release update v3 -...

Kreporter 3.0 Release Update

Release Update v3.0 October 2012


Framework Upgrades .............................................................................................................................. 3

Upgrade to Sencha 4.1 ........................................................................................................................ 3

Upgrades to Google Charts, Google Maps and Fusion Charts XT ....................................................... 4

Select – Manipulate – Present – Visualize – Integrate ............................................................................ 5

Step 1 – select ..................................................................................................................................... 6

Step 2 – manipulate ............................................................................................................................ 6

Step 3 – present .................................................................................................................................. 7

Step 4 – visualize ................................................................................................................................. 9

Step 5 – integration ........................................................................................................................... 10

Gluing it all together – the Report Results ........................................................................................ 10

Plugin Architecture ................................................................................................................................ 12

Plugin Types ....................................................................................................................................... 12

Presentation Plugins ...................................................................................................................... 12

Standard View ............................................................................................................................... 12

Standard With Summary ............................................................................................................... 13

Grouped View ................................................................................................................................ 14

Tree View ....................................................................................................................................... 14

Visualization Plugins .......................................................................................................................... 15

Google Charts ................................................................................................................................ 15

Google Maps Plugin ....................................................................................................................... 16

Fusion Charts Plugin ...................................................................................................................... 17

Integration Plugins ............................................................................................................................ 17

Export to CSV ................................................................................................................................. 17

Export to Excel ............................................................................................................................... 18

Export to Targetlist ........................................................................................................................ 19

Publish Report Plugin .................................................................................................................... 19

Query Analyzer .............................................................................................................................. 20

Functional Changes ............................................................................................................................... 22

SQL Function Count Distinct .......................................................................................................... 22

Enhanced SQL Custom Functions .................................................................................................. 23

Formula Editor ............................................................................................................................... 24

Changed Options Dialog ................................................................................................................ 24

New Multiselect ............................................................................................................................ 24


Framework Upgrades

Upgrade to Sencha 4.1

KReporter is based on EXT as the underlying Javascript Framework. Release 2.* was based on Release

3.3 of ExtJS. Release 3.0 now is based on Sencha ExtJS 4.1.

There are several reasons why this matters:

- With the shift from 3.* to 4.* the Ext team has undergone major reengineering in the setup

and modeling of Applications built on the framework. This ensures that Applications can be

built better structures and cleaner from an architectural view. While this does not mean so

much to the enduser it is important to understand and meant also a significant reengineering

effort for the current KReporter Release

- Stability and Performance: Release 4.1 brings significant performance improvements and

also significant stability improvements

- Browser Support: 4.1 fully supports all browser platforms. While 3.3 did this as well

theoretically there had always been issues especially with the support of MS Internet

Explorer

- New Functionality: 4.1 also brings new functionality. In KReporter this is mainly visible with

the new presentation plugins where the grid view as well as the tree grid for the reports have

been built reliable and can be used producing proper results and working reliable on all

browsers. Also features like a multi select dropdown have been added replacing some

custom features we had to develop and that is no replaced by standard functionality

Screenshot 1 - the updated UI


The Shift to the new Framework Release also brings a slightly new and more cleaned up look in the

Ext Screens like the example above shows.

Upgrades to Google Charts, Google Maps and Fusion Charts XT

Also the Chart Component that was used in the previous version has been upgraded. On the one

hand this allows more flexibility since we have added Google Charts and Google Maps with very

popular services we here now use to visualize data. The Fusion Charts Option also has been updated

to use the latest version of Fusioncharts XT. This offers the benefit that charts are no longer Flash

based but are rendered as HTML5 using Javascript which is a benefit since this will ensure that Charts

can be rendered on literally all devices and no further plugins that might not be available for certain

platform (iPad) are required.


Select – Manipulate – Present – Visualize – Integrate With Release 3.0 we also changed the way how we look at Reports and divide it in 5 logical steps.

Screenshot 2 - defining a Report

Those 5 Steps on the way to creation of a Report are also now visible in the Report Edit View. As you

will mention the layout has been changed to a Tabbed Layout and the tab labels present the 5 Steps.


Step 1 – select

Selection is the definition of all criteria to restrict what data is selected.

Screenshot 3 - Defining Data Selection

The Logic stays as is has been with Release 2.* but with some minor functional changes that will be

covered later in this document.

Step 2 – manipulate

In this step all data manipulation is defined. First of all what data is selected from the database and

then what rules, aggregation, formulas are applied to it to produce the proper report results.


