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See the "Working with the Ad Hoc Editor" help topic in the online Help for further information.

Creating New Table Views & Reports

The following sections explain how to populate, edit, and format your table-type view.

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Image: Ad Hoc Editor’s Table View

Using Data Fields in Tables

Insert data into your table by adding fields. All available fields are listed in the Data Source Selection panel, on the left side of the Ad Hoc Editor.

The available fields are divided into two sections in the panel:

• Fields, which can be added to the table as columns or groups.

• Measures, which are specialized fields that contain data values.

To add fields and measures as columns to a table:

1. In the Data Source Selection panel, click to select the field or measure you want to add to the table. Use Ctrl-click to select multiple items.

2. Drag the selected item into the Columns box in the Layout Band. (The field is added to the view as a column in the table.)

To remove a field or measure from a table:

• In the Layout Band, click the x next to the field or measure’s name.

Groups

Groups allow you to create detailed data rows. For example, if you have a table that lists all new applications submitted over the past week, you can group the applicants by the Term Description. The applicants’ rows are then rearranged so that all applicants who have submitted applications for your fall term, for instance, are listed together under a header with the term description, regardless if that data field exists as a data column within the report view.

You can use multiple fields to make more specific nested groups. By adding a group based on the “City” field to the table described above, the rows (applicants) are arranged by City within the Term Description groups. Under the “Term Description” group header row, new header rows will appear for each City included in the available data set.

Only fields can be applied to a table as a group; measures cannot.

Data is grouped in the table according to the order in which the data groups have been added. You can change the order by dragging the groups into position if needed.

To create a group:

1. In the Data Source Selection panel, click to select the field you want to add to the table as a group.

2. Drag the field to the Groups box in the Layout Band. (The Ad Hoc view refreshes and displays the data grouped under a new header row.)

To remove a group:

• In the Layout Band, click the x next to the field’s name in the Groups box.

To move a the grouping order up or down in a table:

• In the Layout Band, drag the name of the group you want to move into its new position.

Adding a Summary to Columns

You can display summary data for any column in your table. Summary data may be in the form of various functions, such as:

• Sum

• Count

• Distinct Count

• Average

For example, in a table with a list of applications, grouped by City and Country, you can display the number of applicants in each City, and in each Country, using this function.

By default, the summary function for each data field is defined by the data source, OLAP, or domain definition.

To add a summary to a specific column:

• In the table, right-click the column you want to calculate a summary for, and select Add Summary. The summary information is added to the group header, or is added to the bottom of a column if no groups are included in the table.

To remove a summary from a specific column:

• In the table, right-click the column with the summary you want to remove, and select Remove Summary. The summary information is removed from the table.

To add or remove summaries from all columns:

• Click  and select the Detailed Data icon.

Column and Header Labels

You can edit a column or header label directly in the Ad Hoc Editor.

To edit a column or header label:

1. On the Ad Hoc view panel, right-click the column or group header you want to rename.

2. Select Edit Label from the context menu. The Edit Label window opens.

3. In the text entry box, delete the existing name and enter the new name.

4. Click Submit.

If space is at a premium, you can remove labels from the view. When you delete a label, it still appears when you look at the view in the Ad Hoc Editor, but does not appear when you run the report.

To delete a column or header label:

1. On the Ad Hoc view, right-click the column or header label you want to remove.

2. Select Delete Label from the context menu.

To re-apply a label:

1. Right-click the column or header label you want to replace.

2. Select Add Label from the context menu. The Edit Label window opens.

3. Enter the label name, if needed.

4. Click Submit.

Managing Column Size and Spacing

You can change the size of, and spaces between, columns to manage the appearance of your table or use space more efficiently.

To resize a column:

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Spacers can be added to a table to arrange columns farther apart, or add margins to a table.

To change the spacing between columns:

A spacer column, labeled , appears in the table.

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To use spacers to create table margins:

Reordering Columns

You can move columns to the right or left to reorder data in your table.

To reorder a column:

Sorting Tables

In the Ad Hoc Editor, you can sort the rows of a table by any field, using a number of different methods.

To sort a table:

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You can also sort a table using the following methods:

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If a column is already being used and you want to stop using it or change the sorting, right-click the column and select Change Sorting from the context menu.

Adding a Title

Changing the Data Format

You can change the formatting for columns containing numeric data, such as dates and monetary amounts. The format is applied to all rows as well as the group- and view-level summaries. By default, non-integer fields use the -1,234.56 data format; integers use -1234.

To change the data format for a column:

The data in the column now appears in the new format.

Changing the Data Source

You may need to select a new data source for your table. This is a simple task, but you should keep in mind that all view data and formatting are lost when you select a new Topic, Domain, or OLAP connection. Any changes to the view are also lost if you navigate to another page using the browser navigation buttons, the main menu, or the Search field. To preserve changes, accept the current Topic or click Cancel.

To change the table’s data source:

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Click Cancel to return to the editor without changing the Topic.

Controlling the Data Set

You can control the data displayed in the table using the Canvas Options selector: .

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Your options are:

Click to select the option you want to apply to your table.

Showing Distinct Values

Tables sometimes contain duplicate values in multiple rows, making it difficult to find relevant data. You can choose to show only distinct values in your tables by choosing to hide duplicate rows, making the table shorter and easier to read.

To show only the distinct values in a table, click on the Grid Detail Selector  and choose Hide Duplicate Rows.

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When you choose to hide duplicate rows, all columns will be sorted in ascending order based on their distinct values by default, but columns explicitly sorted in ascending or descending order by the user will have higher priority. Sorting by hidden fields will have no effect.

Scheduling Reports

You can schedule a report to run at a specific date and time, including a recurring time frame (every Friday at 9 am. for example). The image below is an example of how you begin this process. When you right-click a report Name, a pop-up menu displays and you can click the Schedule... option to open a Scheduled Jobs window that allows you to configure your scheduled report.

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