Reports
Reports lay out records on printable pages with bands, groups, and totals. You preview them page by page, print them, or save them as PDF.
A report reads rows from a saved query or a table. It places components on bands, such as a header, a detail band for each row, and footers for groups and the whole report. ixtable paginates the result the same way on every computer, so the preview, the printout, and the PDF match. Open Reports mode in Studio and choose New report.
Dataset
The Dataset picker in the toolbar chooses where rows come from: a saved query, a table, or no dataset. A report without a dataset prints its bands once, which suits a cover page or a form letter.
When the saved query declares parameters, a Parameters section shows one field per parameter. These are the report's default values. An action's Open report step and a dashboard's filters can pass other values when they open the report. Report expressions read the values as params.
A report reads at most 100,000 rows from a query. Beyond that, the preview says that it shows only the first 100,000.
Bands
Bands print in this order:
| Band | Prints |
|---|---|
| Report header | Once, at the start |
| Page header | At the top of every page |
| Group header | Before each group, outermost group first |
| Detail | Once per row |
| Group footer | After each group, innermost group first |
| Page footer | At the bottom of every page |
| Report footer | Once, at the end |
Select a band by its label on the canvas. The band's properties set its Band height, Keep together, Page break before, and Page break after. Drag a band's lower edge to change its height. A band with no height and no components does not print.
Components
The component toolbar adds components to the selected band.
| Component | Shows |
|---|---|
| Text | Fixed text |
| Field | An expression over the current row, such as record.amount |
| Calculated | An expression over the band's rows, such as sum(rows.amount) |
| Image | An image from the project's assets |
| Line | A horizontal or vertical line |
| Rectangle | A box with a border and optional fill |
| Table | Rows as a table with headers, from the band's rows or from another saved query |
Drag a component to move it and drag its corner to resize it. With a component focused, the arrow keys move it by 1 point, or 10 with Shift. Alt and the arrow keys resize it, and Delete removes it. Position and size sets exact values in points.
Field and calculated components take an optional Format, such as #,##0.00 or MMM d, yyyy. Text components can set the font size, alignment, and bold. Shapes can set the border width and a gray fill. A band holds at most one table, and page headers and footers cannot hold tables.
Expressions in reports
Report expressions read these names:
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
record | The current row in the detail band. The first row in the report header and the last row in the report footer |
rows | The rows of the current group, or of the whole report |
group | The current group's key, level, and count |
rowNumber | The detail row's number, from 1 |
params | The report's parameter values |
page, pages | The page number and the total pages |
groupPage, groupPages | The page number within the group and the group's total pages |
There is no separate totals component. Put a calculated component in a group footer or the report footer, such as sum(rows.amount) or countof(rows, item.paid). For page numbers, use 'Page ' & page & ' of ' & pages.
An expression that fails prints #Error, and the preview lists the problem.
Groups
Add group adds a level of grouping. Each group has a field or an expression to group by, and these options:
- Descending reverses the group order.
- Starts a new page begins each group on a new page.
- Repeats header on each page prints the group header again when a group continues onto another page.
- Restarts group page numbers restarts
groupPageandgroupPagesfor each group. It also starts each group on a new page.
ixtable sorts rows by the group keys. Without groups, rows keep the order of the dataset, so sort them in the saved query.
Page setup and pagination
Page setup sets the page size, A4 or Letter, the orientation, and the four margins in points.
- A band never splits across pages. When it does not fit, it moves to the next page.
- A table grows to fit its rows and pushes the components below it down. A long table splits between rows and repeats its header row on each page.
- Keep together moves a band with a table to the next page whole. On a group header, it keeps the header on the same page as the group's first row.
- Page breaks never create an empty page.
- Text does not grow. Lines beyond a text box's height are cut off, so size the box for its content.
Preview, print, and PDF
The Preview tab shows one page at a time, with page buttons and a zoom setting. It reloads when the report, its parameters, or its query change. When loading takes more than two seconds, it shows progress and a Cancel button.
Print opens the system print dialog. Export PDF… asks where to save the file and writes a PDF of every page. The PDF uses Helvetica. It includes .jpg images and .png images without transparency, and shows a placeholder for other images. Characters outside Western European text print as ?.
Reports in the Runtime
A navigation item can open a report in the Runtime, with the same preview, Print, and Export PDF… buttons. An action can open a report with parameter values, and a dashboard can show a report that follows its filters. A role needs read access to a report to open it or export it. Roles and permissions covers the grants a report needs.