Understanding the Canvas

In this section:

The canvas displays a preview of the report being created or modified on the canvas when you are in the default Live Preview. To select Live Preview, go to Home tab, and in the Design group, click Live Preview, or on the View tab, in the Design group, click Live Preview. The canvas is always fully maximized and cannot be minimized, cascaded, or tiled. However, a blank canvas opens when there is no report.

The canvas displays either live data or sample data.

When you execute a report, the canvas displays the Output window. If the Output is minimized, or if there is no report to preview, the canvas is blank. To change the canvas view, you can select Query Design view or Live Preview from the Design group of the View tab or Home tab.

The following image shows the canvas, which displays a chart preview when you first launch InfoAssist to create a chart. The Resources panel appears to the left of the canvas.

Results Panel With a Chart Preview

When working with a report in Live Preview, you can rearrange the columns of the report by dragging them to the left or right, depending on your display preference. If the column is numeric, you are presented with the option to Drop as Sum or Drop as Sort, as shown in the following image.

Note: If you select Drop as Sort, the values are listed individually and they are sorted. If you select Drop as Sum, the values are summed for that particular row. The default is Drop as Sum.

When placing the column in a new location, an indicator bar displays, indicating the location of placement for the moved column. This allows you to see where the column will be placed before you actually perform the operation.

Note: Column sort order can also be rearranged by dragging the fields in the Query field containers of the Query pane to reorder them. For more information, see Using the Query Design Pane in the Resources Panel.

If you create a filter, then the filter appears in the Filter pane.

Using the Query Pane and Filter Pane on the Canvas

If you click Query on the Home tab, in the Design group, the Query and Filter panes expand in to the canvas.

This provides a larger area for displaying the Query and Filter panes. This feature is useful when you are designing a report with multiple filters or numerous fields.

Depending on whether you are creating a report or a chart, the Query pane displays selected data source fields using different types of Query field containers.

Related Information:

Understanding Output Options

Reference:

When you run a report, the output appears, either in a tab on the canvas, or in a new browser window. You can create and display output in several different ways, depending on the following options. You can select these options on the View tab, in the Output Window group:

Output window and tab options are also available in the status bar, and output window display options are also available in the Navigation taskbar.

Note: When you run a report, tab focus is not on the output window and pressing the Tab key does not move the selection. To move the Tab focus out of the output window, press F6.

Reference: Output Target Options

The following are output target options that you can select.

  • Single Tab. When you click Single Tab and run a report, a new output window is created on the canvas, a report instance is created, and an output tab is placed on the Navigation taskbar. As you modify a report, the same output window is refreshed each time the report is run. This option, which is the default, is ideal when you are working with just one report.
  • New Tab. When you click New Tab, each time you run a report, a new output window is created on the canvas. A new report instance is also created and preserved by the addition of a new output tab on the Navigation taskbar. Each output tab maintains the output of the report that generated the corresponding output window. Selecting an output tab on the Navigation taskbar loads the associated output instance into the output window.
  • Single Window. When you click Single Window and run a report, a new browser window is opened and populated with the report output. As you modify the report, the same browser window is refreshed each time the report is run. If the browser window is closed and the report is run, a new browser window is opened again and is refreshed for each subsequent run. The output is not displayed on the canvas, and an output tab is not added to the Navigation taskbar.
  • New Window. When you click New Window, each time you run a report, a new browser window is opened and populated with the report output. The output is not displayed on the canvas, and an output tab is not added to the Navigation Taskbar.

Reference: Output View Options

The following are output view options (Arrange) that you can select.

  • Cascade. When you click Cascade, if multiple output windows exist, they are cascaded diagonally across the canvas. This option does not affect open browser windows when you select New Window or Single Window.
  • Tile Horizontally. When you click Tile Horizontally, if multiple output windows exist, they are tiled horizontally, one above another, across the canvas. This option does not affect open browser windows when you select New Window or Single Window.
  • Tile Vertically. When you click Tile Vertically, if multiple output windows exist, they are tiled vertically, side by side, across the canvas. This option does not affect open browser windows when you select New Window or Single Window.
  • Switch Output. When you click Switch Output, a drop-down menu opens, where you can select any active report to view the output. The selected report is loaded into the output window or browser window, depending on the selected output window or tab option.

Reference: Output Format Options

The Output window can display report output in the following formats: HTML, HTML5, , PDF, and .

Note: Excel and PowerPoint formats open in their native programs in a window external to InfoAssist.