Multi-Drill Feature With Cascading Menus and User-Defined Styling

In this section:

The multi-drill feature supports multiple menu items, as well as multiple cascading levels, that you can incorporate into any WebFOCUS report that works with JavaScript (for example, HTML and DHTML). Styling of the menu can be customized using WebFOCUS StyleSheet syntax.

The multi-drill feature for HTML and DHTML provides:

For PDF, PS, PPT, PPTX, EXL2K, and XLSX formats, the first active link is used to create a hyperlink on the designated location.

Accessibility Support

The multi-drill feature provides 508 accessibility support to the cascading multi-drill menus available in HTML format.

In reports, for the multi-drill cascading menu options Auto Drill and Auto Link, accessibility users should:

For more information, see TM4505: WebFOCUS HTML Report Accessibility Support.

Creating Multiple Drill-Down Links

In this section:

You can customize the drill-down menu at two levels:

Global Menu Styling

To define styling attributes for all menus within the current procedure (fex): 

TYPE=REPORT, OBJECT=MENU, [FONT=font], [SIZE=size], [COLOR=color],
[HOVER-COLOR=hover_color], [BACKCOLOR=backcolor], 
[HOVER-BACKCOLOR=hover_backcolor], [BORDER={ON|OFF|n}],
[BORDER-COLOR=border_color], [BORDER-STYLE=border_style]
$

where:

font

Defines the font typeface for the menu item. The default is inherited from the report.

size

Defines the font size for the menu item. The default font size is 9.

color

Defines the text color for the menu item (named colors or RGB/HEX values). The default text color for the menu item is RGB(#6B6B6B). Also used to define the color of the SEPARATOR line and the control caret.

hover_color

Defines the text color for the hover over or select menu item (named colors or RGB/HEX values). The default text color for hover over or select menu item is RGB(#495263).

backcolor

Defines the background color for the menu item (named colors or RGB/HEX values). The default background color is RGB(#F8F8F8).

hover_backcolor

Defines the background color for hover over or select menu item (named colors or RGB/HEX values). The default background color for hover over or select menu item is RGB(#DFDFDF).

BORDER={ON|OFF|n}

where:

  • ON displays borders around the menu objects and as the separator lines, based on user defined styling or system defaults.
  • OFF displays no border around the menu objects.
  • n is border weight in pixels (valid values 1, 2, 3, light, medium, heavy).

The default border weight is light.

border_color

Defines border coloring to be used for borders around the menu. This will also be used for the color of the separator lines within the menu. Is one of the preset color values. The default border color is RGB(#D6D6D6).

border_style

Defines line styles to be used for borders around the menu, as well as separator lines. Possible values are listed in the following table. This will also be used for separator style within the menu. The default border style is solid. Seeing the distinction in border style may require using a heavier weight (for example, border=heavy, or border=3).

Style

Description

NONE

No border/divider

SOLID

Solid line

DOTTED

Dotted line

DASHED

Dashed line

DOUBLE

Double line

GROOVE

3D groove

RIDGE

3D ridge

INSET

3D inset

OUTSET

3D outset

Note:

  • If a multi-drill menu is tagged with the DRILL-SOURCE attribute, it indicates that the menu was generated by WebFOCUS and should be merged into the existing drilldowns added by the user for the specified report element, if any. The value of the attribute indicates which WebFOCUS feature generated the menu. This attribute is reserved for internal use only.
  • When you create multiple drill-down links, you cannot specify a single drill-down action (for example, FOCEXEC or URL) before the first DRILLMENUITEM.

Menu Items Styling

The syntax for cascading menus is an extension of the existing multi-drill (DRILLMENUITEM) syntax. Any syntax that is currently valid should behave the same after the extended syntax is implemented.

To define individual menus and items attached to a report node or data element: 

TYPE=type, [subtype], [DRILLMENUITEM='description', action|'keyword'],
  [NAME=name], [PARENT=parentname],

where:

type

Identifies the report component that you select in the web browser to execute the link. The TYPE attribute and its value must appear at the beginning of the declaration.

subtype

Are any additional attributes, such as COLUMN, LINE, or ITEM, that are needed to identify the report component that you are formatting.

Each DRILLMENUITEM item must have a description or a keyword pair. Descriptions without actions will automatically be inactive by default.

The exception to this rule will be parent items containing children entries linked with the NAME/PARENT pairing. In this instance, the action will be to present the children in the cascading menu.

description

Is the text that appears on the pop-up menu of drill-down options on the report output. The default value is DrillDown n, where n is a consecutive integer, such as DrillDown 1, DrillDown 2, and so on.

