Root Collections Command

Use the Root Collections command from the Report menu to select additional root collections and joins from which you can select database fields for your report.

The available root collections and joins are those that were defined for the reporting view your report is based on by selecting valid root collection paths or specifying joins. In the example in the following image, the Clients root collection was selected when the report was created and is therefore indicated as being in use.

Note that Clients is an alias defined in the reporting view for the allClients root collection. (For details, see "Starting a Report from Scratch", earlier in this chapter.)

The Root Collections command enables you to select other root collections and joins on which to report (in the case in this example, allSaleItems is available in the reporting view).

If you add additional root collections, the Report Joins dialog is also displayed on closing this dialog, to enable you to specify any additional join or joins between your report collections. If additional joins are not required, uncheck the Join Keys Required? check box on the Report Joins dialog for each potential join before closing the dialog. A warning dialog is displayed if you attempt to close the Report Joins dialog without specifying a join key or unchecking the Join Keys Required? check box.

For details about the Report Joins dialog, see "Joins Command", in the following section.

To select a collection

  1. Select the Root Collections command from the Report menu

    The Report Collections and View Joins dialog, shown in the following image, is then displayed.

  2. In the Available list box, select a root collection or join.

  3. Click the Add button to complete the selection.

    The selected collection is then moved to the Selected list box. Collections or joins that are in use in the current report are displayed in red text.

  4. If you want to exclude a collection or join, select it in the Selected list box and then click the Remove button.

    The selected collection or join is then removed from the Selected list box.

The collections or joins that are listed in the Selected list box are then available for your report. The available fields on the System sheet of the Catalog of Available Fields dialog includes fields from all of the selected collections and joins. For details, see "Using the System Sheet" under "Using the Catalog of Available Fields Dialog", earlier in this chapter.