Inquiry Formulas

Transcription

Inquiry Formulas

Inquiry Formulas
student guide
NOTICE
This documentation and the Axium software programs may only be used in accordance
with the accompanying Ajera License Agreement.
You may not use, copy, modify, or transfer the Axium programs or this documentation
except as expressly provided in the Ajera License Agreement.
AXIUM™ and the Axium software logo as it appears in this manual are registered Marks
of XTS Software Corporation dba Axium.
Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United
States and/or other countries.
All other company, product, or brand names mentioned herein, may be the trademarks of
their respective owners.
© 2007, 2010-11 XTS Software Corporation dba Axium. All rights reserved. Copyright
includes accompanying software and windows generated by the software.
Contents
Goals of this session ................................................................................................. 4 What you will learn ................................................................................................... 4 What you will not learn ............................................................................................. 4 About the Ajera database .......................................................................................... 5 The Inquiry interface ................................................................................................. 5 Inquiry formulas ......................................................................................................... 6 Basic formulas .......................................................................................................... 6 Advanced formulas ................................................................................................... 6 Advanced custom formulas ...................................................................................... 7 Briefly about SQL ....................................................................................................... 8 Useful SQL elements ............................................................................................... 8 Producing a project detail report by date range ................................................... 10 Scenario ................................................................................................................. 10 Overview................................................................................................................. 10 Creating the Project Detail History inquiry ............................................................. 11 Creating the Project Totals and History inquiry ...................................................... 12 Changing the Project Totals and History inquiry .................................................... 12 Changing the Project Detail History inquiry ............................................................ 14 Changing the project detail report ......................................................................... 20 Scenario ................................................................................................................. 20 Overview................................................................................................................. 20 Reformatting the Project Detail History inquiry ...................................................... 21 Searching for a SQL function ................................................................................. 21 Creating a Month column using the SQL function formula .................................... 24 Grouping and subtotaling information by columns ................................................. 26 Producing a payroll service input worksheet ....................................................... 27 Scenario ................................................................................................................. 27 Overview................................................................................................................. 27 Creating the Payroll Input Sheet inquiry ................................................................. 28 Changing the Payroll Input Sheet inquiry ............................................................... 29 Creating a Regular time column using a SQL function formula ............................. 29 Creating an Overtime column using a SQL function formula ................................. 31 Creating a Vacation column using a SQL function formula ................................... 32 Creating a Sick time column using a SQL function formula ................................... 33 Creating a Holiday column using a SQL function formula ..................................... 34 Verifying the formula columns and changing the inquiry ....................................... 35 Appendix A: Advanced custom formulas ............................................................. 37 Use for static information........................................................................................ 37 Common SQL statements and clauses .................................................................. 38 Inquiry Formulas
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Goals of this session
In this intermediate-level session of Inquiry, you will receive a brief introduction to
Structured Query Language (SQL) functions and learn about the different kinds of
Inquiry formulas.
The session will then ease you into using formulas by stepping through building two
complete sample inquiries. These inquiries illustrate how to use the SQL functions
CASE and DATENAME to filter amount columns using field criteria in a formula and
to sort through a data field using a string function. You will also learn how to use
custom linking and grouping for subtotals.
What you will learn
In this session, you will learn how to:

Use a CASE function in a simple-when form to evaluate one value and
indicate whether a transaction is labor, expense, or consultant.

Use a DATENAME function to extract the month from transaction dates.

