How to: Create Report Links (MorphX Reporting Tools)

Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

When a report is displayed, some of the data fields can be secondary links. Secondary links are presented in orange and are underlined. You can right-click a secondary link, and then select from the context menu items that link to forms, other reports, or other kinds of Application Object Tree (AOT) objects. When a link is clicked, the value of the data field is sent to the form, which displays data related to that value.

Creating Links in Reports

You can use a relation on an extended data type or you can use a relation that is added to a table. Before you create links, create a form and a report. Both are based on the same table. The report field values do not have links.

To create a form and a report

1. Use the AOT to create a new table named WidgetTable. Add fields named widgetId and widgetDescription (use the string data type). For more information, see How to: Create Tables.

2. Create a new form named WidgetForm. Set WidgetTable as its data source. Design the form to have one grid. The grid should have a column for both fields that are on the WidgetTable table (widgetId and widgetDescription).

3. Use the WidgetForm form to populate the WidgetTable table with data. Add the following two rows of data for the widgetId and widgetDescription fields:

   widgetId	widgetDescription
   Wid1	red
   Wid2	blue

   Note

   Press CTRL+N to add a new blank row to the grid or press ALT+F9 to delete a grid row.

4. Create a new report named WidgetReport. Set the WidgetTable table as its data source. Run the report and then verify that it contains no links.

   Note

   To run the report, right-click the report in the AOT and then click Open.

Adding Links by Using an Extended Data Type

Using an extended data type is a good way to create report links while minimizing future maintenance work. A relation must be created on the extended data type. This approach can work when only one table is involved. For this approach, continue with the additional steps. In the following steps, you will link a report field to a form.

To prepare to add links by using an extended data type

1. Create a menu item of type display. Name the menu item WidgetFormMenuitem. Set its ObjectType property to Form, and then set its Object property to WidgetForm (from the drop-down list). For more information, see How to: Create Menus and Menu Items.

2. In the AOT, expand the Data Dictionary node, expand the Tables node, and then click the WidgetTable node. Right-click WidgetTable, and then click Properties.

3. On the Properties sheet, set the FormRef property of the WidgetTable table to WidgetFormMenuitem.

To add the extended data type

1. Create an extended data type named widgetIdEdt. For more information, see How to: Create an Extended Data Type.

2. In the AOT, expand the Data Dictionary node, expand the Extended Data Types node, and then expand the new widgetIdEdt node. Right-click the Relations node, point to New, and then click Normal. The new relation node cannot be renamed.

3. Click the new relation node. On the Properties sheet, set the Table property to WidgetTable, and the RelatedField property to widgetId.

4. In the AOT, expand the Data Dictionary node, expand the Tables node, expand the WidgetTable node, and then click widgetId. On the Properties sheet, set the ExtendedDataType property of the WidgetId field to widgetIdEdt.

5. Test the orange links on the WidgetReport report, under the widgetId column.

Adding Links by Using a Table Relation

Another way to create report links is by defining a relation on a table. This approach involves two tables. Typically, the primary key column of one table is a foreign key column in another table. The relation is defined by the table that has the foreign key column.

To use this table relation approach instead of the extended data type approach, continue with these additional steps (instead of the extended data type steps). In the following steps, a report field links to another report.

To create a form and a report to add links by using a table relation

1. Use the AOT to create a table. Name the table WidgetGroupTable. Add fields named widgetGroupId and widgetGroupDescription (make the field types string). For more information, see How to: Create Tables.

2. Create a new form named WidgetGroupForm. Set WidgetGroupTable as its data source. Design the form to have one grid. The grid should have a column for both fields that are on the WidgetGroupTable table (widgetGroupId and widgetGroupDescription).

3. Use the WidgetForm form to populate the WidgetTable table with data. Add the following two rows of data for the widgetId and widgetDescription fields:

1. Create a new report named WidgetGroupReport. Set the WidgetGroupTable table as its data source.

To prepare the tables to be joined

1. Add a field named widgetGroupId to the WidgetTable table. This is considered to be a foreign key.

2. Add a field named widgetGroupId to the WidgetForm form and the WidgetReport report.

   Note

   To add a field to the WidgetForm form, delete the WidgetTable data source from the WidgetForm form and create the WidgetTable data source again. If you re-create the WidgetTable data source, you must set the properties of the form design again.

3. Use the WidgetForm form to populate the new column with the value wgid9 in each cell.

To create a menu item to use to link the tables

1. In the AOT, expand the Menu Item node, right-click Output, and then click New Menu Item.

2. On the Properties sheet of the new menu item, set the Name property to WidgetGroupReportMenuItem, set the ObjectType property to Report, and then set the Object property to WidgetGroupReport.

3. In the AOT, expand the Data Dictionary node, expand the Tables node, and then click WidgetGroupTable. Right-click WidgetGroupTable, and then click Properties.

4. On the Properties sheet of the WidgetGroupTable, set the ReportRef property to WidgetGroupReportMenuItem.

To add the table relation

1. In the AOT, expand the Data Dictionary node, expand the Tables node, and then expand the WidgetTable node. Right-click the Relations node, and then click New Relation. Rename the new relation node WidgetGroupRel.

2. On the Properties sheet of the WidgetGroupRel relation, set the Table property to WidgetGroupTable.

3. Right-click the WidgetGroupRel node, click New, and then click Normal. The new column matching node cannot be renamed.

4. On the Properties sheet of the new node, set the Field property to widgetGroupId (this refers to the foreign key column in the WidgetTable table). Set the RelatedField property to widgetGroupId (the primary key column in the WidgetGroupTable table).

5. Click the Save All icon in the AOT.

   Note

   Confirm that the RelatedField property is set to widgetGroupId. If it is not, set it again.

To test the report links

1. In the AOT, expand the Reports node, right-click WidgetReport, and then click Open.

2. Right-click any underlined orange link, and then click a form or report name shown in the menu, which opens that form or report. The form or report should be populated only with data that is associated with the specific value of the link that you clicked.

Toggling the Display of Report Links

When a report that has links is viewed, the orange highlighted links can be toggled on and off.

To toggle the display of report links

• From the Command menu, click Show Link.