Creating Asymmetric Reports

Definition: Asymmetric report

An asymmetric report is a report format that combines the values of two dimensions, or the values of a dimension and a financial data item. An asymmetric combination gives you access to all of the values of both dimensions and provides a great deal of flexibility for positioning the values along the rows, columns, or pages of the report.

Process for creating an asymmetric report

Follow these general steps to create an asymmetric report.

1. Open or create the report that you want to work with.

2. Place the objects (dimensions or dimensions and financial data items) that you want to combine on the same edge of the report.

3. From the Report menu, choose Asymmetric Format.

   The Asymmetric Combination dialog box appears.

4. In the Asymmetric Combination dialog box select two dimensions that you want to combine and choose OK.

   The New Tile Name dialog box appears.

5. In the New Tile Name dialog box, enter a name for the new tile that the system creates for the asymmetric combination and choose OK.

   The Asymmetric Layout dialog box appears.

6. In the Asymmetric Layout dialog box, use the edit bar and the Insert, Delete, and Move buttons to arrange the list of values as you want them to appear in the report. When you are satisfied with the arrangement, choose OK.

Example: Asymmetric report

The report in this example includes data for the Actuals financial data item for three months in 1999 and 2000. The asymmetric combination reformats the values so that the data is easier to compare by month.

Standard report

In the standard version of the report, the values are displayed chronologically, as shown in the following illustration.

Asymmetric combination

When an asymmetric combination is applied to the report, the data is displayed as shown in the following illustration. You can now easily compare Actuals for each month of the quarter.

Using asymmetric reports from which financial data items have been deleted

If you open a previously saved asymmetric report that uses a financial data item that you have deleted since the report was saved, you will receive the following error message:

An error occurred setting up data for the report. Consider changing the 
definition to access a different selection.

You can fix this error and still use the report by following the procedure described in the following Help topic: "Using Asymmetric Reports From Which Financial Data Items Have Been Deleted."

Removing asymmetric formatting from a report

You can remove the asymmetric formatting from a report at any time.

When you separate the asymmetric combination into its component dimensions, the values in status for those dimensions remain the same as for the asymmetric combination. If you want to change the status, you must access the Selector and select the items you want to include in each dimension. Also note that when you remove the formatting, you may need to reposition the dimension tiles to set up the report as you want it.

Related information

For more information about asymmetric reports, search for the following topics in the Financial Analyzer Help system:

"Including Asymmetric Formatting in a Report"

"Removing Asymmetric Formatting From a Report"

"Using Asymmetric Reports From Which Financial Data Items Have Been Deleted"