Customizing MICF Reports
MICF is designed to get reports from an inquiry by specifying a minimum amount of information.
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Standard formats exist for all the MICF reports. Formats for these reports are useful for most of your day-to-day analysis needs.
However, there can come a time when you want to revise the format of a MICF report. You can change the report titles or headings or you can change the data to be printed with a different number of decimal places. When printing graphs, you may want to add a reference line or change the scale of an axis. For purposes of an initial investigation, you may decide to analyze only the first one hundred records or to generate only two pages of a lengthy report.
The Report Definition Panel
There is one report definition panel for each type of direct or structured report in MICF. The report definition panel for each report is where you tell MICF what data elements to include in the report, the title of the report, whether you want to set extended options, and a number of report-specific facts. You reach the report definition panel for each report when you select the report from one of the direct or structured inquiry menus (or when you modify a direct inquiry or select a report step in a structured inquiry).
For example, if you select Pie Chart from the Direct Inquiry Color Graphics menu, then the next panel that you see is the Direct Pie Chart report definition panel. The most common types of customization you can perform are included in the report definition panel for each report. The report definition panel for a direct inquiry ranking report is shown in Sample Report Definition Panels part A. The corresponding structured inquiry panel for a color pie chart is shown in Sample Report Definition Panels part B. Page 10 of the output corresponding to Sample Report Definition Panels Part A is shown in Sample Output from Ranking Report.
Sample Report Definition Panels
--------------------------- Direct Ranking Report --------------------------- Command ===> Enter a ? in any data entry field for more information on valid values. ComposingMICSInquiry: TOPTEN - Ranking of Top Ten Users on Think Time Inquiry Step ===> Direct Ranking ReportMICSFile ===> TSU (fff) Timespan ===> DAYS Cycle(s) ===> 01 - __ Database ===> B (BASE) File Name: TSO USER ACTIVITY FILE Report Title ===> Ranking of Top Ten Users on Average Think Time Rank ===> TSUAVKTM (file element) Order ===> D (A/D) No. Records ===> 10 Data Elements to Be Reported ===> TSUTHKTM USER TSUAVTTM ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Print Rankings for Each Value of ===> SYSID _ HOUR____ _ ________ _ ________ _ ________ _ ________ _ ________ _ ________ _ ________ _ ________ _ Skip to New Page by ===> HOUR____ (New page when value changes) Generate Subtotals by ===> HOUR____ (Print subtotals when value changes) Specify Extended Options ===> N (Y/N) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part A. Sample Report Definition Panel for a Direct Ranking Report ------------------------------ Color Pie Chart ------------------------------ Command ===> Enter a ? in any data entry field for more information on valid values. ComposingMICSInquiry: THINKT - Analysis of User Think Time Inquiry Step ===> Color Pie Chart Input File ===> FILE1 - Intermediate File Number 1 (From: DAYS TSU ) eport Title ===> Total Think Time by User Chart of ===> TSUTHKTM (Value) Grouped by ===> ________ (Pies) Charted by ===> USER____ (Slices) Weighted by ===> ________ (Element) Generate Graph for Each Value of ===> SYSID _ HOUR____ _ ________ _ ________ _ ________ _ ________ _ ________ _ ________ _ ________ _ ________ _ Graph Discrete Segments ===> N (Y/N) Minimum Segment Size (%) ===> ___ (0 - 100) Specify Extended Options ===> N (Y/N) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part B. Sample Report Definition Panel for Color Pie Chart
Sample Output from Ranking Report
Ranking of Top Ten Users on Average Think Time ABC COMPANY, INC. INQUIRY: TOPTEN RUN DATE: 26DEC00 ---------------------SYSTEM IDENTIFIER=PROD HOUR OF DAY=10--------------------- TSUAVKTM TSUTHKTM USER TSUAVTTM 0:23:21.79 0:23:21.79 ABC019 0:00:00.14 0:19:14.30 0:38:28.60 ABC101 0:00:00.59 0:06:35.29 0:13:10.58 ABC023 0:00:00.55 0:02:04.35 0:06:13.04 ABC070 0:00:01.36 0:01:52.99 0:07:31.97 ABC077 0:00:00.05 0:00:20.45 0:01:42.25 ABC265 0:00:00.24 0:00:19.62 0:02:56.54 ABC115 0:00:01.12 0:00:16.51 0:03:18.17 ABC114 0:00:08.38 0:00:13.82 0:00:27.64 ABC004 0:00:08.18 0:00:08.43 0:04:29.76 ABC306 0:00:00.38 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ranking report definition panel is requesting a listing of data from the DAYS timespan of the TSU file in database B. The data is ranked in descending order by the value of data element TSUAVKTM (Average User Think Time). For each observation, the value of the following variables is reported:
TSUAVKTM
Average user think time
TSUTHKTM
Total think time
USER
User identifier
TSUAVTTM
Average response time (all functions)
While the report definition panels vary among report types, these panels have a number of common features. The tutorials behind each report definition panel provide detailed instructions on completing the panel and examples of completed panels and the resulting output.