Screenshot 4 - Defining Data Manipultion

Fields can be dragged from the relationship tree and the modules field repository to the

manipulation grid and various rules can be applied to the data itself. This includes groupings,

Standard as well as custom SQL Functions as well as functions that are applied to the data past the

Selection itself. In the Custom SQL area you can apply SQL functions to manipulate the data. That

code is sent to the database and executed there leaving you lots of room to build custom logic. The

formulas are evaluated as PHP code to the selected results and allow you to do apply further logic on

the results the database has returned. See the documentation of the previous releases to better

understand these features. Also some changes have been applied here to enhance the functionality

further with release 3.0

Step 3 – present

Step 3 is to manage presentation of the Data. When a report is rendered later on in SugarCRM there

are 3 areas. Area 1 is the Toolbar Area (we will cover that with the integration step), Area 2 is for

Visualization of Data (Charts, Map, ….) and Area 3 is a Grid based presentation of the Reports Results.

In the section to define how data is presented that 3 part of the rendered report can be influenced

and defined.

The main Toolbar in that panel allow you to choose the form of Presentation. What is available in the

dropdown list may vary depending on the installation since those options are driven by Plugins

installed on your system. The default and available by the basic installation is the standard View.


Screenshot 5 – selecting the Presentation plugin

The Screen for the definition might actually vary depending on the plugin chosen since plugins might

offer different configuration options.

Screenshot 6 - Settings for the Standard plugin

The Standard Plugin as shown in the screenshot above e.g. lets you specify the way how the total

number of records is calculated (synchronous or asynchronous or not at all) as well as how many


records are shown per page. In the Grid view you can configure which fields are show, which are

displayed as a link, the width in the grid, the sequence in which they show (simply drag and drop

them on another place in the list), the Sorting, how Data is sorted by default and if a column should

be sortable at all, as well as the definition of a Widget to render the data)

Step 4 – visualize

4th step is visualization of Data. This steps lets you define if report data (asides the presentation as

grid) is visualized as chart, map or other form and also set parameters how it is visualized.

Screenshot 7 defining Visualization

As with presentation also visualization is controlled by Plugins. Plugins can provide different forms of

Visualization. The current available plugins are

- Google Charts: a charting interface using the Chart Library Goolge Publishes

- Google Maps: a geo visualization based on Google Maps that allows to Display data on a map

- Fusion Charts: a charting Interface based on Fusion Charts the leading Web Chart provider

Independent of the Visualization Plugin used (a visualization can combine different elements and e.g.

present map and chart data next to each other) the visualization is controlled by a layout that needs

to be set first .

In the toolba select an available layout. In the exmaple shown above it is “1x2” which is a simple 2

visualization elements layout where the visualization area is split in to parts of same width and each

can display a different visualization. You can also set the height of the visualization area and then

choose for each of the visualization elements what plugin should be used. In the example above

Goolge Charts are being used.


Step 5 – integration

Last but not least Reports can be integrated in regards to the user interface and also in the way what

a user can to do e.g. export data, analyze data, publish data, trigger actions, etc.

Screenshot 8 - defining integration options and settings

The list of Integration Options shown in the left side of the panel is again not static but driven by

plugins installed on the local machine. In the example above this offers the current available Options:

- Export to CSV: enabling an export in CSV Format

- Export to Targetlist: enabling that the result of the report can be exported as a targetlist

- Publish Report: enabling that a report is available as Dashlet on the homescreen

- Export to excel: enabling exporting the report results as xlsx file that can be opened directly

in Excel and is native Excel format (other than the CSV export)

- Query Analyzer: a tool allowing when you create reports to better understand what the

reporter does in selecting data and also providing insights into potential performance issues.

On the one hand these integration options can be enabled for a report and then depending on the

option each plugin can have configuration Parameters (like in the example above for the Publishing

of a report).

Gluing it all together – the Report Results

If we complete the steps as shown in the screenshots above the report result looks as shown in the

next screenshot. The toolbar shows the integration options (in the export menu the Excel Option is

visible). The visualization area shows two google charts with different meanings based on the

selected data. The presentation area is a standard grid view showing the field as we defined them.


Screenshot 9 - the Report Results after completing the 5 Steps


Plugin Architecture While in previous versions the KReporter existed in a basic and a premium edition this has changed

with Release 3.0 introducing a Plugin Framework. With that Framework from now on there will be

only one release of the Reporter and additional or special functionality will be provided via Plugins

that can be added to the Reporter. Some we will distribute as Standard Plugins, others will be

available at cost.

This Plugin architecture also will allow customers and other developers to use the Reporting

Capabilities the KReporter provides and extend it and integrate it more easily into their own

applications or flows.