Change a CASE function from a simple-when form to a searched-when form
to evaluate multiple values and indicate whether time entered is Regular,
Overtime, Vacation, Sick, or Holiday.
Note: This session uses CASE and DATENAME only as examples. There are many
more SQL functions that you can use in Inquiry.
What you will not learn
In this session, you will not learn:

SQL programming

Structure of the Ajera database
Axium recommends that you request the services of a SQL consultant or an Ajera
consultant, respectively, if you are interested in learning those topics.
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Inquiry Formulas
About the Ajera database
About the Ajera database
The Ajera database is written in Structured Query Language. SQL is a standard
programming language designed for querying and modifying data and for managing
databases.
The Ajera database consists of interrelated tables, each one containing a specific kind of
data, such as employee or project information. Each column in a table describes one
characteristic of the table data. For example, a table about employee information
contains columns for employee first name and employee last name.
Each row in a table is a database record or table entry. In the employee table, for
example, a row is an entry for an individual employee. Ajera automatically assigns each
row a number. That number is a key field, a unique identifier of the database record. You
cannot change key fields.
Ajera uses key fields to “link to” or access information between database tables. For
instance, when you enter information about a project in the Project Command Center,
Ajera automatically creates a draft client invoice that uses a key field to identify the project.
The Inquiry interface
Inquiry accesses and retrieves information from the Ajera database and displays it in
a table. Like the database, each row in the Inquiry table corresponds to a database
record, and each column corresponds to an information field that makes up that
database record.
This row in the
Employee inquiry
represents a
database record
for Pat D. Hill.
Employee type is
one piece of
information that
makes up the
database record.
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Inquiry formulas
Inquiry formulas
When you create a new inquiry column, you can either add it from the predefined list
of columns, or create your own column by defining a formula for it.
When you create a formula, you can use other existing formulas in the inquiry. These
appear in the Available Columns area of the Formula Editor. The Available Columns
area also contains the Current User Key, which allows you to display inquiry data
pertaining only to the user.
You can often write the formula you need by entering simple mathematical equations,
which are called basic formulas.
To enter more complicated formulas, which are called advanced or advanced custom
formulas, you must either understand how to use SQL commands or request the
services of an Ajera consultant.
Axium supports basic and advanced formulas; it does not support advanced custom
formulas.
Basic formulas
You can write many different inquiry formulas using basic mathematical operators
and no SQL knowledge. These formulas create new columns by specifying
mathematical operations between columns that already exist in the inquiry.
For example, here are formulas for two new columns on the Project inquiry:
[Billed]-[Cost]
([Billed]+[WIP])-[Cost]
Advanced formulas
When you write an advanced formula, you create a new column by defining
relationships between columns that already exist in the inquiry. To view the
predefined columns available in a specific inquiry, select Help > Contents > Inquiries
> Standard inquiries and select that inquiry topic.
To create advanced formulas, you do not need to know the structure of the Ajera
database. You do, however, need to know how to use SQL functions. You use these
functions to filter the data in the existing columns so that the new column displays
exactly the information you want.
Some commonly used functions include:
LEFT
RIGHT
INSTRING
DATEDIFF
DATEADD
MONTH
UPPERCASE
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Inquiry Formulas
Inquiry formulas
Following is an example of an advanced formula for the Transaction - All inquiry:
CASE [Activity Type]
WHEN 'Labor'
THEN
[Employee]
WHEN 'Expense'
THEN [Activity]
WHEN 'Consultant'
THEN [Vendor]
WHEN 'None'
THEN 'Invoice
Adjustment'
END
The formula uses the SQL function, CASE, to populate the new column as follows:
If the Activity Type is
Then the formula returns
Labor
the employee
Expense
the activity
Consultant
the vendor
None
the text “Invoice Adjustment”
Advanced custom formulas
Advanced custom formulas are not based on a relationship between existing columns
in an inquiry. To write this type of formula, you must know the structure of the Ajera
database and how to use SQL functions.
For more information about these formulas, see Appendix A on page 37.
Axium recommends that you request the services of an Ajera consultant if you are
interested in using these formulas.
Inquiry Formulas
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Briefly about SQL
Briefly about SQL
SQL ignores insignificant white spaces, which allows you to format formulas for
readability. Also, SQL is not case-sensitive, and its syntax allows you to insert line
breaks wherever you want.
SQL comes in many different versions. Ajera uses Microsoft SQL Server, which is
based on Transact-SQL. To learn more, visit the Microsoft website.
Useful SQL elements
The following SQL functions and expressions are useful in getting the data you want
with Inquiry. Axium recommends using them in advanced formulas.
CASE
Use the CASE function to evaluate a list of search conditions and return one of many
possible results.
CASE comes in two formats:

Simple-when: Compares an expression to a set of simple expressions to
determine the result.

