Overview of Report Sections

Every report consists of items added to the report and configured using the ribbon, design surface, and data dictionary.

Reports can have one or more output levels that contain report sections, and each section can contain text fields, images, charts, and output columns. The data shown in charts and output columns in each output level is impacted by the filters, variables, and comparison date offsets you add to the report.

• Output levels—Each report has at least one output level, and each output level contains one or more report sections and can have unique filters, variables, and comparison date offsets. If your report has drill-down levels, a separate output level is added for each drill-down level. The output level you’re currently viewing on the design surface is shown in the Level drop-down list at the top of the design surface. If your report has multiple output levels, you select the level you want to view from the drop-down list. See Drilling Down in Reports and Overview of Report Output Levels.
• Output columns—The output columns you add to the report levels’ data sections determine the information your staff members can see about the records returned in the report. There are different types of output columns, including database fields, functions, and computed fields. You can apply formatting to the columns in your report and also add calculations to tally data shown in each column. Columns can be added from the Column Definition window or by dragging fields from the data dictionary. See Overview of Report Output Columns.
• Charts—Charts offer a graphical display of the data returned in your report. You can add multiple charts to the charts report section in each output level. Different types of charts are available so you can present the data in different ways, and you can modify the display for each chart, selecting different colors, fonts, scales, and other attributes. See How to Add and Edit Charts.
• Text fields and images—You can add text fields and images to your report to enhance the report’s appearance and to clarify the report’s purpose. See Add an Image to a Report Section.
• Data exceptions—Data exceptions let you highlight data displayed in charts and output columns that meet certain requirements. Each output level can have multiple exceptions to highlight data for different reasons. For example, in an incidents report, you could display unresolved incidents in red text and overdue incidents in bold text. The exceptions’ criteria and percentage of data meeting or not meeting the exceptions can be shown in the report level’s charts and exceptions report section. See Create a Data Exception.
  Tip: If you want to highlight data in a single column, you can apply conditional formatting to the column instead of using data exceptions. See How You Edit Column Formatting.
• Report output level content—Each output level on a report can have different headers, footers, descriptions, charts, data exceptions, and tabular data. See Overview of Content on Report Output Levels.
• Search parameters—You can add search parameters to your report to define the data shown in the report’s columns, charts, and exceptions. See Overview of Search Parameters.