I have two questions before buying your plugins. I really like most of the functionality, but I have two issues I can't solve and they're both crucial for us to work as supposed.
1. The issues with datepicker and select-box with SQL tables
I was actually testing this on your sandbox demo page. What's happening: if I use "custom" table, then everything works nicely (date-picker, select-box dropdown, etc.). But when I use the MySQL query SQL table, the values are displayed fine, but the datepicker and select-boxes aren't displayed at all. So I have to input the dates manually by typing them in the right format, which is quite hard.
What's the difference between these two databases actually, why one works fine with datepicker and dropdowns and the other doesn't? How can I achieve for my custom SQL databases to work ok?
2. An option to create reports for specific values
I was testing this with your Report Builder addon also on sandbox page. Simple example: let's say I have a database of 200 employees, where each employee has a work status (select-box values: Developer, Lead Developer, Senior Developer, etc.). I'd like to create the following report:
Our company has: 20 Developers, 50 Lead Developers, 60 Senior Developers, etc.
The values (20, 50, 60, etc.) should be read from database. In Excel I would simply achieve this with COUNTIF function. Since this function isn't available with wpdatatables plugin I'm a bit lost. Is there maybe a way to somehow create a cumulative report as above with one single report?
I was thinking about the following. Create a query to show only the needed rows for main SQL table. In MySql I could probably use something like count (*). The example here: http://www.sqlfiddle.com/#!9/06f7a/1
Then I would create a new report using report builder to output each separate row. Now the question is: would this work? Also, what would be the right syntax then to get the above output format in one single line? Maybe something like:
Our company has: ${value.row1} Developers, ${value.row2} Lead Developers, etc.
I'm not sure the syntax above is supported. If not, is there another way maybe to output just a specific row number?
-
If these two questions above can be solved, then I have perfectly everything we need and I'll surely buy both plugins.
Hi Tomaz, Thank you for your interest in wpdatatables.
1) That is normal behavioral of both table because, date range(date-picker), select-box, text field are just one of the filters that you can choose for each column. You can read more in our documentation about Advanced filtering. Also, you can test that in our sandbox Back-end - where you can edit those tables and change filters that you need.
All of that you can try in our sandbox site where you can make manual table with some test data. When you create manual table it will be created table in database that you can find in field MySQL table for editing on Editing tab in table settings. Then you can make a new table with query where you will use that table name and make it that will return data that you need. After that you need to prepare template for your reports and make that report. All necessary information about report builder you can find in our documentation on this link.
1. Regarding the column filters, I actually did some tests inside your sandbox yesterday and figured out there's an option to manipulate data-fields to use correct format. All good here.
2. In regards to reports-builder, I also think I tried all combinations possible and I'm still missing a small piece of puzzle to satify our needs. I'll try to explain this on a small case. Let's say we have a database like this:
john doe, developer, ohio maria doe, lead developer, toronto john holmes, developer, ohio sandra bullock, lead developer, ohio sam smith, developer, toronto
The report I'd like to build is:
---
OHIO developers: 2 lead developers: 1 all OHIO members: 3
TORONTO developers: 1 lead developers: 1 all TORONTO members: 2
All developers: 3 All lead developers: 2 All members in all states: 5
----
Whatever I try, it seems there's no option to generate the report like above with report builder, or am I missing something? The report above acutally uses two filters, or two different tables would be needed. As far as I understand, there's no option to refer to two different tables from one single report buidler template? Is there maybe another option to achieve this?
I really think that's the only option currently missing, but I find it really crucial one, to build the reports we need. Without this functionality, I guess there's no option to offer this to our client somehow in the end. I'd really like to use this package combination as it has everything we currently need, except for this small addition to use two (or more) tables or multiple variables to sum report values inside one signle report. Is there maybe anything you can do to help us with this? I'd be more than happy to proceed...
I figure everything mentioned above would be possible with only a small improvement to Report Builder plugin. That improvement should be an option to read from multiple (two or more) tables at once. Now it's only possible to read from one single table, therefore these limitations occur.
Is there maybe an option for you to extend the capabilities of Report Builder plugin to use multiple tables with it? I also found some other people on your support forums asking for this same feature. I really think it's a small addition, but really useful one for many clients out there.
Yes that is the limitation in Report builder at the moment.
Thank you for your suggestion. We carefully follow customers requirements and try to implement most of them if they appear in requests from time to time, so we will add to our idea list and look into some possible solutions on plugin side in the future.
thank you for your answer, although it couldn't be more "generic" than it was. I really like the functionality of wpdatatables and also wpreportbuilder has great potential, but as I see it, in it's current state, it's biggest limitation is the use of one single table.
