Hide rows makes display too long

I have a report that contains three levels of groupings depending upon how much detail the user needs to see. Originally I made 3 different tables and did the groups differently for each table. However due to the amount of formatting and scripting and various other changes, it is becoming cumbersome to update each table every time. I would like to use a single table and hide/show the groupings based on a parameter. I am able to hide/show the groups based on the parameter, BUT the pages returned is always the same. This makes a very unattractive and undesirable output when all I want to see is the group 3 totals (5 lines of data) and it is spread over three pages in the UI. Is this a bug or do I really have to make multiple grids to get a "pretty" output?

detail lines
group 1 (totals)
group 2 (totals)
group 3 (totals)
grand totals - always display

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mwilliams

Hi cmrdjr,

What version of BIRT are you using? Can you recreate this issue with the sample database so I can see exactly what you mean?

cmrdjr

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' data-author="mwilliams">Hi cmrdjr, 
 
What version of BIRT are you using? Can you recreate this issue with the sample database so I can see exactly what you mean?</blockquote>
 
I am using BIRT 2.3.0 and cannot upgrade at this time due to restrictions of where we are publishing the reports. 
 
I will get some screen-shots/samples put together shortly, but it will take me a bit of time. 
 
Thanks!

Virgil Dodson

If you are nesting tables, you could try dropping a table with script instead of hiding the table with the visibility property. Take a look at the enclosed examples

cmrdjr

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' data-author="vdodson">If you are nesting tables, you could try dropping a table with script instead of hiding the table with the visibility property. Take a look at the enclosed examples</blockquote>
 
I'm not nesting tables because 1. I have never used them and 2 it doesn't sound like you'd be able to do groupings that are subtotals with a grand total at the bottom. If I can do that with nested tables then that may be an option. 
 
Does

cmrdjr

I can't seem to get my samples to post as the bmp is too large and if I save them as a word document the file is too large as well.

You asked that I create an example with the sample database but I am getting an error when trying to do that. When I test the connection to the sample database the connection is successful. It looks like I may not have permissions on the table. What now?

A BIRT exception occurred.
Plug-in Provider:Eclipse.org
Plug-in Name:BIRT Data Engine
Plug-in ID:org.eclipse.birt.data
Version:2.3.0.v20080606
Error Code:odaconsumer.CannotPrepareStatement
Error Message:Failed to prepare the following query for the data set type org.eclipse.birt.report.data.oda.jdbc.JdbcSelectDataSet.
[select CLASSICMODELS.CUSTOMERS,
CLASSICMODELS.EMPLOYEES
from CLASSICMODELS]
Error preparing SQL statement.
SQL error #1: Table/View 'CLASSICMODELS' does not exist.

Christine

cmrdjr

I have put three screen shots in the attached zip file. One shows all detail rows (nothing hidden - details.bmp) another shows what happens when I hide the details (hideDetail.bmp) and the third is a shot of what I want (hideDetail_whatIwant.bmp).

Since I am unfamiliar with the sample database and I am having trouble getting connected, I put the screen shot with my data and report design together. Please let me know if more information is needed.

Thanks

Christine

mwilliams

Christine,

Whatever you have in your report that is causing the space between groups just needs to be hidden when you do the hide detail report. It may be the group footer or something like that. If you attach your actual report design, I might be able to see more of what the cause could be if this doesn't help.

cmrdjr

Hope this helps as I do not think that I am adding extra spaces to the items...

Not sure if this matters, but when I am in Eclipse and I use the Preview tab the display is as I wish it to be viewed, but when I use the Web Viewer (which is how my end users will use the report) The display is squirley. It's like it keeps the lines in the output but just makes them invisible. The lines don't actually 'go away'

mwilliams

Christine,

Is the hidedetail image from the .zip file from the web viewer? It looks like it only skips one space. The only extra line I see that you have is the group3 header line, but it looks like you hide that when you get a certain parameter value.

cmrdjr

Here are the newest screen shots. I have included all three pages and all three detail levels. The difference between the detail and the hide group is very dramatic.

These are all screen shots from the report viewer whereas the other screen shots are from an export to Word. Sorry about the confusion as I was trying to get something out there just before I went on vacation for the holidays.

Thanks so much for all your help.

Christine

mwilliams

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' data-author="cmrdjr">
 
A BIRT exception occurred. 
Plug-in Provider:Eclipse.org 
Plug-in Name:BIRT Data Engine 
Plug-in ID:org.eclipse.birt.data 
Version:2.3.0.v20080606 
Error Code:odaconsumer.CannotPrepareStatement 
Error Message:Failed to prepare the following query for the data set type org.eclipse.birt.report.data.oda.jdbc.JdbcSelectDataSet. 
[select CLASSICMODELS.CUSTOMERS, 
CLASSICMODELS.EMPLOYEES 
from CLASSICMODELS] 
Error preparing SQL statement. 
SQL error #1: Table/View 'CLASSICMODELS' does not exist. </blockquote>
 
I realized I hadn't commented on this earlier. The SQL you used here won't work because CLASSICMODELS.EMPLOYEES...etc are the tables, not just CLASSICMODELS. You'd have to do something like: 
 
select * 
from CLASSICMODELS.CUSTOMERS 
 
-OR- 
 
select CLASSICMODELS.CUSTOMERS.CUSTOMERNAME, 
etc... 
from CLASSICMODELS.CUSTOMERS 
 
 
 
As for you images, are you using any page breaking on your groups or anything like that?

cmrdjr

Thanks for the help on the sample database that worked. I'll try to put something together with this data...

All my page breaking is set on auto. The crazy thing is that the look is correct when I use the preview. As with other items the Preview window and the Web Viewer do something or use something different for the rendering.

mwilliams

Christine,

The web viewer is HTML but has page breaks and such. The preview is just a straight HTML version of your data.

cmrdjr

So it seems that since the rows are there, but hidden, the page break locations are still in the same place as if the rows were not hidden. HMMM Is this a bug or do I need to do something to the page breaks?

mwilliams

Christine,

You could try messing with the page break interval. Try different values like 0, 100, etc. See how different values affect the report output. I would say it is definitely a bug. I'll do a quick search of the bugs to see if I find one related. If not, I'll send you a link so you can report it. You can find the page break interval by selecting the table and going to the page break section of the property editor.

cmrdjr

I set the Page Break Interval at '0' and that seems to have fixed the issue. I now have to scroll down instead of using the page arrows, but I think that is okay with the end user.

So is this still a bug or just a lesson learned?

Thanks so much for all your help!!

Christine

mwilliams

Christine, 
 
It definitely sounds like a bug. I haven't had time to search the bugs yet. Please search the bugs at <a class='bbc_url' href='http://www.eclipse.org/birt/phoenix/reportabug.php'>BIRT: Reporting Bugs and Requesting Enhancements</a>. If you don't see a bug for this issue, please report one. Also, if you could, post any bug info you find in this thread for future reference. Thanks!

cmrdjr

I have submitted a bug report for this issue... 
Summary "Hiding rows skews page breaks" 
Bug ID 262590 (<a class='bbc_url' href='https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=262590'>https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=262590</a>)

mwilliams

Thanks, cmrdjr.