Depends on the Report Run Date Helper

The Depends on the Report Date Helper displays the gadget for selecting a sliding date.

All date range selections that depend on the report run date are inclusive, so the full starting and ending date, week, or month will be included in the date range.

The selections by week and month start at the beginning of the week or month when used as a start date, and end at the end of the week or month when used for the end date. If selections by exact weeks or months are needed, you will need to use the Days option and specify the number of days, or use a specific date range.

Start Date

The Start Date options that are available may vary depending on the report field in which the helper is used. For the Start Date, you may make the following selections:

Since the beginning of the system — This selection will not restrict the beginning of the date range and will leave it open-ended.
The date this report will run — The date range will start on the date the report runs.
Before
Days — The date range will start the specified number of days before the report run date.
Weeks — The date range will start in the beginning of the week that is the specified number of weeks before the week the report runs.
Months — The date range will start in the beginning of the month that is the specified number of months before the month the report runs.
After
Days — The date range will start the specified number of days after the report run date.
Weeks — The date range will start in the beginning of the week that is the specified number of weeks after the week the report runs.
Months — The date range will start in the beginning of the month that is the specified number of months after the month the report runs.

End Date

The End Date options that are available may vary depending on the report field in which the helper is used. For the End Date, you may make the following selections:

No ending date — This selection will not restrict the end of the date range and will leave it open-ended.
The date this report will run — The date range will end on the date the report runs.
Before
Days — The date range will end the specified number of days before the report run date.
Weeks — The date range will end at the end of the week that is the specified number of weeks before the week the report runs.
Months — The date range will end at the end of the month that is the specified number of months before the month the report runs.
After
Days — The date range will end the specified number of days after the report run date.
Weeks — The date range will end at the end of the week that is the specified number of weeks after the week the report runs.
Months — The date range will end at the end of the month that is the specified number of months after the month the report runs.

When selecting a Transaction Date Range, you cannot use the Since the Beginning of the System or No Ending Date options.

Selecting a Sliding Date

To select a sliding date using this helper

If you selected the Before option or the After option, select a number in the number field, and select Days, Weeks, or Months in the time period list.

If you selected the Before option or the After option, select a number in the number field, and select Days, Weeks, or Months in the time period list. To avoid confusion, you should select a time period in this list that matches time period unit selected under Start Date.

Examples of Sliding Dates

The following examples demonstrate the uses of sliding dates in reports.

Example 1: Running the Overdue Notices Report with a Weekly Sliding Date Range
Example 2: Running the List Items Report With a Monthly Sliding Date Range

Example 1: Running the Overdue Notices Report with a Weekly Sliding Date Range

Your library wants to run a regular overdue report every Friday to select items that were due during the week before the current week. One way to obtain this data is to use the Depends on the Report Run Date helper to select a weekly sliding date range in the Date Due field on the Charge Selection tab of the Overdue Notice report.

To select a weekly sliding date range for the Overdue Notice report

The report will select data for the Sunday through Saturday before the week in which the report was run, regardless of the day of the week on which the report was run. Whether you run the report on Tuesday, September 23, 2008, or on Friday, September 26, 2008, the report will select items that were due from Sunday, September 14th through Saturday, September 20th.

Example 2: Running the List Items Report With a Monthly Sliding Date Range

You decide to run the List Items report to select items that were added to your collection in the previous month (September 2008). One way to obtain this data is to use the Depends on the Report Run Date helper to select a monthly sliding date range in the Date Created field on the Copy Selection tab.

To select a sliding monthly date range for the List Items report

The report will select items that were created (added to the collection) 1 month before the month in which the report is run (October 2008), regardless of which day of the month the report is run. For instance, the results will be the same whether the report is run on October 1st or on October 31st.

Also, SirsiDynix Symphony can recognize the number of days in the previous month, and will produce results for the full month regardless of the number of days in the month (28, 29, 30, or 31 days).

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