Extending the plugin to offer an option to read from multiple (two or more) tables at once shouldn't be a big issue I guess, but the plugin would really become much more useful in that case. It would allow all kind of different combined reports to be built with only a few simple queries into the main databases and prepare the needed data. I also saw I was not the only one asking for that feature and there were people asking for this more than year or two ago, so I really believe you either don't listen to people's wishes more than needed or you simply don't care enough, because you sell your scripts reasonably well and there's no need for further work as long as the trend lasts.
However, I'll ask once again, because I really believe the script has a huge potential. Please, extend the builder report functionality to use multiple (two or more) tables inside one single report. Adding this should be pretty simple: select the needed databases, prepare the form with fields, and address the fields in some simple way like {tablename1.row1.all},{tablename2.row2.total}, etc. With this simple addition it would be then possible to build all kinds of combined reports without a need for any further extension.
Thank you again for your reply in advance. Kind regards, Tomaz.
Like I explain you in previous post that we carefully follow customers requirements and try to implement most of them if they appear in requests from time to time. If we didn't follow customers needs and not listen their request we will not be here today as we will not be #1 Tables & Charts Creator WordPress Plugin.
There is a lot of request from customers and there is a lot of new products in our portfolio and it is not possible to implement all of them. Because of that we record all the requests and setup a priority depends on of the number of the requests for particular feature.
Implementing multiply tables as option in report builder is not something so simple that you think with existing logic in the code. We are not sure where you find it, but there was no a lot of request for this feature in the past.
Implementing features depends of the priority task that have to be done and also of the business decisions of our management.
although you said generating the report below is impossible with the current version fo report builder, I managed to do it exactly the way it was supposed to be.
---
OHIO developers: 2 lead developers: 1 all OHIO members: 3
TORONTO developers: 1 lead developers: 1 all TORONTO members: 2
All developers: 3 All lead developers: 2 All members in all states: 5
----
I used a few simple mysql queries to build new table from the main one with all necessary fields and then I simply create report with that one new table. You mentioned this in your first answer as well, but maybe showing an example how to achieve this would be really helpful I guess.
However, it's all done as said, with few simple mysql queries, building new data table and creating the report with row functionality.
Thanks again, you can close this ticket as well. Tomaz.
We are located in Serbia and our working time is from 10:00 to 17:00 CET. business days.
Sorry for misunderstanding,
But from your request we understand you that you need to made report with multiply tables throw UI of the Report builder which is not possible because you can select only one table.
Returning data from database from different table is possible with custom SQL queries as I explain in beginning of this post.(attachment)
There are a lot of customers that are not familiar with writing queries which is the reason why we explain to you that is not possible with built in feature of plugin and add on.
Writing SQL queries are out of the scope that we provide with our standard support which is the reason why we provide generic answer for questions when customers have particular requests.
As this category is intended for customers that didn't buy our products so far, please your future questions or issues open in wpdatatables category and our agents will help you out.
Dear Sir or Madam,
I have two questions before buying your plugins. I really like most of the functionality, but I have two issues I can't solve and they're both crucial for us to work as supposed.
1. The issues with datepicker and select-box with SQL tables
I was actually testing this on your sandbox demo page. What's happening: if I use "custom" table, then everything works nicely (date-picker, select-box dropdown, etc.). But when I use the MySQL query SQL table, the values are displayed fine, but the datepicker and select-boxes aren't displayed at all. So I have to input the dates manually by typing them in the right format, which is quite hard.
Strange thing is, on your demo sandbox page, the "foreign key" sql table works perfect. Link here: http://sandbox.wpdatatables.com/foreign-key-demo/
While on the other side, the "editable responsive table" doesn't work. Link here: http://sandbox.wpdatatables.com/
What's the difference between these two databases actually, why one works fine with datepicker and dropdowns and the other doesn't? How can I achieve for my custom SQL databases to work ok?
2. An option to create reports for specific values
I was testing this with your Report Builder addon also on sandbox page. Simple example: let's say I have a database of 200 employees, where each employee has a work status (select-box values: Developer, Lead Developer, Senior Developer, etc.). I'd like to create the following report:
Our company has: 20 Developers, 50 Lead Developers, 60 Senior Developers, etc.
The values (20, 50, 60, etc.) should be read from database. In Excel I would simply achieve this with COUNTIF function. Since this function isn't available with wpdatatables plugin I'm a bit lost. Is there maybe a way to somehow create a cumulative report as above with one single report?
