HCM: Saving Copies of HR-BAIRS Reports and Data

Overview

It is possible to save HR-BAIRS report data in files on your local workstation or networked server. You can save the data just as it is shown on the reports ("display format"), or as a "flat file." The difference is described below. In general, the "flat file" format is best if you plan to use the data in another program, such as Excel or Access; whereas the "display format" is best suited for situations that require storage of an electronic picture of the report file for future, off-line reference.

Various formats are available, including HTML, Excel, and tab-delimited text. This page describes how to save "display format" reports as HTML and "flat file" data in Excel format, but the same procedures can be used to save data in other file formats. One simply selects a different "Save as type" choice in the Export Section dialog described in the step-by-step instructions below.

Display Format

Display Format is for "electronic pictures" of reports. When you save HR-BAIRS data in the format reports are presented in, all the information in the report is saved, including Selection Criteria and any notes that may appear on the first page or on top of each report page.

When this information is saved as an Excel file, it is usually very confusing to read and even more difficult to use as the basis of Excel calculations, charts, etc.
A report saved in its "display format" is much easier to read when saved in HTML format. Reports saved in HTML format can be opened and viewed in a web browser, such as Internet Explorer or Netscape. However, it's worth noting that printing reports saved in this format is not as convenient as printing them from the Brio.Insight browser plug-in used to view HR-BAIRS reports.

Generally speaking, you should only choose to save a report in its display format if what you want is an electronic "picture" of the report that you can access off-line (e.g., if you need to save a report for archival purposes and would rather store it on a hard-drive, diskette, or CD rather than in paper format). Instructions for doing this are given below.

Saving a report in "display format" generates multiple files. For this reason, it keeps things more organized if you save reports in "display format" to individual folders on your hard drive (one folder per saved report) naming the folders in some way that clearly identifies the report, the date it was run, and any other information that will help you keep track of which saved report is which.

Flat-File Format

Flat-File Format is best for saving data to manipulate spreadsheet applications (e.g. Excel, Lotus) or database applications (e.g. MS Access, Filemaker, Visual FoxPro). "Flat-file" format files are called "flat" because the data does not appear in tiers, as it often does in a report. Data that, in a report, appears in group-headers (often with multiple detail lines below the headers) is repeated on each detail line in a flat file. Another way of saying this is that detail lines in flat files are constructed so that each one includes (and repeats) the information that in a report occurs only once (in header lines that precede the detail).

A simplified example will probably illustrate this best. Our sample report includes two levels of group-headers (Name and Job information), and multiple rows of Job Earnings Distribution information detail (e.g., chartstring). The number of fields shown in the example is radically reduced from actual HR-BAIRS reports of this sort, in order to keep it simple.

Here's how the sample might look in the report ("display format"):

Smith, J.

7601U - Programmer/Analyst III - UCB

1 - 51010 - 19900 - 99999 - 99 - 99

1 - 51010 - 19900 - 99998 - 00 - 77

Lee, A.

4723U - __ Assistant II

1 - 51010 - 19900 - 99999 - 99 - 33

1 - 51010 - 19900 - 99997 - 11 - 22

Here's how the sample might look in "flat-file" format:

Name	Job	Chartstring
Smith, J.	7601U - Programmer/Analyst III - UCB	1 - 51010 - 19900 - 99999 - 99 - 99
Smith, J.	7601U - Programmer/Analyst III - UCB	1 - 51010 - 19900 - 99998 - 00 - 77
Lee, A.	4723U - __ Assistant II	1 - 51010 - 19900 - 99999 - 99 - 33
Lee, A.	4723U - __ Assistant II	1 - 51010 - 19900 - 99997 - 11 - 22

Notice how the names and job information are repeated once for each occurrence of a detail-line -- instead of only once per person and per person's job, as in the display format. There are four rows of data in the flat file (corresponding to the four lines of detail -- i.e., chartstring information in the sample report); and one row of column headings.

Instructions to Save a Report as HTML (Web-Page/Display Format)

1.	Through the BAIRS 2 portal, generate the report you want to save, using the dashboard selections you wish.
2.	When the report appears on screen, select File : Export : Section from the menu bar of your browser window. A dialog box called "Export Section" will open on your computer screen.
3.	Make sure that the "Save as type" at the bottom of the dialog box is set to: HTML (*.htm).
4.	Use the folder icons at the top of the dialog box to choose or create a folder in which to save your report. Note: It's a good idea to save each report in its own, uniquely- and meaningfully-named folder, because the report will actually be saved in multiple files!
5.	Choose a file name. It's best if the file name is also meaningful, but if it is saved in a folder with a meaningful name, this is less important.
6.	Click the Save button. Note: Multiple files will be created! If you saved using the filename "MyReport", the file you'll want to open is called "MyReport.htm."
7.	To open your saved report: Open a browser window. Open the file "MyReport.htm" using the File : Open selection in your browser's menu bar (you'll need to navigate to the folder where you stored the file using the <Browse> feature available in the File Open dialog; and to use your own filename). Navigate around the report using the controls and links that appear in the browser window.

Instructions to Save Report Data as a Flat-File (Excel Format)

1.	Through the BAIRS 2 portal, generate the report you want to save, using the dashboard selections you wish.
2.	When the finished report appears on screen, select View : Section Catalog from the menu bar of your browser window. A pane will appear on the left side of your browser window.
3.	Choose the Results section -- which may have a long name (likely ending in the word "Results") -- by clicking the name of that section in the Section Catalog pane that just opened on the left side of the browser window. Note: At this point, you should see something that looks very similar to a spreadsheet, with column names across the top and row numbers along the left side of the main panel in your browser window.
4.	When this spreadsheet-like panel appears, select File : Export : Section from the menu bar of your browser window. A dialog box called "Export Section" will open on your computer screen.
5.	Make sure that the "Save as type" at the bottom of the dialog box is set to: Excel (*.xls).
6.	Use the folder icons at the top of the dialog box to choose or create a folder in which to save your report data.
7.	Choose a file name. It's best if the file name is meaningful, so that you can distinguish between various "runs" of a report that you create. Note: Selection criteria, run date, etc. are NOT exported to Excel when saving in a "Flat-File" format.
8.	Click the Save button.
9.	Open your saved file using Excel, or you can import the data into another application that recognizes the Excel file-format.

Note: There is one very important issue that may cause problems when exporting HR-BAIRS data into Excel. Certain dates may appear in your spreadsheet as "garbage" (a series of pound signs, e.g., "###################"). The reason this happens is because Excel can only represent dates within a certain range. To work around this error:

Instead of the Excel format, use the "Save as type" called: Text (Tab Delimited) (*.txt).
Import the resultant text file into Excel.