FlexRep (Flexible Reports)

From REPORTING > Flexible Reports, you'll see the options for building the output you want to create. All you do is select the appropriate options, and then click Run FlexRep to produce the output.

The selections for reports and export files you create repeatedly can be saved and used for the next run.

• After making your selections, click Save on the toolbar to save the specifications to a file with the extension .FLX.
• To reuse the specifications, click Find on the toolbar, and then navigate to and open the FLX file. The settings on the FlexRep dialog are reset to those in the file. Then, simply click Run FlexRep to extract the data.

FlexRep is capable of producing several forms of output:

• Voter details in Crystal Reports format displayed immediately for your review. This display can be printed as hard copies or exported to a file for further manipulation or for delivery to the requesting body.
• Mailing labels, which also display in Crystal Reports format. The labels are designed for Avery 5161 (4" x 1" laser labels, 2-up) label sheets. They can be printed directly to a laser printer or saved to a file. If you need to reposition where the output prints on mailing labels, adjust the margins.
• Recipient lists for Microsoft Word mail merge documents. Such documents can be any type of mail merge document, form letters, notices, and forms for mailing labels and voter certificates. You can print documents directly from FlexRep or schedule them for printing later. If you print a document from FlexRep, you have the option of updating voter records with an entry indicating the document was sent.
• Comma-delimited text (TXT) files that can be used as reports for internal use or delivered to a requesting body. These files are also designed for export to a commercial printing company for the production of sample ballots, voter ID cards, and the like. A standard field layout is used to create these files, although not all outputs use all fields in the layout. For example, the Text File with Voting History option uses the voting-history fields, while the other output options do not.

FlexRep can compress these export files in ZIP format. The program also creates a matching work file in TXT format, so you can examine the output without having to unzip the primary file.

Files can be saved to hard disk and to portable media such as USB drives and pre-formatted CDs.

In addition to the TXT or ZIP file, FlexRep also creates a document called an Export Report listing the search criteria for the output and the number of records processed. The Export Report is sent to your Windows default printer.

No audit or communication update is made to voter records when a voter is included in an export file to a commercial printer.

• FlexRep only extracts information from the database as it exists today. You cannot go back in time to resurrect data that no longer exists.
• Privacy voters are included in FlexRep outputs, but their residential and mailing addresses and birth date are replaced by ** Protected **.
• After you create an output that appears in the Crystal Report viewer, you must close the report before running another Crystal report from FlexRep. If you need more than one Crystal Report viewer open at a time, you should run multiple sessions of FlexRep (that is, return to the REPORTING tab and click Flexible Reports another time). But be aware that your machine may exhaust available memory if too many reports are open.
• After creating a report or other output, to create another output with different criteria during the same FlexRep session, it's a good idea to reset the search settings to the defaults. To do this, click Cancel on the FlexRep dialog and restart FlexRep.
Note:  Selecting File > New from the menu does not reset all the defaults, so we do not recommend this as a way to create a new output.
• FlexRep does not update voter records with either an audit or a communication record. For example, if you use FlexRep to create mailing labels for a mass mailing, the voters' records are not updated to reflect that the mailing was sent. This is different from the Notices Queue, where a record is made of every notice scheduled and printed for a voter.
• The voters' birth year displays in place of the full date of birth in FlexRep reports using the Voter List, Text File With History, and Text File Without History output options.

• Create a File of Voters and Their Voting History
• Create a Walking List for a Candidate or Committee
• Create a List of Fed Elections Only Voters
• Schedule Voter Certificates for a Group of Voters
• Send a Notice of Elections to Permanent Absentees
• Export Sample Ballots to a Commercial Printer