I was thinking about the following. Create a query to show only the needed rows for main SQL table. In MySql I could probably use something like count (*). The example here: http://www.sqlfiddle.com/#!9/06f7a/1
Then I would create a new report using report builder to output each separate row. Now the question is: would this work? Also, what would be the right syntax then to get the above output format in one single line? Maybe something like:
Our company has: ${value.row1} Developers, ${value.row2} Lead Developers, etc.
I'm not sure the syntax above is supported. If not, is there another way maybe to output just a specific row number?
-
If these two questions above can be solved, then I have perfectly everything we need and I'll surely buy both plugins.
Kind regards from Slovenia, Tomaz Kavcic.
Hi Tomaz,
Thank you for your interest in wpdatatables.
1) That is normal behavioral of both table because, date range(date-picker), select-box, text field are just one of the filters that you can choose for each column. You can read more in our documentation about Advanced filtering. Also, you can test that in our sandbox Back-end - where you can edit those tables and change filters that you need.
2) Unfortunately it is not possible to use something like CountIF in excel in our Report builder, but you can make table with data that you need and then Creating a bulk Word DOCX Report with Multiple Files.
All of that you can try in our sandbox site where you can make manual table with some test data. When you create manual table it will be created table in database that you can find in field MySQL table for editing on Editing tab in table settings. Then you can make a new table with query where you will use that table name and make it that will return data that you need. After that you need to prepare template for your reports and make that report. All necessary information about report builder you can find in our documentation on this link.
Best regards.
Kind Regards,
Isidora Markovic
wpDataTables: FAQ | Facebook | Twitter | Front-end and back-end demo | Docs
Amelia: FAQ | Facebook | Twitter | Amelia demo sites | Docs
You can try our wpDataTables add-ons before purchase on these sandbox sites:
Powerful Filters | Gravity Forms Integration for wpDataTables | Formidable Forms Integration for wpDataTables
Hi Milan,
thank you so much for your reply.
1. Regarding the column filters, I actually did some tests inside your sandbox yesterday and figured out there's an option to manipulate data-fields to use correct format. All good here.
2. In regards to reports-builder, I also think I tried all combinations possible and I'm still missing a small piece of puzzle to satify our needs. I'll try to explain this on a small case. Let's say we have a database like this:
john doe, developer, ohio
maria doe, lead developer, toronto
john holmes, developer, ohio
sandra bullock, lead developer, ohio
sam smith, developer, toronto
The report I'd like to build is:
---
OHIO
developers: 2
lead developers: 1
all OHIO members: 3
TORONTO
developers: 1
lead developers: 1
all TORONTO members: 2
All developers: 3
All lead developers: 2
All members in all states: 5
----
Whatever I try, it seems there's no option to generate the report like above with report builder, or am I missing something? The report above acutally uses two filters, or two different tables would be needed. As far as I understand, there's no option to refer to two different tables from one single report buidler template? Is there maybe another option to achieve this?
I really think that's the only option currently missing, but I find it really crucial one, to build the reports we need. Without this functionality, I guess there's no option to offer this to our client somehow in the end. I'd really like to use this package combination as it has everything we currently need, except for this small addition to use two (or more) tables or multiple variables to sum report values inside one signle report. Is there maybe anything you can do to help us with this? I'd be more than happy to proceed...
Kind regards, Tomaz.
Hi Tomaz,
Unfortunately it is not possible to make such report that you need with our add-on Report builder.
Best regards.
Kind Regards,
Isidora Markovic
wpDataTables: FAQ | Facebook | Twitter | Front-end and back-end demo | Docs
Amelia: FAQ | Facebook | Twitter | Amelia demo sites | Docs
You can try our wpDataTables add-ons before purchase on these sandbox sites:
Powerful Filters | Gravity Forms Integration for wpDataTables | Formidable Forms Integration for wpDataTables
Hi Milan,
I figure everything mentioned above would be possible with only a small improvement to Report Builder plugin. That improvement should be an option to read from multiple (two or more) tables at once. Now it's only possible to read from one single table, therefore these limitations occur.
Is there maybe an option for you to extend the capabilities of Report Builder plugin to use multiple tables with it? I also found some other people on your support forums asking for this same feature. I really think it's a small addition, but really useful one for many clients out there.
Thanks again for your answer. Regards, Tomaz.
Hi Tomaz,
Yes that is the limitation in Report builder at the moment.
Thank you for your suggestion. We carefully follow customers requirements and try to implement most of them if they appear in requests from time to time, so we will add to our idea list and look into some possible solutions on plugin side in the future.
