Configure Report Generation for Linked Pages

A report can contain data from multiple pages. When a report is generated, the generator starts by collecting data from the current page and pulls data from any linked pages.

By default, the Report Follows Link column property is disabled for all page links.

To instruct the report generator to follow a link:

  1. Select Admin > WebApps in the Navigation pane.
  2. Click the Pages icon for a WebApp.
  3. Click the Column Properties icon.
  4. Click the link under LINK TO PAGE column.
  5. Click the Report Follows Link check box.

NOTE: If the Column Property is for the boaReport Reserved column, the Report Follows Link check box is also available on the Vertical View of the Page Columns page. Refer to Configure boaReport Reserved Column for more information.

The Report Follows Link column property can be used to create multi-level reports. An example of a multi-level report is one that contains data such as order headers and order line items. This column property serves as an alternative to selecting the data with a denormalized view and organizing the data set with report groups. This method does not require the creation of additional pages or views, but it can be much slower for large or complex data sets.

The following is an example of how a Page Designer could build a multi-level report using the Report Follows Link option.

Add a link from a Customers page to an Orders page and a second link from an Orders page to an Order Details page as follows:

  1. Click the Column Property icon for the Customers page.
  2. Complete the fields to add a Link to Page Column property that points to the Orders page.
  3. Click Vertical View for the Page Columns page for the property just added.
  4. Enable the Report Follows Link check box.
  5. Repeat this process to link the Orders page to the Order Details page.

When the report generator collects data for the Customers page, the report contains links to the order information. The report generator gathers each customer’s orders and follows the links to the order line items. The final report contains data from all three pages.

It is possible for a Page Designer to create circular relationships. Some circular relationships are legitimate. One example is an Employees table where one employee can report to another employee. A restriction is not imposed on circular relationships, which is why the Report Follows Link column property is disabled by default. When this property is enabled, the relationships among all pages involved must be taken into consideration. Otherwise, clicking Report in the Page Options drop-down can trigger an infinite loop.