Searched-when: Evaluates a set of Boolean expressions to determine the
result.
Syntax
simple-when
CASE input_expression
WHEN when_expression THEN result_expression [ . . . n]
[ ELSE else_result_expression ]
END
searched-when
CASE
WHEN Boolean_expression THEN result_expression [ . . . n]
[ ELSE else_result_expression ]
END
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Briefly about SQL
DATENAME
Use the DATENAME function to retrieve part of a specified date.
Syntax
DATENAME (datepart, date)
AND and OR
You can also use the AND and OR expressions to join two or more Boolean
expressions. The expressions limit the data returned by the formula.
The AND expression returns a result when both conditions are met. The OR
expressions returns a result when at least one of the conditions is met.
If a formula contains both AND and OR, the AND condition is automatically evaluated
first. You can change the order by using parentheses.
Syntax
AND
<Boolean_expression> AND <Boolean_expression>
OR
<Boolean_expression> OR <Boolean_expression>
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Producing a project detail report by date range
Producing a project detail report
by date range
This first exercise introduces you to the simple-when format of CASE. CASE is
similar to an IF statement, and is useful for categorizing data in inquiry formula
columns.
CASE compares a source value against a test value and returns the requested result
when a match is found. In this exercise, the source value is an Ajera data field, and
the test value is what you are looking for in the data field. The source and test values
must be the same data types.
If no match is found, CASE will return an ELSE result or a NULL value, depending on
what is specified. CASE functions always end with the word END.
Scenario
In this scenario, your principal asks you for a project history with detail for a range of
dates. Your principal wants the history to include only time and expense entries and
to display the detail by the appropriate description for labor, expense, or consultant.
Your goal is to create a custom inquiry that produces this information.
Overview
To create the new inquiry, you will:
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
Create a custom inquiry named Project Detail History.

Create a custom inquiry named Project Totals and History.

Change the Project Totals and History inquiry.

Change the Project Detail History inquiry by using a simple-when CASE
function.
Inquiry Formulas
Creating the Project Detail History inquiry
First, create a custom inquiry based on the Transaction - All inquiry.
1. From the Inquiry menu, click Transaction > Transaction – All.
Note: The red text at the top of the inquiry discourages using it as a standalone inquiry.
2. In the Inquiry toolbar, click the Save As
custom inquiry Project Detail History.
3. Click the close
button and name this
button in the top right of the inquiry.
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Creating the Project Totals and History inquiry
Now, create a custom inquiry based on the standard Project inquiry.
1. From the Inquiry menu, click Project > Project.
custom inquiry Project Totals and History.
Changing the Project Totals and History inquiry
Change the Project Totals and History inquiry so that it displays only the information
you want, and then link it to the Project Detail History inquiry.
Links allow you to filter the information displayed in an inquiry. Add a date range so
you can view data in the Project Detail History inquiry for a specific time period.
Removing unneeded columns
1. Remove unneeded columns by right-clicking their column headings and
clicking Remove column.
In this exercise, leave only the following columns:

Project ID

Project Description

Client

Total Contract Amount

Spent
2. In the Inquiry toolbar, click the Save
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button.
Adding a link
1. Right-click the Spent column heading and click Properties.
2. On the Link tab, select Project Detail History from the Link list.
3. On the General tab, select Range prompt from the Date Range list.
4. Click OK to return to the Project Totals and History inquiry.
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Changing the Project Detail History inquiry
Change the Project Detail History inquiry so that it displays only the information you
want, sort it so the most recent date appears first, and create columns by which to
group and subtotal the data. Use SQL functions to create the formulas for the
columns.
Removing unneeded columns and sorting by date
1. Click the blue Spent amount for any project in the Project Totals and History
inquiry, to return to the Project Detail History inquiry.
2. In the Save window that appears, click the Yes button. The Project Detail
History inquiry appears.
3. Remove unneeded columns from the Project Detail History inquiry by rightclicking their column headings and clicking Remove column.

