Import A Group Of Reports

This topic gives you steps to import a group of reports into your database.

Reports in your Collect! database may be imported from an ASCII text *.rpt file. On an individual basis, this process is explained in How To Import A Report. Using very similar steps, you may import a series of reports previously exported and saved as a single report file. This is a convenient way to import multiple reports in one easy step.

Be careful to manage your report list carefully. It is possible to import any number of reports. To avoid an unmanageable list with duplicate reports and too many unused reports, use this function carefully.

A group of reports exported from a Collect! database may be saved to one file with an *.rpt extension. This ASCII text file might have been sent to you from Collect! Technical Support, from another office or from another Collect! user. If you have a report file created in this way, by exporting a group of reports, you can import the reports into another database. Collect! parses the file and creates a separate report in the Report Definition list for each report in the multiple report file. This is a very convenient way to import a whole series of reports, perhaps a custom project, or samples sent from Collect! Technical Support.

To get the reports into Collect!, we import them from the report file.

Is the report file attached to an email from Comtech Systems? Then please save this attachment to a location on your computer where you know you will be able to find it. For example, save it to your Desktop.

When you have the report on your computer and you know where to find it, proceed with the steps below to import the reports into Collect!

1. Sign into Collect! as you would normally and select Print from the top menu bar.

Print Menu

2. Then select Customize Printing, Import Report Template. The Import Collect! Report dialog pops up.

Import Collect! Report Dialog

3. Locate your report file. If you know the location and name, you can type this into the Filename: box. Or, you may use the down arrow next to the Look In: box to navigate to the Desktop or to the folder where you saved your *.rpt file. When you see your *.rpt file, click on it and the name will appear in the Filename: box.

Report File To Import

4. Select Open to import the reports contained in the file. You may be asked: "Printer codes detected. Do you want to overwrite your printer control codes?"

Prompt to Import Printer Control Codes

Select NO unless you are sure you want to overwrite your current printer control codes.

If you are importing reports with updated Printer Control Codes, please select YES here to overwrite your report codes with the new updated set.

5. Your reports will be imported immediately and a message will show the number of reports that were imported with brief instructions for testing your reports.

Imported Report Confirmation Message

Select OK to close the window.

6. Examine your Report Definition list. Generally, the new reports may be found at the top of the list. Check out the results of your reports. Print a sample to make sure the output is what you expect. Please see How To Print A Sample Report Or Letter for more details.

Tech Notes

Placing reports in the report list

To place the imported reports in a particular section of your Report Definition, open the Report Definition list before you start the import process and select the place in the list by pressing your space bar.

@include files

If any of the reports you are importing uses an @include file, make sure that you save the @include file to your Collect! application's STYLES folder, (e.g. CV11\styles) so that Collect! can load it when the report is printed.

Viewing a report outside of Collect!

If you try to open your report, or print it, and you generate an error message or see gobbledy-gook, it may be that the report file was opened in a word processor and is corrupted. Collect! imports ASCII text report files. If you need to open an *.rpt file outside of Collect!, please open with a text editor that will not change the format. If you open with a word processor, MAKE SURE you save it as a text file and not in the word processor's default format as this will make the file unusable by Collect! Any changes made to the report *.rpt file may make it unusable for importing purposes.

Please be aware that imported reports DO retain any additional settings contained in the report definition's Report Options.

Import A Group Of Reports

Tech Notes

See Also