Creating a PCHOLD File

How to:

Create a PCHOLD File

The PCHOLD command enables you to extract data from the WebFOCUS Reporting Server by way of the WebFOCUS client, and automatically display the data in HTML format in your browser.

In addition, if you have established a helper application, you can use the command ON TABLE PCHOLD to display the data in the helper application's viewer. For example, if a procedure contains the ON TABLE PCHOLD FORMAT EXCEL command, data is not returned to the browser in HTML format. Instead, data is returned and imported into an Excel spreadsheet, or other spreadsheet program you specify to your browser.

In contrast, when data access is handled directly by the Reporting Server (without intervention by the WebFOCUS Client), the data is extracted to a PCHOLD file and automatically delivered to your PC for local reporting.

Note: If your environment supports the SET parameter SAVEMATRIX, you can preserve the internal matrix of your last report in order to keep it available for subsequent HOLD, SAVE, and SAVB commands when the request is followed by Dialogue Manager commands. For details on SAVEMATRIX, see the TIBCO WebFOCUS® Developing Reporting Applications manual.

Syntax: How to Create a PCHOLD File

The syntax for PCHOLD in a report request is

ON TABLE PCHOLD [AS filename] [FORMAT fmt] [DATASET name.ext]

where:

PCHOLD

Enables you to extract and automatically display data in HTML format in your browser. HOLD AT CLIENT is a synonym for PCHOLD. The PCHOLD command does not have a default format. You must specify a format when using PCHOLD. The output is saved with a Master File. For details about the behavior of PCHOLD, see Creating a HOLD File.

If you specify an ON TABLE PCHOLD command without a FORMAT, XML/HTML code is returned to the browser.

AS filename

Specifies a name for the PCHOLD file. If you do not specify a file name, PCHOLD becomes the default. Since each subsequent PCHOLD command overwrites the previous PCHOLD file, it is advisable to code a distinct file name in each request to direct the extracted data to a separate file, thereby preventing it from being overwritten by the next PCHOLD command.

FORMAT fmt

Specifies the format of the PCHOLD file.

To display as or in a webpage, choose:
```
HTML, HTMTABLE, DHTML, VISDIS
```
To display as a printed document, choose:
```
PDF, PS
```
To use in a text document, choose:
```
ALPHA, DOC, WP
```
To use in a spreadsheet application, choose:
```
DIF, XLSX, EXL2K [PIVOT], LOTUS
```
To use for additional reporting, choose:
```
ALPHA, DFIX, COM, COMT, TAB, TABT
```
To use in another application choose:
```
XML
```
To generate active output, choose:
```
AHTML, APDF, AFLEX
```

For details about all available formats, see Choosing Output File Formats.

DATASET name.ext

Is used with FORMAT ALPHA to specify a file name and extension for the report output. The result depends on the Redirection Settings in the WebFOCUS Administration Console for the specified extension. If the extension is defined in the WebFOCUS Administration Console, and the Save Report value is yes, the report output will be saved in your Downloads directory with the specified file name and extension.