Report Designer Properties

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Synoptix Desktop Client Guide

   

Report Properties: Defaults

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Purpose
The Report Properties Defaults tab allows you to set defaults for report date and type.

View the Defaults tab by first either opening an existing report or creating a new report. With a new report, you'll be asked to save the report before continuing. Then click the Properties button from the File tab of the toolbar...

   

...and select the Defaults tab.

   

Definitions
Report Date: You may set the report so that it runs based on several different types of dates. Those dates include Entered at Runtime, End of Last Month, Today's Date and Hard Coded Date. If any of these other than Entered at Runtime are chosen, the report automatically runs when the Report Viewer is opened.

Auto Refresh: Selecting this option and setting its Interval regenerates the report based on the interval as long as the report is displayed. This option is mostly used with reports displayed on a dashboard.

Template: If the report is set as a Template, only the owner of the report is able to modify it. Other users with rights to the report are able to use Save As to create a new copy of the report, but are unable to save changes to the existing report.

Budget: If set as a Budget, the report is used to create budget entries and calculations for use in other financial reports. Additionally, selecting Budget makes the Lock Cells check box visible. Lock Cells is only used with Budget reports and is discussed in the Budgets Tutorial.

Locked: The Locked check box makes a report unmodifiable by any user. It is for internal use by CompuSoft, and is not enabled for customer use.

Allocations: If set as Allocations, the report is used by Reporting Suite to create budget entries and calculations for use in other financial reports.

Export Accounting Details: This option can be used with a summary report containing only Accounting and/or Reference Cells, where all cells on a given row have the same account definition. When the report is run and exported to a spreadsheet, detail information is available there to supplement the report’s summary information.

If a report contains additional cell types and/or cells on a given row do not contain identical account definitions, use Audit Report (Beta) instead of Export Accounting Details.

   

Audit Report (Beta) is visible in the Report Viewer’s View menu, only after running a report directly from the Run icon, located in the Reports group on the control panel. Selecting the option displays a separate window with details of summary cells grouped by filter.

Last Transfer: The Last Transfer field is read only, and indicates the most recent date the report has been transferred to the report database. The report database is where all report templates are stored after having been created or modified.

Report ID: The Report ID field is read only, and is used in the report database for identification and diagnostic purposes.

Version: The Version field allows you to enter a version for the report. Note: This is not a version control system; you can’t have multiple versions of one report.

Report Properties: Footer

Purpose
The Report Properties Footer tab allows you to set text that is separated from the main body of text and appears at the bottom of a printed page.

View the Footer tab by first either opening an existing report or creating a new report. With a new report, you'll be asked to save the report before continuing. Then click the Properties button from the File tab of the toolbar...

   

...and select the Footer tab.

   

Definitions
Use Page Footer: Select to use a footer.

Footer Height: Enter height of the footer in inches.

Font: Choose footer font attributes.

Left: Type footer text here to display on the left side of the page.

Center: Type footer text here to display in the center of the page.

Right: Type footer text here to display on the right side of the page.

Report Properties: General

Purpose
The Report Properties General tab contains five distinct properties which can be set.

View the General tab by first either opening an existing report or creating a new report. With a new report, you'll be asked to save the report before continuing. Then click the Properties button from the File tab of the toolbar and...

   

...select the General tab.

   

Definitions
Description: The Description text box allows you to add a detailed description of the report. This description can be up to 1,000 characters long.

Font: Setting or changing the font properties changes the default font of the report. In other words, if you enter a label without setting a font here, the software's default font is used.

Rows and Columns: Set the maximum number of row and columns available in the report. These can be set to any number, but to help with speed in calculating the report, it's recommended these numbers be set within 10 or 20 of the maximum rows and columns being used. In order for changes in rows and columns to take effect, close and re-open the report.

Display Calculations In: This allows numeric values to be displayed in varying multiples of the original number. You can have values displayed from 100’s to 100,000,000’s. The effect of selecting this option is that numbers are divided by the option selected before being displayed.


Sum Rounded Numbers: This allows you to change the way numeric values are summed. If you choose to display certain numeric values in your report as whole numbers ($1,324), the software, by default, still sums the actual numbers contained in the database ($1,324.36). As a result, sums may not appear to be working properly. Selecting the Sum Rounded Numbers check box allows the software to use the displayed numbers for summing purposes, rather than the actual numbers contained in the database. This results in rounded numeric values being summed as displayed.

Report Properties: Header

Purpose
The Header tab will allow you to set the header of each page that is printed. It is divided into two sub-tabs: Page and Column.

View the Header tab by first either opening an existing report or creating a new report. With a new report, you'll be asked to save the report before continuing. Then click the Properties button from the File tab of the toolbar...

   

...and select the Header tab.