Note:

  • If DRILLMENUITEM is set to the special value 'SEPARATOR':
    • A horizontal separator line will be drawn using the styling and color attributes defined for the menu borders at the location within the menu.
    • A separator cannot be associated with an action.
  • The DRILLMENUITEM value cannot be empty or blank.
action

Is the type of link, as described in Drill-Down Action Options. For example, a link to a detail report or URL.

The following attributes are optional. They are only required for cascading menus where a hierarchy must be defined.

name

An optional unique identifier for the current item to use as a link between parent and children items. Only required if this node serves as a parent to children menu items where a link must be identified.

parentname

An optional unique identifier/name of the parent menu item for the current child item. Only required if this node serves as a parent to another item in the hierarchy.

Drill-Down Action Options

Each drill menu item can be linked to a single instance of the actions below:

FOCEXEC=report.fex

Another report. The StyleSheet attribute is FOCEXEC.

TYPE=type, [subtype], FOCEXEC=fex[(parameters...)], [TARGET=frame,]
[ALT='description',] $
URL=url string

A URL. The StyleSheet attribute is URL. You pass a valid URL. Note that the length of the URL is limited by the maximum number of characters allowed by the browser. For information about this limit for your browser, see the browser support site. 

TYPE=type, [subtype], URL=url[(parameters...)], [TARGET=frame,] [ALT='description',] $
URL=(field)

A URL from a field. The StyleSheet attribute is URL. You pass the name of a report column whose value is a valid URL to which the link will jump. 

TYPE=type, [subtype], URL=url[(parameters ...)], [TARGET=frame,] [ALT='description',] $
JAVASCRIPT=function

A JavaScript function. The StyleSheet attribute is JAVASCRIPT. 

TYPE=type, [subtype], JAVASCRIPT=function[(parameters ...)], $

Note: If a drilldown link calls a JavaScript function that displays a popup message, the drill menu will remain open until the popup message is dismissed.

Summary of Drill-Down Links

Within a multi-drill menu, you can link to:

  • Another report. The StyleSheet attribute is FOCEXEC. For details on the syntax, see Linking to Another Report.
  • A URL. The StyleSheet attribute is URL. You pass a valid URL. For details on the syntax, see Linking to a URL.

    Note that the length of the URL is limited by the maximum number of characters allowed by the browser. For information about this limit for your browser, search on your browser vendor support site.

  • A URL from a field. The StyleSheet attribute is URL. You pass the name of a report column whose value is a valid URL to which the link will jump. For details on the syntax, see Linking to a URL.
  • A JavaScript function. The StyleSheet attribute is JAVASCRIPT. For details on the syntax, see Linking to a JavaScript Function.
  • A Maintain Data procedure. The StyleSheet attribute is URL with the keyword MNTCON EX. For details on the syntax, see Linking to a Maintain Procedure.
  • A WebFOCUS compiled Maintain Data procedure. The StyleSheet attribute is URL with the keyword MNTCON RUN. For details on the syntax, see Linking to a Maintain Procedure.

