ACR/Summary 4.5 Release Notes

ACR/Summary 4.5 enhancements include:

 

999 History Items

This enhancement permits the retrieval of up to 999 different items from the history database for a single job ID. This includes the use of any of the 999 items within calculated items, balancing rules, and messages.

You no longer have to use a qualifier to report on totals from a variety of jobs within the same report, thus facilitating comparisons between values.

A new numbering system has been implemented in the batch definitions for history items. The definition database stores the number in two fields, item number and item type.

This feature allows you to include the results from numerous controls on a single report for a comprehensive view of your application controls.

SMS Classes for Archive Utility

The Archive Utility was modified to allow the use of SMS classes. On the Archive History panel, you can enter any combination of the Managementclass, Storageclass, and Dataclass fields that is valid at your site.

You can use the archive feature to store older histories to fulfill retention requirements.

Cross-reference Internal Items Report

The Cross Reference Internal Items Report, in ACR/Summary, has been updated to provide more information. The report now prints an indicator (*) next to a calculated item from another job, where the referenced calculated item is stored as an internal item in that job.

This modification allows you to track an internal item reference throughout its use in other jobs.

User Report Justification

The system no longer left-justifies titles and descriptions on the User Report. A user can position the text with the addition of leading spaces, if indented text is desired.

Balancing Extract File Options

You can create an extract file, which is a sequential file that contains all balancing results. You can use this file as input to other systems, as input to a subsequent balancing step, or as an extract debugging tool.

This feature was in use on other platforms and is now available in ACR/Summary on the IBM i platform.

Program Interface Assembler Copybook

An Assembler copybook, ACRAAREA, was added for use with UAC1000, program interface mode. This updated copybook is needed to recompile with a 4.x upgrade. The copybook is included for the convenience of customers who call ACR/Summary from Assembler programs.

 

Cross-reference File Definitions Report

A new cross-reference report is available for file definitions. This report shows all of the jobs where a particular file definition is used, including alternate job IDs and model jobs.

You can run this new report against two definition databases simultaneously; for example, you can check the file definition name usage for test and production environments at the same time. The report simplifies the process to find balancing job definitions that use the same file definitions and thus avoid potential deletion or duplication issues when you write new file definitions.

PDF Reader User Program

A new user program, UUPPDF, allows users to extract data from PDF files. This program is for Windows only. The program processes the stream objects in a PDF file and captures the characters that can be read by ACR/Summary and ACR/Detail.

An optional parameter can be specified to display the characters in the SYSOUT file, where you can use the mark and capture method to write the extraction rules.

With this feature, you can compare PDF file data to the source data to ensure that the PDF is accurate before you print it or send it to customers.

Auto-position User Report Columns

For ACR/Detail and for enhanced format in ACR/Summary, a new option enables a user to print fixed-space columns. By entering the start position and spacing, you can print the User Report with the same number of spaces between each column. Optionally, you can enter the column width.

This feature facilitates the generation of a User Report in an easier-to-read format.

Report Print Options

Print and write options for reports and output files were standardized to allow four options for the User Report, Recap Report, Free-form Report, Control Report and UNIDATA2. The standard options follow:

• do not print
• print all
• print out-of-balance only
• print in-balance only

This feature removes previous printing limitations for reports and output files.

User Option for Time Separator

In the User Options Files, a new Time Element Separator field allows users to specify the separator between the hour, minutes, and seconds in reports. The default separator is a colon (:).

This feature allows you to standardize the print formats on ACR reports to use the same values as your company reports.

Include Date Format in XML Outputs

This enhancement includes the User Options date format for reports in the XML file sent to Infogix Perceive®. The date format tag pertains to Control Reports, User Reports, and Free-Form Reports in both ACR/Summary and ACR/Detail.

This change allows Infogix Perceive to recognize the intended format.

Free-Form Report Width Sent to Infogix Insight

This enhancement includes the report width that was specified for the Free-Form Report in the XML file that is sent to Infogix Insight. Sending the width to Infogix Insight allows the report to be generated as a PDF in portrait mode for smaller widths or landscape mode for wider widths.

This feature enables customers to create reports in ACR, generate PDFs in Infogix Insight, and use the PDFs for printing, mailing, and other business needs.

Select Statements Allow Comparison against Extended Values

When you define the selection criteria to evaluate records for balancing or reconciliation, or for building external translation tables, a new option allows you to indicate that the source value, which can be from an input source or extraction variable, will be compared to one or more extended literals (numbers with 16 to 30 digits or text values with 9 to 80 characters).

For balancing and reconciliation, you can compare the source value against either individual extended values or ranges of extended values.

For building an external translation table, you can compare the source value against individual extended values only. Ranges are not supported.

This feature was in use on other platforms and is now available in ACR/Detail and ACR/Summary in the IBM i platform.

Item Values and Descriptions in Messages

Messages will now be much more useful because they allow you to identify the items that resulted in the out-of-balance situation. You can do this by including the value and/or description of one or more items as part of the message text. For text and numeric items, you can also specify the maximum length of the value or description to include in the message (numeric item values that do not fit will show asterisks, and generate a #U warning). For text items that display the value, or for any item that displays the description, you can specify the first position of the text to include.

This feature was in use on other platforms and is now available in ACR/Detail and ACR/Summary in the IBM i platform.

Trace Reports

Two new trace reports have been added to ACR/Detail and ACR/Summary on the IBM i platform.

For Regular Input Sources

You can create a Trace Report when you run a reconciliation job in access mode 6 or 7. The report is useful in debugging because it provides a formatted list of the selection groups, details on processing of each record read, and notification of key related processes.

The report in your output will be UNIETR.

For External Translation Tables

You can now request a Trace Report for the processing of an external translation table. This report shows the following information:

• The definitions for building the table.
• The details of each translation attempt.
• The processing of each definition against each record in the external data source, including the values that were selected and loaded into the table columns.

Audit Trail to Infogix Insight

The audit trail shows the user ID and the date and time of Infogix ACR control definition changes. The audit information is captured when a new Infogix ACR control definition is identified, or an existing control definition is updated.

Audit information can be sent to Infogix Insight® if the ability to send XML files is enabled

This feature was in use on other platforms and is now available in ACR/Detail and ACR/Summary in the IBM i platform.

Direct Extraction from Delimited Files

A new indicator on input sources and translation tables allows you to extract values directly from delimited data files. The new feature allows you to specify multiple delimiters, including the tab character, for keys, items, and columns.

This feature was in use on other platforms and is now available in ACR/Detail and ACR/Summary in the IBM I platform.

CL File Overrides

File overrides in CL can now be processed on the IBM i platform. The OVRDBF command will now be recognized by ACR processing for input sources.

This feature was in use on other platforms and is now available in ACR/Detail and ACR/Summary in the IBM i platform.