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Understanding Finished Reports in VDM

Garrick Guillory
Updated

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Article Goal

Learn what Finished Reports are, when to use them, and how they differ from standard Data Grids in VDM.

What Are Finished Reports?

Finished Reports are VDM's professional report design and presentation feature. They provide significantly more control over report layout, formatting, grouping, summaries, and printed output than standard Data Grids.

Finished Reports are designed for creating polished, presentation-ready reports that can be printed, exported, or distributed to end users.

Finished Reports are commonly used to create executive summaries, operational reports, and customer-facing documents.

 

Finished Reports Designer

 

Finished Reports Viewer

When Would I Use Finished Reports?

Use Finished Reports when:

  • A spreadsheet-style layout is not sufficient.
  • A professional or client-facing report is required.
  • Reports need custom headers, footers, or branding.
  • Grouped summaries and subtotals are needed.
  • Data must be formatted for printing or distribution.
  • Multiple data sources need to be presented together.
  • Charts, Cross Tabs, or advanced report elements are required.

Finished Reports vs Data Grids

Both Data Grids and Finished Reports display View results, but they serve different purposes.

Data Grids Finished Reports
Designed for data analysis Designed for report presentation
Interactive and flexible Structured and print-ready
Spreadsheet-style layout Professional report layout
Temporary formatting Permanent report design
Focused on reviewing data Focused on presenting data

In many cases, users will analyze data using Data Grids and then create a Finished Report to present the final results.

Common Finished Report Features

Finished Reports support a variety of advanced reporting capabilities, including:

Feature Purpose
Grouping Organize records into report sections.
Summaries Calculate totals, counts, averages, and other aggregate values.
Headers and Footers Display report information at the beginning or end of a report.
Images and Logos Add branding and visual elements.
Charts Display data graphically.
Cross Tabs Present summarized data in a matrix-style format.
Subreports Display related report information within a report.
Multi-Datasource Reporting Combine information from multiple data sources into a single report.

Example Workflow

A common Finished Reports workflow might include:

  1. Create and run a View.
  2. Review and validate the data using Data Grids.
  3. Launch Finished Reports.
  4. Add grouping and summary calculations.
  5. Customize headers, footers, and formatting.
  6. Add charts, Cross Tabs, or branding elements as needed.
  7. Export or distribute the completed report.

Related Articles

Task Article
Create a Finished Report Creating a Finished Report in VDM
Create a Cross Tab Creating a Cross Tab in Finished Reports
Create a Multi-Datasource Report Creating a Multi-Datasource Finished Report
Add Charts Group-Level Charting in Finished Reports
Format Report Content Formatting Labels with Markup Text in Finished Reports

 

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