Best regards.
Kind Regards,
Isidora Markovic
wpDataTables: FAQ | Facebook | Twitter | Front-end and back-end demo | Docs
Amelia: FAQ | Facebook | Twitter | Amelia demo sites | Docs
You can try our wpDataTables add-ons before purchase on these sandbox sites:
Powerful Filters | Gravity Forms Integration for wpDataTables | Formidable Forms Integration for wpDataTables
Hi Milan,
thank you for your answer, although it couldn't be more "generic" than it was. I really like the functionality of wpdatatables and also wpreportbuilder has great potential, but as I see it, in it's current state, it's biggest limitation is the use of one single table.
Extending the plugin to offer an option to read from multiple (two or more) tables at once shouldn't be a big issue I guess, but the plugin would really become much more useful in that case. It would allow all kind of different combined reports to be built with only a few simple queries into the main databases and prepare the needed data. I also saw I was not the only one asking for that feature and there were people asking for this more than year or two ago, so I really believe you either don't listen to people's wishes more than needed or you simply don't care enough, because you sell your scripts reasonably well and there's no need for further work as long as the trend lasts.
However, I'll ask once again, because I really believe the script has a huge potential. Please, extend the builder report functionality to use multiple (two or more) tables inside one single report. Adding this should be pretty simple: select the needed databases, prepare the form with fields, and address the fields in some simple way like {tablename1.row1.all},{tablename2.row2.total}, etc. With this simple addition it would be then possible to build all kinds of combined reports without a need for any further extension.
Thank you again for your reply in advance. Kind regards, Tomaz.
Hi Tomaz,
Like I explain you in previous post that we carefully follow customers requirements and try to implement most of them if they appear in requests from time to time. If we didn't follow customers needs and not listen their request we will not be here today as we will not be #1 Tables & Charts Creator WordPress Plugin.
There is a lot of request from customers and there is a lot of new products in our portfolio and it is not possible to implement all of them. Because of that we record all the requests and setup a priority depends on of the number of the requests for particular feature.
Implementing multiply tables as option in report builder is not something so simple that you think with existing logic in the code. We are not sure where you find it, but there was no a lot of request for this feature in the past.
Implementing features depends of the priority task that have to be done and also of the business decisions of our management.
Thank you for understanding.
Best regards.
Kind Regards,
Isidora Markovic
wpDataTables: FAQ | Facebook | Twitter | Front-end and back-end demo | Docs
Amelia: FAQ | Facebook | Twitter | Amelia demo sites | Docs
You can try our wpDataTables add-ons before purchase on these sandbox sites:
Powerful Filters | Gravity Forms Integration for wpDataTables | Formidable Forms Integration for wpDataTables
Hello Milan,
although you said generating the report below is impossible with the current version fo report builder, I managed to do it exactly the way it was supposed to be.
---
OHIO
developers: 2
lead developers: 1
all OHIO members: 3
TORONTO
developers: 1
lead developers: 1
all TORONTO members: 2
All developers: 3
All lead developers: 2
All members in all states: 5
----
I used a few simple mysql queries to build new table from the main one with all necessary fields and then I simply create report with that one new table. You mentioned this in your first answer as well, but maybe showing an example how to achieve this would be really helpful I guess.
However, it's all done as said, with few simple mysql queries, building new data table and creating the report with row functionality.
Thanks again, you can close this ticket as well. Tomaz.
Hi Tomaz,
Sorry for late response.
We are located in Serbia and our working time is from 10:00 to 17:00 CET. business days.
Sorry for misunderstanding,
But from your request we understand you that you need to made report with multiply tables throw UI of the Report builder which is not possible because you can select only one table.
Returning data from database from different table is possible with custom SQL queries as I explain in beginning of this post.(attachment)
There are a lot of customers that are not familiar with writing queries which is the reason why we explain to you that is not possible with built in feature of plugin and add on.
Writing SQL queries are out of the scope that we provide with our standard support which is the reason why we provide generic answer for questions when customers have particular requests.
As this category is intended for customers that didn't buy our products so far, please your future questions or issues open in wpdatatables category and our agents will help you out.
Thank you for understanding.
Best regards.
Kind Regards,
Isidora Markovic
wpDataTables: FAQ | Facebook | Twitter | Front-end and back-end demo | Docs
Amelia: FAQ | Facebook | Twitter | Amelia demo sites | Docs
You can try our wpDataTables add-ons before purchase on these sandbox sites:
Powerful Filters | Gravity Forms Integration for wpDataTables | Formidable Forms Integration for wpDataTables