Date

Project ID & Description

Phase ID & Description

Units/Hours

Spent Amount
5. Click the Show All Rows
that you can see all the data.
button.
button if it appears in the toolbar, so
Note: The Show All Rows button appears in the toolbar only if the project
has more than 2,500 rows of detail. In addition, the inquiry title will include
this message:
<Inquiry title> (first 2500 rows; click “Show All Rows” to show all)
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Inquiry Formulas
6. Right-click the Date column heading and click Sort descending.
7. To add notes from timesheets and expense entries to the inquiry:

Right-click the Spent Amount column heading and click Add a
column to the right.

On the General tab, select Notes from the Column list and type 3.00
in the Width field to make it wide enough for lengthy text.

Click OK to return to the inquiry.
Creating a description formula for transaction type
In the Project Detail History inquiry, you will use a SQL function to create a
description formula to display employee name for labor transactions, activity for
expense transactions, and vendor name for consultant transactions. Group and
subtotal by this information.
1. Right-click the Date column heading and click Add column to the left.
2. On the General tab:

Select Formula in the Column list.

Type Detail Description in the Heading field.

button for the Formula field, to open the
Click the browse
Formula Editor window.
To create the Detail Description formula, you need to use a CASE
function, which is similar to using an IF statement.
To accomplish this, you will use the sample advanced formula in
Help, which provides the exact detail description you want and
requires no modification.
Note: If you need a simple-when CASE formula in the future, you
can try copying and pasting the sample formula in Help, and then
changing it to meet your criteria.
3. In the Formula Editor window, click the Help button.
4. On the Index tab, type formula in the keyword field, and double-click
creating advanced.
Inquiry Formulas
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5. Highlight the sample advanced CASE formula in the Help file and copy it.
6. Paste the formula into the Formula field of the Formula Editor window.
7. Click the close
button in the top right of the Help window.
8. Click the Verify button at the bottom of the Formula Editor window.
9. In the Formula verification window that appears, click OK.
10. Click OK in the Formula Editor window.
11. On the General tab, change the Width field to 2.00 in the Width field to make
it wide enough for lengthy text.
12. Click OK on the General tab to view the new Detail Description column in the
Project Detail History inquiry.
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Inquiry Formulas
Grouping and subtotaling information by columns
Use the existing project and phase columns and the new Detail Description column to
group and subtotal the information in the Project Detail History inquiry.
1. Right-click the Project ID & Description column heading and click Group
expanded to group the information by this column.
2. Right-click the Phase ID & Description column heading and click Group
expanded to group the phase group within the project group.
3. Right-click the Detail Description column heading and click Group expanded
to group the detail group within the phase group.
You now have subtotals for phase and for employee, activity, or vendor.
4. In the Inquiry toolbar, click the Back
Totals and History inquiry.
button to return to the Project
5. In the Save window that appears, click the Yes button.
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6. The Project Totals and History inquiry appears, displaying the blue All Dates
link at the top.
7. Click the blue All Dates, which opens the Date Range window.
8. Select a date range, and click OK.
9. In the inquiry, click an amount in the Spent column to return to the Project
Detail History inquiry.
10. In the Save window that appears, click the Yes button.
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Inquiry Formulas
11. The Project Detail History inquiry appears, showing the detail only for the
selected date range.
12. Click the close
Inquiry Formulas
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Changing the project detail report
This second exercise introduces you to the DATENAME function. This function
allows you to extract the month part from the date, which is useful if you want to
group data by month, not by date. This exercise also shows you how to find a SQL
function on the Microsoft website.
Scenario
In this scenario, your principal is pleased with the Project Detail History inquiry, but
would like it grouped and subtotaled by month so that it is easier to read. Your goal is
to change the inquiry so that it displays the information in this way.
Overview
To change the Project Detail History inquiry, you will:
20

Reformat the inquiry.

