Background

Sometimes, the data of a cell may exceed the original cell size in the web report. Then, what should we do?

For common web reporting tools, there are two major methods.

A method is to dynamically widen cell according to data, or heighten cell by wrapping text. However, users sometimes want to fix the width and height of cell.

Another method is to adjust font like Excel. However, this method is suitable only when data length is not much wider than cell size. Or else, data may be too small to be read.

Therefore, they all have disadvantages.

Solution

As a pure Java web reporting tool, RAQ Report provides a wonderful method by combining these two methods ingeniously. It can both wrap text and shrink font when data is excessive. Then, font is shrunken less for better readability. Moreover, RAQ Report can operate not only a character cell, but also a graph cell.

Operation

Users just need to select a page break mode and decide whether to wrap text after report design.

Interesting Example

Now, I will input “wonderful reporting tool” in a cell. With different resizing mode, the display effect is different.

Fix the size of the cell.

Adjust cell size to content automatically.

Adjust font size to content automatically.

Wrap text when needed.

Adjust font size and wrap text for best performance.

Source: Knowledge Base of RAQ Report
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Design Web Report Entire Article

As an Excel-like Web-based Java reporting tool, RAQ Report has became popular in more and more web report developers. In its report IDE, RAQ Report has set a lot of startup properties which satisfy the common needs of users, and this makes users convenient.

However, those experienced developers may need more personalized designer initial properties. Such as row height, column width, font size and so on. Then, they need not to set these properties time and time again.

As a professional java reporting tool, RAQ Report provides two solutions for advanced users.

1. Set initial properties in the report IDE of RAQ Report.

Open the report IDE, and choose “Configure>Options>Initial properties”.Set your desired initial properties here, and click “OK”. As shown below:

Then you can design a new report with those startup properties from the next time you open RAQ Report.

Note: With this method, some initial properties can only be set as integer, not decimal.

2. Set initial properties in the configuration file of RAQ Report.

Open RAQ Report’s installation directory “reportHome\designer\tmp”, and find the option node in the file report4config.xml. Under this node, initial properties can be set as decimal. Such as fRowHeight, fColWidth, etc. Save the file after changing. As shown below:

Then, reset the designer, and you will find that changed initial properties have been saved.

Note: Before editting the configuration file, you should close the designer.

Source: Knowledge Base of RAQ Report
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BIRT Properties;

Design Web Report Entire Article

Background

Generally speaking, the report wizard of web reporting tool can help users to make a report step by step. Due to its strong regularity, common report wizard can only make simple reports, such as grid report, group report and cross report. However, reports in real business are more complex.

Difficulties

Combined report is one kind of complex report. Each part of a combined report may be regular. For example, it maybe composed of a grid report part and a group report part. However, for this kind of report, you can only make one part report with the wizard. Then, you have to modify it all by yourself.

Another problem is about template invalidation. For example, you may have designed a uniform template with header and footer, and set its appearance properties. If you are asked to insert a grid report, you need to first make a grid report with the wizard. After that, you have to copy the header and footer to it, and set all the appearance properties with the format painter. If your reporting tool does not support format painter, you have to set all the appearance properties one by one. It means that the uniform template you designed does not play a role in the whole process.

Solution

For the convenience of users, RAQ Report provides a report wizard with Insert Local Report function to solve this problem. As a result, you only need to finish the appearance and other irregular parts by yourself. Then, the wizard will help you to insert a local report step by step. By the way, you can insert several local reports in a template.

Example

1. Make a report with template.

2. Select the cell to insert local report.

3. Choose “Insert > Local Report”.

4. Click Next.

5. Click Next.

6. Click Create Grid Report.

7. It generated expressions automatically.

8. The preview of the report.

Source: Knowledge Base of Java Reporting Tool
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Design Web Report Entire Article

Background

Sometimes, we will meet a web report with large height and width like the one below. If its report heads have not been fixed, when we drag the scroll bar, they will move with the data area. This will be very inconvenient for users to read the content.

Solution

Fortunately, RAQ Report can easily fix only the top report head or the left report header, or both of them at the same time. Moreover, the only thing you need to do is to set the properties of web report head.

Example

Next, we will take this report for an example to show how to fix web report heads easily.

If you want to fix the top report head, select the rows to be fixed as the top report head, and set their Row Type as Table Header. Then, the first cells of these rows will be displayed as report head region. As shown below:

(If you want to freeze the left report head, the operation is similar.)

Graphic Illustration

Source: Knowledge Base of Java Reporting Tool
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Design Web Report Entire Article

Background

Have you ever seen a web reporting software which has a more suitable interface to design static reports than Excel?

