I built a report that loads a database table of logged event data. The database table includes a datestamp field containing the date and time of the event. I wanted my report to have a chart showing the duration in hours, minutes, and seconds between the events shown on each row of the chart. That would allow me to make selections on types of events or the source of the event and the time duration between listed events would be useful.
I created a straight-table chart with a dimension of a field called EVTLOG_ID. That single field is a unique identifier that I could sort by descending value and guarantee that the rows in my chart are in chronological order with the most recent events at the top of the chart. Then I added an expression that simply said =EVTLOG_DATE to show the timestamp field from the table. Then I added another expression like this =time(interval([EVTLOG_DATE]) - below([EVTLOG_DATE])),'h:mm:ss') to show the interval between the timestamp field and the timestamp field on the lower line in the chart. The outer function, time, makes the format show as hours, minutes, and seconds without the unneeded "AM" label.
The chart works great – figuring out the elapsed time between timestamps is a tiresome chore to do in your head.
★ ★ ★
