Database Handicapping Software- JCapper Position JRating - SQL HTML Report - SCREEN THREE
April, 2012
Position JRating - SQL HTML Report - SCREEN THREE
In the previous article, I illustrated using Screen Two of the SQL Factor Setup Wizard to add JRating (or another factor) to the SQL HTML Report.

In this article, I'm going to illustrate using Screen Three of the SQL Factor Setup Wizard to position JRating (or other factors) on the SQL HTML Report. Of course, the ability to access JRating (so that you can position it on the SQL HTML Report) is restricted to the original 100 JCapper registered program owners only. If you are not JRating enabled, you can't access JRating as a factor and you can't position on the SQL HTML Report.

However, the procedure illustrated in this article is the same for ALL factors on the SQL HTML Report. So even if you are not JRating enabled, but want to learn how to position factors at will on your SQL HTML Report - read on.

I'll start by covering the visual interface for Screen Three of the SQL Factor Setup Wizard. Link to screenshot --click here-- .

The interface itself is simple. The three main parts that make up the Screen Three interface can be described using the following bullet points:
  • On the left side of the interface is a VB Listbox called the "Factor Stack." This Listbox displays a vertical list of numeric cell numbers and the factor names persisted to each cell. It is nearly identical to the right side of the Screen Two interface discussed in the previous article.

    The purpose of the factor stack listbox is to simply provide a list of factor names that were persisted to the SQL HTML Report using the steps described in the previous article for Screen Two of the SQL Factor Setup Wizard.


  • On the right side of the interface are 48 VB textboxes (or cells.) These 48 cells are arranged in a way so as to mimic the part of the JCapper SQL HTML Report layout that can be customized by the user. There are 13 vertical columns and 4 horizontal rows on a JCapper SQL HTML Report layout. However, the left-most vertical column is reserved for data items (such as name of horse) that can not be customized by the user. Only the 12 right-most vertical columns are customizable by the user.

    The 12 vertical columns and 48 cells displayed on the Screen Three interface correspond to the right-most 12 vertical columns on the SQL HTML Report layout which are user customizable.

    The purpose of these 48 cells is to provide you with a visual interface that enables you to visually define the exact cell number that in turn defines where a factor will appear on customizable part of the SQL HTML Report layout for each of the 48 factors listed in the vertical factor stack.

    The cells are numbered 1 through 48. In this screenshot I've ever so crudely circled JRating using a red mouse pen. As you can see from the screenshot, JRating is sitting in Cell #10.

    Further, if you compare the position for Cell #10 on the Screen Three interface to the position of JRating on my SQL HTML Report circled in red on this screenshot, you can see exactly where Cell #10 is on a JCapper SQL HTML Report.

    When Screen Three of the SQL Factor Setup Wizard is first launched and the FILL BOXES button is clicked before the user has performed any work to reposition factors on the report layout, each of the 48 cells will be populated with a (default) factor name. At this point, the 48 default factor names isnerted into the 48 cells represent the Default SQL HTML Report Layout that comes with the latest program version that you downloaded from the JCapper site.

    Hint: By comparing the factor names persisted in the 48 customizable cells on the Screen Three interface against the factors as they appear on the SQL Mode HTML Report, it shouldn't take you overly long to understand how the interface performs data cell positioning for the 12 right-most vertical columns when an actual JCapper SQL HTML Report is generated during a SQL Calc Races routine.

    Hint: Your job as a user in using the Screen Three (Stacker) interface is to persist individual factor names to individual cells on the report layout so as to make the interface generate a SQL HTML Report that has each factor appearing on the report.


  • Beneath the 48 cells that make up the SQL HTML Report layout are several buttons. Functionality for these buttons will be discussed as part of the step by step instruction set presented below.
The above three bullet points describe the main parts of the Screen Three interface.


Numbered Steps for using the Screen Three (Stacker) interface to position JRating (or another factor from the vertical factor stack) to a specific cell number on the customizable SQL HTML Report layout:

1. Navigate to Screen Three of the SQL Factor Setup Wizard - Picking up where we left off at the end of the previous article, click the NEXT button at the bottom of Screen Two. This will cause navigation to Screen Three of the SQL Factor Setup Wizard.

2. Decide What You Intend to do - and click the appropriate button.

Do you intend to use the the current persisted report layout as a starting point so that you can make just one or two changes to that starting point?

If so, Click the FILL BOXES button. - This will cause the Screen Three interface to populate all 48 cells with the current factor names persisted to each cell in the vertical factor stack. From here you can edit individual cells on the report layout as follows:
  1. Clear an individual cell on the report layout: With all 48 cells populated with factor names after clicking the FILL BOXES button, click the DESELECT button to make sure that the Factor Stack does not have a factor currently selected and then double click inside an individual cell to make the interface clear that cell.