I believe that those who have made or read a certain number of reports will say no to this question. Exactly, Excel’s interface is the best choice for static report design, as it has incomparable advantages in efficiency, operation and setting.

Then, drag and drop web reporting tool and Excel-like reporting tool, which is better?

This dispute has once appeared in the professional reporting tool industry. After all, those senior reporting tools are using the drag and drop style. However, RAQ Report gives a resounding answer by releasing a real Excel-like web reporting tool: Even in professional reporting tools, the efficiency of Excel-like web reporting tool is much higher than that of a drag and drop reporting tool.

Even for non-professionals, Excel is a reporting tool easy to use. It only needs a little time to grasp the basic knowledge, and everyone can make a table with beautiful interface from scratch quickly.

Example

Next, with an example, we will see RAQ Report inherits the characteristic of Excel to what extent.

The main design interface at the left side is the most common Excel-like spreadsheet. If you set format there, you will find that RAQ Report is totally the same with Excel in static style setting.

1. Cell’s width, height, background, foreground, display format, line break, gridline, etc.
2. Content’s font, font size, bold, italic, and underline, etc.
3. Data’s horizontal alignment and vertical alignment.
4. Format painter.

In format definition, RAQ Report and Excel have no difference. Moreover, besides these inheritances in static format, RAQ Report also inherits the cell expression of Excel.

For example, in Excel, if you want to make a summary of the data of A3-D3 in E3, you should write “=SUM(A3:E3)” in E3. Then, if you want to do this in RAQ Report, you will find that it is similar with that in Excel.

Like Excel, RAQ Report also can automatically adjust the expression in the cell whose position changed. If you insert a new column between B3 and C3 in the table above, then the expression in F3 (original E3) will adjust to “=SUM(A3:E3)” automatically. Similarly, if you insert a new row or column in RAQ Report, corresponding expressions will also adjust automatically. Moreover, flexible expressions, such as “A2+B3-A4″ and “(A1+E2*D4)/C3″, can also be operated correctly.

Besides inheriting the design style of Excel, RAQ Report realizes dynamic data extension which Excel can not realize. Please look at the report below:

Its design interface is shown below:

In terms of efficiency, RAQ Report is certainly a powerful web reporting software to make reports like the one above. Due to the advanced Excel-like design style, RAQ Report can improve the efficiency by 90%. Compared with traditional reporting tools, RAQ Report exactly can improve the efficiency of Web report design, shorten development cycle, and reduce development cost.

As a result, RAQ Report is so popular with large report designers, programmers and project managers.

Source: Knowledge Base of Web Reporting Tool
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Design Web Report Entire Article

Background

Most Java web reporting tools, especially those have some BI characteristics, often claim to end users that their products are simple to use. Some reporting tools promise that they can allow end users to make various statistical reports follow their own inclinations, and evenmake a report just by drag and drop.

Has web report development become so easily?!

The fact is that programmers are still struggling against various reports. Both web reporting softwares and OLAP products seldom allow end users to use them directly, therefore, end users are still using Excel.

For end users, making a simple Web report (with row grouping or simple cross) with these common reporting softwares is ok, as they can do with the wizard and the semantic layer. However, end users can not make most complex reports by dragging and dropping the relations of data structure which they do not understood. Therefore, it is impossible for end users to make all the report with these common reporting softwares.

Drag and drop can only set the positions of data items, but they even can not do this very well. As current reporting tools’ editing styles are commonly based on controls, and it is a general editing proposal of graphical primitive, it absolutely does not show the regularity of table. However, real successful table products like Excel are not based on controls. For summary conditions, grouping rules and operation formulas, which have to be dealt with in complex reports, drag and drop can do nothing at all. Therefore, end users have to understand the operation model of report first, and then, write abstract expressions. This is not much easier than coding.

Solution

Then, is it impossible for end users to make Web reports by themselves?

Yes, it is possible of course!

However, they can only make those simple reports with universal web reporting tools. In order to make complex industry reports, they must use reporting tools with industry characteristics. In other words, programmers must add industry experience into some technical reporting tools, and set the styles and templates of report. Then, end users only need to input parameters and indicators to make various complex reports. The degree of difficulty is determined by the functions and integration of the reporting tool.

To sum up, it is not easy to make complex web reports by drag and drop as others said.

Source: Knowledge Base of Web Reporting Tool
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Design Web Report Entire Article

Background

With the popularity of B/S application, users want to do report design at browser side with web-based reporting tool. They would like to link database and design report template at browser. Moreover, they wish to deploy template to server and browse their designed report on line too.

Difficulty

1. Link database. For the consideration of security, browser side can’t link database directly with jdbc or odbc. As a result, there must be a long distance data server. This server is used to receive data access request from long distance user, send the request to database, and transmit processing result back to user.

