I. Overview
In order to meet the requirements on the style and design of reports in different scenarios, FineReport supports three different types of reports: Normal Report, Dashboard and Aggregation Report. The table below summarizes the features of these three types of reports:
| Report type | Normal Report | Aggregation Report | Dashboard |
|---|---|---|---|
Usage scenarios | Gridded, complex | Irregular layout, large | Management cockpit, charted, large-screen |
Design mode | Excel-similar, where cells can be merged, aligned and expanded. | Canvas-style, where components can be dragged in freely. | Canvas-style, where components can be dragged in freely. Adaptive or under absolute layout |
Functional features | Pagination / columns / grouping Dynamic operations between cells Complex report | Cell expansion and separation | Component expansion and separation Multi-screen, mobile adaptive Partial refresh |
Template suffix | .cpt | .cpt | .frm |
II. Typical application scenarios of Normal Report
Normal report is the most commonly used and the most used design template of FineReport. Adopting the grid interface, the normal report realizes the template effect by depending on the expansion of cells and the relationship between the parent and child cells. However, the expansion between cells affects each other.
1. Typical complex reporting
The normal reports are applicable to the basic templates such as detailed reports, group reports and crosstabs, as well as other characteristic reports that can be flexibly adjusted from basic templates, e.g., multi-source parent-child reports, file reports, row-column based reports, etc.
2. Dynamic operations between cells
The normal reports support flexible extended operation between cells, such as the operations for a year-on-year rate, month on month rate, ranking, proportion, accumulation, etc.
3. Query and data entry
If the data we want need to be filtered according to some conditions (i.e., parameter query), the normal reports are the best choices.
If business staff still need to do some editing operations, such as adding, modifying and deleting some data (that is data entry), then the normal reports are also applicable.
III. Typical application scenarios of Aggregation Reports
Aggregate report refers to a report containing multiple component blocks, each of which is similar to a separate report or a chart.
In traditional grid reports, such as Excel, when the row height or column width of a cell is adjusted, and the whole row or other cells of the whole column will be affected. In such case, it is very difficult to implement complex reports where table style is not standardized and the row heights of cells are inconsistent.
The expansion and separation of cells in different blocks in an aggregation report are independent and does not affect each other, which can solve the difficulties in handling irregular-layout large reports.
For example, the following is a particularly complex voucher report.
IV. Typical application scenarios of Dashboard
The dashboard is specially developed for cockpit report. With a canvas-type operating interface, the dashboard can create a comprehensive "management cockpit" by simply dragging operations, which can display various business indicators of the enterprise and enable the multi-dimensional analysis of data.
1. Management cockpit
Strategic management cockpit: Offer decision makers a way to monitor and analyze data in a real-time way.
Operational cockpit: Support drilling, linkage, multiple-dimensional view of data, and other operations. Facilitate decision maker to get the whole picture in one page.
2. Multi-terminal display
With the good multi-terminal adaptability of the dashboard, users can monitor the key indicator data anytime and anywhere on the mobile terminals, and make full use of their fragmented time.
3. Monitor refreshing
For example, key indicators displayed on the data screen in strategic command centers and conference rooms of enterprises, and even in the classroom check-in books, can be monitored in a real-time way based on the data monitoring function of the dashboard.
V. Difference in functions
| Category | Function points | Normal Report | Aggregation Report | Dashboard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Preview mode | Pagination Preview | Supported | Supported | Not supported |
Data Analysis Preview | Supported | Preview is supported, rather than other functions. | Not supported | |
Data Entry Preview | Supported | Not supported | Not supported | |
New Data Entry Preview | Supported | Not supported | Not supported | |
Mobile Preview | Supported | Supported | Supported | |
Dashboard Preview | Not supported | Supported | Supported | |
Designer Interface | Toolbar>Template Settings | Support the setting of 8 items in workbooks, 7 items in current sheet and permission editing. | Do not support attributes of data entry for current report sheets, column/row split, repeated freeze and row-based engine only. | Only support workbook template datasets, template parameters, mobile terminal properties and report block adaptive attributes. |
Toolbar>Server Settings | Support all settings | Support all settings | Support all settings | |
Report modules | Parameter widget and data entry widget | Aggregation report block and chart block | Parameter widget, tab block, absolute layout block, dashboard widget, chart block and extended chart. | |
Multi-sheet | In addition to normal report sheets, aggregation report sheets can also be added | Only support aggregation report sheets | Not supported | |
Zoom of Canvas | Supported | Supported | Supported | |
Report Block/Cell Function | Cell Settings | Support cell elements, cell attributes, floating elements, widgets, conditional formatting and hyperlink | Support cell elements, cell attributes, floating elements (unavailable), widgets, conditional formatting and hyperlink | Only support cell elements, cell attributes, conditional formatting and hyperlink |
Cell Element | Supported | Supported | [Insert Sub Reports] is supported in all cells except in report blocks. | |
Floating Elements of Report Blocks | Supported | Not supported | Not supported | |
Column/Row Split | Supported | Not supported | Supported | |
Freeze and Repeat | Supported | Not supported | Only mobile dashboards do not support Freeze. | |
Row-based engine | Supported | Not supported | Not supported | |
Dynamic operations between cells | Supported | Supported | Supported | |
Function | Supported | Supported | Supported | |
Sorting | Supported | Supported | Supported | |
Hyperlinks | Supported | Supported | Supported | |
Conditional Formatting | Supported | Supported | Supported | |
Parameter | Parameter Pane | Supported | Supported | Supported |
| Parameter widget | Supported | Supported | Supported | |
Parameter Application | Support linkage, multi-value query, fuzzy query, dynamic column, etc. | Support linkage, multi-value query, fuzzy query, dynamic column, etc. | Support linkage, multi-value query, fuzzy query, dynamic column, etc. | |
Data entry | Supported | Not supported | Only support submitting events through a widget for data entry; or inserting into a web page frame | |
Chart | Chart type | Support cells/insert floating charts/extended charts | Support chart blocks, cell charts/ extended charts | Support charts/ extended chart blocks and cell charts/extended charts |
Chart application | Support general chart interaction attributes, condition display, etc. | Support general chart interaction attributes, condition display, etc. | Support general chart interaction attributes, condition display, etc. | |
Export | Designer side | Support Excel, PDF, Word, etc. | Support Excel, PDF, Word, etc. | Only support templates with embedded datasets |
Browser side | Supported | Supported | Not supported | |
URL | Supported | Supported | Support exporting Excel, PDF and Word only after installing relevant plug-in. | |
Print on the client | Supported | Supported | Not supported | |
Local Printing | Supported | Supported | Not supported | |
Mobile Terminal | For details, please refer to the list of function points not supported by the mobile terminal. | Supported | Not supported | Supported |
