peoplesoft peopletools peoplesoft query · 2019. 11. 17. · 3. on records tab, search for and add...

7/9/2019 © SpearMC Consulting 1 © 2019 SpearMC Consulting

PeopleSoft PeopleTools

PeopleSoft Query

SpearMC Technology Course

Over 20 years of PeopleTools

PeopleTools Consultant – 13 Years

• Enhancements

• Implementations/Upgrades

• Production Support

• PeopleTools Instructor

Developer at PeopleSoft – 8 Years

• Financials Applications

• Enterprise Services Automation

• PeopleTools Reporting Technology

PeopleTools Specialties

• PeopleCode

• Web Services

• Portal Technology

• BI Publisher

• Enhancing User Experience 2

Before We Begin

Instructor – John Beretz

© 2019 SpearMC Consulting

Senior Developer and Instructor

[email protected]

About this course

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About this Course

Goals – Get a sense of what PeopleSoft Query is for and what it can do for you

– Learn how to create basic Queries

– Understand what the advanced capabilities of Query can do for you

– Learn how to extend basic Queries to solve more complex problems

– Understand enough to begin your own exploration!

Overview

5

About this Course

Schedule

– End time

– Lunch break

– Frequent short breaks

During class

– Demonstrations

– Lectures

– Questions and Answers

– Hands-on activities

– Collaborative troubleshooting

– One-on-one assistance from instructor

Structure

6

About this Course

Follow along with your own soft/hard copy of the slides – To complete the activities, you’ll need to be able to flip back through

the slides

– Best way to distribute?

Ask lots of questions – If I don't know the answer, I'll find it ASAP

– Special or off-topic requests go in the ”parking lot” • We'll circle back, time permitting

My email: [email protected] – Send me comments, feedback, special requests

Tips

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About this Course

1. What is PeopleSoft Query?

2. Query Manager Basics

3. Joins and Query Manager

4. Prompts

5. Translate Values

6. Using Expressions and Aggregate Functions

7. Effective Dating

8. Creating Left Outer Joins

9. Query Viewer, Query Scheduler, and Security

10. Scheduling Queries

Course Topics

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About this Course

Name

Team and Role

PeopleSoft experience

Other relevant technical experience?

How do you expect to use what you learn in this class?

Any special topics you’d like covered?

Introduce yourself!


Introducing PeopleSoft Query


In common usage: a “query” = a question

In Information Technology: a “query” = a question asked of a database – Request to pull specific information from a database

– For relational databases, typically defined using programming language SQL (Structured Query Language)

A query against a relational database includes: – Tables: What kinds of things are you interested in?

• E.g. Purchase Orders, Employees

– Field/Column list: What specific pieces of data should be included? • E.g. Purchase Order Line Item quantity, and price

• Some of these might actually be calculations involving multiple pieces of data

– Criteria/Filters: Which set of things do you want to get data about? • E.g. All Purchase Orders issued last quarter

– Groupings/Aggregates: How to summarize across individual items? • E.g. The total cost per Purchase Order, regardless of individual line items

What is a Query?

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PeopleSoft Query is a set of delivered tools that enables users to query data stored in PeopleSoft

– Does not require knowledge of SQL – Allows you to answer questions about data in the PeopleSoft system much

more quickly than flipping through a bunch of pages! – A query created and managed by these tools is referred to as A PeopleSoft

Query

There are 3 components to PeopleSoft Query: – Query Manager

• Tool used to create and run a Query

– Query Viewer • Tool used to run an existing Query and view the results • Ideal for users who don’t have the ability to create their own Queries

– Query Scheduler • Tool used to schedule an existing Query to run at a designated time and

distribute the output

What is PeopleSoft Query?

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Why can Query do for me? – Answer questions on an ad-hoc basis

– Create and save useful, simple “reports” that you can run periodically and share with others

– Grab data that can then feed other PeopleSoft technologies (e.g. BI Publisher)

Demo: What does a simple PeopleSoft Query look like?

