How To Get Help With Reports

This topic gives you very important step by step instructions for sending information to Technical Services when you need help with your reports or when you are requesting a custom report.

What We Need To See

Before your request or problem is addressed, Technical Services will ask that you supply the following information. We cannot proceed until we have this information.

To help you, we need to see:

1. The version and build of your Collect! application.

What version of Collect! are you running? Please pull down the Help menu at the top right of the Collect! screen and choose ABOUT. You will see the VERSION and BUILD that you are running displayed at the top of the box About Collect!

2. A sample of your report's output. Please attach this to your email..

3. The report codes. Please export your report and attach it to your email.

4. The results that you are trying to get -- what you would like your
report to look like or to output. Please give us details.

5. A Quick Print of the list or form that contains the information you are trying to get in your report. Choose Print All Details when prompted. For instance, if you are trying to print information from a debtor's transactions we would like to see a quick print of the transactions and the debtor's screen.

This information can be faxed to Technical Services in printed documents or attached to your email as an exported report and text documents. It is best if you can use a utility to zip the files into one ZIP file.

If you send Technical Services an exported report, don't forget to include a printout. Mark the problem areas or scribble in the changes that you want. You can fax this to us or print it to file and attach it to your email along with the report file.

The steps outlined below will help you provide Technical Services with required information.

Printing Your Report

Step 1. Print a sample report

Print out your report and mark the problem areas or changes that you require. This print out can be faxed to us or attached to the email when you email your report codes.

OR

You can choose 'Print to file' when printing your report. Choose a simple path and filename, for example, c:\temp\myrpt.txt. Open the file that is created and type your comments and changes. This file can be sent as an attachment when you send your email along with the exported report codes.

Step 2. Exporting your report codes

Pull down the Print menu and choose Customize Printing, Edit Report Templates. Locate your report in the Report Definition list. It will be the highlighted report.

Pull down the Print menu and choose Customize Printing, Export Report Template. Give your exported report a name.

When asked to include Printer Control Codes, choose "Yes".

All exported reports must have a .rpt extension.

You will find your *.rpt file in your Collect! application directory, for example, C:\CV11\bin\myreport.rpt. When you create your email, choose this *.rpt file as an attachment. Please refer to How To Export A Report for more explicit details.

Email Information And Files

Send an email to Technical Services to initiate communication using the link below. Be sure to enter an appropriate description in the Email Subject or your request will be rejected.

Email: support@collectsoftware.cc

Attach the exported report file, along with any other relevant details, so that we can test it here.

Getting A Response

A support ticket will be created as a result of your email. Collect! Technical Services will normally acknowledge use this ticket to confirm receipt of your information and files and communicate with you. We will advise you when we have examined the data you supply to us and have determined the steps needed for you to remedy the situation.

Please allow a reasonable amount of time to handle your request. We will be in touch with you as soon as possible, so please refrain from phoning while we are looking into your information.

If we send you a modified report, attached to your ticket, you will need to import it into your system to try it out. Please refer to to How To Import A Report for information on getting your corrected report into Collect!

If You Want To Fax Information Instead

Follow these steps to fax a hard copy to Technical Services.

Step 1. Print a sample of your report output

To print a debtor letter, pull down the Browse menu and choose All Debtors.

When the Debtor list is displayed, pull down the Print menu and choose Reports and Letters.

Choose the report you want Technical Services to see. Print a sample. See How To Print A Sample Report Or Letter for details.

If you are sure that this is the report that you want to modify, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2. Print out the report codes

Pull down the Print menu and choose Customize Printing, Edit Report Templates. The report that you just printed will be highlighted. This is the report that Collect! Technical Services needs in order to help you.

Press Enter to open the Report Definition form for this report.

Click in the Report Body section of the Report Definition form to open the Report Body for your report.

You will now be looking at the report codes for your report. These are the codes that Technical Services needs.

Click on the printer icon at the top of the screen, in the menu bar. When the Print Report form is displayed, choose the printer that you want to print to and press Print. The printed output should display all the codes.

Step 3. Make comments or mark problem areas

Using the sample that you printed in Step 1, scribble the changes that you would like done or circle the areas that are not giving you correct results. Scribble your comments directly on this printed sample.

Step 4. Fax your documents to Collect! Technical Services

Fax Technical Services your sample report (with comments) and fax the printout of the report codes.

Step 5. Start a Support Ticket

Send an email to Technical Services to initiate communication using the link below. Be sure to enter an appropriate description in the Email Subject or your request will be rejected.

Email: support@collectsoftware.cc

Let us know that you have also sent a fax so that we can retrieve it.

A support ticket will be created as a result of your email. Collect! Technical Services will normally acknowledge use this ticket to confirm receipt of your information and files and communicate with you.

Summary

This procedure is the most efficient way to solve report problems. Technical Services can often quickly determine what needs to be changed, when we see the report codes, without having any personal conversations with you. Please be sure that you are sending the correct report and don't forget to include comments detailing the problem areas or changes that you need.

You should use the same procedure when requesting custom reports from an existing report template.