Walkthrough: Using AX Enum Provider in a Column Chart Report

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Important

This content is archived and is not being updated. For the latest documentation, see Microsoft Dynamics 365 product documentation. For the latest release plans, see Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform release plans.

Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

A chart provides a graphical representation of data. Displaying data in a chart makes it easy for users to see comparisons, patterns, and trends in the data. In this walkthrough, you will create a report to display customer transaction data in a column chart.

This walkthrough illustrates the following tasks:

  • Defining a query

  • Creating a reporting project

  • Creating a report that has a column chart

  • Creating and configuring report parameters and filters

  • Applying layout and style templates

  • Changing the format of a report to display as a bar or line chart

Prerequisites

To complete this walkthrough, you will need:

  • Microsoft Dynamics AX with sample data

    Note

    This walkthrough uses the CustTable, CustTrans, and CustGroup tables. In order to view data in the report, these tables must contain data.

  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2010

  • Microsoft Visual Studio tools for Microsoft Dynamics AX

Defining a Query

There are several ways to retrieve data for reports. In this walkthrough, you will use a query that is defined in the Microsoft Dynamics AX Developer Workspace. You will create a query using the CustTable table as the data source. In the report, you will filter the data that is displayed based on the TransType field. The TransType field is from the CustTrans table, so you will add the CustTrans table as a data source. The following procedure explains how to define the query that will be used to retrieve customer transaction data.

To define a query

  1. Open the Microsoft Dynamics AX Development Workspace.

  2. In the AOT, right-click the Queries node, and then click New Query.

  3. Right-click the node for the new query, click Rename, and then type CustTransactionData. Expand the node for the CustTransactionData query.

  4. In the AOT, right-click the Data Dictionary node, and then click Open New Window.

  5. In the new window, expand the Tables node.

  6. Locate the CustTable table and drag it onto the Data Sources node for the query.

  7. In the CustTable_1 data source node, select the Fields node, in the Properties window, set the Dynamic property to No. You will select the specific fields that will be used on the report instead of sending all data in the table. This will produce faster running reports.

  8. Locate the CustTrans table and drag it onto the Data Sources node located below the CustTable data source.

  9. In the CustTrans_1 data source node, select the Fields node, in the Properties window, set the Dynamic property to No.

  10. In the separate window, expand the node for the CustTrans table > Fields, drag the AmountMST field to the Fields node of the CustTrans_1 data source.

  11. Right-click the Relations node for the CustTrans_1 data source, and then click New Relation.

  12. Select the node for the relation and verify the following default values in the Properties window.

    Property

    Value

    JoinDataSource

    CustTable_1

    Field

    AccountNum

    Related Field

    AccountNum

  13. In the AOT, right-click the Ranges node for the CustTrans_1 data source, and then click New Range.

  14. Select the node for the range, and in the Properties window, select the TransType field from the drop-down menu for Field.

    Note

    A report parameter is automatically generated for the range when the query is used in a report dataset and the Dynamic Filters property for the report dataset is set to False.

  15. The TransType field is an enum type. When you define the report, you must know the value of the EnumType property when you define the AX Enum Provider data source. To find the property value, in the AOT, click Data Dictionary > Tables > CustTrans > Fields > TransType. In the Properties window, notice that the EnumType property is set to LedgerTransType.

  16. Locate the CustGroup table and drag it onto the Data Sources node located below the CustTrans_1 data source.

  17. In the CustGroup_1 data source node, select the Fields node, in the Properties window, set the Dynamic property to No.

  18. In the separate window, expand the CustGroup table > Fields node. Drag the Name field to the Fields node of the CustGroup_1 data source.

  19. Right-click the Relations node for the CustGroup_1 data source, and then click New Relation.

  20. Select the node for the relation and specify the following values in the Properties window.

    Property

    Value

    JoinDataSource

    CustTable_1

    Field

    CustGroup

    Related Field

    CustGroup

  21. Save the query.

Creating a Reporting Project

Next, you will create a reporting project in Microsoft Visual Studio. In this walkthrough, you will use the Report Model template.

To create a reporting project

  1. Open Microsoft Visual Studio.

  2. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Project. The New Project dialog box is displayed.

  3. In the Installed Templates pane, click Microsoft Dynamics AX node, and in the Templates pane, click Report Model.

  4. In the Name box, type SampleChartReport, and in the Location box, type a location.

  5. Click OK.

Creating a Report with a Column Chart

Before you create a chart, you must decide what type of chart to create. There are two types of charts: XY charts and pie or doughnut charts. An XY chart is a column, line, or bar chart. During design, you can switch between related chart types. For example, you can create a column chart and then later change it to a bar or line chart. In this walkthrough, you will begin by creating a column chart. Later in the walkthrough, you will change the design so that the data displays in a bar chart and then in a line chart. You will use the predefined layout and style templates provided by the Visual Studio tools for Microsoft Dynamics AX. You will use the template ColumnChartStyleTemplate to provide the layout for the column chart report. For the following example, you will create two datasets. The first will be bound to the CustTransactionsData query and the second will be used to display the transaction type that is an Enum type.