What is PeopleSoft Query?

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All information in all PeopleSoft applications (e.g. Purchase Orders, Employees, Inventory) is stored in a relational database

What’s a Relational Database? – A structured collection of information that is related to a particular

subject or purpose

– A database is analogous to an Excel workbook

Data can be easily retrieved and summarized using SQL – This manipulation can produce useful reports.

PeopleSoft and Relational Databases

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Within a relational database, data is organized into storage containers called tables

What’s a Table? – Each table is designed to store information about a specific type of item

– Made up of columns and rows

– Each item in a table is stored in its own row • Example: Each row in an invoice table stores the data of one invoice

– Columns represent individual data fields stored for the type of item • Example: Each column of an customer table is for storing a different piece

of information about a customer (name, contact, address, etc.)

• Each column on a table can only stored one type of data (e.g. number, text, date)

– A table is analogous to a sheet in an Excel workbook

PeopleSoft and Tables

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In PeopleSoft, tables are often referred to as Records

In PeopleSoft, columns are often referred to as Fields

What does the word “Record” mean to you? – All the data you have on something, i.e. an “employee record”?

– This is NOT what it means in PeopleSoft!

PeopleSoft Records

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Keys are fields in tables that are used to uniquely identify a row – No two rows in a table have the same key values

– Examples: Sales Order Number, Purchase Order Number, Employee ID

A key for a table can be a single field or multiple fields – Multiple field keys are common in PeopleSoft Records

– Examples: • Employee ID + Employee Record

• Business Unit + Sales Order Number

• SetID + Item Number

• SetID + Supplier ID + Address ID + Effective Date

Fields and Keys

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Query Manager Basics

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1. Creating a Simple Query

2. Changing Field Headings

3. Removing a Field

4. Changing Field/Column Position

5. Changing Results Sort Order

6. Query Criteria Essentials

Topics


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Everyone in the class will be doing the same activities in the same PeopleSoft environment

– We need a way to avoid “stepping on each other”!

Naming conventions – All custom objects will start with “Z”

– Choose a unique 2-character identifier (represented by “XX” in examples), preferably your “magic number” or your initials; I’ll use “ZZ”

– Our custom objects will all have a ZXX prefix (mine will use “ZZZ”)

– Shared custom objects will start with just “Z_”

Housekeeping


Creating a simple Query is easy! 1. Open Reporting Tools > Query > Query Manager 2. Click Create New Query 3. On Records tab, Search for and Add a Record (FROM table) 4. On Query tab, mark checkboxes next to Fields to include in the result set 5. Run it! Select Run tab 6. Save it

• Click Save button at lower left of all tabs except Run • Name it • Accept default values for other fields

Demo: Creating a Simple Query – Creating a new Query – Choosing columns – Saving the Query

Creating a Simple Query

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1. Login to PeopleSoft.

2. Navigate to Reporting Tools > Query > Query Manager

3. Click on the Create New Query link

4. In the Record Name field, enter the first few letters of the name of the Record you want to use and click on the Search button. – Records matching the criteria appear listed as RecordName - RecordDescription

5. In the search results, click on the Add Record link beside the Record you want to use. – Click OK if you see a message about ”effective date”

6. Check the boxes next to the fields you’re interested in or click the Check All button

7. Click on the Save button at the bottom of the page.

8. Enter a unique Query name (all caps, numbers, “_”, and “-”)

9. Enter a description

10. Set Owner to Public (others can use) or leave it Private (only you can use)

11. Click OK.

12. Click the Run tab at the top-right of the page.




The Record behind the Job Data app is known as the Job Record – Navigation to Job Data: Workforce Administration > Job Information > Job

Data – All data you see in the Job Data application is stored in the Job Record

The master Record for – Organizational information (e.g. Business Unit, Company, Department, Pay

Group) – Employee Life-Cycle Events (e.g. Hire, Termination, Transfer, Pay Rate

Change) – Job and Salary Information (e.g. Job Code, FLSA Category, Full/Part-Time,

Hourly Rate, Annual Rate, etc.)

