Main Report Page

OPAS Reports and Functions - Download and Installation Instructions

Word Reports

View or Print these instructions in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format

For more information regarding Reports in OPAS, see Chapter 22 of the OPAS Manual.

All “Word” reports (that is, reports that output to Microsoft Word) will be downloaded and installed from this web site in the same manner.

Each Report consists of three distinct files: the report script, the report template and the report definition file. These three files are combined into what is called a “Self-Extracting Archive.” This indicates that the three files have been compressed (so that they take less time to download) and combined into a single file (so that they are easier to install).

The procedure that follows here need only be done one time for each OPAS installation (meaning you don't have to do this on each computer that uses OPAS).

    1.  Download the self-extracting archive for the report you wish. To do this, right-click on the link from the web page, and choose “Save Target as…” (note that depending on the type and version of your web browser, the menu may instead say “Save Link as..” or even “Save As…”  You can also try to click directly on the report link (that is, Left-Click); later versions of Internet Explorer will provide a message window that will give you the option of saving to your hard drive.
    2. This action will open the “Save As” window. At the top of the window, select the destination to which you want to save the file. This is only a temporary location, and so can be your own computer desktop for ease of location.
    3.  You will now have a new “.exe” file in the location specified in step two. This file will be called “Name of Report.exe”
    4.  Double-click on this file, and the self-extraction window will open. This window will say “WinZip Self-Extractor” with the name of the report. The middle of the window will indicate the location to which the report should be placed. Unless specifically instructed otherwise, the location will always be the REPORT_ART folder within the main OPAS directory on the server. This is why the “Unzip to Folder” field will say < PATH TO OPAS >\REPORT_ART. All you have to do is either type the name of the path to OPAS, or use the browse button to locate it. For example, if OPAS is installed on your organization’s “O” drive, you would type or browse to O:\OPAS\REPORT_ART. Check with your IT department or Fine Arts Software if you have any questions about this step. Placing report files in the wrong location will cause them to not run properly! When the proper path is displayed in the field, click the Unzip button at the top right of the window.
    5.  If you are installing a new report, you will need to restart OPAS before OPAS can recognize that new report. There is never any need to restart the computer itself
    6.  If you are installing a revised report, note that this process will overwrite the existing report. So, if the original or existing report has been customized either by you or by Fine Arts Software, don’t install the version from the web site without contacting Fine Arts Software first.