Forms, reports, and charts
QMF™ creates reports from data stored in your database. A QMF form consists of a number of panels used to control report formatting.
When you select data (by running a query, importing data, or displaying a table or view), you can use QMF form panels to format the data into a report or chart. You can also use form panels to perform specific calculations on report data, such as adding columns or calculating percentages.
- Using QMF forms
QMF automatically generates form panels when a table is displayed or a SELECT query is run without specifying a form. The resulting report is based on default formatting provided by QMF. - Creating reports in QMF
Reports are initially created by applying a default form to the data retrieved from your query. - Creating charts in QMF
Certain entry areas on the form panels determine what appears on a chart, such as chart headings, legends, axis labels, and data plotted on the X and Y axes. However, not all entry areas on all panels affect charts. - FORM.MAIN
Use FORM.MAIN to make simple changes to a report or chart. - FORM.BREAKn
Use the FORM.BREAKn panels (where n is a number from 1 through 6) to make choices about the text and its placement for up to six breaks in a report. QMF places the text you specify on each break panel after its associated break in the report. - FORM.CALC
On the FORM.CALC panel you can enter expressions for report calculations. This panel initially contains only one row – a place for one expression. However, up to 998 additional rows can be inserted. - FORM.COLUMNS
Use FORM.COLUMNS to make choices about the uses of the columns. What you specify on FORM.COLUMNS is reflected on FORM.MAIN. - FORM.CONDITIONS
Use FORM.CONDITIONS to enter expressions for conditional formatting. Conditional formatting allows you to create expressions that determine when the formatting variations specified in FORM.DETAIL appear. - FORM.DETAIL
FORM.DETAIL consists of detail variations that you define. You can create up to 99 variations, and each variation can correspond to conditions entered on FORM.CONDITIONS. Unless each condition is mutually exclusive, different detail variations can be displayed for the same data row. - FORM.FINAL
Use FORM.FINAL to make detailed choices about the content and placement of final text in a report. QMF places the text at the end of the report, and you can use it, for example, to identify the final summary data of a report. - FORM.OPTIONS
Use FORM.OPTIONS to adjust the appearance of your report. - FORM.PAGE
Use FORM.PAGE to make detailed choices about the content and placement of the page headings and footings in a report. - How QMF evaluates forms for errors
QMF distinguishes between two types of errors on form panels. - Using REXX with QMF forms
Expressions used in FORM.CALC, FORM.CONDITIONS, and FORM.COLUMNS (Column Definition) can consist of terms (strings, symbols, and functions) interspersed with operators and parentheses. Do not execute QMF commands (using the callable or command interfaces) from within a REXX expression or program. - Usage codes
QMF usage codes can be entered in the USAGE field on QMF FORM.MAIN or FORM.COLUMNS to define how to use column data to produce reports and charts. - Edit codes
An edit code is a set of characters that tells QMF how to format and punctuate the data in a specific column of a report. - Variables used in forms
You can use global variables (both those defined by users and those supplied by QMF) and form variables in QMF forms. A variable can replace a string of text or a numeric value. You can assign different values to the variable to produce different reports without changing the form.
Parent topic: Reference information for QMF for TSO and CICS