Adding Fields to Sections

The following field types can be added to any section:

Dataset fields
Expression fields
Constant fields
Variable fields

Adding fields to sections is done by selecting a section within the Sections area, then clicking the Fields tab within the Configure Section area. Click the plus button to add a dataset field, or click the arrow to the right of the plus button to view a list of all field types that can be added. Then select the field type that you wish to add to the selected section

Before dataset fields can be added, the datasets must exist within the Datasets area. See Adding Datasets for a description of how to add datasets.

This image shows the Report Editor with a Detail Section selected. The Fields tab is selected which includes options to Add Dataset field, Add Expression field, Add EZ Expression field, Add Constant Field, and Add Variable Field.

Fields can also be added by right-clicking anywhere within the Fields tab. A menu listing field types that can be added (shown above) will be displayed where you can select the desired field to be added. Fields can also be added by dragging a field (or multiple fields via CTRL-click) from the Datasets area into the Fields area, or double-clicking a field displayed in the Datasets area. If you add a field by dragging it, you will need to select the field in order to have its properties displayed. This is not required when adding fields using the other methods.

Note the Add EZ Expression Field selection. Use of this selection provides a list of the most commonly used functions and allows you to create expression fields more quickly than if selecting Add Expression Field.

Add Dataset Field

This image shows the Report Editor with a Detail Section Selected and the Fields tab selected. The Pick a Field dialog box is shown which contains the list of Datasets with associated tables.

After selecting Add Dataset Field the "Pick a field" dialog box is displayed where you select the field from any of the listed datasets. Double-click on the desired field to add the field to the section. Or you can single-click then click the OK button. The added fields are then displayed as shown in the figure below.

This image shows the Fields tab selected which contains options for adding fields, specifying the field name, width, alignment, prefix, postfix, padding, Formatting Mask and Dataset Field Name

Dataset fields can also be added by selecting a field from the Datasets area and dragging it to the Configure Section area. You can select multiple fields by holding down the SHIFT key then drag the fields. Fields can also be added by double-clicking the field from within the Datasets area.

After the dataset fields have been added, the following items are available for configuring the fields.

Field	Description
Name	The field name obtained from the dataset. The name can be changed, if desired.
Width	This field is only visible for fixed width reports and is used to enter the appropriate field width. If the width is set to 0, the field will behave like a variable-width field, resizing to fit the data.
Prefix	Entering a string in this field will place the string in front of the field's value.
Postfix	Entering a string in this field will place the string after the field's value.
Formatting Mask	Click the ellipsis to display the Edit Format String dialog box where you can format the contents of the field using a format mask.
Dataset Field Name	Clicking the ellipsis displays the "Pick a field "dialog box where you can choose another dataset field to replace the current field.
Alignment	This field is visible only for fixed width reports and is used to specify left or right alignment.
XML Element Name	For XML formatted reports, enter the XML Element Name to include in the output file. If not entered, the field name will be used as the XML Element Name.
Node Placement	For XML formatted reports this option is displayed and contains 3 options: 1) Attribute: The field will be included as an attribute of the parent element as follows: <Parent fieldname="value">. 2)Sub-Tag: The value of the field will output as a sub-element as follows: <Parent> <fieldname>value</fieldname></Parent>. 3)Text:The value of the field will be output without any xml tags preceding or following it.
Output if null	For XML formatted reports, this option allows you to insert a set of empty tags when the data is null. If this option is not checked, the default behavior is to omit both the data and the tags for that record.
Padding Char Override	This field is only visible only for fixed width reports. For the selected field, you can override the padding character specified under Report Options.

Add Expression (or EZ Expression) Field

This image shows the Fields tab selected when adding an Expression. Within the fields tab, options for adding fields, naming the field, entering prefix, postfix, XML Element Name, Node Placement, Expression, Controlled by Detail Section, and Formatting Mask.

After selecting Add Expression Field, the Expression Field is added and the following items are available for configuring the field.

Field	Description
Alignment	This field is visible only for fixed width reports and is used to specify left or right alignment.
Controlled by Detail Section	The expression will be applied to data values within the selected Detail Section. If the "Reset after print" box is checked, the results of the expression will be reset after the referenced Detail Section is processed.
Expression	Click the ellipsis to display the Expression Builder where you can create an expression used to determine the value of this field.
Formatting Mask	Click the ellipsis to display the Edit Format String dialog box where you can format the contents of the field using a format mask.
Name	The field name obtained from the Dataset. The name can be changed, if desired.
Node Placement	For XML formatted reports this option is displayed and contains 3 options: 1) Attribute: The field will be included as an attribute of the parent element as follows: <Parent fieldname="value">. 2)Sub-Tag: The value of the field will output as a sub-element as follows: <Parent> <fieldname>value</fieldname></Parent>. 3)Text:The value of the field will be output without any xml tags preceding or following it.
Output if null	For XML formatted reports, this option allows you to insert a set of empty tags when the data is null. If this option is not checked, the default behavior is to omit both the data and the tags for that record.
Padding Char Override	This field is only visible only for fixed width reports. For the selected field, you can override the padding character specified under Report Options.
Postfix	Entering a string in this field will place the string after the field's value. The results of the expression will be used as the value for the field.
Prefix	Entering a string in this field will place the string in front of the field's value
Width	This field is only visible for fixed width reports and is used to enter the appropriate field width. If the width is set to 0, the field will behave like a variable-width field, resizing to fit the data.
XML Element Name	For XML formatted reports, enter the XML Element Name to include in the output file. If not entered, the field name will be used as the XML Element Name.