2. Set the access authority of report template on server. Users should be able to access, modify and save the report template on server. However, some other files on server aren’t allowed to be modified. Therefore, there must be a file server, which is used to determine which files are accessible, and which users are allowed to access them.

3. Remote design is provided for business personnel, so the interface must be user-friendly. Users should be able to do remote design by just drag and drop. Therefore, the semantic layer must support complex functions like generate parameters, expressions, display formats automatically.

Solution

As a professional web-based reporting tool, RAQ Report spends a lot of time and money on this problem. At last, a wonderful solution is worked out by the prominent developers of RAQ Report. With it, users can realize remote design with ease/

Operation

1. Delpoy remote design server.

2. Download client-side and start remote designer.

3. Log in long distance server.

4. Link long distance data server and file server.

5. Design, preview and save report.

Graphic Illustration

Source: Knowledge Base of Java Reporting Tool
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Design Web Report Entire Article

When design report, we often display all the content of web report. However, according to some special conditions, we may need to hide some corresponding rows in web report design.

Most designers choose to hide rows with condtion control. But in some conditions, it is very inconvenient. However, with RAQ Report, users can hide rows with some more flexible methods.

Here, I introduce a method which control row height with conditions to hide rows.

In grouping web report, when computing the sum of a group, it often need to hide the result. It can be realized by hiding rows according to conditions, but this may be inconvenient sometimes. In this condition, it can be also realized by adjusting row height.

Take 6.3.raq in the Quick_Start_Examples in the RAQ Report installation package. In this report, there is a sum of company number in each group. When the sum is 0, it should be hided.

With RAQ Report, users just need to write the height expression of the row as if(C3{}==7,0,8). Then, when the data of cell C3 is 0, the row height will be set as 0. So the row turned to invisible.

You could download RAQ Report from this URL: http://www.raqsoft.com/download/install-package/

Source: Knowledge Base of Web Reporting Tool
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Design Web Report Entire Article

Background

In Web Report, Sub report is a inportant technology, which is used to deal with some complex reports that can’t be achieved by basic models. In other words, you can design a relatively independent part of a report as a sub report, and add it to the main report.

For users’ consideration of report’s neatness, it’s very important to align the gridlines of main report and sub report.

Then, is it easy? No.

Difficulty

For traditional reporting tools, the report frame is built on some basic controls. As this type of reporting tools is not Excel-like/grid-shaped construction, it is impossible to design accurate aligned gridlines.

For new grid-shaped reporting tools, the report frame is formed by straight lines. As they have a real construction of the gridline, if they follow the method of the traditional-control reporting tools (it’s called embedded), unaligned gridlines will bring down the neatness and beauty of report, and even affect the reusing of the report. For example, report data with unaligned gridlines can’t be organized in the form of Excel or export to Excel.

In aligning gridlines, the biggest difficulty is how to align rows and columns between main report and sub report.

Solution

As a real Excel-like reporting tool, RAQ Report pays great attention to details in report design. With the combination of cell expansion and sub report model, RAQ report made the model of Imported Sub Report. With imported sub report, users can align gridlines easily.

Easy Operation

1. Design main report and sub report separately.

2. Import the sub report into the main report, and select the import type: Imported.

3. Browse and release it.

Graphic illustration

Source: Knowledge Base of Web Reporting Tool
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Design Web Report Entire Article

Background

Have you ever experienced this case? When designing a web report, the column number of data area is less than that of title area. But after expansion, the column number of data area is much bigger than that of title area in display. As a result, the web report seems irregular.

Example

Take a cross report with horizontal expansion as an example. The design interface is shown below:

In design, the data area has only 4 columns, while the title area has 5 columns.

After expansion, the preview of the report is shown as below:

You can see that the data area has 7 columns and title “Product” and “Date: 2008.12.17″ are at wrong positions. This brings down the neatness and beauty of the report greatly.

How to make title area always aligned with data area?

We can calculate the column number of data area after horizontal expansion and move the corresponding grids in title area right. Then, which ones to move? How to solve the spare area? Fill up blank cells or extend some cells? All these problems are difficult to be solved.

Solution

As a real Excel-like reporting tool, RAQ Report provides a perfect solution to this problem. Not matter how data area expands, with the combination of stretch rules and cell extension, RAQ report can keep specified cells center, right, or left easily. With this function, the beauty of report is guaranteed.

Easy Operation

1. Find cells that need to be aligned right.

2. Check the “Stretch” property of their left cell as show below:

Graphic Illustration

Source: Knowledge Base of Web Reporting Tool
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Design Web Report Entire Article