Search for a SQL function that meets your needs.

Create a column using a DATENAME function.

Group and subtotal the information by columns.
Inquiry Formulas
Reformatting the Project Detail History inquiry
1. Re-open the Project Totals and History inquiry to make additional changes.
2. In the inquiry, click an amount in the Spent column to return to the Project
Detail History inquiry.
3. Right-click the Project ID & Description group and click Ungroup all.
4. Notice that because the Project Detail History inquiry displays detail for only
one project at a time, the Project ID & Description column is unneeded.
5. Right-click the Project ID & Description column heading and click Remove
column.
Searching for a SQL function
1. To add a column that allows you to group the inquiry by month, not by date,
you need a SQL function that will extract the month part from the date data.
Unlike the preceding exercise, this is not a simple CASE function, which you
can copy and paste from Help.
Instead, you need to search the Internet for SQL functions. This exercise
uses the Google browser: For the search type in SQL functions.
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Note: This session describes only one way to search for SQL functions. You
can find valuable information about SQL programming on websites and in
resources that are not discussed in this session.
2. Click the Built-in Functions (Transact-SQL) link for the Microsoft website.
3. Scroll down to Scalar Functions and click Date and Time Data Types and
Functions.
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4. Click Functions That Get Date and Time Parts.
5. The DATENAME function is what you want. It will look at the transaction date
and extract the name of the month, which will allow you to group and subtotal
by month.
Click DATENAME to review its syntax.
Note: You can use the DATENAME function to get date totals for any period
using any database date column.
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6. Highlight and copy the syntax for DATENAME.
Note: Later, you will change this formula in Inquiry’s Formula Editor,
replacing datepart with mm and date with [Date].
Creating a Month column using the SQL function
formula
1. In the Project Detail History inquiry, right-click the Date column heading and
click Add column to the left.

Select Formula from the Column list.

Type Month in the Heading field.

Click the browse
3. Select the Show non-numeric columns check box so that the Date column
is available for selection.
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Inquiry Formulas
4. Paste the SQL formula into the Formula field of the Formula Editor window
and change it:

Change datepart to mm.

Highlight date in the formula and click Date in the Available Columns
list.
5. Click the Verify button.
7. Click OK in the Formula Editor window and the General tab to return to the
inquiry, which displays the new Month column.
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Grouping and subtotaling information by columns
1. Right-click the Month column heading and click Group expanded.
2. Right-click the Phase ID & Description column heading and click Group
expanded.
3. Right-click the Detail Description column heading and click Group
expanded.
4. The Project Detail History inquiry now displays project to date with monthly
subtotals.
6. Click the close
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button.
Producing a payroll service input worksheet
This third exercise shows you how to change a simple-when CASE function into a
searched-when CASE function. The searched-when format returns different results
based on what is in the source field. It is useful when you are comparing more than
one source value against a test value.
Scenario
In this scenario, your principal wants you to create a report for your firm’s payroll
service that lists total employee hours from timesheets.
Your firm submits total hours from timesheets broken out into Regular, Overtime,
Vacation, Sick, and Holiday for the pay period. The timesheets are entered weekly,
and payroll is run twice a month.
Your goal is to create a custom inquiry that makes the process of preparing these
hours for the payroll service quick and easy. To do this, you will use SQL functions to
filter the predefined column for Units/Hours in the Transaction – Labor inquiry and
add columns for the different types of hours.
Overview
To create the new inquiry, you will:

Create a custom inquiry named Payroll Input Sheet.

Change the Payroll Input Sheet inquiry.