Actual Record name = JOB

Job Record Key includes Fields: – Employee ID (EMPLID): Unique ID assigned to a person – Employee Record (EMPL_RCD): Unique number, starting with zero,

assigned to each relationship that person has with the organization

Meet the Job Record

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Activity: Create a Simple Query Over JOB 1. Use the Job Record (JOB)

2. Include the following fields:

3. Name the Query ZXX_JOB1

4. Give it a description that includes your name

5. Make it Public

6. Run it!



• EMPLID • EMPL_RCD • EFFDT • EFFSEQ • DEPTID • JOBCODE • SUPERVISOR_ID • HR_STATUS • EMPL_STATUS

• LOCATION • FULL_PART_TIME • EMPL_TYPE • STD_HOURS • EMPL_CLASS • GRADE • HIRE_DT


Changing Field Headings 1. On Field tab, click Edit button next to Field to change

2. Select Heading type of “Text”

3. Change Heading Text to desired column label

Removing a Field – On Field tab, click “minus” button at far right of Field to remove

– Alternative Method: Return to Query tab, find Field to remove, and uncheck it

Demo: Field Basics – Changing headings and removing fields

Query Manager Field Basics

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Activity: Field Basics – Change the label of Field STD_HOURS from "Stnd Hrs/Wk" to "Weekly

Hours”

– Remove field EFFSEQ from the Query results

– Test it!


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Changing Result Column Left-to-Right Order 1. On Field tab, click Reorder/Sort button 2. Enter new position, as a number, in New Column field 3. Click OK button

Changing Sort Order of Result Rows 1. On Field tab, click Reorder/Sort button 2. Enter ”1” in the New Order By field next to the Field to sort by 3. Enter “2” for secondary sort Field, etc. 4. Mark the Descending checkbox to sort in reverse order 5. Click OK button

Demo: Field Position and Sort – Changing the position of the results columns – Changing the sort order of the result rows


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Activity: Field Position and Sort Modify your Job Data Query so that it’s sorted by Start Date within a location. Also, move the supervisor ID to the last column of the results. – Move Field SUPERVISOR_ID to the last position – Don’t move the Start Date (HIRE_DT) field – Sort the Query results by

1. LOCATION 2. HIRE_DT 3. EMPLID 4. EMPL_RCD

– Tip: The order of the columns after this activity should be: 1. LOCATION 2. EMPLID 3. EMPL_RCD

…

14. HIRE_DT 15. SUPERVISOR_ID


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Adding Criteria to Query definitions filters the rows that come back

Most criteria have form Expression1 ConditionType Expression2

Adding criteria to a Query 1. Open either the Query or Fields tab 2. Click the Add Criteria icon next to the Field to filter on

• The “Edit Criteria Properties” page opens • Expression 1 will already be set to the Field

3. Choose the Condition Type • E.g. equal to, not equal to, greater than, less than

4. Choose a Type for Expression 2 1. E.g. a Constant value, another Field, a calculation (Expression)

5. Enter the details for Expression 2 (depending on the selected type) 1. E.g. the Constant value, the other Field, the Expression calculation

6. Click OK

Demo: Query Criteria – Field equal to Constant, in a list of values, between values

Query Criteria Essentials

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Activity: Filtering Data Modify your Job Data Query so that it only returns

– Active employees (EMPL_STATUS=A)

– Employees hired between 2000 and 2017 (HIRE_DT)

– Employees in departments 10000 (HR), 10200 (Headquarters), 11000 (IS), 13000 (Finance)

– Test it!

