rbf Command—Start Report-By-Forms

The rbf command invokes Report-By-Forms (RBF), a forms-based interface that lets you build new reports or edit existing reports.

rbf dbname |vnode::dbname[/server_class] [-r|-m[style]]
report_target [-lpagewidth] [-e] [-s] [-uusername] [-Ggroupid]

Indicates that the report_target is a report. If the report is found, RBF allows you to edit the report specifications. An error is returned if the named report is not found.

Indicates that the report_target is a table. RBF formats a default report for the specified table and then lets you edit that default report.

The optional style parameter specifies the style of your report. Accepted values are: wrap, tabular (same as column), block, labels, and indented. If you do not specify a style, RBF selects either tabular or block, depending on the width of your report. RBF chooses tabular if all of the columns fit on one page; otherwise RBF selects block. The default report width is 132 characters.

Specifies the name of the object that you want to access in RBF. The report_target can be an existing report (created in a previous RBF session), a table, view, or synonym in your database on which you want to base the report.

The table, view, or synonym name can be qualified with a valid schema name in the format schema.name, as described in Schema Qualifier.

You can specify the type of report_target to RBF by using the –r or –m flag. If neither flag is specified, RBF looks first for a report having the specified name. If a report is not found, but a table with the same name exists, RBF sets up a default report for that table.

Directs RBF to use the line length specified by pagewidth when generating default reports. By default, RBF uses a line length of 132 characters for the label style, 80 characters for block, and 100 characters for the wrap style. All other styles, that is, tabular, indented and master-detail (a report run on a JoinDef) have no default line length. If you do not specify one for these, RBF makes the report as wide as necessary to accommodate the data.

Invokes RBF in empty mode. The RBF Reports Catalog frame appears without data in its table field. This flag accelerates the process of selecting a report definition for editing, for users who are familiar with the contents of a database’s reports catalog. To use this flag with a particular report definition, move the cursor to the Name column, enter the desired report name, and select the appropriate operation.