5.2 Use the Report Wizard to Create a Report

When you create a report, you can either use the Report Wizard to assist you or create the report yourself. To build the simple report in this example, you can use the Report Wizard. Using the wizard enables you to define the layout for the report, as well as set the data definition.

To create a simple report:

  1. Launch Reports Builder (or, if already open, choose File > New > Report).

  2. In the Welcome or New Report dialog box, select Use the Report Wizard, then click OK.

  3. If the Welcome page displays, click Next.

  4. On the Report Type page, select Create Paper Layout Only, then click Next.

  5. On the Style page, type a Title for your report, select Tabular, then click Next.

  6. On the Data Source page, click SQL Query, then click Next.

  7. On the Data page, enter the following SELECT statement in the Data Source definition field:

    SELECT ALL DEPARTMENTS.DEPARTMENT_ID, DEPARTMENTS.DEPARTMENT_NAME, 
    DEPARTMENTS.MANAGER_ID, DEPARTMENTS.LOCATION_ID
    FROM DEPARTMENTS
    ORDER BY DEPARTMENTS.DEPARTMENT_ID
    

    Tip:

    This query selects all the department IDs, the department names, the manager IDs, and the location IDs, then sorts the data by the department IDs.

    Note:

    You can enter this query in any of the following ways:

    • Copy and paste the code from the provided text file called tabular_code.txt into the Data Source definition field.

    • Click Query Builder to build the query without entering any code manually.

    • Type the code in the Data Source definition field.

  8. Click Next.

    Note:

    If you are not already connected to a database, you will be prompted to connect to the database when you click Query Builder or Next. Ensure that you connect to a database that has the appropriate schema for this example. Section 5.1, "Prerequisites for This Example" describes the sample schema requirements for this example.

  9. On the Fields page, click the double right arrows (>>) to move all of the fields to the Displayed Fields list, then click Next.

  10. On the Totals page, click Next.

  11. On the Labels page, click Next.

  12. On the Template page, select Predefined Template and click Beige, then click Finish to display your report output in the Paper Design view. It should look something like this:

    Figure 5-2 Paper Design view for the tabular report

    Description of Figure 5-2 follows
    Description of "Figure 5-2 Paper Design view for the tabular report"

    Note:

    In the Paper Design view, you can see how the tabular report displays the data like a table, in order of department ID number.

  13. Save the report as tabularreport_your_initials.rdf.