    This screesnhot shows the Screen Three interface immediately after cell #10 has been cleared. To clear the cell, I clicked the DESELECT button to make sure that there wasn't a factor selected in the Factor Stack Listbox. Then I double clicked inside of cell #10 to clear it.


  2. Select a factor to be added to the cleared cell: Scroll through the vertical factors stack and single click the factor that you want to add to the cleared cell. Single clicking a factor on the vertical factor stack will select that factor so that it can be added to the cleared cell in the next step.

    This screesnhot shows the Screen Three interface immediately after F29 JRating has been selected from the vertical factors stack. To select F29 JRating, I scrolled through the vertical factors stack until I spotted F29 JRating and gave it a single click.


  3. Note: In the above screenshot, factor names in the vertical factors stack that are currently peristed to cells on the report layout are displayed with an asterisk * character immediately to the left of the cell number they are assigned to. Also note that available factor names (those not currently assigned to a cell) are displayed on the vertical factor stack without an asterisk character (making them easy to spot.)

  4. Add factor selected in the vertical factors stack to cleared cell: With a factor selected in the vertical factors stack, double click the cleared cell to populate that cell with the selected factor from the vertical factors stack.

    This screesnhot shows the Screen Three interface immediately after F29 JRating has been added to the cleared cell. To add F29 JRating to the cleared cell, I selected F29 JRating by clicking it in the vertical factors stack and then double clicked the cleared cell to populate it.


  5. Repeat the above steps until all of the changes you want to make to the report layout are complete.


-OR- Alternately,

Do you intend to work without a starting point so that you can redo the entire report layout from scratch?

If so, Click the CLEAR BOXES button. - This will cause the Screen Three interface to clear all 48 cells so that you can repopulate all of them with available factor names from the vertical factor stack.

This screesnhot shows the Screen Three interface immediately all cells have been cleared. To clear all of the cells, I clicked the CLEAR BOXES button.

From here, all 48 cells can be repopulated one at a time in the following manner:
  1. Select a factor to be added to an open cell: Scroll through the vertical factors stack and single click the factor that you want to add to an open cell. Single clicking a factor on the vertical factor stack will select that factor so that it can be added to an open cell in the next step.

    This screesnhot shows the Screen Three interface immediately after F29 JRating has been selected from the vertical factors stack. To select F29 JRating, I scrolled through the vertical factors stack until I spotted F29 JRating and gave it a single click.


  2. Note: In the above screenshot, factor names in the vertical factors stack that are currently peristed to cells on the report layout are displayed with an asterisk * character immediately to the left of the cell number they are assigned to. Also note that available factor names (those not currently assigned to a cell) are displayed on the vertical factor stack without an asterisk character (making them easy to spot.)

  3. Add factor selected in the vertical factors stack to an open cell: With a factor selected in the vertical factors stack, double click an open cell to populate that cell with the factor selected in the vertical factors stack.

    This screesnhot shows the Screen Three interface immediately after F29 JRating has been added to an open cell. To add F29 JRating to the open cell, I selected F29 JRating by clicking it in the vertical factors stack and then double clicked the open cell where I wanted it to go (in this case Cell #10.)


  4. Repeat the above steps until all of the changes you want to make to the report layout are complete.


3. Are all of the changes you want to make complete? - If so, click the STACK button.

Clicking the STACK button causes the Stacker Interface to repopulate the vertical factor stack using the factor names assigned to each of the 48 cells on the report layout.

In my opinion, and remember I am the program's author -- this is a much easier interface to work with -- especially if you are redoing the report layout from scratch -- than trying to do the same thing using the Screen Two interface from the previous article.

4. Save Your Work! - Once you are happy with the factor names that you have assigned to each cell, and after you have clicked the STACK button -- Click the SAVE button to save your work.

-OR-

Alternately, Abandon Your Work. If you are unhappy with the factor names assigned to the cells that make up the SQL Report Layout, and you do not wish to continue, you can abandon your work by not clicking the SAVE button.

Clicking the RESET button instead will reset slot numbers and factor names back to where they were when you first launched this screen.

Clicking the CLOSE button without clicking the SAVE button (and answering No when prompted to save your work) will get you out of the SQL Factor Setup Wizard without saving your work.


At this point, we are done with Screen Three of the SQL Factor Setup Wizard. JRating has been persisted for display in cell #10 on the SQL HTML Report layout (even though we have not yet defined HOW that factor will be displayed.)

We are now ready to navigate to Screen FOUR of the SQL Factor Setup Wizard by clicking NEXT.

BACK to Screen Two --click here--

NEXT... Screen Four Instructions --click here--

-jp

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