General HydroStatics
Ship Stability Software
Command of the Week
(New or interesting aspects of GHS that you may not know about)

DB Report
(Requires GHS version 17.00 or later)

DB Report is very much like the regular Report command, but: 1) you don't need to supply a file name; and 2) the file gets stored within the Data Base. Therefore do not include a path when you specify the report name.

DB Report "name", "parameters"

In "parameters" you can put any of the slash parameters you would use with the regular Report command.

The "name" is like a handle to recall the report by, not the actual file name, but the same restrictions that apply to file names apply to this name as well (no slashes, no colons, etc. but spaces are allowed).

As with the regular Report command, if "name" is blank, the Project name is substituted; but unlike the regular Report command, the name can be blank even when there is no Project name in effect.

Try this:
READ FV.GF
DB Report
STATUS TANKS
REPORT OFF

Now you have a report stored in the Data Base.

To preview this report after it is closed, simply do DB Preview since the name is blank. In general, to access the report after it is closed, use DB Print "name" or DB Preview "name" or DB Report "name", /APPEND.

While a report file is open, either the regular Print command or the DB version can be used, but there is an advantage to using DB Print and DB Preview as will be explained later.

If another report is opened with the same name, it does not replace the original report file. In fact, you can keep any number of reports by the same name because they're distinguished by their date and time. When accessed by DB commands, the most recent version is assumed.

DB Reports is a separate command and takes no parameters. It displays a listing of the reports in the Data Base such as this example where the reports all pertain to the same vessel (and therefore the GF name is not shown).


They are presented in chronological order with the one at the top being the most recently created. (The red color indicates that the file is open.) Any of them can be accessed by placing a check in the box next to the report name. By that means you can delete earlier versions of a report. Or use the button at the bottom to delete all earlier versions of those shown.


(If what you get from DB Reports lacks any of these features, use DB Update to get the latest Data Base version.)

In addition to the report name and the time it was created, two other "environmental" parameters comprise the complete report identification: Project name and Geometry File name. Like the report name, being absent is considered a valid value for these parameters.

For example, if geometry is present, the GF name becomes part of the report file identification, and commands like DB Preview will ignore reports that do not have that same GF name in their identification.

You can get a listing of all reports in the Data Base via the Show All button in the DB Reports listing.

Does it seem complicated? If you're familiar with the regular Report and Print commands, the DB versions mirror the same functions. DB throws in DB Preview for your convenience, but DB Print "name", "/Preview" works as well.

Yes, John Bonn, you could, with a tool like Windows Explorer, find the Reports subfolder and figure out how name, Project, GF, date, and time are packed into the actual report file names. But to see them organized within their environmental categories, your best tool is DB Reports.

There is a COW waiting in line that will bring us more on DB Reports and why DB Preview is superior to regular Print /Preview.
Questions, comments, or requests?
Contact Creative Systems, Inc.

support@ghsport.com

USA phone: 360-385-6212 Fax: 360-385-6213
Office hours: 7:00 am - 4:00 pm Pacific Time, Monday - Friday

Mailing address:
PO Box 1910
Port Townsend, WA 98368 USA

www.ghsport.com

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