Query Criteria Essentials

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Effective Dating is a PeopleSoft feature that: – Allows data to change over time without losing history

– Supports “future dating” data: you can make a change that won’t become effective until some point in the future

Each row in an Effective Dated Record has an Effective Date – Represents the date the row of data became (or will become) valid

Many Records in PeopleSoft utilize Effective Dating – A Record is “Effective Dated” if Field EFFDT is part of the key

How does it work? – Instead of changing the value in a field, insert a new copy of the row

but with EFFDT = current date

– Make the changes to the new row; don’t change the old one

Introducing Effective Dates

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Example: JOB Record

Effective Dated Rows

EMPLID EFFDT EFFSEQ

1 01/01/2011 0

1 01/01/1988 0

2 01/01/2019 0

2 01/01/2005 0

2 01/01/2001 0

3 06/01/2019 0

3 06/01/2019 1

3 12/31/2019 0

history

current

history

current

future

current

history

future

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“Include History” Option – By default, no history is displayed to users

• i.e. only current and future effective dated rows – To view history, click Include History in Component button bar

• History rows will appear • Only an option for user with Action Update/Display All permission

“Correction Mode” – By default, users cannot edit data with a past Effective Date

• They must add a new Effective Dated row • Enforces compliance with maintaining data history

– Click Correct History button on Component button bar to override • Turns on Correction Mode • Intended for use correcting typos • Only available for users with Action Correction permission

Demo: Using Effective Dates in PeopleSoft Applications – Adding effective dated rows – Include History – Correction Mode

Effective Dates in Applications

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Historical data, current data, and future data are all stored in the same table

If a Query doesn’t handle Effective Dating, it may return multiple rows of data when you expected only one

– E.g. Instead of one row per employee you may get multiple rows for each employee

Query Manager automatically creates criteria to only include current rows

– You must manually remove this criteria if you want to see all rows (historical and future)

Effective Dates and Query



Demo: Effective Date Criteria – Criteria line item automatically added when Query was created

Activity: JOB and Effective Dates 1. Save Query

2. Run Query

3. Note how many rows there are

4. Remove effective dating criteria

5. How many rows now?

6. Restore effective date criteria, either by manually re-adding it or reloading saved Query

Effective Dates and Query

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Query Manager and Joins


Databases are designed to reduce data redundancy – Goal: store each piece of information in as few tables as possible

– Easier maintenance (fewer places data needs to be updated)

– Saves disk space

Relationships between tables give you away to “hop” between tables

– Relationships are defined by including the key fields of one table on another

– This way, only the keys must appear on multiple tables, not the actual data

– To preserve these relationships, values in key values don’t change • Referred to as preserving “data integrity”

Keys and Relationships

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Example – Each Employee is assigned to a Location

– Each Department exists within a Location

– We sometimes need the Location Name in both situations

– Should we store the name of each Location on each table?


Employee ID 🔑

Location ID Location Name

5001 100 Desert Rose HS

5002 200 Variety Secondary

5003 400 Sandy Valley MS


Department ID 🔑

Location ID Location Name

A0010 400 Sandy Valley MS

A0020 400 Sandy Valley MS

A0030 200 Variety Secondary

B0010 100 Desert Rose HS

Job Table Department Table

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Example (continued) – Instead, only store the Location ID and lookup the Location Name on

the Location table using the Location ID!



Location ID 🔑 Location Name

100 Desert Rose HS

200 Variety Secondary

400 Sandy Valley MS

Employee ID 🔑

Location ID

5001 100

5002 200

5003 400

5004 100

Department ID 🔑

Location ID

A0010 400

A0020 400

A0030 200

B0010 100

Jo

b T

ab

le

De

pa

rtme

nt T

ab

le

Location Table

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A means for combining fields from two tables into a single Query by using Fields common to each

– Use table keys as a means to ‘relate’ one table to another.

Records in a Join are often referenced by their Alias – Automatically assigned “nickname” of “A”, ”B”, “C”, etc. – Fields in a Query are referred to by Alias.FieldName

How does it work? – Query compares each row of Table A with each row of Table B to find all

pairs of rows which satisfy a join condition (e.g. same value in both places)

– When join condition met, rows from A and B are combined into a single result row

What’s a Join?

