ABSTRACT
There are two types of text-based queries: canned and ad hoc. The trade-off is ease of use vs. flexibility.
Canned queries are procedures where the query is prepared ahead of time, and the retrieval is done the same way each time. An example would be a specific report for management or regulators, which is routinely generated from a menu selection screen. The advantage of canned selections is that they can be made very easy to use since they involve a minimum of choices for the user. The goal of this process is to make it easy to quickly generate the output that will be required most of the time by most of the users. The EDMS should make it easy to add new canned queries, and to connect to external data selection tools if required. Figure 85 shows an example of a screen from Access from which users can select pre-made queries. The different icons next to the queries represent the different query types, including select, insert, update, and delete. The user can execute a query by double-clicking on it. Queries that modify data (action queries), such as insert, update, and delete, display a warning dialog box before performing the action. Other than with the icons, this screen does not separate selection queries from action queries, which results in some risk in the hands of inexperienced or careless users.
