I have a quick question regarding App Studio. We use Webfocus to create custom reports/queries into our Student Information System at my University. I have a fex report that I would like to use to create a bar chart.

[Roberto Trevino]

I know you can make a chart using the 'Home Page' InfoAssist tool. However, it does not let me use an App Studio made fex report

What steps do I need to follow to be able to use the fex report and generate a chart from it?

[David Beagan]

In general I don't think there is a way to do this, although your specific release of WebFOCUS and what you have in your fex are factors. App Studio's Report Canvas tool has more features than InfoAssist report creator.

Testing this in version 9.0.0, Infoassist appears to keep track of what fexes were created in InfoAssist and only allows those to be edited in InfoAssist.

It seems like it would be simplest just to recreate it in InfoAssist.

[Roberto Trevino]

Ok.That is what i thought

I was able to sort of get it to work with an App Studio fex report.

I opened the fex report in the text editor.

I then changed the PCHOLD to a HOLD: (where the report normally sends the final table/hold)

ON TABLE HOLD AS {HOLDNAME} FORMAT FOCUS

and then I added a blank unconfigured graph after it.

GRAPH FILE {HOLDNAME}

END

-EXIT

I saved it then closed it and opened it in the App Studio GUI.

It opens and then it opens a new browser window with INFOASSIST and it lets me configure the graph.

There are few issues though.

You have to make sure all the master files exist in the repository the fex report was from. Also

The more complex the app studio fex is (ie. multiple joins and holds used) the slower INFOASSIST runs in working with the graph.

ex. each time you make a change it processes the fex again just like when it was first opened (you can speed this up a little bit by disabling the sample report display and only work in the query mode)

I can still do the design of the graph thru the text editor and then run it to display it.

[Dirk Kuerbig]

Hello Roberto,

here is an approach that may work for you, at least it is an alternative that may work in some situations:

WebFOCUS has a session semi-permanent HOLD area called FOCCACHE . It is a logical application folder that is available for the current browser / development session.

Idea and sample below:

Step 1

Use your report logic with Join, HOLD, ...

Save the HOLD file not to the server temp directory (which gets deleted after the report is done) , but FOCCACHE instead

You will still have your private session, so other users do not overwrite your file

E.g. HOLD AS FOCCACHE/ROBERTO1 FORMAT FOCUS

Step 2

Before you do anything in InfoAssist, run this main report once

This will generate your temporary data file in the FOCCACHE directory

Step 3

Open InfoAssist to generate, use FOCCACHE/ROBERTO1 as source and design / change your chart any way you want

Save as standalone procedure, e.g. AM_Infoassist.fex

Step 4

(one time)

add a -INCLUDE statement (or use App Studio to INCLUDE a referenced procedure) to link to

AM_Infoassist.fex from step 3

This way, whenever you design or make changes in InfoAssist, you will have consistent performance, since InfoAssist is only going against your HOLD file

Please note: This will also allow you to use the new WebFOCUS DESIGNER tool as well as the chart modification tool

Please keep in mind. Since this is semi-permanent per browser/ user session, you will need to consider unique HOLD file names if you have more than 1 visualization you want to display on a screen

Below you will find a working sample

Good luck, and let me know if you have questions.

1. am_chart_main.fex

TABLE FILE CAR

SUM SALES BY COUNTRY BY CAR BY MODEL

ON TABLE HOLD AS FOCCACHE/ROBERTO1 FORMAT FOCUS

END

-RUN

-INCLUDE IBFS:/WFC/Repository/IBUG_Fall_2020/Community/amchart_infoassist.fex

1. amchart_infoassist.fex

ENGINE INT CACHE SET ON

SET PAGE-NUM=NOLEAD

-DEFAULTH &WF_HTMLENCODE=ON;

SET HTMLENCODE=&WF_HTMLENCODE

SET ARGRAPHENGINE=JSCHART

-DEFAULTH &WF_EMPTYREPORT=ON;

SET EMPTYREPORT=&WF_EMPTYREPORT

SET EMBEDHEADING=ON

SET GRAPHDEFAULT=OFF

-DEFAULTH &WF_ARVERSION=2;

SET ARVERSION=&WF_ARVERSION

-DEFAULTH &WF_STYLE_UNITS='PIXELS';

-DEFAULTH &WF_STYLE_HEIGHT='405.0';

-DEFAULTH &WF_STYLE_WIDTH='770.0';

-DEFAULTH &WF_TITLE='WebFOCUS Report';

GRAPH FILE foccache/roberto1

-* Created by Info Assist for Graph

SUM ROBERTO1.SEG01.SALES

BY ROBERTO1.SEG01.CAR

ON GRAPH PCHOLD FORMAT JSCHART

ON GRAPH SET VZERO OFF

ON GRAPH SET UNITS &WF_STYLE_UNITS

ON GRAPH SET HAXIS &WF_STYLE_WIDTH

ON GRAPH SET VAXIS &WF_STYLE_HEIGHT

ON GRAPH SET LOOKGRAPH BAR

ON GRAPH SET AUTOFIT ON

ON GRAPH SET STYLE *

*GRAPH_SCRIPT

setPieDepth(0);

setPieTilt(0);

setDepthRadius(0); 

setCurveFitEquationDisplay(false); 

setPlace(true); 

*END

INCLUDE=IBFS:/FILE/IBI_HTML_DIR/ibi_themes/Warm.sty,$

TYPE=REPORT, TITLETEXT=&WF_TITLE.QUOTEDSTRING, ORIENTATION=LANDSCAPE, $

TYPE=DATA, COLUMN=N1, BUCKET=x-axis, $

TYPE=DATA, COLUMN=N2, BUCKET=y-axis, $

*GRAPH_SCRIPT

setReportParsingErrors(false);

setSelectionEnableMove(false);

*END

ENDSTYLE

END

-RUN