InetSoft Product Information: Adding Data Elements to a Report

This is documentation for using InetSoft's reporting application.

You will now add a new Table element. The number of rows and columns in the table is determined automatically when you bind the Table to the query in the next section. Follow the steps below to add the Table.

1. Click inside the body of the report to select it. This places the insertion indicator at the top of the body cell.
2. Click the 'Table' button in the left toolbar. This opens a small window that allows you to select the number of rows and columns for the Table.
3. Drag the mouse to select any number of rows and columns. (The number you select is not important since the table will resize automatically to fit the query you bind in the next section.)

Binding Elements to Data

Data binding is the process of associating a query or other data source with a report element. When the report is generated, the data retrieved by the query is placed into the element. During the data binding process, you can modify the query by hiding fields, adding conditions, grouping, etc. Multiple report elements can be bound the same query, or each element can use a different query. Follow the steps below to bind data to the table:

1. Click the Table element to select it. Note that the status bar at the bottom of Report Designer displays the Table's unique Element ID ('Table1'). If desired, you can modify the Element ID from the 'Properties' dialog box of the element. (Right-click the element and select 'Properties' from the context menu.)
2. Right-click the Table, and select 'Bind Data...' from the context menu. This opens the 'Data Binding' dialog box.
3. In the 'Data Binding' dialog box, expand the 'Orders' data source and select the 'Order details' query.
4. Click the Grouping and Summary tab.
5. From the 'Selected Fields' node of the tree in the 'Available Columns' pane, drag 'Company' and then 'Product' into the 'Grouping' pane. (You can also use the 'Add Group' arrow.)
6. Drag 'Quantity' and 'Total' from the tree to the 'Summary' pane (or use the 'Add Summary' arrow).
7. Click 'Finish' to complete the binding, and return to the report. Use the 'Preview' but­ton during report design to check the report layout.
8. Note that in the report design-view, the table displays only meta-data (e.g., 'XXXXX').
9. Save your report as “Sample Sales Report”.
10. Click the 'Preview' button in the top toolbar to preview the finished product.

In the example above, you defined a fixed binding for the table at design time. You can also use JavaScript or Java code to dynamically bind data to a report element at runtime. See Binding Queries in Report Scripting for more information.