Post on 16-Jan-2016
transcript
Chuck’s Academy of
Function Academy
An ACEware Webinar
Welcome from Jacksonville, FL!
Today we will dissect . . .
• What is a function?
• What can a function do?
• Writing report functions
• Function writing tips
• Embedding functions
• Common errors
• Function help
What is a function?
Report functions are special tools
or utilities that have a specific purpose
What can a function do?
• Display a field not in the report cursor
• Format information
• Perform calculations
• Do a specific task after the report runs
Writing Report Functions
• Functions consist of:– Name– Parameters– Punctuation
Begin with a function namefollowed by parenthesis
ADDNAME ( )
NICEDATE ( )
GETCEU ( )
Add the details
ADDNAME (nmid,”nmdphone”)
GETCEU (rgcrse)
NICEDATE (cobegdate)
How do we knowwhat details are necessary?
Student ManagerOnline Help!
From the online help . . .Function name
and what it will do
Where you can use the function
You must supply these piecesExtras!
Examples!
ADDNAME(nmid, ”nmdphone”)Function name
Beginning parenthesis
First required parameter (from which table do you want to pull the information)
Comma
Opening quotes
Second parameter (which fielddo you want to pull)
Closing quotes
Ending parenthesis
A few tips to remember
Parameters are always separated by commas
Use opening and closing parentheses to begin and
end parameters
Single quotes or double quotes are acceptable
You can combine or embed functions
Commonly you will need to include a field not in the cursor, and format the same field.
NICEDATE(addcudfs(cocrse,”cudfd1”))
NICETIME(addcrse(number,'cocrsetm'))
The rules
are almost the same
Common errors
Field doesn’t exist
The field you want to use doesn’t exist in the cursor
Use an “add” function to fix the problem
Syntax error
Usually mismatched quotes, missing parentheses or missing commas
Check your punctuation!
Operator/Operand Mismatch
You’ve mixed numeric and character field types
Read about the transform function!
Where will I find a list of functions?
Let’s look at “add” functions
ADDCRSE( )
ADDREG( )
ADDCRSE (on an invoice)
ADDREG
How do you knowif a field is in the cursor?
That’s plenty for today
At our next meeting . . .
Specific functions
Specialty functionsDate StampingJustDoIt
Questions?
We’ll be back in Manhattan, KS!Part 2
June 15th, 1:00 pm central time