Batch Files in Reporting

This Help topic assumes that you know how to access the Main Report form to either create a new set of criteria or edit an existing set of criteria. It also assumes that you know how to run a report. If you are unfamiliar with these concepts, then please review the Create New Report Criteria, Edit Report Criteria, and/or Run Report Criteria Help topics.

The Millennium Reporter permits you to automatically launch a Batch file of your own creation, and have it use worktables, parameter files and other settings that you have created or specified from within the Millennium Reporter. While this option is labeled and described as a Batch File, Millennium Reporter can launch any file that is found in the specified Report Path location - a true '.bat' file, a script, or other type of executable such as an 'exe'.

It is important to understand that this functionality is outside of the realm of the standard Millennium training programs, and regular customer support assistance. Therefore, if you choose to use this functionality, you must also accept responsibility for the comparable support or training issues at your institution.

Tip: Place the files (batch and executable) that you plan to launch from Millennium Reporter in a directory in either the X:\Inetpub\wwwroot\Mill\Formats (SQL) or X:\Inetpub\wwwroot\Mill\OracleFormats (Oracle) location on the Web Server (IIS) computer. This insures that the necessary shares and permissions are applied.

To use the Batch File output option:

1. Access the Main Report form for a new or existing set of criteria.
2. Select Options > Report to access the Report Options form for this report.
3. Select Batch File from the Output List options.

4. Choose the Export option when no Crystal format is specified option: CSV or Tab Delimited.

   Note:

   When the report criteria is run, Millennium Reporter will generate an export file from the Generic worktable after it has executed the batch file that you specify. It will format this export file in accordance with the option that you select here.

   If the batch file edits the contents of the generic worktable in any way, the CSV or Tab Delimited export file will include these edits.

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   When the report criteria is run, Millennium Reporter will generate an export file from the Generic worktable after it has executed the batch file that you specify. It will format this export file in accordance with the option that you select here.

   If the batch file edits the contents of the generic worktable in any way, the CSV or Tab Delimited export file will include these edits.

5. Locate the Report Path option and enter, if necessary, the path to your batch file location.
6. Click OK to return to the Main Report form.

7. Choose the name of the desired batch file from the Format/Utility list on the Main Report form.

   Note: If (none) is the only item listed in the Format/Utility list, Millennium Reporter may not be able to read the contents of the directory in which your batch file is located. Verify that the shares and permissions on that directory are correct.

8. When running the report criteria:
   1. Verify that the Export Option? is set to the option that you selected in Step 4.
   2. When prompted to do so, enter the export file location and name. Remember to add the extension to the export file name - for example, \\<server name>\Exports\ExportFileName.csv.