DH Instruments COMPASS FOR MOLBOX, User Manual

Page: 177 / 226

COMPASS

for molbox™ User’s Manual
Page 163
© 1998-2003 DH Instruments, Inc .
1
1
6
6
.
.
[
[
D
D
A
A
T
T
A
A
]
]
,
,
[
[
R
R
E
E
P
P
O
O
R
R
T
T
E
E
D
D
I
I
T
T
O
O
R
R
]
]
16.1 OVERVIEW
The purpose of the COMPASS Report Editor is to generate test reports from Data Files (*.dat), view the
reports, edit and print them.
The Report Editor is a separate application installed when COMPASS is installed.
The COMPASS Report Editor can be accessed in three ways: using the [Data], [Report Editor] menu
option; pressing the <Generate Report> button in the Test Complete screen after a test has concluded
(see Section 7.2.3); from outside COMPASS by clicking the associated icon in the COMPASS for
molbox program group. In all cases the report editor runs as a stand alone application and can be
opened or closed at any time without affecting COMPASS .
16.2 REPORT PRINCIPLES
The COMPASS Report Editor is used to create templates (*.rtf/*.tpl files) that are merged with Date Files
(*.dat) (see Section 16) to generate a report. Several report templates can be created to have custom
reports to support a variety of report styles. All basic word processing features are included to allow
custom formatting, cut and paste ability, changing font types and point size, inserting objects, etc. Several
reports and templates can be viewed, edited, saved or printed within the report editor at the same time.
Only the top most file displayed within the COMPASS Report Editor is acted on by the tool bar and
menu selections unless the selection specifically refers to “All.“ The [Option] functions are not file specific.
The report Editor includes a Test Data Field Insertion Tool . This tool allows links to fields in COMPASS
Date Files (*.dat) to be embedded into the report template. The ability to insert Data File links at any
location within a report template using any available text formatting is one of the most important features
of the
Report Editor . Access this tool by pressing <CTRL+T> , the toolbar shortcut <Insert Field Key> ,
or the menu option [Format] , [Insert Field Key] (see Section 16.3.3.2).
The default directory locations for *.dat, *.rtf, and *.tpl files are determined by the Report Editor
[Options], [Paths] selections (see Section 16.3.4.4). Each file selection box within the report Editor
defaults to one of these directories depending on the type of file required. Unless changed by the user,
all report templates are stored in the
..\template sub-directory of the COMPASS root directory.
Reports automatically have the same name as the Data File that was merged with a report template, but
with the extension *.rtf. By default they are stored in the same directory as the Data File (see Section 18.3).
The
<Current Template> selection on the bottom status bar of the main display is always used to
generate a report. This selection can be changed by double clicking the text or by using [Format] ,
[Select Template] .
The COMPASS Report Editor supports Windows drag and drop functionality. All supported files of the
Report Editor can be dragged to the title bar of the program from Windows Explorer. Depending on the
type of file, the Report Editor will either generate a report or display the file.
16.3 MAIN MENU BAR