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Print or email a report during off-peak hours

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Important

This content is archived and is not being updated. For the latest documentation, see Microsoft Dynamics 365 product documentation. For the latest release plans, see Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform release plans.

Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

Occasionally, you may have to print an especially long report, such as a report that contains hundreds of rows of data. In this case, it may be best to print the report during off-peak hours, when few users are logged on to Microsoft Dynamics AX. The following procedure explains how to schedule a report to be printed during off-peak hours.

  1. Open the module that contains the data to print.

  2. On the module’s area page, in the Reports section, click the report to print.

  3. A form is displayed, where you can enter parameters to filter the data that is displayed on the report. Enter the parameters that you require. For more information about how to enter parameters to filter the data, see Filter the data on a report.

  4. Click Destinations .... The Print destination settings form is displayed.

  5. Select the destination to print the report to. The following table lists the options and the additional steps that you must follow for each option.

    Print destination

    Additional steps

    Print archive

    1. In the Page range area, specify which pages of the report to print.

    2. Click OK to close the Print destination settings form.

    For information about how to print a report from the archive, see Print a report from the archive.

    Screen

    Do not select this option. Because this report is printed as part of a batch, do not print the report to the screen.

    Printer

    1. If you want to save a copy of the report in the print archive, select the Save in print archive? check box.

    2. In the Name field, select the printer to print to.

    3. Click Properties to configure options for the printer. Note the following points:

      • For those using Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 or Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack: If you change the page layout orientation or the paper size, your change will not be honored when the report is printed.

      • For those using Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2: If you change the page layout orientation or the paper size, you must select the Override default settings check box for your changes to take effect.

    4. In the Page range area, specify the pages of the report to print.

    5. In the Copies area, enter the number of copies to print.

    6. Click OK to close the Print destination settings form.

    File

    1. Create the destination file.

      For example, assume that you want to save the Customers report as a PDF file. In this case, you would create a file that is named Customers.pdf.

      You can save a report as a CSV, Microsoft Excel, HTML, image, MTHML, PDF, or XML file.

    2. If you want to save a copy of the report in the print archive, select the Save in print archive? check box.

    3. In the File name field, enter the path of the destination file. The path must be entered in the following format: \\Server\Volume\Directory\File.

      Note

      The AOS service account for the Microsoft Dynamics AX batch server must have access to the destination file.

    4. In the File format field, select the format of the destination file.

    5. In the Page range area, specify the pages of the report to print.

    6. Click OK to close the Print destination settings form.

    E-mail

    1. If you want to save a copy of the report in the print archive, select the Save in print archive? check box.

    2. In the To and Cc fields, specify who receives the email message by entering email addresses or tokens (if supported by the version of Microsoft Dynamics AX that you’re using).

      If you’re using cumulative update 7 for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 or later, you can email reports to specific people by using tokens. When you use this feature, you don’t have to enter the email addresses of all recipients. Instead, you just enter a token. The token instructs Microsoft Dynamics AX to retrieve the appropriate email addresses from worker, customer, or vendor records.

      To enter tokens, complete the following steps:

      1. Click the Edit button that is next to the To or Cc field. The Assign email addresses form is displayed.

      2. To email the report to workers in your organization who have a specific job title, select the job title from the Worker title list.

        For example, suppose that you want to email this report to all workers who have the job title of Marketing Manager. In this case, you would select Marketing Manager from the Worker title list. Or, you would enter the following token in the To and Cc fields: @Marketing Manager@

      3. Click OK.

    3. In the Subject field, enter the subject of the email message.

    4. In the File format field, select the format of the file that the report is saved to. This file is attached to the email message that is sent.

    5. In the Page range area, specify the pages of the report to print.

    6. Click OK to close the Print destination settings form.

  6. Click the Batch tab.

    On this tab, you configure a batch job. A batch job is a task that is submitted to the instance of the Microsoft Dynamics AX server for automatic processing.

  7. Select the Batch processing check box.

  8. In the Task description field, accept the default description of this batch job or enter a new description.

  9. From the Batch group list, select the batch group that this batch job will be a part of.

  10. Click Recurrence. The Recurrence form is displayed.

  11. Schedule the date and time that the report is printed by following these steps:

    1. From the Time zone list, select your time zone.

    2. In the Starting time field, enter the time to print the report. For example, to print the report during off-peak hours, you may want to enter 2:00 A.M.

    3. In the Starting date field, select the day to print the report.

    4. If you want to print this report on a recurring basis, specify a recurrence pattern by entering a count or a date range. Then select the days on which the report is printed.

    5. Click OK to close the Recurrence form.

  12. Click Alerts. The Set up alerts for batch jobs form is displayed.

  13. Specify how and when you want to receive alerts for the batch job. Then click OK to close the Set up alerts for batch jobs form.

  14. Click OK to print the report to the selected destination on a recurring basis.