MYOB Exo Clarity

Exo Clarity is the MYOB Exo Business report writer especially written for use with Exo Business. The Report Designer is the application you will use to build Exo Business reports.

This manual assumes a basic understanding of databases, and a general understanding of the operation and table structure of Exo Business.

The Report Creation Process

The Exo Clarity interface is split into tabs, where each tab controls part of the report creation process.

The basic process of creating a report is:

Set up one or more data sources (or "data pipelines") for the report on the Data tab. This tab offers a Query Wizard, which guides you through the process of setting up a data source, and a Query Designer, which presents all options on a tabbed interface, so that users who are more familiar with Exo Clarity can set up a data source quickly.
As a more advanced step, complex queries and calculations can be set up on the Calc Tab. This requires a good degree of familiarity with Exo Business database structures and a knowledge of Delphi.
Build the report on the Design tab by adding report components to the main canvas, where they can be edited as necessary. A wide range of components are available, including simple graphical components and data-aware components that display data from one of the data sources you set up. A Report Wizard is available for setting up the basic layout of the report.
Check the report on the Preview tab to ensure that it's producing the results you want.
You can go back to the Data and Design tabs at any time to make changes as necessary. Once the report is finished, you can save it as one of the available report types.

Note: Video-based Help is available for this topic on the Exo Business Education Centre.

Exo Clarity Report Types

There are several kinds of report types in MYOB Exo Clarity - the functionality of each type differs depending on what is required of them.

Clarity Reports (.CLR) - Most commonly used report type. Each CLR can have its own set of runtime parameters stored as a .CLS file and can be run from a menu, the command line, custom buttons, and so on.
Clarity Business Forms (.CLF) - Specific Clarity Forms are identified with specific functions within MYOB Exo Clarity. These are essential business forms that are part of the usual business workflow. In contrast Clarity Reports (CLRs) can be placed on the MYOB Exo Business menu or run via the command line, and can in fact be given any name and there can be any number of them.

A few notable exceptions exist however. Examples include where you are using a variety of invoice forms and they are specified by on the Debtor Account Details > Details 2 tab - Invoice file number – e.g. Invoice1.CLF, Invoice2.CLF - or if you have set up you system to prompt you to select from a list of formats when you save an invoice or sales order.

Another characteristic of a CLF file is that it is automatically passed a single key value such as a transaction record number or an account number to the data pipeline named "Master" in your CLF definition. For example, Exo Business will pass the DR_Trans Seqno to the file named Invoice.CLF. Therefore the DR_Trans.Seqno field must be in the data pipeline named "Master" on the data tab in Clarity.
Clarity Merge Files (.CLM) - CLM files are used to produce mail merge files.
Clarity Email Templates (.CLE) - Clarity email templates are the HTML equivalent of a .CLM merge file for bulk-sent emails. They build the HTML that is inserted into the body of an email.