Extracting Data Into a File

Topics:

Extracting Report Output

You can create extract files, in various formats, that contain the data output of your report requests. Depending on the format you use, a Master File for the data may be created. You can use these files for further reporting or import them into other programs, such as word processors or spreadsheets.

The following commands extract and save report output in a variety of file formats:

HOLD. The HOLD command creates a data source containing the output of a report request. By default, the data is stored in binary format, but you can specify a different format, such as HTML, Excel, PDF, or XLSX. For some formats, the HOLD command also creates a corresponding Master File. You can then write other report requests that in turn extract or save data from the HOLD file.
SAVE and SAVB. The SAVE command is identical to a HOLD command, except that it does not create a Master File, and ALPHA is the default format. If you wish to create a SAVE file in BINARY format, use a variation of the SAVE command called SAVB. As with a HOLD file, you can specify a variety of formats suitable for use with other software products.
PCHOLD. The PCHOLD command creates a data source containing the output of a report request, and downloads the HOLD data source and the optional Master File to a client computer or browser. As with a HOLD file, you can specify a variety of file formats.

Extracting Report Output

You create an extract file by adding the proper command to your report request.

The following is the simple format of the extract command:

ON TABLE {HOLD|SAVE|SAVB|PCHOLD} [AS filename] [FORMAT fmt]

To produce a HOLD file, issue the following request:

TABLE FILE EMPLOYEE
SUM CURR_SAL ED_HRS
BY DEPARTMENT
BY LAST_NAME BY FIRST_NAME
ON TABLE HOLD
END

The ? HOLD command displays the Master File once the data is extracted. Here is what the Master File for this request looks like:

Two SET parameters that enable you to control how data is presented in a HOLD Master File are SET ASNAMES (controls the naming of fields) and SET TITLE (controls the naming of column titles). For more information on SET commands, see the Developing Reporting Applications manual.

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