Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
Basic Report Design
One of my pet peeves is someone giving me too much information in response to a simple question.
At times the easiest way to get from point A (in this case, not knowing how to create a report) to
point B (having a working report) is a simple matter of learning
what
to do, not necessarily
how
to
do it all. Don't get me wrong;
how
is an important question that deserves a thorough explanation —
at the right time. Unlike many college courses that are filled to the brim with information about the
history and concepts related to a topic with no direction regarding what a person should actually do
with this information, my goal is to give you some practical guidance right upfront. I'll deal with
the details later on.
The next three chapters will teach you all about report design. I will start with a high-level view of
the mechanics of report design (
what
to do). After you understand the fundamentals of common
report construction, you'll learn more about how reports actually process and render data. With
this knowledge under your belt, you will be better prepared to exercise your creativity and will
know how to put all the pieces together to create effective reports.
❑
Chapter 4 teaches you the essentials:
What
you need to do to get started building basic
reports using the report wizard and common report designer features. The second half of
that chapter introduces the fundamental building blocks of report design: report items
and report layout properties.
❑
In Chapter 5 you learn about the design elements that may be used to create more
advanced reports. I'll show you
how
to use different tools and techniques to implement
different features. Many of the topics in the chapter you are now reading will be revisited
in Chapter 5 in a more advanced context.
❑
Chapter 6 is once again about
what
to do. We have assembled step-by-step instructions to
show you how to build specific report solutions to address a variety of business problems.
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