Finished Reports are VDM's professional report design and presentation feature.
They provide more control over report layout, formatting, grouping, summaries, and printed output than standard Data Grids. Finished Reports are designed for creating polished reports that can be printed, exported, or distributed to end users.
Finished Reports are commonly used for executive summaries, operational reports, customer-facing documents, and other presentation-ready reporting.
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 other 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 presentation-ready |
| Spreadsheet-style layout | Professional report layout |
| Interactive grid formatting | Saved report layout and design |
| Focused on reviewing data | Focused on presenting data |
In many cases, users review and 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 reporting capabilities, including:
| Feature | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Grouping | Organizes records into report sections. |
| Summaries | Calculates totals, counts, averages, and other aggregate values. |
| Headers and Footers | Displays report information at the beginning or end of a report. |
| Images and Logos | Adds branding and visual elements. |
| Charts | Displays data graphically. |
| Cross Tabs | Presents summarized data in a matrix-style format. |
| Subreports | Displays related report information within a report. |
| Multi-Datasource Reporting | Combines information from multiple data sources into a single report. |
Example Workflow
A common Finished Reports workflow might include:
- Create and run a View.
- Review and validate the data using Data Grids.
- Open the Finished Reports Designer.
- Add grouping and summary calculations.
- Customize headers, footers, labels, and formatting.
- Add charts, Cross Tabs, subreports, or other report elements as needed.
- Save the Finished Report.
- Preview, export, print, or distribute the completed report.
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