Stage 1: Configure the Page View in EMu

To demonstrate the process of building a Page View we create this very simple example:

First we select the fields to include in the Page View:

  1. Run a search in the module for which the Page View is intended (Parties in this example).
  2. Select Reports on the Home tab of the Ribbon to display the Reports box.
  3. Click New to display the Report Properties box.
  4. On the Report Type tab:
    1. Give the report a descriptive title.
    2. Select XSLT Report from the Type drop list:

      Report Properties

  5. On the Fields tab, click Add to display the Report Fields box.

    The Report Fields box lists fields in the module:

  6. Locate a field to be included in the Page View and double-click it

    -OR-

    Select a field and click Add.

    The field is added to the Report Properties box:

    Note: If you select a field that is a nested table, Other Names: (Person Details) for example, it is necessary to include a simple loop when configuring the stylesheet at Stage 2. A nested table field displays in the Report Properties box with the following icon Table icon. We look at this case here.

  7. Add all required fields and close the Reports Field box.
  8. If required, select the Sort Order, Sort Options and Security tabs in the Report Properties box to configure the Report.
  9. In the Report Properties box click OK to close the box.

    The new Page View report is added to the Reports box.

  10. Run the report (click Report to report on the current record only).

    A box displays with the following message:

    Start new report

  11. Click Yes.

    An XML file (xmldata.xml) is generated by EMu and saved to the default Windows temp directory for whoever is currently logged on to the computer (typically: C:\Users\[user]\AppData\Local\Temp where [user] is the name of the currently logged on user).

  12. Open xmldata.xml with an editor (Cooktop is used in this demonstration).

Next we configure a stylesheet for the Page View. This is achieved using a combination of XHTML and XSLT. In this example we use the freeware Cooktop XSL editor.

Tip: If you wish to modify sample code rather than creating a stylesheet from scratch, proceed to Use the Sample Code. It may however be worth looking at the overview in Stage 2 and in particular Use an XSL Editor in order to understand how a stylesheet is created.