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Employee ID Location Description


5002 200 Variety Secondary

5003 400 Sandy Valley MS


What’s a Join?

LOCATION 🔑 DESCR

100 Desert Rose HS

200 Variety Secondary

400 Sandy Valley MS

EMPLID 🔑 LOCATION

5001 100

5002 200

5003 400

5004 100

LOCATION_TBL JOB

Query Results

Join on

LOCATION

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What’s a Lookup Relationship? – Between a “main” table and a “lookup” table

– Rows on main table store the keys of the lookup table

– Additional fields can be “looked up” on the lookup table using the key value stored on the main table

– Example: From the Department table, looking up the description associated with each department’s location

A Lookup Join is used between two tables that have a “lookup” relationship

Lookup Relationships and Joins

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Automatic Lookup Join – In the Fields area of the Query Tab, PeopleSoft sometimes suggests joins to

related “lookup” Records by displaying Join… links

– Suggested Record is typically a “valid values” table containing descriptive information related to system codes (e.g. Category Names, Group Names)

– Clicking one of the links automatically joins to that Record

– When prompted with Select join type, just click OK (for now!)

Demo: Automatic Lookup Joins – Accepting one of Query Manager’s suggested joins

Automatic Lookup Joins

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Activity: Defining Automatic Lookup Joins Modify the Job Listing Query results to include a description of the most recent action taken by HR for each employee.

– The Action Code of the most recent HR action is stored in JOB.ACTION

– ACTION_TBL is the standard lookup table for Action Codes

– ACTION_TBL.ACTION_DESCR stores the description of an Action Code

– Set the result column heading label to “Action Taken”

– Position the result column immediately to the left of “HR Status”


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Activity: Defining Automatic Lookup Joins, part 2 Modify the Job Listing Query results to include a description of the reason for the action taken by HR. – The Action Reason Code of the most recent HR action is stored in

JOB.ACTION_REASON – ACTN_REASON_TBL is the standard lookup table for Action Reason

Codes – ACTN_REASON_TBL.DESCR stores the description of an Action Reason

Code – Set the result column heading label to “Action Reason” – Position the result column immediately to the right of the Action Taken

column – Test it!

How many result rows came back? What happened?


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Joins may cause result rows to get filtered out of the results! – In Standard Joins, rows in the main table that don’t have a matching

row in the target table are dropped from the results

– Standard joins are also known as Inner Joins

– Don’t want rows to get dropped? Use Outer Joins

When prompted by Query Manager with Select join type: – Choose “Join to filter…” if you want rows dropped from the results if

there’s no corresponding row in the target table

– Choose “Join to get additional fields” if you don’t want rows dropped from your results (usually best option for lookups)

Joins and Data Filtering



Activity: Defining Automatic Lookup Joins, part 3 Modify the Job Listing Query results to include a description of the reason for the action taken by HR. For employees without an action reason, leave the description blank.

1. Remove table ACTN_REASON_TBL from the Query

2. Repeat the previous activity, but this time, use a “Left outer join” instead of a “Standard Join”

3. Test it! • Did the new join cause rows to get filtered from the results?

Lookup Joins in Query Manager

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What’s a Parent-Child Relationship? – A relationship between two tables in a database

– Each row on the parent table “owns” potentially many rows on the child table

– Each row on the child table represents something that “belongs to” a parent row

Child tables – Have same key field(s) as parent, plus at least one more

– The child is completely dependent on the parent, i.e. if you delete the parent row, you should also delete the child rows

Also known as hierarchical relationships – Child tables can have children of their own

– Hierarchies can become very complicated!

Parent-Child Relationships


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Example – PERSON: One row for each employee (and non-employee)

• PERSONAL_PHONE: One row for each person’s phone number

• ADDRESSES: One row for each address a person has

Parent-Child Relationships


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Automatic Parent-Child Join – Available via Hierarchy Join links on Query tab (to right of Record

names)

– Click link to display diagram of related parent/child Records

– Clicking one of the Records automatically adds join to that Record

– The Records you get to choose from are limited to those with parent-child relationships explicitly defined in the database

• Don’t see the Record you’re looking for? You’ll need to use the manual join technique (more ahead)!

