ARCHIVISTS' TOOLKIT > INSTRUCTIONS/TUTORIALS > CUSTOMIZING REPORTS

The Toolkit allows customized reports to be utilized, however customization of reports is not supported by the Toolkit. To create and generate reports, you must use the open-source application, JasperReports. JasperReports, which utilizes a complex report generating syntax, can be used on its own or in conjunction with iReports, another open-source application that provides a graphical user interface for designing JasperReports. You may use these applications to customize the Toolkit’s reports or to create your own reports. You may also use other reporting applications designed to work the backend databases supported by the Toolkit. Instructions for creating such reports are out of scope for the Toolkit’s user manual, but the JasperReports manual may be purchased at

http://jasperforge.org/sf/projects/jasperreports and the iReports user manual is freely available at http://jasperforge.org/sf/projects/ireport. Those wishing to create or customize their own reports will also need to make use of the Toolkit’s application programming interface (API), which is available on the Archivists ’ Toolkit web site.

To add a custom report to the drop-down list of available reports:

1. Place the report in the appropriate directory within the Reports folder located in the same folder as the Toolkit program files. For example, an accession report should be placed in the reports/Accessions directory.

2. Note: The custom report will only be available in the local client in which it is placed. It will not appear in other clients within the repository unless these steps are repeated for each individual client.

3. If the application is open, close it and then relaunch it.
4. The report should now be available in the list of accession drop-down reports.

5. Note: The filename will appear as the report title in the Select Report dropdown list. To customize this and the Report Description, include the property names, as well as the desired values, of reportTitle, and reportDescription within the report

    

To load a report into specific functional area for one-time processing:

1. Click the Reports button.
2. Click the Load Report Definition File button.
3. A file-picker window will appear, prompting for the report file to be chosen. Select the appropriate file and press Open.
4. Input a Report Header if desired. Pick an output method from the Select Output dropdown list and click on Preview or Print.