Use search-when CASE functions to create columns that display:

o
Regular time
o
Overtime
o
Vacation time
o
Sick time
o
Holiday time
Verify the formula columns and change the inquiry again.
Inquiry Formulas
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Creating the Payroll Input Sheet inquiry
1. From the Inquiry menu, click Transaction > Transaction – Labor.
Note: The red text at the top of the inquiry discourages using it as a standalone inquiry.
custom inquiry Payroll Input Sheet.
3. In the Inquiry toolbar, click the Properties
button.
4. On the Conditions tab, set the following conditions to eliminate rows that are
not from timesheets and are not within the pay period you are reporting to the
payroll service:

Transaction Type — equals sign (=) — Entry.

Date — greater-than-or-equal-to sign (>=) — <first day of pay period>
(for example, February 1, 2009).

Date — less-than-or-equal-to sign (<=) — <last day of pay period> (for
example, February 28, 2009).
5. On the General tab, type a description and instructions in the Instructional
Text field. For example: This input sheet provides timesheet hours for a
range of dates broken out by regular, overtime, vacation, sick, and
holiday. Enter the beginning and ending pay period dates on the
Conditions tab.
6. Click OK.
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Changing the Payroll Input Sheet inquiry
1. Remove unneeded columns by right-clicking their column headings and
clicking Remove column.

Transaction Type

Date

Activity

Employee

Hours Type

Units/Hours
Note: After using the Hours Type and Activity columns to verify the formula
columns later in this session, you will remove them from the inquiry.
button.
3. Right-click the Employee column heading and click Sort ascending.
4. To rename the Units/Hours column:

Right-click the column heading and click Properties.

On the General tab, type Total Hours in the Heading field and click
OK.
Creating a Regular time column using a SQL function
formula
1. Right-click the Total Hours column heading and click Add column to the
left.

Select Formula from the Column list.

Type Regular in the Heading field.

Click the browse
Inquiry Formulas
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3. Select the Show non-numeric columns check box.
4. In the Formula field of the Formula Editor window, paste the sample
advanced formula for CASE from Help (which you used in the first exercise).
However, because you have more than one value for the CASE statement to
evaluate, you need to change the Help sample syntax from simple-when
form to searched-when form:

Cut the first instance of WHEN and paste it after CASE.

Highlight [Activity Type] and click Hours Type in the Available
Columns list and type an equals sign (=).

Change ‘Labor’ to ‘Regular’, type AND, and click Activity in the
Available Columns list.

Type NOT IN(‘Vacation’, ‘Sick’, ‘Holiday’) THEN and click
Units/Hours in the Available Columns list.

Delete the remaining text.

Type END.
This formula will result in the column displaying only hours that have an
Hours Type of Regular and that do not have an Activity of Vacation, Sick, or
Holiday.
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Inquiry Formulas
7. Highlight the verified formula and copy it; you will use this formula to create
columns for overtime and vacation time.
8. Click OK in the Formula Editor window and the General tab to view the new
Regular column in the inquiry. Scroll through the data and notice that the
entries without any hours listed in the Regular column are those that have an
Activity of Vacation, Holiday, or Sick, or those that have an Hours Type that
is not Regular.
Creating an Overtime column using a SQL function
formula
left.


Type Overtime in the Heading field.

Click the browse
3. In the Formula field of the Formula Editor window, paste the formula you
used to create the Regular column, and change ‘Regular’ to ‘Premium 1’.
(Premium 1 is the Hours Type description for overtime.)
Hours Type of Premium 1 and that do not have an Activity of Vacation, Sick,
or Holiday.
Inquiry Formulas
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Overtime column in the inquiry and scroll through the data.
Creating a Vacation column using a SQL function
formula
left.


Type Vacation in the Heading field.