– Only standard joins are used, not outer joins • If you need an outer join, you’ll have to do a manual join

Demo: The Hierarchy Join feature – Joining to a Record listed in the Query Manager Record hierarchy

Automatic Hierarchical Joins



Activity: Defining Automatic Hierarchical Joins Modify the Job Listing Query results to include the compensation rate and frequency.

– Compensation Rate and Compensation Frequency can be found on Record COMPENSATION, which is a child of JOB

– Compensation Rate is stored in COMPENSATION.COMPRATE

– Compensation Frequency is stored in COMPENSATION.COMP_FREQUENCY

– Display the Compensation Frequency as a description instead of a code

Automatic Hierarchical Joins

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Overachiever

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Joins can be defined “manually” using Query Manager

Manual Joins require an understanding of the Data Model – i.e. the relationships between Records, and which Fields are used to

store key values that preserve those relationships

Defining a join manually 1. Find Record to Join using Records tab

2. Click Add Record link to right of Record name

3. Choose join type

4. Choose which Record (already in the Query) you want to join to

5. In the Auto Join Criteria popup, accept or reject the suggested Fields • These are Query Manager’s guesses based on like-named fields, but they

are often wrong because they are based on like-named fields!

6. Add additional join criteria manually, as needed

Defining Joins Manually


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When defining join criteria for an outer join, you must designate the criteria as being part of an outer join, not just another filter

– You MUST choose outer join at the time you add the Record • Forgot to do this? Delete the Record from the Query and re-add it!

– On Edit Criteria Properties page, set This criteria belongs to = “ON clause of outer join X”

• “X” should be the alias of the table you’re outer-joining to

• If you don’t do this you will get a SQL error when you run the Query

Demo: Manually joining a Record – Adding a Record to an existing Query – Adding Criteria necessary to define the join




Activity: Defining Joins Manually Modify the Job Listing Query results to include the name of the employees’ supervisor, where applicable.

– JOB.SUPERVISOR_ID contains the Employee ID of the employees’ supervisor.

– Current employee name is stored in PERSONAL_DATA.NAME.

– Display the supervisor name to the right of the supervisor’s ID in the results.


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Doing More With Query

© 2019 – SpearMC Consulting

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1. Translate Values

2. Prompts and Wildcards

3. Expressions and Meta-SQL

4. Aggregate Functions

5. Distinct

Doing More With Query – Topics


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There are many fields in PeopleSoft records that use “codes” as values

rather than user friendly descriptions

– E.g. Asset Type = “03”, Vendor Type = “GEN”

These codes can be confusing and often have no meaning to the user

For some Fields, you can modify Query Field properties to show the

“translation” of the codes, i.e. their description instead of the actual

stored value

Examples

– E.g. Asset Type “03” translates to “Real Estate”

– Vendor Type “GEN” translates to “One Time”

Translates have both a long and short description

Which fields in your Query use Translate Values?

– Look for a value in the XLAT column on the Filed tab

Demo: Displaying Translate Descriptions

– Configuring Translate fields to display descriptions in results

Translate Values


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Activity: Display Translate Field Descriptions in Results

Display descriptions for result columns “HR Status” and “Pay Status”, not codes.

– Display HR_STATUS as a long Translate description

– Display EMPL_STATUS as a long Translate description

– Test!

Translate Values

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Allows the user to enter criteria values at runtime

Can prompt on any field type – Character, Numeric, Date/Time, Yes/No Fields

Created from the Prompts tab and added as a criteria value

By default, all criteria are used, even if user leaves prompt blank! – By default, Query Prompts are required, i.e. user cannot leave them

blank

– Set prompt to “optional” to skip criteria when no prompt values provided (available as of PeopleTools 8.54)

Query Prompts



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What’s a Wildcard?

