Creating and Printing Datablock Reports

Earlier in this chapter we demonstrated how to create custom datablocks. Their ease of use may have concealed their significance, but keep in mind these facts:

• Datablocks are a data-display tool. • Datablocks are customizable.

• Datablocks let you display almost any piece of data about a component. • Datablocks let you choose as many or as few pieces of data as you want. • Datablocks let you choose different pieces of data for each component type. In this section, we will add two more facts to this list:

• Datablocks may be printed in a spreadsheet-style report format.

• Datablock Reports may be created for whatever components you choose. The ability to manipulate and print data in this way represents one of PTW’s most important and powerful features, and will reward your effort in learning how to use them. Datablock reports are particularly useful for creating custom equipment lists such as cable lists, motor lists, load lists, etc. A sample datablock report for cable data follows. The lists can be printed directly or saved as an Excel spreadsheet file.

5.8.1. Creating, Saving, and Printing Datablock Reports

When you first create a Datablock Report, it appears in spreadsheet form: To create a Datablock Report

1. Run the Datablock Format command (on the Run menu) to pick what data you want to show for each component type in the Datablock Report.

2. Click the Run>Datablock Report command.

You may save this spreadsheet either in PTW’s Report form or as a Microsoft Excel- compatible spreadsheet:

To save the Datablock Report 1. Click the Save button

2. Choose the Format as either *.RPT (PTW’s Report format) or *.XLS (Microsoft Excel-compatible format).

You may print the Datablock Report right from this spreadsheet (alternately, you may open the *.RPT in PTW or a word processing program and print it, or open the *.XLS file in Microsoft Excel and print it):

To print the Datablock Report 1. Click the Print button.

5.8.2. Formatting the Datablock Report

You can use the Alignment and Font buttons to modify the spreadsheet. For more advanced formatting, open the *.RPT file in a word processing program, or the *.XLS file in Microsoft Excel.

5.8.3. Choosing What Data will Appear

In regard to choosing what data will appear, the Datablock Report works just like

Datablocks⎯it uses the Datablock Format you select. Put simply, the Report will display whatever data the Datablock Format tells it to display. Therefore, you should become familiar with customizing Datablock Formats. You can use the pre-defined Formats included with PTW, but the Report’s true flexibility comes when you can select the data you want to show. We recommend you review the procedures discussed in Section 5.5, “Creating Datablock Formats.” Once you can create custom Datablock Formats with ease, Datablock Reports will become your best tool for displaying data.

Important: For data to appear in the Datablock Report spreadsheet, a Datablock Format must have already been applied to that area using the Datablock Format command. As explained in Section 5.3, “Applying Datablock Formats,” Datablock Formats only apply to a specific are type. For example, if you want to view the Datablock Report

spreadsheet for a TCC Drawing, even if you have applied a Datablock Format for the One-Line Diagram, no data will appear until you apply a Datablock Format for the TCC Drawing, too.

5.8.4. Choosing Components for Reporting

A great feature of Datablock Reports is that they allow you to choose specific components for reporting. That way, you get the data for just the components you need. For example, say you only want to report the voltage drop for the five buses in a particular branch, not for all the buses in the project. Using a Datablock Report, there’s no need to sift through the hundreds of buses in the Load Flow/Voltage Drop Report. You just set up a

Datablock Format that displays voltage drop for buses, choose those five buses, and create the Report.

For the Component Editor

All the components appearing within the component set in the Component Editor will appear in the Datablock Report spreadsheet. If the Datablock Report spreadsheet appears empty when you run the Datablock Report command, either no Datablock Format has been applied for the Component Editor, or no attributes have been assigned to the component types presently shown in the Components Box.

Tip: Queries work quite well in the Component Editor to narrow the component list down to those you need for your Datablock Report. Even if you aren’t that familiar with Queries, try running basic ones, such as All Buses. You will find that queries add power to the Datablock Reports, since you can quickly narrow the component list to just the handful on which you need information.

For a One-Line Diagram

If you have some components selected on the One-Line Diagram, only those components will appear in the Datablock Report spreadsheet; if you have no components selected, all the components on the One-Line Diagram will appear in the Datablock Report

spreadsheet. If the Datablock Report spreadsheet appears empty when you run the Datablock Report command, either no Datablock Format has been applied for the One- Line, or no attributes have been assigned to the component types that have been selected.

Tip: Since the Datablock Report only applies to the selected components, you can simply draw a box around a group of components and run the Datablock Report. This is especially effective if you only want to report on a specific branch. You can also run a Query to select specific components.

For a TCC Drawing

All the components within the active TCC Drawing will appear in the Datablock Report spreadsheet. If the Datablock Report spreadsheet appears empty when you run the Datablock Report command, either no Datablock Format has been applied for the TCC Drawing, or no attributes have been assigned to the component types that are on the TCC Drawing.

Tip: If you only want to report on certain components in the TCC (for example, only the protective devices, not the cables or motors), copy the TCC then open the copy and remove the components you don't want to report using the Component>Remove command before running the Datablock Report. Once you have run the Datablock Report, you can delete the TCC copy.