Report duration not respecting per area configuration
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#303 Report duration not respecting per area configuration
Set a room to an 8 hour day for an area. User goes in and defines a booking over 12 days. On the entry screen it shows 12 days times 8 hours. However on the report page the duration is 12 days times 24 hours.
If the user does a repeat booking of 8 hours over the 12 days the duration on the reports page is correct.
Is this the way things are supposed to happen or do I need to make a config change for this?
Discussion
No, it's not the way that it's supposed to happen and you're not missing a config change. It's a bug, but fixing it requires a bit of thought about how the system should behave and what the booking day really is.
Is the booking day a viewing window or is it a booking window? In other words does the booking day define a slot through which one can view the underlying bookings? Or does it define the slot within which one can only make bookings?
As an example, if I were to make an "all day" booking in an area that has an 8 hour day defined, and then later the administrator redefines the area to have a 9 hour day, would you expect my booking to appear in the extra hour, or would the extra hour be empty, available for booking by somebody else?
Campbell
Campbell thanks for answering. Basically someone would come in and say we need to use this room for the next 5 weeks so they change the end date on add entry page. They would then see 25 days and 8 hours per day. There are so many people using it, it is hard to keep them trained on repeat booking usage.
I only have our calendar set up to show those 8 hours so the calendar would be full and no one would be able to book that room the next 5 weeks.
I usually run the reports off my own reporting engine but quite frankly I love the cross-tab reports you have set up and I can add extra fields easily. That is why I have been using MRBS for 7 years and now just noticed this.
The expectation around the reporting is I have none. It could work either way and I would be happy with that. As long as I knew that #1 how you set it up is set in stone then that is cool and #2 if you change an area default then you change all underlying reports - that is cool too. I guess if I had to pick I would take choice #2 but really a coin flip to me. I would say whatever is easiest.
Last edit: David Moore 2014-07-01
Ah - I've had a closer look at this and see what the problem is. I don't think it's a bug at all now. The problem is one of interpretation. When you see 12 days 8 hours on the edit_entry screen that's not 12 days times 8 hours, it's "12 days, 8 hours". In other words the total duration is correctly reported as 12 days and (plus) 8 hours. This is consistent with the way it's presented in the reports.
Campbell
But it does mess up the reporting. If I have a room that can only be used 8 hours a day then the data gets messed up if it shows 104 hours for a week. When trying to do long term reports this really skews everything.
Yes, I think you're right. The reports should just show the time that the room can be used for. I'll take a look at it.