You have the opportunity to specify the following items on all report definition panels:
INQUIRY STEP
The inquiry step name is the name that is shown on the step list for structured inquiries. Use it as a reminder of the purpose of the step. The default inquiry step name is the report type. In both parts of this example, it has been left as the default: "Direct Ranking Report" in Part A and "Color Pie Chart" in Part B
INPUT FILE
The data to be included in the report are in a
MICS
file. In a direct inquiry, such as the one in Sample Report Definition Panels part A, specify the MICS
file, the timespan, and the database in which the MICS
file is located. In a structured inquiry, such as Sample Report Definition Panels part B, you only specify the name of an intermediate file (in this case it is FILE1). A separate step places the data in the intermediate file.REPORT TITLE
Place the title that you want to be used on the report after the Report Title prompt. The default for the report title is the inquiry name.
DATA ELEMENTS TO BE PROCESSED
Each report definition panel gives you the opportunity to specify the data elements to be processed. For the ranking report, specify them following the Rank prompt and the Data Elements to Be Reported prompt. For the pie chart, the Chart of, Charted by, Grouped by, and Weighted by prompts identify the report data elements.
PAGE CONTROL SPECIFICATIONS
Each report definition panel gives you the opportunity to specify where report subheadings and page breaks occur. Depending on the type of panel, the prompts slightly. In the ranking report example, the element names following the prompt "Print Rankings for Each Value of" let you specify a set of parallel reports. For example, if your installation has three operational systems, executing the previous inquiry with SYSID specified after this prompt would produce a separate ranking for each of the three system identifiers.
For the ranking report, you can specify subordinate page breaks and subtotals with the two prompts "Skip to New Page by" and "Generate Subtotals by."
Entering a data element name after the first of these prompts cause a new page to be generated each time the value of that element changes. Similarly, entering a data element name after the "Generate Subtotals by" prompt causes subtotals to be generated for each value of that element. Note that the element names you use with these two prompts must be selected from the list following the prompt "Print Rankings for Each Value of."
Note:
For the pie graph, there is only one page control prompt, "Generate Graph for Each Value of."In the example that is shown in Sample Report Definition Panels part B, a separate pie graph is generated for each SYSID and hour in the input data.
REPORT-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
The report-specific options are usually self-explanatory. For a ranking report, these options are the report sort order (ascending or descending) and the number of records to be reported. In a pie chart, these options are:
- Whether to graph discrete segments--For numeric plots, you get a slice for each numeric value. Otherwise the SAS system selects a set of slice midpoints from the range of data. If the data element is character, as in the example above, this parameter is ignored.
- Minimum segment size--The minimum segment size is the smallest percent of the pie for which a separate segment appears. All smaller values are put together in a segment named "Other."
The report-specific options are described in detail in the tutorial for each panel.
EXTENDED OPTIONS
If you reply N (the default) to "Specify Extended Options," a number of defaults are automatically assumed. If you reply Y, you are given a chance to review and change the default values. Extended options are described in the next section.
The Extended Options Panel
Extended options panels are available for all report definition panels. These option panels give you more flexibility in customizing your reports. Extended options apply only to the inquiry for which they have been specified. These options are saved with the inquiry and are in effect each time the inquiry is executed.
The extended options panels for corresponding direct and structured inquiries are nearly identical. Both contain the following types of options:
- Printer or color graphics format parameters
- Data element labels (or column headings) and data formats
- Subheading text and data formats
- Report shortening options
In addition, direct inquiry extended options panels include the following set of options that do not appear on the structured inquiry extended options panels:
- Common data selection
- Execution-time data selection
- General data selection
- Data summarization
- Runtime override of database, or cycles, or both
These functions are treated as separate steps in structured inquiries, and thus do not need to appear as part of the report definition steps.
As with the report definition panels, the extended options panels for different reports have many items in common and some that vary depending on the type of report that you are producing.
For example, extended options available, on the Direct Standard List extended options panel, that are not available on the Direct Color Star Chart panel are an option to specify column headings and data formats and an option to specify data elements to sum for subtotals. On the other hand, options available, on the Direct Color Star Chart extended options panel, that are not available on the Direct Standard List panel include an option to override color graphics format parameters and an option to specify the scale parameters for the star. Most of these report-specific options are easily understood in the context of the report that you are defining. All of them are described in detail in the tutorials accompanying each extended options panel.
