Switching Between Pivot and Crosstab Controls in Finished Reports – BridgeWorks Help Center

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Article Goal

Learn how to switch between the Pivot and Crosstab control options in the Finished Reports Designer using the settings in VDM (version 11.0.2.0 or later).

Why Change Between Crosstab and Pivot?

While both Pivot and Crosstab controls are designed to summarize and present grouped data, they have differences in setup and features:

Pivot: Typically more flexible with grouped data and often preferred for certain report types.
Crosstab: More structured, easier for creating matrix-style layouts.

Some users may encounter limitations with one control type and need to switch to the other to achieve desired functionality.

Use Case: A user creating a report that requires grouped headers and dynamic column layouts may benefit from Crosstab. If that layout proves limiting, switching back to Pivot might resolve it.

Where Can You Switch Control Type?

You can switch between Pivot and Crosstab by accessing the Settings area on VDM’s main screen and modifying the Finished Reports option.

Steps to Switch Between Crosstab and Pivot

Note: This feature is only available in VDM version 11.0.2.0 or later.

Step 1: Open VDM

Launch the Visual Data Modeler (VDM) application.

Image: Main screen of VDM

Step 2: Open Settings

Click on the Settings option from the top navigation.

Image: Settings menu in VDM

Step 3: Set Control Type

Under Finished Reports, locate the Pivot or Crosstab setting. Choose your desired control type.

Image: Pivot/Crosstab setting dropdown

Step 4: Use the New Control in Finished Reports

Now go into the Finished Reports Designer and drag either a Pivot or Crosstab element into your report. The designer will now use your selected control type by default.

Image: Cross Tab inserted into report

Article Summary

Switching between Pivot and Crosstab controls in VDM allows users to adapt their reporting layouts to better fit data presentation requirements. This toggle setting provides flexibility when designing complex reports and is especially helpful when one control type doesn't meet formatting or functionality needs.