Click the browse
3. In the Formula field of the Formula Editor window, paste the formula used to
create Regular time and change it:

Delete [Hours Type]= ’Regular’ AND

Change NOT IN to an equals sign (=)

Change (‘Vacation’, ‘Sick’, ‘Holiday’) to ‘Vacation’
Activity of Vacation.
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Inquiry Formulas
6. Highlight the verified formula and copy it; you will use this formula to create
columns for sick time and holiday time.
Vacation column in the inquiry and scroll through the data.
Creating a Sick time column using a SQL function
formula
left.


Type Sick in the Heading field.
3. Click the browse
window.
button for the Formula field, to open the Formula Editor
used to create the Vacation column and change ‘Vacation’ to ‘Sick’.
Activity of Sick.
Sick column in the inquiry and scroll through the data.
Inquiry Formulas
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Creating a Holiday column using a SQL function formula
left.


Type Holiday in the Heading field.
3. Click the browse
window.
button for the Formula field, to open the Formula Editor
used to create the Vacation column, and change ‘Vacation’ to ‘Holiday’.
Activity of Holiday.
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Inquiry Formulas
Holiday column in the inquiry and scroll through the data.
Verifying the formula columns and changing the inquiry
1. In the inquiry, compare the Hours Type and Activity columns with what
appears in the Regular, Overtime, Vacation, Sick, and Holiday columns and
notice that their formulas are correct.
2. Remove the following columns by right-clicking the column heading and
clicking Remove column for each column:

Transaction Type

Activity

Hours Type
Inquiry Formulas
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3. Right-click the Date column and click Properties.

Change the Width to 1.50 inches.

Click OK.
5. Right-click the Employee column and click Group collapsed.
6. The inquiry now reports hours for each payroll category for any range of
dates, which you can select in the Inquiry Properties window.
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Inquiry Formulas
Appendix A
Appendix A: Advanced custom formulas
If you are an advanced user and have experience with SQL, you may be interested in
advanced custom formulas.
When you create a formula, you can use other existing formulas in the inquiry. These
appear in the Available Columns area of the Formula Editor. The Available Columns
area also contains the Current User Key, which allows you to display inquiry data
pertaining only to the user.
Warning! When you create advanced custom formulas, be aware that when Ajera’s
database structure or logic changes, advanced custom formulas may cease to work
correctly. These formulas may produce an error or, worse, return incorrect results
without alerting you of any problems.
For example, if you create an advanced custom formula that calculates an activity
type total using the current activity types, and then a future version of Ajera’s
database includes new activity types, that formula then produces an inaccurate
amount because it is calculated without the new activity types.
Also, multiple custom formulas on one inquiry may cause performance issues.
Use for static information
You may choose to write an advanced custom formula when you need to create an
entirely new column that is not based on a relationship between existing columns.
To write this kind of formulas, you must know the structure of the Ajera database. To
determine the database structure, you can export your data into SQL Server
Management Studio Tool.
Because Axium does not notify you when it changes Ajera’s database structure or
logic, it is best to use advanced custom formulas to retrieve static information from
different inquiries, or tables, within the database, rather than dynamic information.
Sample formulas
Following are two sample formulas that retrieve static information from different
database tables:

You want a column for the project manager’s phone number on the Project
inquiry. To do this, you must create a custom formula on the Project inquiry
referencing the phone number field from the Employee database table:
SELECT vecPhone1 FROM AxVec WHERE vecKey = [Project
Manager Key]

