Changing the Layout of a Report

How to:

You can use report templates in conjunction with different combinations of fields in each bucket to quickly change the structure of a report into a number of common report layouts. These provide the ability to visualize the same set of data in a number of different ways, depending on the intended purpose, output type, or audience of the report.

You can select a report template from the report picker, which appears to the right of the canvas area, as shown in the following image.


Report Picker

Three options are available:

Procedure: How to Transform a Report Using Report Layouts

By using different report layouts with combinations of fields in the Row, Column, and Summary buckets, you can quickly transform a report into a number of common layouts.

  1. Create a new report.
    1. On the WebFOCUS Home Page, click Designer on the Action bar and then click Report.

      The Open dialog box opens.

    2. Select wf_retail_lite.mas as your data source.

    WebFOCUS Designer opens.

  2. Add fields to the report.
    1. In the Fields panel, in the Dimensions area, expand Product and double-click Product,Category to add it to the Rows bucket.
    2. In the Fields panel, in the Dimensions area, expand Sales_Related and Transaction Date, Simple, and double-click Sale,Quarter to add it to the Rows bucket.
    3. In the Fields panel, in the Measures area, expand Sales and double-click Quantity,Sold to add it to the Summary bucket.
    4. In the Fields panel, in the Measures area, double-click Cost of Goods to add it to the Summary bucket.
    5. In the Fields panel, from the Measures area, drag Revenue to the Summary bucket.

    The resulting report resembles the one shown in the following image.


    2 row field standard report

    This report shows aggregated values for the Quantity Sold, Cost of Goods, and Revenue fields, and each row represents a different combination of Product Category and Sale Quarter. Repeating Product Category values are not displayed.

    This report is simple and easy to read. The tabs help to clearly indicate the hierarchies in the report.

  3. Change the report pattern to Grid. On the report picker, click Grid. Now all dimension values display, including repeated values, as shown in the following image.

    2 row field report, grid

    This style of report is very flexible, and is often used in data grids, spreadsheets, and more.

  4. Clear all of the data from the report by clicking the Clear buckets content button above the Rows bucket.

    This makes it easy to restart our report from scratch.

  5. In the Field panel, in the Measures area, double-click the Quantity Sold, Cost of Goods, and Revenue fields to add them back to the report in the Summary bucket.
  6. Arrange the measure fields into rows. On the report picker, click Stacked Measures.

    The report is a simple list of sales metrics and their total values, as shown in the following image.

    new rows fields stacked, KPI report

    This can be an effective way to show simple KPI metrics.

  7. In the Field panel, in the Dimensions area, double-click Product,Category to add it to the Rows bucket.
  8. In the Field panel, in the Dimensions area, double-click Sale,Quarter to add it to the Rows bucket.

    The report now shows three measure fields, arranged into rows, for each sort value, as shown in the following image.


    2 row fields, stacked measures

    This layout displays data for two dimensions and three measures in only four columns, making it a good option when you want to save on the horizontal space occupied by your report.

  9. In the Field panel, in the Dimensions area, expand Customer and drag Customer,Business,Region into the Columns bucket.

    A column is created for each business region. This arrangement allows you to show information for three different dimension fields without requiring a significant amount of space, as shown in the following image.

    2 rows 1 column field, stacked measures
  10. Empty the Rows bucket. Click the menu next to the Rows bucket and click Clear.

    The result is a simple crosstab report, which displays rows of measures across dimension values, as shown in the following image.


    no row fields, stacked measures
As you can see, by using the patterns in the report picker and different combinations of fields in the Rows, Columns, and Summary buckets, it is easy to quickly change the layout of the report to match your audience and the information that you want to communicate.

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