Using a Lookup Column in Report Writer Reports

Q: How do I pull info from a DIFFERENT data table into one report writer report?

You will need to use a LOOK UP column.  You add them on the COLUMNS screen, in the "Add a column that looks up its value from another table, function or expression" area.

Enter what you want the Column Header to be in the "Display As" field and select the "Look Up" radio button.

Click "Add."

You will then be brought to a new screen automatically where you can then select the new table and field you want to pull to the report.

For example, if STUDENT was your base table, and you needed additional SCHEDULE info, you could create a look up column pulling from the StudentScheduleCourse table.

Then, you link that new data table back to the BASE table you have selected in your report.

In my example, I am trying to pull a student's course code.  

So, in Part 1 on the new screen, I will select SCHEDULING as the group, StudentScheduleCourse as the table, and then Course Code as the FIELD:

In part 2, I will select how I want my data to pull.  In this case, a kid will have more than one course, so I will select JOIN ROWS and click "USE THESE PARAMETERS":

After you click "Use These Parameters" - the screen will open up and show you Part 3.  This is where you link it BACK to your base table.

In this example, the base table in STUDENT. More often than not, you will need to add in filters of School Year, School Code, and Student ID.  That is so it will pull from the correct year, school, and student.

I have to add these three in for my example:

After filters are added in, you can run the report and see if this column is now pulling what you want it to. Depending on how complicated of a report you are doing, this may be a bit of guess and check.

In general, if School Year, School Code, or Student ID exist as options in Part 3, you should add them in.