DataPA Administration Course

Data PA Administration

DataPAAdministration for ProgressOpenEdge

Lesson2 Introduction toDataPA

© Data PA

Lesson 2 - Introduction toDataPA

Introduction DataPAallows users toeasilyaccess andmanipulate information fromyour business systems. In this chapterwewill explainoperatingsystem files thatDataPAuses todefineand store information, and introduce the interfaces thatallowus touse those files toextractdata intoWindows applications.

LearningObjectives When you complete this lesson youshouldbeable to:

ExplainDataPA fileconcepts.

   

UseDataPA inExcel.Open and run a query. UseDataPAReports.Open and run a report. Createandmodifyqueries inDataPA

Prerequisites Beforeyoubegin this lesson you shouldbeable to:

Open a copyof Excel



4

Data PA Administration

DataPAFileConcepts

DataPA Query (customers.qpa)

Database Application

DataPA Report (customers.rpa)

© Data PA

DataPAQueries Inorder todefine thedata extracts wewill use froma given system,DataPAuses theconceptof a query. Thequerydefines the following:

Thesystemwewish toextractdata from The typeof datawewant toextract

 

 Any conditions or parameters used to limit thedatawe receive  Which fields from thedata setwewish to receive  Thesortorder thedatawill be received in

Queries arestoredondisk in the formof qpa files, for examplewemight savea fileas C:\MyQueries\customer.qpa. This means wecansharequeries between applications such as MicrosoftExcel andDataPAReports.

DataPAReports For DataPAReports themodel is slightlydifferent. For a reportweneed to store thedata formatting and layout information inaddition to thedata extractdefinition. As such,DataPA reports arestored in a different file format, rpa files. For examplewemight saveour customer reportas C:\MyReports\customers.rpa. This report filecontains both thequery, and formattingand layout information for the report. Wewill see later on in thecoursehowwecanbuild a new reportusinganexistingquery. The existing querywill havebeen saved todisk as a qpa filewhich couldhavebeen generated inExcel. Wewill alsoseehowwecan sharea query thatwas created inDataPAReports, so it canbeused inExcel.

5

Data PA Administration

DataPAandExcel

Menubar

Toolbar

Information

OutlookBar

Panel

© Data PA

Opening theDataPAExcel Add-In WhenDataPA is installed itadds a button to the Excel toolbars toopen theDataPAAdd In. If the button is missing, follow thesesteps:

1. 2. 3.

From theExcel tools menu, selectAdd Ins

MakesureDataPA is checked

PressOK

If DataPA is notavailable in theAdd Ins Dialogbox, follow thesesteps:

1. From theExcel Add Ins Dialogbox, press Browse 2. Browse toC:\ProgramFiles\DataPA\Excel 3. SelectDataPA.xla 4. Follow the instructions above from step2

ToopenDataPA inExcel, press theDataPAbuttonon the toolbar.

Accessing theOnline Help DataPA includes a context sensitivehelpsystem. To access help from themain screen, select Contents from thehelpmenu. Thereare threeways to locate information inhelp; thesecorrespond to the three tabs in theHelp Topics window. Tab Description

Contents

Expandable tableof contents thatallows you to search through topics ina hierarchical arrangement. An alphabetic listingof topics. You caneither browse to a topic or enter a keyword to search.

Index

Find

Uses a keyword-searchabledatabase to find topics.

You can also access help topics relevant to thescreen you arecurrently focusedonbypressing theF1 key.

6

Data PA Administration

Opening aQuery inExcel Toopen a query, follow thesesteps:

 From the File menu, select Openan ExistingQuery  Select thequery file in theOpen Filedialogandpress ok.

Notice thequerynameanddescriptionnowappear in the Informationpanel.

Running aQuery inExcel To run a query, follow thesesteps:

From the Run menu, select RunQuery



 Select Next tomovepast the introduction screen.  Enter or selectanappropriateparameter values andpress Next

 Continuepressingnext to run thequeryuntil youreach the Select Excel Parameters screen.

 Select theworkbook you require, thestarting cell andanysub-total options.  Press Next then Finish to complete thewizard.

7

Data PA Administration

DataPAReports

Toolbars

Menubar

Report Preview

Outlook

Panel

Bar

© Data PA

Opening aReport Toopen theDataPAReportDesigner, clickon theDataPAReports icon from thestartmenuor on the desktop. Toopen a report, follow thesesteps:

 Select Openan ExistingReport from the File menuof the reportdesigner.  Select the report fileyouwish toopen andpress ok.

Running aReport To run anopen report in theDataPAReportDesigner, follow thesesteps:

 Select RefreshData from the Data menuof the reportdesigner.  Select Next tomovepast the introduction screen.  Enter appropriateparameter values andpress Next

 Press Next to retrieve thedata for your report.

8

Data PA Administration

ManipulatingData

SearchText

© Data PA

Search for data in a report. TheReportPreviewpanel in theDataPAReports provideaway for searching for datawithina report.

Method

Description

SearchText

Provides a simpledialogbox to search for a text string in the report.

Follow thesesteps to search:

1. Press the Search Text button toopen thesearchdialogbox. 2. Enter the text youwish to search for. 3. Press Next to find thenext instanceof the text you aresearching for.

Using theMultiple PageViewer TheDataPAReports Previewpanel allows you view several pages of the reportatonce. Follow thesesteps to viewmultiplepages:

1. Click theMultiplePages buttonon the topof theDataPAReports Previewpanel. The icon for this is 2. Drag themouse tohighlight thenumber of pages youwant tohave in theviewer. 3. Release themouseand view the report.

9

Data PA Administration

Using theQueryWizard

© Data PA

Creating aquerywith the queryWizard Toopen thequerywizard to createa newquery follow thesesteps:

1. OpenDataPA inExcel 2. From the File menu, select Createa NewQuery

Follow thesesteps to createa queryusing thequerywizard andsave it todisk:

1. Press Next to steppast the introduction screen. 2. Enter a nameanddescription for thequery andpress Next . 3. Select thesubject youwish to createa query fromandpress Next .

10

Data PA Administration

4. Enter any conditions requiredusing the Query Condition dialogbox.

5. Select the field(s) youwish tobe retrievedby thequery andpress Next .

6. Select the field(s) youwish to sort thequeryby andpress Next .

11

Data PA Administration

7. Press Next tobypass the AddMultipleSubjects toQuery screen. 8. Press Finish to createyour query.

9. From the File menu select SaveQuery . 10. Browse to thedirectory youwish to saveyour query to andpress Save .

12

Data PA Administration

Using theQueryWizard

© Data PA

Modifyinga querywith thequeryWizard To start thequerywizard tomodify anexistingquery follow thesesteps:

1. OpenDataPA inExcel 2. Open thequery you wish tomodify inDataPA 3. From the Edit menu, select ModifyQuery

Follow theQueryWizardsteps as youwould to createa newquery tomodify your existingquery.

13