1.0 Introduction
When you first put Giocoso into Pro mode (by filling in a MySQL remote database's IP address, using the Administration menu, Option 2), all reporting functions immediately switch by default into selecting from the shared, remote Pro database, rather than from the local database found on a specific Giocoso client device's proximate hard disk. For example, here is what a local report of the 'Aggregate Statistics' looks like (i.e., taking the Reports menu, Option 1 in non-Pro mode):
And here's the same menu options taken, and the same report produced, but this time operating in Pro mode:
The two reports look very different, because the Pro version is coming from a remote MySQL database, which insists on putting dashes and plus signs around its output for tabular reporting purposes. If you look closely, however, it's not just the look-and-feel that's different. Notice how the local database thinks 2.47% of recordings remain as-yet unplayed, but the global database thinks it's only 2.44% that's unplayed. The difference is, of course, that some recordings were played on devices other than the one producing the local report: in local mode, my main playing PC is unaware of these "other-devices" plays... but in Pro mode, the shared database is fully aware of them.
The point is, therefore, that knowing what a specific device has played is of interest (even in Pro mode), but knowing what all devices have been up to is also of interest -and, thus, that there is a point in being able to report from either the local or global databases, at will. Switching back and forth between these two modes of reporting is precisely what the Pro menu, Option 9 : Switch reports to xxxx mode allows you to do. The "xxxx" bit of the option text will vary, in a reverse-toggle sort of way: if you are reporting in local mode, the text will say 'switch reports to global mode'. If you are already in global reporting mode, the text will say 'switch reports to local mode'.
As you can see from the above screenshots, you'll know what reporting mode you're in by looking toward the top of the screen on most reporting screens: the report display will say "GLOBAL..." or "LOCAL..." very clearly. Some do not do this, for quaint technical reasons that needn't detain us: however, the Reporting menu itself tells you what reporting mode you're in before you run any particular report:
As a rough-and-ready guide, however, if your report opens in a web browser or contains lots of dashes and plus signs: it's a global report. If it opens in terminal windows with nice line-draw characters defining the columns and headers, you're running a local report.
Every time you take the Pro menu, Option 9, you'll switch to the alternate reporting mode and be immediately transported to the Reporting menu: the program assumes that if you're changing the reporting mode, you probably want to run a report!
To be completely unambiguous about it: reporting in local mode does NOT mean you've stopped operating Giocoso in Pro mode. It just means that, for reporting purposes only, you've chosen to use data from your local database, rather than the shared, Pro one. You can switch back and forth between local and global reporting modes at will, as often as you like. It's the presence or absence of an IP address for a remote MySQL database in Giocoso's configuration options that determines whether Giocoso is running in Pro mode or not.
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