VisualRep Benefits and Features
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VisualRep Benefits and Features for All
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| Even if you don't use Visual ProMatrix, VisualRep should be your query
and reporting tool for Visual FoxPro. VisualRep has benefits and
features every Visual FoxPro user can enjoy. In fact, VisualRep has so
many benefits and features for VFP developers and end users that we had
to list them on a page of their own. Here they are. |
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VPME 9.0 & 9.1
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Works
with both VPME 9.0 and VPME 9.1 and automatically detects which
VPME version you are using. |
Saves Time
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You may experience up to a
95% time savings because complex reports can be created simply by selecting
the tables and fields in a Wizard. In a few minutes you will be able to run
a variety of reports with a minimum learning curve. |
Wizard Driven
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VisualRep’s
powerful Wizards will guide you step by step through creating a report or a
query. There are three distinct functions : |
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Report Set Creation
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Query Builder
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Report Generator.
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Each function is
handled by its own Wizard. |
Easy to Integrate
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Developers can incorporate VisualRep into
a Visual FoxPro application by calling the report via VisualRep with only
one line of code. The developer could either expose the VisualRep interface
to the user or provide its own. |
Easy to
Use
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It offers the developer and user both
ease of use and flexibility. Much of the manual setup required by other
reporting tools is done automatically by VisualRep. Many setup and runtime
features of VisualRep are missing in other reporting tools and this product
is the answer for that. |
Project Driven
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VisualRep is a
project driven product. It is possible to create as many projects as needed.
Each project can have as many data sets as needed Each data set can
simultaneously access multiple Databases such as Access, SQL Server, etc.
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Multilingual
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With multilingual VisualRep, your reports and queries can run in
more than one language with no programming required by you. Clearly,
VisualRep is now the premier query and reporting tool for Visual
ProMatrix and Visual FoxPro. |
- Application users can change languages on the fly.
- Each application user can run reports and queries in her own
language.
- VisualRep even handles languages written from right to left
(Hebrew, Arabic, etc.).
- VisualRep handles double-byte languages.
- Free Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish translations are
included for standard text provided by Visual ProMatrix and
VisualRep. Additional free language translations will be
provided later. You can, of course, enter your own translations
for any language and any text.
- Changing a language in Visual ProMatrix will automatically
change the language used for VisualRep reports and queries. You
can easily implement the same functionality in any Visual FoxPro
application.
- Multilingual Manager:
VisualRep's new Multilingual Manager is a user-friendly
interface that allows you to easily set up and manage the
languages your reports and queries will use. To include a new
language, all you
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Built in Framework
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If you program in Visual FoxPro, then
VisualRep has the answer for you. It has a built-in framework that can
provide different services such as calling reports from anywhere in your
application without the need to expose VisualRep to the end user. Simply by
passing the report name to VisualRep, it will run the report while working
in the background. |
E-Mail Engine - Email Reports
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VisualRep has a full blown E-Mail
engine including an address book to store all E-Mails for later use. It can
have the following attachments: HTML, Word, XML, Text, Excel, PDF and dbf
file. All of the above outputs could be E-Mailed as a bulk E-Mail or
selectively. |
Use Existing Parameterized Views
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Creates reports and queries from parameterized
views. Just select the view and VisualRep will generate the
report for you. You same tremendous time because you reuse your
parameterized views created from forms, instead of recreating
the entire SQL from scratch. |
Automatic Lookup Parameters
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Automatically generates lookup parameters from the VPME 9.0 data
dictionary for query filters. |
Picklist Creation
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You can create your own picklists within VisualRep without
writing a line of code. |
Creates Relations on the Fly
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Selecting
tables, such as Clients and Order, will automatically create the relation
between the tables. VisualRep will inherit the database referential
integrity and will create the SQL statement on the fly based on the tables
and fields selection. |
Automatic Update
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If new tables were added within a
database engine, say MS SQL 7, VisualRep will show all available tables that
were entered within MS – SQL7. Thus, it is considered as those tables where
added into the VisualRep Data Dictionary. This update is done automatically,
no need to define the data dictionary again in VisualRep. Consequently if a
table is removed from a database engine, VisualRep will no longer show it as
available table within its list. |
Automatic Report Generation
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After the
fields and tables are selected, and the query is saved the report is
automatically generated. You can tell VisualRep the way the report is
automatically generated by checking the “Enable multiple lines” or
Checking the “Fit To Page” feature which will generate the report
with the minimum number of rows by reducing the font size. You can also
generate the report and specify the number of rows needed for the report.