When you reply Y to "Specify Extended Options" on the Direct Standard List panel, you see the following menu.
Sample Extended Options Menu
--------------------------- Extended Options Menu --------------------------- Command ===> Inquiry Step: Direct Standard List Input File: TSO USER ACTIVITY FILE Specify Common Data Selection ===> N (Y/N/R) Specify Execution-Time Data Selection ===> N (Y/N/R) Specify General Data Selection ===> N (Y/N/R) Specify Data Summarization ===> N (Y/N/R) Override Printer Format Parameters ===> N (Y/N/R) Specify Column Headings and Data Formats ===> N (Y/N/R) Specify Subheading Text and Data Formats ===> N (Y/N/R) Specify Data Elements to Sum For Subtotals ===> N (Y/N/R) Allow Run-Time Override of Database ===> N (Y/N) and/or Cycle(s) ===> N (Y/N) Begin With Record Number ===> ________ Stop After ===> ________ (Records) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:
Next to each extended option is a prompt followed by three choices: Y/N/R. Y and N stand for Yes and No, respectively. R stands for Reset. If you specify Y next to one of these prompts, a supplementary panel appears on which you can set the extended options that are indicated by the prompt. If you specify N, you are not taken to the corresponding panel. Any extended options that have already been set on that supplementary panel remain undisturbed and continues in effect. If you specify R, the extended options specifications on the supplementary panel are reset to their default values.If extended options have been set for one of the categories on the Extended Options Menu, the word "Specified" appears to the right of the option prompt. When you reset an extended option with the R command, the word "Specified" next to that category is erased.
The options that apply only to direct inquiries are detailed in Creating Direct Inquiries.
The common extended options are each discussed here.
Printer Or Color Graphics Format Parameters
Use the Override Printer or Color Graphics Format Parameters extended options to override the default values. The default values can be permanently changed under the Printer or Color Graphics Format options on the MICF Options menu. By careful selection of your default options, overriding the defaults with extended options is not necessary. In the case of color graphics formats, specify the color graphics format set before the format parameters are displayed. A prompt on the extended options panel reminds you to do specify these options.
On the Standard List Printer Format Parameters panel, you can specify:
- Contents of report title line 2
- Contents of report title line 3
- Contents of report title line 4
- Center report (Y/N)
- Uniform column alignment (Y/N)
- Double space (Y/N)
- Round subtotals (Y/N)
- Print run date (Y/N)
- Print page numbers (Y/N)
- Print record numbers (Y/N)
- Print number of records (Y/N)
- Missing value character
- Number of blank lines at the top of the page
To override a default, simply type over it.
The format parameters panels for color graphics report definitions are similar but more extensive to accommodate the additional choices available when you use color graphics.
Data Element Labels (or Column Headings) And Data Formats
You can specify the data element labels that appear on the graphs with the extended options for color graphics or printer graphics. Similarly, you can specify the column headings to be used in printed reports. In all cases, you can specify the data formats used to report the data.
The default for data element labels is the data element label that is specified in the
MICS
component definition or a prior File Contents Specification inquiry step. The default for column headings is the data element name. You can specify a column heading for each data element, which is printed on one, two, or three lines. A column heading or data element label can be from 1 to 40 characters long.
Using the data format specifications can greatly enhance the appearance of your output. The default data element formats are specified in the
MICS
component definition or a prior File Contents Specification inquiry step. The format is the SAS format, which is used to print the data element values. This format can be used to increase or decrease the number of columns that are reserved for the data element in the output.Subheading Text And Data Formats
Use the Subheading Text and Data Formats extended option to specify subheading text for each control data element. At each control break, the values of the control elements are listed in subheadings across the page. Each value is labeled with the data element label specified in the
MICS
component definition, a prior File Contents Specification inquiry step, or on the extended options panel.
You can also use this option to specify an output format for printing each control data element value in the subheadings. The default formats are specified in the
MICS
component definition or a prior File Contents Specification inquiry step. As with data element data formats, the format is the SAS format, which is used to print the data element values. This format can be used to increase or decrease the number of columns that are reserved for the data element in the output.Report Shortening Options
The report shortening extended options are a convenient way to limit report volume. This option is useful during the development of an inquiry or the initial part of a research project where you can sample information from a large input file.
Two report shortening options are available:
- Begin with Record Number
- This option is the first record (record number) from the input file that is processed. MICF begins with the first record of the file when this option is blank.
- Stop After
- This option is the maximum number of records that are processed. Leave this parameter blank or specify MAX (or M) to process all records.