Hi,
We have a user requirement to provide an additional write back feature on a Webfocus report.

The users want the capability to edit and add text/comments to a comments column of an existing WebFocus report and update it back in the DB. A comment updated as such would be available for view to the next user accessing the report who can inturn edit or rewrite content as required.

The question is - Is Such a feature available in Webfocus reporting? Currently the environment is WebFocus 7.

If not directly availble, can there be any jsp customizations plugged in into a webfocus report to enable customizations?

Please suggest some valid technical possibitlites for such a requirement.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kerry,

Hello, anonimous

If you only need an end-user to be able to add a comment. And then send the report to the next end-user for review.
( And not explicitly want to write it in a database ).

You could use ActiveHTML. This has standard functionality to do such.
Just right click on report item and select 'add comment'.

Greets,
Dave

Hi Dave,
Thank you for the response. But what i require the comment to be updated back in the DB? Is that possible?

Yes,

Knowing what the WF's possiblities are it should be able to make.

But I can not help you with a working sample.

Scenario should have to be complicated, I think.

Output is HTML, add a inputbox, make sure you have a button that calls via URL a fex-file and don't forget to post the contents of the inputbox with the URL.

Some tricky stuff though..
Make a fex that can receive this data and update/insert in database.
You will need some text-encoding to cover characters that can not be posted. Space being the most obvious, but also & and / or \.


I have no knowledge of something like this being an "out-of-the-box" solution.
Anybody ? ( in maintain perhaps ? )

Greets

Use maintain or an AJAX process. See this post

T

The maintain solution was termed Closed Loop BI if I remember correctly, but not straightforward if you don't know the language.

Update Assist can help, but to be honest an AJAX call with MODIFY is the simplest approach.

The Maintain language was created to do write-back to the database from either a stand-alone application or from a WebFOCUS Report. We called this closed-loop reporting. I have a couple of presentations on this topic. Maintain DOES require an additional license.

You can easily create the update screen using the menu driven Update Assist feature. There is a drilldown feature that you can add directly from the reporting tool to launch the Maintain application. There is no easier way to do this (Right Alan?).

You can find the presentation here:
http://www.informationbuilders...54840472361127866341

Let me know if you have any questions.

Mark Derwin

Right Mark.

I think the point is that once you have created one Update Assist and called it from a report, then it does becomes a very easy concept. Like everything, the first time is always the worst.

I hadn't seen Mark's presentation before, but it covers everything you need to know.