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Powerful Parameters’ Form
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The built in
Parameter Form enables the user to specify parameters for a query just
before report execution. Parameters provide the ultimate in flexibility when
running queries. Unlimited parameters can be defined. Any parameter can be
used in, a Query, Report or both. Any parameter added to a Query or Report
will be available in the Parameter Form. |
Parameter Management Facility
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Enables the user to
create, edit, and implement parameters, whether they are used in a Query or
Report. Parameter values can be assigned in a grid or a drop down list. |
Audit Trail Capability
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Maintains a
history of each set of parameter values that are specified when the report
is executed. Any set of parameters can be re-selected for the next report
execution. |
Powerful Expression Builder
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Enables the
user to create calculated field expression, and reuse those expressions in
any project. |
Fit To Page
Capability
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It is possible
to define the number of rows for the detail band of reports. VisualRep will
reduce the font size by up to 6 points if needed. It has the capability to
re-arrange fields vertically if no room exists in one row within the report.
In this case VisualRep creates as many rows of fields as needed or will
attempt to fit all of the fields within the number of rows selected by the
user. If the field is too long it will be automatically wrapped to the next
line. |
Output Type
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Can be directed to a
Printer, Microsoft Word file, Microsoft Excel file, PDF file, HTML file,
Text file, and DBF file. It has a built in E-Mail engine and the Report can
be E-Mailed to an individual or group in any of these formats. A query could
also be directed to an XML stream and can be sent via E-Mail. |
Can be Called from Anywhere
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For Visual FoxPro programmers, VisualRep can
provide services such as calling reports from anywhere in your application
without exposing the user to the VisualRep Dialogs, Forms and Wizards. The
report can run by simply passing the report name (ID) to VisualRep
programmatically. For example, it
can be called directly from a "Report" button on a data entry form or a menu
option. |
Use Aggregate Functions
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In VisualRep you may select any
aggregate functions just by clicking the Sum button. For instance, an Amount
field may have the SUM() function wrapped around it to sum up the
expenditures against a grouped account number. Other aggregate functions
are provided as well such as Min(), Max(), Avg() and Count(). No code is
needed in order to use these functions. |
Fully Configurable
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The security feature in VisualRep can
be turned off or on for the VPM framework within the configuration form. Any
feature in the configuration form can be also manipulated programmatically.
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Data Source Name(DSN) Wizard
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Enables the
user to create a Data Source Name for a particular database such as:
MS-Access, MS-SQL, Oracle. etc.. It is a step by step Wizard so a user
doesn’t need an administrator to set up a connection in Operating System
(OS). |
SQL Learning Tool
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A user
will learn how the SQL script is created and how reports are handled with
each data source. The SQL Statement can be reviewed at any time while
running the table and field selection Wizard |
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VisualRep 5.0 for VFP 9.0 includes the following important
new functionality and enhancements: |
- Search capability within the
report: Imagine you have 400 pages in a report and you
need to find a category somewhere in the report, all it takes
one click and you are there.
- High resolution display:
You can zoom up to 500%.
- Show multiple pages: You
can display up to 4 pages at the same time.
- New status bar: You can
now show a status bar while a report is generated so the user
knows what's going on.
- Improved report conversion:
Conversion is much faster now to MS word, PDF, spread sheet,
html and text mode. No need for Adobe Acrobat to be installed on
the computer when generating report PDF files.
- Move to any application while
the main form is opened: The main form is no longer
modal. A user can now move anywhere in an application while the
main form is open.
- New report pull down menu:
Added pull down menu accessed right from the report to use
different features, such as zoom, display multiple pages and
more.
- Limit the number of records in
query: Added Advanced form within the query wizard to
allow you to limit the number of records to be shown in the
query, such as the Top 100 records or the Top 10%. That could be
useful if you need to find, say, the top 5% of the sales reps
that generated the most revenue.
- Exclude duplicate records:
Added a check mark in the advanced form to exclude duplicate
records.
- Bind expressions into a table:
Added the capability to bind expressions into a table. If you
select the Clients table, all expressions that were created for
the table will be shown as regular fields.
- Performance and Speed:
Improved the main engine speed and performance.
- Fixes and Enhancements: VisualRep 5.0
also includes many fixes and minor enhancements that
make it a major step up from prior VisualRep versions.
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