Enhancing User Experience with SET Commands in Designer in v9.3.0

Taking Control of Your Data with Ease
In the dynamic world of data manipulation and report generation, having the ability to fine-tune settings is essential for achieving desired results. Traditionally, managing SET commands in WebFOCUS has been a complex process requiring manual adjustments outside the Designer interface. To address this, we're excited to introduce a new feature in v9.3.0: the SET Command can now be accessed from the Designer UI via a dialog box while authoring content.

Introducing the SET Command Dialog Box
The new SET Command feature can be accessed through a dedicated icon on the top toolbar. Clicking this icon opens the "Manage SET Command" dialog box, which offers a comprehensive list of SET commands and their corresponding options. This update aims to provide users with more control and flexibility without needing to resort to text editors, thus maintaining the integrity and re-openability of procedures in Designer.

Key Features and Benefits

• Comprehensive Command List: The dialog box presents a comprehensive list of commonly used SET commands, allowing you to easily identify and modify the ones that impact your data.
  • Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and additional SET commands can be added upon request.
• Intuitive Interface: With clear explanations and default values, the dialog box simplifies the configuration process, even for users new to SET commands.
• Enhanced Flexibility: Gain greater control over your reports by customizing settings like data formatting, display options, and more.
• Improved Efficiency: Save time and effort by managing SET commands directly within Designer, eliminating the need for external adjustments.
• Maintainable Procedures: Ensure the integrity and re-usability of your Designer procedures by keeping all settings within the interface.

Understanding Key SET Commands
To provide a better understanding of the SET commands available, here's a brief overview of some commonly used options:

• ASNAMES: Controls the display of aliases in reports.
• BASEURL: Specifies the base URL for relative links in HTML output.
• CDN: Defines the character used to separate column values in CSV output.
• COLLATION: Sets the character collation for data sorting and comparison.
• CSSURL: Specifies the URL for an external CSS stylesheet.
• DEFCENT: Determines the default decimal place for numeric values.
• DRILLMETHOD: Specifies the method used for drill-through actions.
• EMBEDHEADING: Controls whether to embed the report heading in the HTML output.
• EMPTYREPORT: Defines the content of an empty report.
• HIDENULLACRS: Determines whether to hide null values in cross-tab reports.
• HOLDLIST: Controls the behavior of the hold list in interactive reports.
• HTMLEMBEDIMG: Specifies how images are embedded in HTML output.
• HTMLENCODE: Controls HTML encoding of characters.
• JPEGQUALITY: Sets the JPEG image quality for output.
• JSURLS: Specifies URLs for external JavaScript files.
• LANG: Sets the language for report output.
• MESSAGE: Controls the display of error messages.
• MISSING: Determines how missing values are handled.
• NODATA: Specifies the content to display when there is no data.
• PRINTPLUS: Controls additional printing options.
• RANK: Defines the method used for ranking data.
• SHOWBLANKS: Determines whether to display blank rows or columns.
• TITLES: Controls the display of report titles.
• UNITS: Specifies the measurement units for report output.
• YRTHRESH: Sets the threshold for year-based calculations.

User Interaction and Reset Functionality

• The SET Command feature is available in Author mode and Document mode but not in Assemble only mode.
• SET commands apply at the page level for authored pages, ensuring consistency across items. The same applies to Document mode.
• Users have the ability to view and modify previously set commands. A "Reset" button is available to revert all commands to their default state.
• An info icon is integrated into the UI, providing descriptions of SET commands similar to the functionality seen in App Studio. This help feature remains visible while interacting with each command.

Empowering Users

• By placing SET command management directly within the Designer interface that can be accessed while authoring content, we aim to empower users to create more effective and tailored reports and charts. This new feature is a significant step towards enhancing user experience and productivity within Designer.