Sample Drill Menu Stylesheet Code

TABLE FILE GGSALES
SUM
   GGSALES.SALES01.UNITS
   GGSALES.SALES01.DOLLARS
BY GGSALES.SALES01.REGION
BY GGSALES.SALES01.CATEGORY
BY GGSALES.SALES01.PRODUCT
ON TABLE SET PAGE-NUM NOLEAD
ON TABLE SET ASNAMES ON
ON TABLE NOTOTAL
ON TABLE PCHOLD FORMAT HTML
ON TABLE SET HTMLEMBEDIMG ON
ON TABLE SET HTMLCSS ON
ON TABLE SET STYLE *
FONT=TAHOMA, GRID=OFF,$
TYPE=DATA,COLUMN=B2,
  DRILLMENUITEM='Sales Details', NAME=menu2,
  DRILLMENUITEM='By Month',
    PARENT=menu2, NAME=menu21,
    FOCEXEC=detailreport.fex(PARAMETER=CATEGORY),TARGET=_blank,
  DRILLMENUITEM='By Quarter',
    PARENT=menu2, NAME=menu23,
    FOCEXEC=detailreport.fex(PARAMETER=CATEGORY),TARGET=_blank,
  DRILLMENUITEM=SEPARATOR, PARENT=menu2,
  DRILLMENUITEM='By Product',
    PARENT=menu2, NAME=menu24,
    FOCEXEC=detailreport.fex(PARAMETER=CATEGORY),TARGET=_blank,
  DRILLMENUITEM='By Customer',
    PARENT=menu2,NAME=menu25,
    FOCEXEC=detailreport.fex(PARAMETER=CATEGORY),TARGET=_blank,
  DRILLMENUITEM=SEPARATOR, PARENT=menu2,
  DRILLMENUITEM='Profitablity Analysis',
    PARENT=menu2,NAME=menu3,
  DRILLMENUITEM='By Month',
    PARENT=menu3, NAME=menu31,
    FOCEXEC=detailreport.fex(PARAMETER=CATEGORY),TARGET=_blank,
  DRILLMENUITEM='By Region',
    PARENT=menu3, NAME=menu32,
    FOCEXEC=detailreport.fex(PARAMETER=CATEGORY),TARGET=_blank,
  DRILLMENUITEM='Forecasts', 
    FOCEXEC=detailreport.fex(PARAMETER=CATEGORY),TARGET=_blank,
$
TYPE=DATA,COLUMN=B3,
  DRILLMENUITEM='IBI Links',NAME=menu4a,
  DRILLMENUITEM='Information Builders',
    PARENT=menu4a, NAME=menu41,
    URL=http://www.ibi.com,TARGET=_blank,
  DRILLMENUITEM='Summit 2015',
    PARENT=menu4a, NAME=menu42,
    URL=http://www.ibi.com,TARGET=_blank,
  DRILLMENUITEM='Competative Analysis',
    PARENT=menu4a, NAME=menu43,
    URL=http://www.ibi.com,TARGET=_blank,
  DRILLMENUITEM='External Links', NAME=menu4b,
  DRILLMENUITEM='Google',
    PARENT=menu4b, NAME=menu45, URL=http://www.google.com,TARGET=_blank,
  DRILLMENUITEM='Weather',
    PARENT=menu4b, NAME=menu46, URL=http://www.weather.com,TARGET=_blank,
  DRILLMENUITEM='CNN',
    PARENT=menu4b,NAME=menu47, URL=http://www.cnn.com,TARGET=_blank,
$
ENDSTYLE
END

This code generates a menu structure that looks like the following images.

To apply custom styling to the menus, add the following syntax to the StyleSheet: 

TYPE=REPORT, OBJECT=MENU, FONT="COMIC SANS MS", COLOR=NAVY,
BACKCOLOR=GREY, HOVER-COLOR=GREY, HOVER-BACKCOLOR=NAVY, $

The menu structure will now look like the following images.

Reference: Usage Notes for Multi-Drill Menus

The following interactive reports are supported with the multi-drill cascading menus with user defined styling:

  • HFREEZE
  • Accordion by Row (EXPANDBYROW, EXPANDBYROWTREE)
  • Accordion by Column (EXPANDABLE)
  • OLAP
  • HTML TOC

Note: As of Release 8.2 Version 01, when the Multi-Drill and On Demand Paging features are enabled in a report, the cascading Multi-Drill menus do not display. Instead, the legacy Multi-Drill menus generated prior to Release 8.2.01 will be generated. Cascading menus are not available and all hyperlinks display on the same level on the menu.

Applying Conditional Styling

You can apply conditional styling to a report component, using a phrase such as WHEN, and use it to select one of a number of different actions, depending on the value of fields in the report.

The WHEN condition must precede the DRILLMENUITEM syntax.

For details on creating conditions, see Linking With Conditions.

Example: Applying Conditional Styling to a Multiple Drill-Down Report

Add the following boldface code to the sample summary report in Creating Multiple Drill-Down Links. Notice that the WHEN condition precedes the code for DRILLMENUITEM, as required.

When you run the summary report, the State field is in red instead of blue whenever budget dollars is greater than dollar sales, and the pop-up menu of drill-down options shows Detail Budget Report instead of DrillDown 1 and DrillDown 2. 

.
.
.
TYPE=DATA,
     COLUMN=N1,
     COLOR='BLUE',
     STYLE=UNDERLINE,
     DRILLMENUITEM='DrillDown 1',
          URL=http://www.informationbuilders.com?,
     DRILLMENUITEM='DrillDown 2',
          FOCEXEC=DETAILREPORT(PARAMETER=N1),$
TYPE=DATA, 
     COLUMN=N1,
     COLOR='RED',
     STYLE=UNDERLINE,
     WHEN=BUDDOLLARS GT DOLLARS,
     DRILLMENUITEM='Detail Budget Report',
          FOCEXEC=DETAILREPORT(PARAMETER=N1),$.
.
.

Sample output is: