Running Custom Data Retrieval Reports

In addition to the reports that come with LDMS, you can create your own custom reports. This allows you to create advanced searches. You can find records based on almost any conceivable search criteria, and also set what information from those records will appear on the report. If none of the built-in reports meet your needs, you can probably create your own report that does.

The Data Retrieval tool is accessed by clicking Tools > Data Retrieval from the LDMS menu bar.

Figure: Data Retrieval Screen. Drag and drop fields on the left into the boxes on the right to add them. To remove a field from the right side, simply drag it out of the box.



Creating a data retrieval query

  1. Drag a field from the Selectable Fields listing on the left to the Selection Criteria box on the right.

  2. In the Selection Criteria box, select the Op[erator] and Value that you want to use for your search.

  3. Enter the logic for your search criteria into the Criteria Sentence box using the numbers for each field in the Criteria Selection box.

    Note: To search for ‘NULL’ or missing values, do not enter criteria in the Value field.

  4. Drag fields that you want to be displayed on your report from the Selectable Fields listing on the left to the Fields to display box on the right.

  5. To determine which fields to sort your results by, drag fields from the Fields to display list to the Sort Results By list.

  6. If needed, select the Distinct option. This means that if there are any results in your report that are identical (meaning all of the displayed fields are the same), the duplicates will be discarded.

  7. To save your report for future use, enter a name for your report into the Previous Queries text box, then click the button from the LDMS toolbar.

  8. Click the button from the LDMS toolbar to generate your report.

Tip:

You can save your query so that your report can be quickly run at a later time by typing a name for your report into the Previous Queries text box, and then click the button from the LDMS toolbar. To re-run it, just select the report from that drop-down and click the button. If you make changes to it and want to save them, use the button.

When you run your report, the results will appear in a table at the bottom of the screen rather than in a separate window. You can change between the results and the raw SQL statement by using the Query and Results radio buttons at the bottom of the screen.

To save the results of your report, select the file format that you want to save as from the Export As drop-down menu beneath the results, then click the button. If you want (or don't want) the headers for your columns that shows what data is in that column, toggle the With headers check box.