Add Constant Field

This image shows the Fields tab selected with a Constant Field being added. Fields a provided to enter field name, width, alignment, and value.

When selecting Add Constant field, the Constant Field is added and the following items are available for configuring the field.

Field	Description
Name	Enter a desired name for the field.
Width	This field is only visible for fixed width reports and is used to enter the appropriate field width. If the width is set to 0, the field will behave like a variable-width field, resizing to fit the data.
Value	Enter a desired value to be used for the field.
Alignment	This field is visible only for fixed width reports and is used to specify left or right alignment.
XML Element Name	For XML formatted reports, enter the XML Element Name to include in the output file. If not entered, the field name will be used as the XML Element Name.
Node Placement	For XML formatted reports this option is displayed and contains 3 options: 1) Attribute: The field will be included as an attribute of the parent element as follows: <Parent fieldname="value">. 2)Sub-Tag: The value of the field will output as a sub-element as follows: <Parent> <fieldname>value</fieldname></Parent>. 3)Text:The value of the field will be output without any xml tags preceding or following it.
Output if null	For XML formatted reports, this option allows you to insert a set of empty tags when the data is null. If this option is not checked, the default behavior is to omit both the data and the tags for that record.

Add Variable Field

This image shows the Fields tab selected along with the Pick a variable dialog box. The list of System and Argos variables is displayed within this dialog box.

After selecting Add Variable Field, the "Pick a variable" dialog box is displayed where you can select from a list of Argos System Variables to be used in the Section.
Select a variable then click OK to add the variable.

This image shows the Fields tab selected when adding a Variable Field. Fields exist for entering Field Name, width, alignment, prefix, postfix, Formatting Mask, and the Variable Name.

After the variable field has been added, the following items are available for configuring the field.

Field	Description
Name	The field name obtained from the Dataset. The name can be changed, if desired.
Width	This field is only visible for fixed width reports and is used to enter the appropriate field width. If the width is set to 0, the field will behave like a variable-width field, resizing to fit the data.
Prefix	Entering a string in this field will place the string in front of the field's value.
Postfix	Entering a string in this field will place the string after the field's value. The results of the expression will be used as the value for the field.
Formatting Mask	Click the ellipsis to display the Edit Format String dialog box where you can format the contents of the field using a format mask.
Variable Name	Clicking the ellipsis will display the "Pick a variable "dialog box where you can choose another variable to replace the selected variable.
Alignment	This field is visible only for fixed width reports and is used to specify left or right alignment.
XML Element Name	For XML formatted reports, enter the XML Element Name to include in the output file. If not entered, the field name will be used as the XML Element Name.
Node Placement	For XML formatted reports this option is displayed and contains 3 options: 1) Attribute: The field will be included as an attribute of the parent element as follows: <Parent fieldname="value">. 2)Sub-Tag: The value of the field will output as a sub-element as follows: <Parent> <fieldname>value</fieldname></Parent>. 3)Text:The value of the field will be output without any xml tags preceding or following it.
Output if null	For XML formatted reports, this option allows you to insert a set of empty tags when the data is null. If this option is not checked, the default behavior is to omit both the data and the tags for that record.
Padding Char Override	This field is only visible only for fixed width reports. For the selected field, you can override the padding character specified under Report Options.

Renaming fields

There are 3 ways to rename a field:

Click on the field then change the name in the “Name” field at the bottom of the area. The figure below shows the Name field.
Perform a slow double-click on the field. The field will then be surrounded by a box. You can then change any characters within the box. The figure below shows the selected field name surrounded by the box after a slow double-click
Select the field then click the F2 key. The field can then be edited.

This image shows the Fields tab selected. A variable to be renamed is highlighted and surrounded by a box.

Data Types

The following icons are used to represent the various data types.

Icon	Data Type
	string
	float
	integer
	date

Notes: (applies to all field and section types)

A right-click anywhere within this area displays a menu with selections allowing you to add, cut, copy, paste, delete, and move fields.
A left-click on any field will display the list of editable properties in the bottom portion of the area.

Need More Help?

If you need additional help creating Extract Reports, refer to the Getting Started with Extract Reports page.