Plugin Types

There are three types of Plugins available:

- Presentation

- Visualization

- Integration

Plugins can reside in the core directory or be added in the custom area (upgrade safe) Each Plugin

can allow user settings in the creation of the report, and then interact with a user while the report is

executed

Presentation Plugins

Presentation Plugins handle how the data is presented. A Plugin offers the basic capability to have a

configuration panel dynamically rendered in the Edit View of the report. There the configuration

options are offered by the plugin. They can vary and depend on the plugin itself. Plugins also can

potentially run without any configuration settings.

The following Presentation Plugins are available with the Launch of KReporter 3.0

Standard View

The Standard View is the default presentation Plugin. It provides a simple paging grid where the

results are shown in an Excel like Style and basic paging is available


Screenshot 10 - Presentation with the Standard View

Standard With Summary

The Standard with Summary is similar to the basic Standard View but allows to present a summary

row at the end of a grid. The Summary can use a custom function (sum, min, max, avg) and can be set

per field. A summary Row is rendered at the end of the document

Screenshot 11 - Standard with Summary


The summary Line is rendered at the end of the report and always shows the values for the whole

selection of the report. In the case above for all 50 selected Records. One field is summarized the

other one is set to average.

Grouped View

The grouped view allows presenting the report results grouped by the values in one field. Optional

field can also be summarized on a group level – similar to the standard view with the summary.

Screenshot 12 - Grouped View

As the screenshot above shows the selection results are the same but the results are grouped by the

Sales Stage in the view above. Summaries with Sum on the Opportunity Amount and Avg on the

amount is the same as in the Standard View with Summary. The grouping can also be changed

dynamically be the user.

Tree View

The tree view is similar to the grouped view but does not present the full and opened report at once

but rather shows the results in a tree that can be expanded step by step. The tree can be configured

to have as many levels as you want and also similar to the grouped view can present grouped

summaries on each level. The following Screenshot shows the same report as listed above in a tree

view that is aggregating data on the two levels of the assigned user as well as on the sales stage.

The disadvantage to the grouped view is that it offers less flexibility (you cannot change the grouping

e.g.), yet the big advantage is that it is not reading all data and not all at once. So the tree view can

also handle significant higher amounts of data since all aggregation and collection is done server side.


Screenshot 13 - the Tree View Presentation Plugin

Visualization Plugins

Visualization Plugins handle graphical display (visualization) of data. Visualization is rendered in a

Visualization Manager – which controls the layout (we can have more than one visualization item),

handles the rendering of the plugin as well as the data update if we have dynamic selection options.

With the Release of KReporter 3.0 the following Visualization Plugins are available:

Google Charts

The Google Charts Plugin offers an implementation of the Google Charts API to present data with the

charts made available as a free service from Google. The advantage being that the charting library as

such is free brings the disadvantage that the charts are an online service and in order to see the

charts access to the google servers is required. So any client running the chart plugin must be

allowed to have internet connectivity to google.

In the following Screenshot the data we selected earlier is presented using the Chart API with two

elements – the left being a pie chart showing the amount by Sales Stage, the right showing two

dataseries (total amount and weighted amount) per sales person (assigned user).


Screenshot 14 - Google Charts Visualization Plugin

Google Maps Plugin

The Google Maps Plugin uses the Google Maps Service to visualize Data Geographically. Required for

this is that the data is geocoded so the pinpoints can be placed on the map and again that there is an

online connection to the Google Maps Service from the Client PC running the report.

Screenshot 15 - Google Maps Visualization Plugin


As shown in the Screenshot above the Data is rendered in a Visualization Layout with two elements

(of different width) where the left element shows the accounts selected on a map (including the

clustering feature Google Maps provides) while the right element is a google chart showing the

distribution based on the first 3 digits of the Postalcode.

Fusion Charts Plugin

The Fusion Charts Plugin provides Visualization based on Fusion Charts (www.fusioncharts.com) the

premier charting engine. Benefits are a wealth of chart types, professional styling options and also no

need to have online access. Also here all Charts are Javascript based and do not need Flash any

longer (as in the previous release of KReporter)

Screenshot 16 - Fusion Charts Visualization Plugin

The Screenshot above shows the report we had before visualized with Google Charts now rendered

with Fusion Charts.

Integration Plugins

Integration Plugins are plugins that either provide additional functionality (like Export), that provide

separate features (like the publish plugin). Other functionalities might follow.

With the Release of KReporter 3.0 the following Integration Plugins are available:

Export to CSV

The Export to CSV Plugin provides export capabilities to allow users to export a report to CSV. If

enabled this will show up but also requires that the user executing the report has a role where the

export is enabled for the root module.

