Report Design

To maximize the value and utility of Control-V indexing, reports should collect essential identifiers for report pages or sections in well defined, compact locations that can be described by one line number or range and one column number range. Separate indexes should be used for restricted (controlled) and free (uncontrolled) index values.

Retrieval is faster when index values are left justified within an index field. Separate fields should be used for different levels when index terms form a natural hierarchy. For example:

The entire index value (which cannot exceed 50 characters) must be contained on a single line. The entire mask value (which cannot exceed 20 characters) must also be contained on a single line. Column ranges for index and mask values must be on the same page. These values may be the same, may overlap, or may have no overlap.

The presence of a record-level index value must be determined by the presence of a mask value on the same page. The presence of a page-level index value can optionally be determined by the presence of a mask value on the same page.

For example, on a bank statement the mask BRANCH may indicate that digits in a specified nearby location represent the branch number. The mask ACCOUNT NO. may indicate that digits in another specified nearby location are an account number. Placing summary or grand total values on a separate page facilitates their retrieval.