Can't use multi-line field in multi-column environment

Altair Forum User

Hi there,

 

I'm having an odd problem with pulling data consistently from a multi-line field in a multi-column environment.

 

Here is the outline of the report:

 

 

I have defined a four-line header template spanning from the line containing the page number to the line with the header label.

 

A Detail Template with multi-column region is defined on the values in the NUMB and NAME fields with an amount in the BALANCE column.

 

Since the HEADERLABEL row is in the Page Header Template, i.e. outside the multi-column region, the NUMBer from that row is properly appended to detail data extracted from the two columns in the Detail Template.

 

Everything works as expected in this simple scenario.

 

However, because I have to be able to process two variants of this report, one with and one without a blank line between the lines with DATE and HEADERLABEL in the page header, I modified the model as follows. I defined a long field of 21 character width spanning HEADERLABEL: NUMB, but placed it in the empty line 3 of the header template, i.e. directly in the line above HEADERLABEL: NUMB. I proceeded to make this a two-line field by specifying a 2 in the Line count option in the End Field On section on the field's Advanced tab. I did this because, depending on whether the report contains a blank line between the DATE line and the HEADERLABEL line, the data I want to extract (NUMB) is either on line three or line four of the header template.

 

I then wanted to extract the relevant data (NUMB) via a calculated field utilizing the Textline function, like so:

 

Trim(Substr(TextLine(Header_Temp,'HEADERLABEL:'),13,9))

 

But it doesn't work properly. It only extracts and appends the NUMB value to the records that appear in the left column of the report. The records extracted from the right side of the report show no content for this field.

 

It's as if Monarch includes the field that captures HEADERLABEL: NUMB inside the multi-column region of the Detail Template and will only extract the NUMB value for detail records that appear in the left column of the report. But the field is clearly in the Page Header template, so it should be appended to all records appearing in the left or right column of the report. When I remove the two-line definition of the field it works as expected. Why does it not work when the field is defined to span two lines?

 

As a workaround I thought I could separate the HEADERLABEL: NUMB line into its own Page Header template, but it seems Monarch only allows the definition of up to one Page Header template.

 

Can someone help?

 

I'm using Monarch 11.0.2.55.

 

P.S.: I couldn't find a suitable markup tag to post the report data as text in a non-proportional font, so I took a screenshot from an editor and posted the image. Unless I missed something, this should/could really be improved upon by the forum designers. Many forum softwares have a tag to format code, why is there no equivalent to this in this Monarch forum?

Altair Forum User

My first impression for this is that it may not be useful to have the page header as more than 2 lines in this example BUT I am aware that there can be other issues in some report outputs (I have seen some very strange page to page programming over the years) which might make the Page Header as 4 lines a requirement.

 

Did you try leaving the Headerlabel line out of the Header and making is an Append template?

 

You should be able to trap on Headerlabel (assuming that is some sort of fixed text or otherwise uniquely identifiable as the target line) and I would then expect the field(s) extracted at the append fields to be associated with records extracted from all columns.

 

There is another concept of advanced trapping (Preceding string) that can apply when a line/field moves up and down within a template area but I don;t get the impression it really applies here. I mention it in case I am wrong about that.

 

There is of course the possibility that you have found a process anomaly in the MCR routine.

 

From memory that's a rather early version 11 release. If the suggestion about does not help at all we may need to dig deeper into history.

 

 

HTH.

 

Grant

Altair Forum User

Hi,

 

Did you get your model working?  I second Grant's suggestion of using an Append in place of the Page Header. Page Header templates ae less forgiving that Appends when overlapping or interacting with other templates.

 

I do recall a few issues with MCR extraction near the top or bottom of a page in Version 11.0.

 

Please get back in touch of you are still having this issue.