Report formatting/sorting issue

Question

Hi,
Here is something I spent a whole day on, and still can't figure out.
I have a simple SQL report, which is supposed to show estimated and actual expenses and the variance between the two. The trick is that whenever the variance is positive, the numbers should be green and whenever it is negative - the numbers should be red and NO MINUS SIGN should be shown. For example, if the variance is "-15", then a red "15" should be shown.
The report query is as follows:
SELECT
region,
estimate,
actual,
(estimate - actual) AS variance,
(CASE
WHEN (estimate - actual)>=0 THEN 'green'
WHEN (estimate - actual)<0 THEN 'red'
ELSE NULL
END) AS variance_color
FROM
expenses
And then the following HTML expression is used for the Column Formatting on "variance" field (sorry for double "<<" and extra spaces - I could not figure out how to format text for this posting):
<< span style = " color : #VARIANCE_COLOR# ; font-weight : bold ; ">#VARIANCE#<< / span>
All works quite well and I get the colors right, but I still have the minus sign on the negative numbers. If I use "ABS(estimate - actual) AS variance" in my query, I certainly can get rid of it, but then sorting does not work properly, since negative numbers are treated as positive.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
Constantine

Answer 1

Hello Constantine,
>> If I use "ABS(estimate - actual) AS variance" in my query, I certainly can get rid of it, but then sorting does not work properly, since negative numbers are treated as positive
Please try the following:
SELECT
region,
estimate,
actual,
'<input type="hidden" value="'||(estimate-actual)||'">'||
abs(estimate - actual) AS variance,
(CASE
WHEN (estimate - actual)>=0 THEN 'green'
WHEN (estimate - actual)<0 THEN 'red'
ELSE NULL
END) AS variance_color
FROM expensesThe trick is to add to the column a hidden prefix with the real value of the column, and then concatenate it with the visible value. As the sort order is determine by the beginning of the column – the hidden prefix in our case – you can enjoy both worlds – maintain a correct sorting order while displaying only positive colored numbers.
>> sorry for double "<<" and extra spaces - I could not figure out how to format text for this posting)
You should use the forum tags *&#91;code]* and *&#91;/code]* .
Regards,
Arie.
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