Reporting overview

Almost every printed document in Epicor, from sales order acknowledgments to pack slips, AR invoices and job travelers, is a Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) report. Changing one means working in two places: Epicor decides which data goes to the report, and an SSRS layout file decides how it looks. Once you see how the pieces connect, most reporting jobs follow the same few steps.

The four pieces

Piece	Where you maintain it	What it controls
Report (Report ID)	Report Style Maintenance	The report as a whole, e.g. OrderAck, PackSlip. Menu items point at a Report ID
Report style	Report Style Maintenance	One variation of the report: its data definition, the RDL file it renders with (Report Location), its output location, routing rule, images and which companies can use it
Report data definition (RDD)	Report Data Definition	Which tables, BAQs, fields, relationships and parameters Epicor extracts when the report runs
RDL file	SSRS report server; edit in Microsoft Report Builder	The layout: datasets, tables, text boxes, expressions and images

When a user prints, Epicor reads the style, gathers the data the RDD describes, writes it to temporary tables in the database, and asks SSRS to render the style’s RDL file. The RDL’s dataset queries read those temporary tables back. That is why every Epicor dataset query joins tables named like OrderHed_ + Parameters!TableGuid.Value: each report run gets its own set of tables, identified by a GUID.

The upshot:

• A field that isn’t in the RDD can’t appear on the report, whatever you do in Report Builder.
• A field in the RDD doesn’t appear on the report by itself either. The RDL’s dataset query and field list must ask for it, and a text box must display it.

Add a field to a report walks through both halves.

Kinds of report

• System reports ship with Epicor. You can’t change the system RDD or the system style, which guarantees the standard version always runs. You copy them instead.
• Custom reports are copies of system reports. You duplicate the RDD, copy the report style, point the copied style at the copied RDD, and edit the copied RDL. Epicor places the copied RDL under the CustomReports folder on the report server.
• BAQ reports get their data from one or more BAQs instead of Epicor’s report tables. See BAQ reports.

Where things live

The Report Location on a style is a path on the report server, such as reports/CustomReports/SalesOrderAcknowledgement/SOAck. Standard reports sit in their own folders under reports; copies you make go under reports/CustomReports. You never edit these on the server directly. You Download SSRS Report from the style, edit locally, then Upload SSRS Report. See Deploy and upgrade reports.

Report data isn’t kept as a file. SSRS reports store their extracted data in the database under the run’s GUID, and it’s cleaned up after a short time. If you need to reprint or preview the same run later, set an Archive Period when you print. The archived run can then be reopened from the System Monitor until the period ends.

Keep a sample run while you develop

When you’re building or fixing a report, print a representative example with an archive period long enough to cover your development work. You can re-preview that exact data after every change instead of hunting for a record that exercises the layout. Don’t make long archive periods a habit for normal users: extracted report data takes up space quickly.

Permissions and tools

• Downloading, uploading and creating SSRS reports needs the SSRS Report Designer option in User Account Security Maintenance. Without it, those items on the Actions menu of Report Style Maintenance stay disabled.

  

• Edit RDL files with Microsoft Report Builder (free from Microsoft). Install the version that matches your report server’s SQL Server version. When Report Builder asks to connect to a report server on opening a downloaded file, you can cancel; you’re editing a local copy.

Finding the Report ID for a menu

Most tasks start with “which report is this?”. For report-type menu items, Menu Maintenance shows the report the item runs. A few you’ll meet often:

Menu or document	Report ID
Sales Order Acknowledgment	OrderAck
Packing slip	PackSlip
AR invoice	ARForm (RDD ARInvoice)
Quote form	QuotForm
Scheduled Shipments	SchedShip
Pro forma invoice	ProFormaInvc
Customer Statements	CustSt
AP invoice form printed from AP Invoice Entry	APDebitMemoForm

Pages in this section

• Report data definitions: tables, exclusions, relationships and linked tables, and the field limit that breaks reports.
• Add a field to a report: the full round trip from RDD to printed field, with pack slip and scheduled shipment examples.
• BAQ reports: BAQ Report Designer versus an RDD built on BAQs, option fields, filters and passing report parameters into the layout.
• SSRS expressions and custom code: nested IIF, blank values, line breaks, check boxes, date ranges, counting distinct records and page footers.
• Images, logos and barcodes: replaceable images, logos per company or site, part pictures and Code 39 barcodes.
• Printing and routing: client and server printing, Advanced Print Routing rules, alternate styles and email lists.
• Deploy and upgrade reports: downloading and uploading, the reports.zip layout, moving reports between environments and upgrading old reports.
• Troubleshooting: the SSRS and Epicor reporting errors that come up most.

To print a report automatically when data changes, use the Auto Print widget in a BPM; see Send email and auto-print from a BPM.

Sources

This page is written in our own words. It was informed by:

• EpiUsers: Epicor temp data location for on-premise