– Special character used with the LIKE criteria condition type

– Used to define a pattern that matches multiple values instead of a single value

– Standard wildcard symbols

• “%” = any text, i.e. when the user enters a ‘%’ symbol in a query prompt, the Query will

assume “any value” for the condition where the prompt is used

• “_” = any single character

How do wildcards work with Query Prompts?

– Wildcard characters can be entered by user if prompt is used in LIKE criteria

– Equivalent to user entering all prompt values that match the pattern

– Only works if prompt criteria defined using Like condition (rather than Equal To)

Demo: Adding Prompts to a Query

– Defining Prompts

– Defining Criteria that use Prompts

Prompts and Wildcards


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Activity: Adding Prompts to a Query

Limit the Query results based on a user specified Location. If the user doesn’t specify

a Location value, return all Locations.

– Add appropriate criteria and prompt on JOB.LOCATION

– Don’t provide a lookup on the Location prompt

– Allow the user to specify multiple Locations via wildcards

– Test!

Activity: Adding Prompts to a Query, part 2

Instead of limit the Query results based on a harcoded set of departments, let the user

specify a department when they run the Query. Let the user choose the Department

from a lookup. If the user doesn’t specify a Department value, return all Departments.

– Add appropriate criteria and prompt on JOB.DEPTID

– Provide a lookup on the DEPTID prompt using Record SET_DEPT_VW

Prompts and Query Manager


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Expressions enable you to manipulate the data in your query to create

“fields” that do not exist as actual fields in your tables/records

How can I use Expressions?

– As new columns in Query results

– As “fields” for use as either “left” or “right” side of criteria

Syntax identical to SQL

– Numerical - +, -, /, *

– Text Manipulation – Substring, Concatenate

– Date – Add and subtract Date values

Demo: Adding Expressions to a Query

Query Expressions

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Expressions can include values entered by the user in Prompts

Activity: Adding a Numeric Expression as a Field – Create an optional Prompt on Field TAX_RATE

– Define an Expression that multiplies JOB.COMPRATE by the amount entered by the user

• Use Length = 8 and Decimals = 2

– Display the Expression in a Query results column labeled “Comp Tax”

– Test!

Expressions and Prompts


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What’s Meta-SQL? – PeopleSoft Proprietary syntax that can be incorporated into Query

Expressions – Gets “resolved” into real SQL at runtime – Always prefixed with % – Sometimes in the form of a function, i.e. %metaSqlName(parameters)

Meta-SQL handles platform differences, e.g.: – %CurrentDateIn: The current date – %Concat: String concatenation operator – %DateDiff(fromDate, toDate): Number of days between two dates – %Round: Rounds a decimal number – %Substring: Gets a substring of a string – %Upper: Converts string to uppercase

Expressions and Meta-SQL

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Want to learn more? – Check out PeopleBooks (PeopleSoft Hosted Online Help)

• PeopleTools > Development Tools > PeopleCode Language Reference > Meta-SQL Elements

– Which Meta-SQL syntax is valid for PeopleSoft Query? • See section Meta-SQL Placement Considerations


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Activity: String Expressions and Meta-SQL – Combine supervisor name and ID into single Query result column

– Hint: Use %Concat

Activity: Date Calculations in Expressions – Add a “Years of Service” column to the Query results

– Hint: Use %DateDiff and %CurrentDateIn




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Aggregate Functions enable you to do math across result rows!

