Focal Point
[SOLVED by case] InfoAssist limitations

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https://forums.informationbuilders.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7971057331/m/5897098826

February 20, 2013, 10:22 AM
BobSh
[SOLVED by case] InfoAssist limitations
I am testing InfoAssist for my company before we turn it over to end users. We are installed with 8.0.01M. We can't use the normal InfoAssist Report option because we need to use SET ALL = PASS for our multi-segmented FOCUS files and we can only do that in Reporting Objects. We also need to define a USE statement for different FOCUS files. Again, only in Reporting Objects. But in RO we cannot edit code so that is limiting. I understand HOLD files will be supported in 8.0.02. The DEFINE fields are very frustrating because if you make a mistake, it appears to be necessary to delete the fields back to the point where the mistake was made and then recreate them correctly. It seems, so far, that InfoAssist is only for basic end users and nothing more complex. Are others finding the same thing? Any suggestions?
Thanks!

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


WebFOCUS 7.7.05M, gen 144, Windows 2008 Server R2 64-bit, Tomcat 6.0.33, IIS 7.0, SQL Server, Excel 2013, PDF, HTML, FOCUS files.
February 20, 2013, 10:28 AM
BobSh
OK, I take it back somewhat. I can edit code but when editing a DEFINEd field it seems to not like the changes and then I have to delete it and re-enter it. Also, I can't seem to change the order of a DEFINE field. If I had a new field, I may need to have it positioned high in the list of fields so that previously defined fields can you the new value.


WebFOCUS 7.7.05M, gen 144, Windows 2008 Server R2 64-bit, Tomcat 6.0.33, IIS 7.0, SQL Server, Excel 2013, PDF, HTML, FOCUS files.
March 01, 2013, 02:07 PM
Kerry
Hi Bob,

It looks like you got answer from cases, would you mind to share the final solution with all? Thanks in advance.

Cheers,

Kerry


Kerry Zhan
Focal Point Moderator
Information Builders, Inc.
March 01, 2013, 02:27 PM
BobSh
This is what I found based on 8.0.01M:
Some SET commands are supported but not all. For instance, SET ALL = PASS is not supported. USE commands are not supported. HOLD files are not supported but are expected to be supported in 8.0.02. When creating a DEFINE field in a Reporting Object, you cannot rearrange the order of the fields in the DEFINE. So if you forgot to create a field that is needed for an earlier defined field, you will need to delete the fields up to the point where the new field is needed and then re-enter the other fields. Note: You can create a HOLD file in 8.0.01M but you cannot subsequently read it back in. If you're only creating an output file that is not needed to be read back in, then you may be OK. EXL07 does not work from the client. Editing code and adding a command that is not supported will prevent you from re-opening the program in IA. However, it does give you a warning before saving it and saving the program can be cancelled. Reporting Objects can be used to add the limitations above in the preprocessing area. However, HOLD files still are not supported and the limitation with DEFINE fields is the same. Training classes for InfoAssist appears to be at the 7.X level. We will wait until it is at the 8.X level before we use our training credits.


WebFOCUS 7.7.05M, gen 144, Windows 2008 Server R2 64-bit, Tomcat 6.0.33, IIS 7.0, SQL Server, Excel 2013, PDF, HTML, FOCUS files.
March 04, 2013, 09:03 AM
<Emily Duensing>
BobSh - There is an entirely new series of InfoAssist courses in development right now and it is planned for release in late Q2 or early Q3 (depending on the release of 8.0.02). It will be a progressive curriculum of days from the end user to the developer using InfoAssist. You take the number of days that fits your needs to using InfoAssist. I was not aware of the Define field ordering issue, so thank you!