for it, and so on for each break level.
The Last Line tab has some extra options that affect the bottom border of cells when they are the last row to print on a page. Sometimes you want this border to be different than for rows in the middle of a page. These settings can still be set individually for each report column:
These settings are general to the entire report and determine how Fusion treats the report in other areas in Fusion.
When you select a report in the Advanced Print window, there are several options available in that window that determine how the report will print. Those options are reflected here as well and the initial setting for each one in the Advanced Print window is determined by these settings. By taking the time to set these up in the ideal way for this report, you will save time by not have to change them in the Advanced Print window each time.
When you run a report from the Advanced Print Center window, the idea is that it automatically knows what data to include, how to sort it, and then print it immediately. For that to work, you need to tell Fusion what saved search and sort to use just before running the report. This is where you do that.
This is a good place to describe any steps that need to be done before running a report. It is also a good place to describe the report and when it can be used. This note will show up in the Advanced Print and Advanced Print Center windows when the report is selected.
You open this window by creating or editing a report from the Advanced Print window, the Advanced List Management window, or the Print Center window.
