missing / inadequate error messages

[erikbrandvig]

my name is erik and i am using your reports.web product, and building these reports using the flash report tool.

while creating a report, there are a few errors that produce no report results while using the "preview" function, and yet no error messages are created. when i save the report and produce the report, i do get an error message, but it's usually something very general like "object not set to instance" or "array out of bounds".

here are three instances of errors that are not being handled:

1. if you add a "result" to a datasource and do not provide a name for it

2. if you add a "column" to a datasource and do not specify information to be filled in it

3. if you assign a group filter to a datasource that is not sortable (that's what my note says, but i don't remember what that means)

Is there a better way that we could produce error messages while "viewing" the report (either in actual generation of the report or preview mode) and provide line numbers, commands or definitions that are throwing the errors?

thanks!

erik

[Vladimir]

Hello,

This summer we plan to implement the Report Checker for Designer.Web, which will tracking and correct these and other errors. This will make it easier to find and eliminate all the major errors in the design stage of the report building.

Thank you.

[jay@bplogix.com]

Is there anything we can do before then to troubleshoot reports? Right now, on certain errors, when you preview the report it simply shows a blank screen.

Also, sometimes it does show a line number of the error ... how can we use this? Double clicking on the error opens the report source code but does not highlight or show the error. I do not even see line numbers in the source.

Thanks

[Vladimir]

Hello,

When you double-click on an error message, the editing cursor is set to the position in which the error is found. Also we will add line enumerations in the Code window.

Thank you.

[jay@bplogix.com]

Actually double clicking on the error message does not seem to position the cursor. The code is display at the very top and there is no cursor.

Also, what is the "Report Checker" in the Tools folder? Does that return different error messages?

[Andrew]

Hello,

The report checker is already available in the installation pack of the product. It is not integrated in the designer but delivered as a separate tool. You can find it in the Tool folder in the installation directory.

Thank you.