## Defining join paths

After you have made joins among the tables in the Pre-join Editor window, you can then use them to define paths, which can be used for creating/editing queries and setting up joins in business cubes later.

To define a join path:

1. Click the Paths button on the toolbar of the Pre-join Editor window.
2. In the Save Pre-join Path dialog, click the New button and type a name for the new path in the Input Path Name dialog (by default the name will be Path1, Path2, etc), and then click OK. See illustration.

3. In the Select Pre-join dialog, you will see that all the joins you have made are displayed in the All Joins box. Choose the joins you want and click to add them to the left box. See the dialog.

4. Click OK to dismiss the dialog and return to the Save Pre-join Path dialog.
5. Click the New button and follow the steps above to form a new path. You can select Hide Joins Added in Other Paths to hide the joins that have been used by the existing paths in the All Joins box.
6. After you have finished specifying paths, click OK in the Save Pre-join Path dialog to confirm the settings.
7. Click the OK button in the Pre-join Editor.

Notes:

- The feature of multiple joins (more than one join existing between two tables) is supported.
- In JReport Designer, the joins in one path should never form a loop (any table in this path will have direct or indirect joins with all the other tables). If you specify a path which forms a loop, JReport Designer will prompt you to re-select the joins.
- You cannot define a path completely having all the same joins as with existing paths. If you have specified a path that is the same as an existing path, JReport Designer will prompt you to re-select the joins.