You want to apply a date range to an advanced custom formula. To do this,
the formula must use the SQL Min/Max function, and the function must
contain these dates: 01-01-1900 and 12-31-2078. For example:
SELECT (hours) = sum(tunits) FROM axtransaction WHERE
ttype in (0,2) and tiscurrent = 1 AND tdate BETWEEN '0101-1900' and '12-31-2078'
You must close the Properties window and reopen it for the Date Range field
to appear.
Inquiry Formulas
37
Appendix A
Common SQL statements and clauses
The most common operation in SQL is the query. Queries retrieve data from one or
more database tables or expressions based on specific criteria.
The following SQL statements and clauses are often used in queries.
SELECT
Use the SELECT statement to specify the columns from which you want to retrieve
data. Standard SELECT statements do not affect the database.
The SELECT statement is complex, and you can use it with a variety of functions and
clauses, such as FROM, WHERE, and GROUP BY.
Syntax
SELECT statement ::=
[WITH <common_table_expression> [,...n]]
<query_expression>
[ ORDER BY { order_by_expression | column_position [ ASC |
DESC ] }
[ ,...n ] ]
[ COMPUTE
{ { AVG | COUNT | MAX | MIN | SUM } ( expression ) } [ ,...n
]
[ BY expression [ ,...n ] ]
]
[ <FOR Clause>]
[ OPTION ( <query_hint> [ ,...n ] ) ]
<query_expression> ::=
{ <query_specification> | ( <query_expression> ) }
[ { UNION [ ALL ] | EXCEPT | INTERSECT }
<query_specification> | ( <query_expression> ) [...n ]
]
<query_specification> ::=
SELECT [ ALL | DISTINCT ]
[TOP expression [PERCENT] [ WITH TIES ] ]
< select_list >
[ INTO new_table ]
[ FROM { <table_source> } [ ,...n ] ]
[ WHERE <search_condition> ]
[ GROUP BY [ ALL ] group_by_expression [ ,...n ]
[ WITH { CUBE | ROLLUP } ]
]
[ HAVING < search_condition > ]
38
Inquiry Formulas
Appendix A
FROM
Use the FROM clause in a SELECT statement to specify the table or view from which
you want to retrieve data.
Syntax
[ FROM { <table_source> } [ ,...n ] ]
<table_source> ::=
{
table_or_view_name [ [ AS ] table_alias ] [
<tablesample_clause> ]
[ WITH ( < table_hint > [ [ , ]...n ] ) ]
| rowset_function [ [ AS ] table_alias ]
[ ( bulk_column_alias [ ,...n ] ) ]
| user_defined_function [ [ AS ] table_alias ] [
(column_alias [ ,...n ] ) ]
| OPENXML <openxml_clause>
| derived_table [ AS ] table_alias [ ( column_alias [
,...n ] ) ]
| <joined_table>
| <pivoted_table>
| <unpivoted_table>
| @variable [ [ AS ] table_alias ]
| @variable.function_call ( expression [ ,...n ] ) [ [
AS ] table_alias ] [ (column_alias [ ,...n ] )
]}<tablesample_clause> ::=
TABLESAMPLE [SYSTEM] ( sample_number [ PERCENT | ROWS ] )
[ REPEATABLE ( repeat_seed ) ]
<joined_table> ::=
{
<table_source> <join_type> <table_source> ON
<search_condition>
| <table_source> CROSS JOIN <table_source>
| left_table_source { CROSS | OUTER } APPLY
right_table_source
| [ ( ] <joined_table> [ ) ]
}
<join_type> ::=
[ { INNER | { { LEFT | RIGHT | FULL } [ OUTER ] } } [
<join_hint> ] ]
JOIN
<pivoted_table> ::=
table_source PIVOT <pivot_clause> table_alias
<pivot_clause> ::=
( aggregate_function ( value_column )
FOR pivot_column
IN ( <column_list> )
)
<unpivoted_table> ::=
table_source UNPIVOT <unpivot_clause> table_alias
Inquiry Formulas
39
Appendix A
<unpivot_clause> ::=
( value_column FOR pivot_column IN ( <column_list> ) )
<column_list> ::=
column_name [ ,...n ]
WHERE
Use the WHERE clause in a SELECT statement to create a search condition that
limits the rows displayed by a query.
Syntax
WHERE <search_condition>
GROUP BY
Use the GROUP BY clause in a SELECT statement to specify how the output rows
are organized in the query.
Syntax
[ GROUP BY [ ALL ] group_by_expression [ ,...n ]
[ WITH { CUBE | ROLLUP } ]
]
40
Inquiry Formulas

Inquiry Formulas

Transcription

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