Aggregate functions are turned on for individual Fields

– Use Fields tab Edit button

Functions available:

– Sum

– Count and Count Distinct

– Average

– Minimum

– Maximum

Result rows with identical values in the Fields w/o Aggregate function

are combined

Demo: Using Aggregate Functions

– Defining aggregate functions in Query Manager

Aggregate Functions

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Activity: MIN and MAX – Create a new Query based on Record.JOB

– In the results, list the most recent hire date and the first hire date for each location

– Name the Query ZXX_LOC_HIRE_DTS

Activity: COUNT DISTINCT – Create a new Query based on Record.JOB

– In the results, list the number of unique Job Codes associated with each Department

– Name the Query ZXX_DEP_JOB_CODES

Aggregate Functions


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Typically, duplicate result rows are not helpful

Using an aggregate function eliminates duplicates – Duplicate rows are “rolled-up”

Alternative: Set the Query to Distinct – Duplicate rows are dropped from resultsnique rows

– Properties (link at bottom of page) > Distinct

Demo: Suppressing duplicates – Distinct vs. Count

Eliminating Duplicate Rows


Beyond Query Manager

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Access to Records in Query Manager – Users can only Query Records they have security to

– Records are grouped into Access Groups

– Users have permission to Access Groups: User Profile > Role > Permission List > Access Groups

Query Profiles – Define special PS Query usage restrictions on groups of users via

Permission Lists

Data/Row Level Security – PeopleSoft HCM has sophisticated data security managed by admin

– Used by both applications and Query

– Managed via Set Up HCM > Security

– Driven by set of delivered security views associated with Records in Application Designer

Query Security



Query Search – Search for public or private queries based on multiple search criteria

Run Query and Export results to Excel or HTML – Queries can be run and the results exported to various file formats

Add a Query to Favorites – Maintain a list of frequently run queries

– In Query Viewer search results, click Favorites link at far right

– Your favorite Queries always appear on Query Viewer main page

Query Viewer

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Use Query like a reporting tool! – Queries can be scheduled to run periodically

– Query output can be distributed via Report Manager

– Data is not live – it’s point-in-time

– File formats include PDF and HTML

Navigation is Reporting Tools > Query > Schedule Query – Create a new Run Control ID or use an existing one

Query Scheduler


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1. Search for and select a Query Name.

2. Description: Defaults to Query’s description (if there is one)

3. Click the Run button. You are presented with Process Scheduler Request dialog.

Schedule Query Page


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Change the format to an acceptable format (HTM or PDF recommended)

You may optionally include others to be distributed output, either in an email or in the report repository (Report Manager).

Click OK to run Query

Process Scheduler Request


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HTM – Optimized for browser viewing (HTML document)

– Similar to standard Query Manager output

– Best for viewing online

– Best for Drilling URLs

PDF – A minimally formatted PDF file

– Useful for offline viewing (i.e. saving a copy)

XLS – Excel document

– similar to Query’s Download to Excel feature

– Excellent if users want to “play” with the data in Excel

Useful Output Formats


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TXT – Plain text file in in CSV format (Comma Separated Values)

– No support for Drilling URLs

XFORM – “Transformed” XML

– Used in conjunction with Query Manager Transformations tab and XSLT

XML – WebRowSet format: XML standard used for data exchange between

systems, especially Java-based systems

– No support for Drilling URLs

XMLP – Same XML you get from Download to XML link

– Intended for use with BI Publisher

Special-Purpose Output Formats


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Use to check the status of the Query (is it done yet?)

From the Schedule Query page, note your Query’s Process Instance number and click the Process Monitor link

Your Query appears in Process List – Look for the row with your Process Instance in the Instance column and

your User ID in the User column

Query is finished running when Run Status is “Success” – Click Refresh button to update the status

Click Go back to Schedule Query to exit

Using the Process Monitor


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Example

Using the Process Monitor


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When distributed via Role or User ID, the reports are available within Report Manager

– Navigation: Report Manager link on Schedule Query page, or Reporting Tools > Report Manager).

The description of the Query is used to identify the output

Accessing the Report


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When clicking the report link description the report renders with any Drilling URLs active

Query Report Output


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Stay In Touch!

John Beretz [email protected]

www.SpearMC.com

peoplesoft peopletools peoplesoft query · 2019. 11. 17. · 3. on records tab, search for and add...

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