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Hitachi Vantara Lumada and Pentaho Documentation

Get started with Interactive Reports

Parent article

Interactive Reports is a web-based design interface which is used to create both simple and on-demand operational reports without depending on IT or report developers. Use Interactive Reports if you want to create a quick report that answers an immediate business question, looks professional, and provides significant control over formatting elements such as fonts, column width or sorting, background colors, and more.

If you want to start creating your first report right away, feel free to jump ahead to Create your first Interactive report.

View a Interactive report sample

This section highlights some popular Interactive Reports capabilities that are available, using the sample report called Vendor Sales Report, located in the Getting Started widget.

Procedure

  1. In the Getting Started widget on the Home page, click the Samples tab.

    Home page
  2. Click Vendor Sales from the scrolling panel on the right.

  3. Click Explore in the Samples pane.

    A new window opens showing the Vendor Sales sample report.

    Vendor Sales Report

Tour the Interactive panels

By going to the Browse Files page in the User Console, you can also view an editable version of the Vendor Sales report.

Procedure

  1. Switch to the Browse Files page in the User Console.

  2. In the Folders pane, click to expand the Public folder, then click to highlight the Steel Wheels folder.

  3. In the Files pane, click on Vendor Sales, and then click Edit in File Actions.

    The Opened page appears with the interactive report and toolbars active.

    Opened page

    ItemNameFunction
    1Opened pageDisplays quick access buttons across the top to create and save a new Analysis Report, Interactive Report, and Dashboard. Opened reports and files show as a series of tabs across the page.
    2Data, Formatting, and General panelsUse the Data panel to drag information into a column or a row on the report. Your report display changes as you drag items onto the report canvas. Use Find to search for a specific field.

    Delete a level or measure from your report by dragging it from the Layout panel to the trash can, which appears in the lower right corner of the report canvas.

    The Formatting panel allows you to change the font size and type on the opened report.

    The General panel allows you to set preferences, select a paper size for printing, and select from a variety of templates for your report.

    3Report canvasShows a dynamic view of your report as you work to build it. The look of your report changes constantly as you work with Data, Formatting, and General panels to refine it.
    4Interactive toolbar and filtersUse the toolbar functions to undo or redo actions, hide lists of fields, add or hide filters, disable the auto-refresh function, adjust settings, change the view of your report, and limit the number of rows queried. Use the Filters panel to display a list of filters applied to the active report, or edit or delete filters.

Create your first Interactive report

The instructions below guide you through the creation of your first Interactive report using the Steel Wheels sample data.

Procedure

  1. From the Home page, click Create New, then choose Interactive Report.

    Home page, Interactive Report
  2. Choose the Inventory data source from the Select Data Source dialog box. Click OK.

    Select Data Source dialog box
  3. Click Get Started on the dialog box that appears.

    A blank Interactive report canvas appears.
  4. Click and drag the Product Code element onto the report canvas until a highlighted vertical line appears. Drop it onto the report canvas.

    Click and drag item to canvas

  5. Continue dragging and dropping these fields onto the canvas: Product Name, Product Vendor, Quantity in Stock, MSRP, and Buy Price.

    Report fields The data from the chosen fields appears on the report canvas and populates with the information from the server.
    NoteYou can change the order of the columns by clicking the column heads and dragging the columns left or right until they are in the order you want. If you want to delete a column, just drag and drop the column title into the trash can.
  6. Rename your report by double-clicking on Untitled in the report canvas, and typing a name in the field that appears. In Stock Report is used in this example.

    Renaming the report
  7. After you have arranged your columns in order, apply a filter to the data by clicking on the Filter icon in the toolbar. After the Filter pane expands, drag the Product Code field onto the filter workspace.

    Applying a filter
  8. In the Filter on dialog box, click Select from a list.

    Selecting filter values
  9. Choose items from the filter list by using one of these methods. Click on the arrows to move your selected filters on or off the filter list.

    • To choose more than one item from the filter list, hold down the Ctrl key and click the items that you want to filter by, then click the top arrow to move the items to the right panel.
    • Alternatively, you can choose a series from the list by holding down the Shift key and clicking on the first item you want to use, then clicking on the last item that you want to use.
    • Choose individual items by clicking to highlight them, and then clicking on the top arrow to move it to the right panel.
  10. Click Ok, then click the Save As button in the toolbar.

    1. When the Save As dialog box appears, save your report using the title that you used (in Step 6) for your report. "In Stock Report" is used in this example.

    2. Choose your user folder as the location. Be sure to remember this folder location and report title, as the report will be used in a later tutorial. Click Save.

  11. If you want to export the report, click the Export icon on the toolbar and chose a format from the dropdown list for the export.

    Report export selection The report exports in the selected format and a paper copy can be printed from the export. Exported report example

Results

You have successfully created a simple Interactive report from scratch. Pentaho Interactive Reports shows you how to work with more complex Interactive reports.