About Advanced Reports

A suite of Advanced Reports that users can utilize within Preceda Payroll/HR solution has been developed . These reports are provided as part of the system, and include reports for Head Counts, EEO and Telephone lists, to name a few.

 

Advanced Reports are produced using Preceda Extractor and Crystal Reports.

  • Preceda Extractor, which is part of the Preceda Tools suite of application, is used to extract data from Preceda database via a browser, and load the data directly into pre-written reports.
  • The Crystal Reports application, on the other hand, is used to provide presentation via graphs, charts, cross-tabs and line-by-line reports.

 

Once the reports have been downloaded, they may be used as is or configured to suit the user's requirements. If the user does not have the experience to Configure the reports, Crystal Reports Consultants offers assistance on a fee-for-service basis. Training on Crystal Reports can also be arranged through the Education Team.

The reports demonstrate the flexibility available in Preceda solution building reports that are stylish and easy to understand. The prerequisites for using these reports include:

  • Preceda V12.5 or above; and
  • Crystal Reports 2008 SP3 or above.

 

The format for the Advanced Reports (.rpt format) is held on the user's PC in a folder called c:\PRECEDA\Advanced Reports. When the report is selected and run in Preceda, a datafile (in .csv format) is created and loaded to the user's PC into a folder called c:\PRECEDA\CrystalDataFiles. Crystal Reports software is automatically opened on the PC with the chosen Advanced Report selected. When the user uses the icon to refresh the data, the two files are matched and the report is produced in the predetermined format.

 

To Access Advanced Reports:

  • Open Extractor.
  • Click on Tools > Download Advanced Reports.

  • When the new window opens, click on Begin Download.

  • You will be prompted to save the reports.
  • Once saved, unzip the reports to C:\Preceda\AdvancedReports on your local hard drive.

 

To run Preceda Advanced Reports:

  • Open Extractor.
  • Click on File > Open.
  • Scroll to the Advanced Report you want to run, and select it.
  • Click OK, then Run the extract.
  • When the report opens, click the refresh button to display your data.

 

Links to Advanced Reports may be added to the Favourites Organiser. This means that a user may use Advanced Reports without having access to Extractor.

When accessing Extractor through this manner:

  • Users will be able to access Extracts to which the Extract Manager has allowed the access.
  • All the security attached to a user through Access Profiles and Security Profiles are used to control the data on which they have access to.
  • Only the Report Designer will be able to edit the report.
  • Parameters defined in the report can be entered at run time.
  • The user may add a sort request to the report.
  • Reports may be run interactively or scheduled.
  • When a user runs a report from their Favourites window, the resulting output will be in the format that was selected when the report was created.

    Therefore:

    • If they are to access Extracts which have an output set to Excel, they must have Excel installed on their PC.
    • If they are to run Advanced Reports or Extracts which have an output on Crystal Reports, they must have Crystal Reports at Release 2008 SP3 or higher installed on their PC.
    • If hey are to access Extracts which have an output set to .pdf format, they must have PDF reader installed.
    • This should be taken into account when access to the reports is set up.