Non programer use of User Reports and Queries

Greetings,

I am interested in feedback from anyone that distrubutes User Reports and Queries to clients that are non-programmers.

Are they able to learn how to use the editors easily or do they require extensive training?

Is there risk of them damaging their data?

Do they find it useful?

If their changes are found to be useful, can their changes be incorporated in the underlying application easily?

Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Jeff Graham
Cascade Consulting

Hello Jeff,

In the limited experience I would only allow someone with SQL knowledge use it. It would only trust an advanced user.

I believe they can only create ready only queries so as far as hurting the data there is no way for that. You will have to set in the analysis on a filed level what can be seen. Reports will have to be set the options on what users can do with a report.

The installation of the R&Q tends to have issues. Make sure the the R&G folder has read write access and that your app and the R&Q are the same build.

I only have had 1 of my clients use it and I am always helping out with problems form the way they write their queries to keeping the R&Q working.

DW

Thanks for the feedback. I too had issues with installing the User Reports and Quries for my test environment. I never was able to include it in the install package. I had to use the downloaded install.

My client wants the reports primarily, so I don't have to allow access to all reports and quries.

Jeff Graham
Cascade Consulting

Hello Graham,


The user report writer is a complete developers copy of Windev locked to producing reports and queries.
From memory, and this is some years ago now, the report writer exposed the project init code to the user which in my case exposed some info that they should not be aware of. I think it also exposes global and local variables.

Regards
Al

Hi Al,

I think there have been major changes to User R&Q's as I can't find access to project code. However, I can't get it to work correctly either.

I reported an error that the analysis in User R&Q is not compatible with the Query I opened. The field NameRN was not showing in R&Q despite and the response was send a project as it was not a known problem.

Then when I make a simple new query to test, it says the name is already known. I change the name and it gets the same error. Then it got a dump which I just sent to Technical Support.\

Jeff Graham
Cascade Consulting

in order for report and query to work, you need to check in the project settings the corresponding option

As soon as you do that and generate abn EXE, the complete source of the project INIT code and global procedures init codes is visible via an hex editor in the EXE itself (not in report and query)

So, if you use that tool, make sure to put all your project init code in a global procedure and to only leave in the project init code a CALL to that procedure

And yes,n it's for advanced power users only

Thanks for the tip, Argus. I will move all the init code to a global procedure.

Jeff Graham
Cascade Consulting