   

The Page tab allows you to set header information in a way very similar to many spreadsheet programs. The information entered is displayed on the printed report.

Definitions
Use Page Header: Select to use a header.

Header Height: Enter height of the header in inches.

Font: Choose header font attributes.

Left: Type header text here to display on the left side of the page.

Center: Type header text here to display in the center of the page.

Right: Type header text here to display on the right side of the page.

The Column tab allows you to select an existing area of the spreadsheet for use as the page header. In effect, when the report is printed it takes any cells defined by the rows entered and prints them at the top of the page.

   

Definitions
Use Column Header: Select to use a column header.

From/To Row: Enter the row or rows whose content you want to use as header information.

Report Properties: Page

Purpose
The Page tab allows you to adjust the paper size, orientation and margins of a report.

View the Page tab by first either opening an existing report or creating a new report. With a new report, you'll be asked to save the report before continuing. Then click the Properties button from the File tab of the toolbar...

   

...and select the Page tab.

   


Definitions
Format: Choose the size of paper for your report.

Width: Displays width of the paper chosen from format (inches).

Height: Displays height of the paper chosen from format (inches).

Orientation: Select either portrait or landscape.

Left: Enter size of the left margin in inches.

Right: Enter size of the right margin in inches.

Top: Enter size of the top margin in inches.

Bottom: Enter size of the bottom margin in inches.

Report Properties: Print

Purpose
The Print tab allows you to set default print options for a report.

View the Print tab by first either opening an existing report or creating a new report. With a new report, you'll be asked to save the report before continuing. Then click the Properties button from the File tab of the toolbar and...

   

...select the Print tab.

   

Definitions
None: If None is selected, the report prints as it is shown on the monitor. The red lines are page breaks in this case.

Fit to Width: Select to reduce font size so the widest row in the report is able to fit within the width of one page.

Fit to Height: Select to reduce the font size so the longest column in the report is able to fit within the height of one page.

Fit to Page: Select to shrink contents of the entire report so as to fit on a single page.

Report Properties: Security

Purpose
The Security tab allows you to define and review the users and groups that have permissions to view or work with a report. You can specify permissions to a report for individual users or groups. Only a software Administrator or report owner can set permissions for a report.

View the Security tab by first either opening an existing report or creating a new report. With a new report, you'll be asked to save the report before continuing. Then click the Properties button from the File tab of the toolbar...

   

...and select the Security tab.

   

Definitions
Report Owner: Select the report's Owner.

Groups: Select individual groups and assign Run/Modify rights for the report.

Users: Select individual users and assign Run/Modify rights for the report.

Select All/Clear All: Select or deselect all users/groups.

OK: Close the Report Properties window, saving any changes made.

Cancel: Close the Report Properties window without saving changes made.

The Report Properties Panel

Purpose

The Properties Panel, to the right of the spreadsheet in the Report Designer, is where properties for accounting and other types of cells, as well as for Detail Areas, are set and edited. Note the small icon at top right of the panel. You can click the icon to hide and expand the panel.

   

Definitions
[b]Area Properties:[/b] This section contains properties for the selected Detail Area.

[b]Cell Properties:[/b] This section contains properties for the selected cell.

Companies: Displays the company(s) selected from the Cell Palette.

Accounts: When you click Add Accounts, the Account Numbers dialog box appears, wherein you can look up account numbers by clicking the magnifying glass icon, typing them into the box separated by commas, or entering a range separated by a colon. Then Validate to make sure account numbers are correct before applying. Hold the Control key to select multiple account numbers.

Calculations:
Source of Calculations: The type of calculation for your report, Actual, Budget, and so on.

Calculation: The period of your calculations, for example, MTD = month to date.

Adjustment: Adjusts the calculation, or period, by the number entered. For example, if your calculation is MTD and you have an adjustment of -1, it will retrieve the previous month to date. If your calculation is YTD and your adjustment is -1, it will retrieve the previous year to date.

Reverse Sign(+/-): Reverses the positive/negative sign for your calculations.

Currency:
Use Currency Conversions: Determines whether or not currency conversion will be used for the cell.

Use Account Defaults: The conversion type set in Account Conversion Setup for each account will be used.

Override Account Defaults: Override any defaults that have been set and all balances for the cell will be converted based upon this setting.

Conversion Type: There are several conversion types, each of which affect the conversion differently. A discussion of the various types is found in Reporting Suite's Advanced Financial Tutorial.

Target Currency: The Currency to which you want the Account Defaults currency to be converted.

Notes: You can add notes to individual cells to give your reader additional context for the data it contains. When a cell has a note, in either the Report Designer or Viewer, a yellow icon appears in the corner of the cell. When you rest the pointer on the cell, the note displays in the tooltip.


Please note this guide applies to Synoptix desktop client versions 7 and 8