To create a report that has a column chart

  1. In Solution Explorer, right-click the SampleChartReport project, point to Add, and then click Report.

  2. In Model Editor, right-click the Report1 node, and then click Rename.

  3. Type ColumnChartReport as the name.

  4. Expand the ColumnChartReport node if it is not already expanded.

  5. Right-click the Datasets node, and then click Add Dataset.

  6. Select the node for the dataset.

  7. In the Properties window, specify the following values.

    Property

    Value

    Data Source

    Dynamics AX

    Data Source Type

    Query

    Default Layout

    ColumnChart

    Dynamic Filters

    False

    Name

    CustomerTransactions

    Query

    1. Click the ellipsis button (…). A dialog box displays where you can select a query that is defined in the AOT and identify the fields that you want to use.

    2. Select the CustTransactionData query and then click Next.

    3. Expand the CustTrans_1 node and select the All Fields check box. This will select the AmountMST field.

    4. Expand the CustGroup_1 node and select the All Fields check box. This will select the Name field.

    5. Click OK.

  8. In Model Editor, expand the node for CustomerTransactions > Fields.

  9. Select the AmountMST field, and in the Properties window, set the Aggregate Function property to Sum and the Format String property to Currency.

  10. Right-click the Datasets node, and then click Add Dataset. You will create a dataset with an AX Enum Provider data source for the TransType enum field. This will let you filter the report to show specific transaction types.

  11. Select the node for the dataset.

  12. In the Properties window, specify the following values.

    Property

    Value

    Data Source

    Dynamics AX

    Data Source Type

    AX Enum Provider

    Name

    LedgerTransTypeEnum

    Query

    LedgerTransType

  13. Drag the CustomerTransactions node onto the Designs node for the report. An auto design called AutoDesign1 is created for the report.

  14. Expand the AutoDesign1 node, expand the node for the chart data region, and then expand the Data node.

  15. Drag the Name field to the Categories node.

    Note

    The AmountMST field should be the only field that remains below the Data node.

Configuring a Report Parameter

Next, you will configure a parameter for the report. The report contains a parameter for the TransType field because a range based on this field was added to the query and you set the Dynamic Filters property for the dataset to False.

The TransType field is an Enum type. You will update the Values property on the CustomerTransactions_TransType report parameter to reference the AX Enum Provider dataset that you created. By using the AX Enum Provider, the enum parameter can be accessed from Enterprise Portal and also the Microsoft Dynamics AX client.

The following procedure explains how to configure a report parameter.

To configure a report parameter

  1. In Model Editor, expand the Parameters node for the report, and then select the CustomerTransactions_TransType parameter.

  2. In the Properties window, set the following property values:

    Property

    Value

    Allow Blank

    False

    Data Type

    Integer

    Values

    Click the ellipsis button (...) to open the Select Values dialog box. Set the following values:

    • Dataset: LedgerTransTypeEnum

    • Value field: Value

    • Label field: Label

    Make sure that From dataset is marked, and then click OK.

Applying Layout and Style Templates

Next, you will specify layout and style templates for the report. A layout template defines the general layout and style settings for a report. A style template contains the layout and style settings for a data region that displays in the body of a report. You will apply the predefined templates that are provided by the Microsoft Dynamics AX framework. These templates are the standard templates for Microsoft Dynamics AX reports. The following procedure explains how to apply layout and style templates to the report.

To apply layout and style templates

  1. In Model Editor, select the AutoDesign1 node.

  2. In the Properties window, set the LayoutTemplate property to ReportLayoutStyleTemplate. Also, type Customer transactions for the Title property.

  3. In Model Editor, expand the AutoDesign1 node, and then select the node for the chart data region.

  4. In the Properties window, set the Style Template property to ColumnChartStyleTemplate.

  5. Delete the default text for the Title property so that it does not display a title for the data region.

  6. Set the Value Axis Data Scale Minimum property to 5. This will set the starting value on the axis of your report to 5 instead of 0. This is one of many properties that will define the look of your report.

  7. In Model Editor, right-click the AutoDesign1 node, and then click Preview to view the report. Specify a transaction type for the parameter, like Customer, and then click the Report tab to view the report.

  8. Close the Preview window.

Changing the Format to a Line or Bar Chart

During design, you can switch between several related chart types. First, you will switch from a column chart to a bar chart. After that, you will switch it to a line chart. The following procedures explain how to switch between chart types.

To switch the format to a bar chart

  1. In Model Editor, select the node for the CustomerTransactionsXYChart chart data region.

  2. In the Properties window, set the Chart Type property to Bar.

  3. In Model Editor, right-click the AutoDesign1 node, and then click Preview to view the report. Specify a transaction type for the parameter, like Customer, and then click the Report tab to view the report.

To switch the format to a line chart

  1. In Model Editor, select the node for the CustomerTransactionsXYChart chart data region.

  2. In the Properties window, set the Chart Type property to Line.

  3. In Model Editor, right-click the AutoDesign1 node, and then click Preview to view the report. Specify a transaction type for the parameter, like Customer, and then click the Report tab to view the report.

You can use the additional properties to control the look of the report. For more information, see Working with Data Regions. The line chart report that has a report parameter based on an enumeration can now be accessed from a Microsoft Dynamics AX menu item or Enterprise Portal.

See also

Creating Reports Overview

Report Data Region Overview