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Text File Setup Easily take your text files to another level with Drill-Down Tally's report writer. Anyone can do it with a few short mouse clicks. Let's first try to access the same sample text file that comes with Drill-Down Tally. Just follow the tutorial below. A picture is worth a thousand words. So here are the steps to get you up and running quickly. Here's a portion of what the text file looks like through Microsoft Excel. It should be in a tabular format of rows and columns with the first row usually having column or field names in it but it is not mandatory.
Drill-Down Tally is going to turn the above into the report below. This is just one of many hundreds of reports combinations you can design with Drill-Down Tally in a matter of a few short minutes and a few simple mouse clicks.
Now let's get started. First select menu option [File] [Gateway File Setup...]
Click on on of the following text file types: .csv (Comma Separated Values), .txt (Comma Delimited) or (Tab Delimited). Click on [OK]. We will select a comma separated values text file for this example.
Select the path and filename of the text file you want to create reports from. The directory path is on the left side while files in the selected directory are listed on the right side. Double click on the filename or click on the filename and click [OK].
This is the part where we create a new gateway application filename and its description. The (.ddt) filename will be created in the same directory as the text file. You can keep the default values the way they are or change them to something more meaningful. Just remember the Application Filename must be 32 characters or less. The Application Description shows up in the Drill-Down Tally program title bar when this new gateway is active. When finished, click [OK]. Drill-Down Tally creates the necessary gateway files to access data from your setup information. If we want to use this as the default gateway to open when you start Drill-Down Tally, click [Yes] here. You can always change the setting to open up other gateway files by going to menu option [File] [Settings] and changing the Gateway File Name entry. For the most part you will choose [Yes] and Drill-Down Tally will automatically add this to the Gateway File Name list and open this file the next time you startup Drill-Down Tally.
Click [Yes], if you want Drill-Down Tally to open this gateway so you can create reports with it. Notice Drill-Down Tally is loading the new gateway. Look at your task bar when the message goes away. You will notice another Drill-Down Tally application open with it pointing to the new gateway you just setup.
Let's create a report with Drill-Down Tally from text data.
Click on the first toolbar icon [New Report Definition] to start creating a new report.
Since you don't have an existing report definition to borrow from, click [No]. When you have a report already saved that resembles the one you want to design, you can borrow it to get started quickly and make a few changes to it and away you go. This way you can build your own templates for blazing fast report generation.
Choose the a DataSet to base the report on. Click [OK]
Pick from the pulldown box two fields columns: Customer Name and Description. Each row provides a group level to drill-down into for more detailed information pertaining to it. Click [Next]
We want to learn something about our Customers and Job Description profit. So pick field column Profit and Total on the first row. Since we also want to know the percentage for these totals pick Profit and % of Total on the second row. These calculations are automatically applied to all groups selected in step one of this wizard. Click [Next]
We want to see some detail on how our group level summaries accumulated the way that it did. So we pick Order Date, Profit and WS#. The details level allows you to see the actual base records that make up your group calculations. Click [OK]
Quick start help information. Click [OK] This Drill-Down Tally wizard will make all the entries for you in the top portion
of the screen.
You can align the TOTAL Profit column so that all calculation columns line up. Click the RecordSet Filter tab to enter any filters to restrict your data. Drill-Down Tally starts out with approximately 100 rows to design a report. Then after you have the report formatted the way you want it you can filter your data with the RecordSet Filter tab.
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