If enabled and the use has the proper rights assigned to his role the CSV Option (Menu Item) will

show in the Export menu in the Display of the Report. If selected a CSV download will be prompted

http://www.fusioncharts.com/


and the user can open the CSV. Also ensure that the proper encoding is set for the user and also that

the export delimiter is properly set in the user settings.

Screenshot 17 - CSV Export

Export to Excel

Screenshot 18 - Export to Excel


The Export to Excel works similar to the export to CSV but rather than sending a CSV file to the client

an XLSX File is generated and sent to the client. This File also ensures proper formatting of fields like

Date or Currency, etc.

Export to Targetlist

If Export to Targetlist is enabled the records in the report can be exported to a Targetlist that can

afterwards be used in Campaigns. The basic Check is that a target list can hold records of the root

module.

Screenshot 19 - Export to targetlist Plugin

The Dialog allows to specify the action as well as further details for the targetlist.

Publish Report Plugin

The Publish Report Plugin allows you to specify if the report can be used as a Dashlet on the Home

Screen. Either the Visualization or the Presentation can be published and viewed as a Dashlet on the

Home Screen. In the edit view of the report the parameters are t be set which view is to be

published.

If the publish option is enabled the report can be selected as Dashlet on the Home Screen.


Screenshot 20 - configuring the Publish Options

Screenshot 21 - Home Screen with Reporter Dashlets

Query Analyzer

The Query Analyzer is a Plugin that shows in the tools menu and allows when designing reports to

understand what the query engine of the reporter makes out of the designed report. Asides showing

the generated SQL Statements it also performs and explain on the SQL Query and returns the

Database information to see if there are potential performance issues and if and what indexes are


found. This is important if you want to analyze larger amounts of data and the report runtime is

critical .

Screenshot 22 - Query Analyzer results


Functional Changes

SQL Function Count Distinct

As SQL Function COUNT DISTINCT has been added. This allows you in reports to not only get a simple

count but count distinct values. Like in the example below you want to know for your opportunities

how many there are per salesstage, how many users do have opportunities in the sales stage and

how many accounts have opportunities in the sales stage. A user or an account should only be

counted once of course.

Screenshot 23 - usage of COUNT DISTINCT

For the report we did choose opportunities, then selected the field Sales Stage by which we group.

The Opportunity ID, the Account ID, the User ID have been added. The Opportunity ID has a regular

COUNT as SQL Function. The User ID and the Account ID have been set to DISTINCT COUNT.


The result looks as in the following Screenshot. As you can see the number of opportunities and the

number of assigned users is the differing since seemingly one or several users have more than one

opportunity in the same sales stage.

Screenshot 24 – COUNT DISTINCT Result

Enhanced SQL Custom Functions

Editing has been made easier since instead of an inline text file that was sometimes hard to read with

larger pieces of logic being injected the editor is now a textfield in a separate window that opens.

Furthermore up to now the custom SQL Function only allowed to manipulate the field itself with the

use of the parameter $ (e.g. formatting a date as month with the option month($)) but there was no

option to use other fields in the same table to e.g. calculate a weighted amount.

From Release 3.0 on you can also use {t} for the table and {f} for the field in the formulas.

Screenshot 25 - using {t} and {f} in the SQL Function


Like in the Screenshot above the formula {t}.{f} * {t}.probability / 100 is used on the amount field.

This results in the amount field itself being multiplied by the probability and then divided by 100.

What thus far could have been done with a normal formula (but that required php and in some cases

might have caused performance issues) or with a custom KReporter field (which required root

access) can now be done in the definition of the report.

Formula Editor

Similar to the Custom SQL Function also the editor for the functions where you can apply logic to

fields in the selection has been changed to a text editor in a separate window enhancing usability.

Changed Options Dialog

What was previous a menu with checked items to set the Report Options now has been changed.

Instead of the menu you will get a Dialog Box to open with the values.

Screenshot 26 - the new Options Dialog

The settings are more or less the same. What is still there but only for legacy reasons and will be

removed within the next releases is the option to show the export option. This is replaced by

checking the relevant plugins in the integration area. Same will replace the tools area that now is also

controlled via the plugin selection with higher granularity and flexibility.

Also gone if the publish report option that is now also available as an optional integration plugin and

thus no longer can be controlled from this screen.

New Multiselect

With the Upgrade to Sencha 4.1 a multi select Dropdown has been added. This is no replacing the

Popup we did show earlier. A good example for this if e.g. in the Select area you did add an enum

field and as operator “one of” then the popup was shown. With v3.0 this is no replaced with a

standard dropdown showing the values where using the CTRL key you can select multiple values.


Screenshot 27 - the new multi select option

release update v3 -...

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