Types of Reports
- Drill-Down Reports: This allows you to click on a section/Area/Line item in report and expand it to see the next level of detail. For example- you have a report with product-wise sale for each city. You can click on to find the next level of detail carrying sales figures for each of the offices in that city.
- Reports with Sub-reports: Sub-Reports can share the connection with the main report. Also we can get sub-reports on demand. Sub-Reports can share the connection with the main report. Sub-reports are inserted in the main report. For example: Sales reports with sub-reports for individual product lines and locations.
- Cross–tab reports: There reports are published with summary data in rows and columns. These are reports contain summary data.
- OLAP Reports: These reports are created, when the reporting tool is sitting on OLAP server
- Multi-column reports: You can design a report that uses a multi-column layout, similar to a traditional newspaper column, where data flows down multiple adjacent columns.
Explorer for Enterprise Reporting
Explorer function in a reporting tool works pretty much on the same lines as a windows explorer, whereby you can explore various components. These components could be relevant to an end-user (reports) or to a report designer (global variables..).
- Object explorer: Shows all report objects: database fields, formulas, parameters, SQL expressions, totals and special fields (report metadata, page counters)
- Report Structure Explorer: Lets you explore the report Meta Data. Report Meta Data contains details on reports, whereby all aspects of reports in terms of headers, details, fields, formats..
- Reports Repository Explore: Lets you explore all reports OR outputs which has been published
Report Designer
- Report Preview while designing: This capability allows you to preview the way report will look like. This can include a preview of report without data and with data.
- Usage of global OR local objects: Ability to use the global OR local objects (formulae, functions, parameters, hyperlinks..)
- Graphical ‘click and drag’ interface: Self-explanatory.
- Semantic layer for user for report objects especially database fields: Semantic layer hides the complexity of underlying data sources by providing a business representation of organizational data. So with Desktop Intelligence, your end users can easily access information with minimal knowledge of underlying data structures.
- Global headings (Customer Name for cust_name)
Embedded Reports
This means that you include the object of report designer within the development kit. For example,
A good reporting tool should be able to provide the 'report object', which you can embed in your business system. This is different from generating stand-alone reports from the end of the processing on reports server. The report object (say sales activity report embedded in the sales management system), is invoked by selecting a menu option in the business system itself, or is triggered, when a specific action in your business system is done.
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