If your company owns Crystal Reports and employs someone who is trained on using Crystal Reports, you can create customized reports that can pull information from your Quick Bid estimate. The information below includes the fields available and instructions for setting up the report files.
ConstructConnect does not provide technical support or assistance for creating, editing, or installing Custom Reports. You are expected to provide the expertise necessary to create and support your own Custom Reports. For assistance with setting up and using Crystal Designer custom reports, contact a qualified professional familiar with writing/configuring Crystal Reports. ConstructConnect does not distribute or support Crystal Reports full-function software and is unable to assist with the setup, execution, or troubleshooting of custom reports.
Custom Report files are stored within the OCS Documents directory, by default: C:\OCS Documents\Quick Bid\CustomReports.
Creating the Custom Report Files
Rules
- Custom Reports must be created using Crystal Reports 9 or 10
- Use "ADO" to connect to the Quick Bid database
- Ensure that the report and configuration file names do not contain any spaces
- Do not use a "Bid Selector" of any sort in the report - the report runs on the Current/Active Bid, just like any of the other reports included with Quick Bid
When you run the custom report, Quick Bid reconfigures the report’s ADO table connections to point to the active database (the database where the current Bid is stored).
Quick Bid also passes parameters to the custom report. These parameters may be any of the standard parameters or parameters defined as options in the Configuration File (ini).
Standard Report Parameters/Fields
|
Name |
Type |
Description |
|
IsCompanyHeader |
Boolean |
Internal |
|
Bidding Company Fields |
|
CompName |
String |
|
|
CompAddress |
String |
|
|
CompCity |
String |
|
|
CompState |
String |
|
|
CompZip |
String |
|
|
CompPhone |
String |
|
|
CompFax |
String |
|
|
Bid and Job Site Fields |
|
BidUID |
Number |
UID of the selected Base Bid |
|
BidNo |
String |
|
|
BidName |
String |
|
|
BidNotes |
String |
|
|
JobNo |
Number |
|
|
JobNumber |
String |
|
|
Estimator |
String |
|
|
JobClass |
String |
|
|
WageType |
String |
|
|
JobStatus |
String |
|
|
DateTime |
String |
|
|
PlanDate |
String |
|
|
Address |
String |
|
|
City |
String |
|
|
State |
String |
|
|
Zip |
String |
|
|
SiteContact |
String |
|
|
Phone |
String |
|
|
Fax |
String |
|
|
Country |
String |
|
|
HoursPerDay |
Number |
Accounts for Crew Size |
|
IsAlternate |
Boolean |
Internal |
|
Standard Report Options |
|
IsIncludeAlternates |
Boolean |
"1" if the “Include accepted alternates” is checked; otherwise "0". |
|
IsIncludeCOs |
Boolean |
"1" if the “Include accepted change orders” is checked; otherwise "0". |
|
ShowNullZones |
Boolean |
Internal |
|
PrintHeader |
Boolean |
Internal |
|
SelectedSectionUIDs |
Number / Multiple Value |
The selected sections from the Report Dialog passed to the report as a multiple value number parameter. Use this list to select records using the Selection Expert. |
|
SelectedSections |
String |
Comma separated list of section names selected from the Report Dialog |
|
SelectedTypicalAreaUIDs |
Number / Multiple Value |
The selected typical areas from the Report Dialog passed to the report as a multiple value number parameter. Use this list to select records using the Selection Expert. |
|
SelectedTypicalAreas |
String |
Comma separated list of typical area names selected from the Report Dialog |
|
SelectedAreaUIDs |
Number / Multiple Value |
The selected areas from the Report Dialog passed to the report as a multiple value number parameter. Use this list to select records using the Selection Expert. |
|
SelectedAreas |
String |
Comma separated list of area names selected from the Report Dialog |
The Configuration File
Each custom report must be accompanied with a configuration file with an *.ini extension and must be placed in the Custom Reports Folder along with the report file (*.rpt). The configuration file must have at least two sections, General and Options.
General Section
The General section provides Quick Bid with information about the report. Below are properties that must be included in the section.
|
Field/Name |
Description |
|
DisplayName |
Name of the report as it is displayed on the Report Dialog |
|
FileName |
File name of the Crystal Report (*.rpt) (NO SPACES) |
|
Description |
Long description of your report |
|
Type |
Used to indicate what group to show the report under on the Report Dialog. Always “Custom Reports” |
|
CLSID |
Internal |
|
Sequence |
Used to sort reports when printing. Reports with lower sequence numbers print sooner than those with larger sequence numbers. |
|
Enabled |
Always "1" |
|
Visible |
Always "1" |
|
ReportBase |
Internal |
Example General Section
[General]
DisplayName=My Custom Report
FileName=CustomReport.rpt
Description=This report is a custom report
Type=Custom Reports
CLSID = custom_report
Sequence = 1
Enabled = 1
Visible = 1
Options Section
The Options section contains a numbered list of options for each report; each option must be accompanied by its own individual Option Section in the file.
Example Options Section
[Options]
Option1= GroupBySection
Option2= GroupByArea
Option3= ShowDetailCond
Option4= QBHeader
Option5= ShowBidNotes
Individual Option Section
The Individual Option Section contains information about a specific option listed in the Options Section list. Quick Bid uses this information to display the option to the user on the Report Options Dialog.
|
Field/Name |
Description |
|
DisplayName |
Name of the option displayed in the Report Settings Dialog. |
|
OptionType |
Indicates what list to show the option in on the Report Settings Dialog
"0" = Group By, "1"=What To Show, "2"=Options |
|
GroupName |
Unused |
|
ParamType |
Data type of ParamName |
|
ParamName |
Name of the parameter passed to your Crystal Report |
|
Enabled |
Always 1 |
Example Individual Option Section
[GroupbySection]
DisplayName = Group by Sections
OptionType = 0
GroupName = empty
ParamType=0
ParamName = isGroupBySectionSuppressed
Enabled = 1
Using Reports to Catch Mistakes (Bid Analysis)