Product Summary: BIRT Interactive Viewer · Product Summary: BIRT Interactive Viewer 3 Features...

The people behind BIRT ™

BIRT Interactive Viewer is an AJAX–powered, BIRT–based report

viewing tool that enables every user to think beyond the current

structure of a report and personalize it based on task and need.

Users who are not familiar or comfortable with standard report

authoring tools are able to use BIRT Interactive Viewer without

costly training within moments of being introduced to its intuitive

interface, an inexpensive alternative to training individuals who

would use the tool on a limited or casual basis.

Applications built with ActuateOne provide users with one user experience regardless of task, tool or skill level; are supported by one server with a set of services to support any deployment and are built with one design using BIRT. ActuateOne provides organizations with a quick time to market and the ability to grow with success.

ActuateOne is a complete BI solution built on BIRT that introduces new products and features to its suite of Rich Information

Application-ready products.

Product Summary:BIRT Interactive Viewer

Product Summary

http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-user-experience/http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-user-experience/http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-server/http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-design/birt-designer-pro/

Product Summary: BIRT Interactive Viewer

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OverviewBIRT Interactive Viewer is an AJAX–powered, BIRT–based report viewing tool that enables every user to think beyond the current structure of a report and personalize it based on task and need. Users who are not familiar or comfortable with standard report authoring tools are able to use BIRT Interactive Viewer without costly training within moments of being introduced to its intuitive interface, an inexpensive alternative to training individuals who would use the tool on a limited or casual basis.

Applications built with ActuateOne provide users with one user experience regardless of task, tool or skill level; are supported by one server with a set of services to support any deployment and are built with one design using BIRT. ActuateOne provides organizations with a quick time to market and the ability to grow with success.

ActuateOne is a complete BI solution built on BIRT that introduces new products and features to its suite of Rich Information Application-ready products.

BIRT Interactive Viewer lets users personalize report views, allowing one design to serve many because

it does not need to conform to any one format.

http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-user-experience/http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-server/http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-design/birt-designer-pro/


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FeaturesReport NavigationBIRT Interactive Viewer includes navigational functions that make it easy to use, including panning, cursor help, drag-n-drop positioning, and widgets.

• PanningControl–allowsusertopananentirereportwithatouchpad-likeinterface

• Activity-sensitivecursorhelp–usespromptstoteachusershowtomanipulatereportcontentsandformatting

• Drag-n-dropcolumnpositioning-Makesrepositioningcolumnseasy

• Interactivewidgets–InteractiveFlashwidgetscanbeincludedinanyBIRT-basedreporttoimprovevisualizationandenableusestodirectlyimpactreportelements.Userscanscroll,grabgaugeneedlesandselectdataseries.

Report FormattingBIRT Interactive Viewer lets users format and make other changes to reports. These changes include formatting column headers and other labels, formatting data, applying conditional formatting, and setting or removing page breaks.

DefiningHeaders,LabelsandPageBreaks

BIRT Interactive Viewer lets users perform multiple tasks related to editing and formatting report text and labels.

• Edittextlabels–changestextinlabelsthatarenotprotected

• Modifylabelformatting–modifiescharacteristicssuchasfont,color,typesize.

• Setanddeletepagebreaks–setsbreaksbeforeoraftergroupeddataifreportdesignhasgroupeddata.

DataFormatting

BIRT Interactive Viewer lets users modify default data formatting.

• Resizeacolumn–changescolumnwidth.

• Changedataalignmentinacolumn–alignscolumndatatotheleft,center,orright.

• Hide,show,deletecharts,reportsectionsorgraphs–arranges,hidesordeletesanyreportelement.

• Suppressduplicates–preventsrepeatvaluesfromappearingconsecutivelyinacolumn.

• Settextcharacteristics–modifiesfont,color,style,andothertextproperties.

• Changecase–formatslabelstoappearinallupperorlowercase

BIRTInteractiveViewerletsusersmodifydefaultdataformatting,includingrealigning/hiding/showing/

deletingandsuppressingcolumns,settingtextattributesandmore.


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• Changedatavaluedefaultformatting–selectsandchangesdefaultdataformattingwithinrows

• Formatdatatypes–changesdatatypessuchasnumericvalues,currency,percentages,orscientificnumbers

• Interactoncrosstabs–Enduserscanpersonalizelookandfeelofcomponentsbymodifyingformatandalignmentproperties,and,ifdesired,launchtheBIRTDataAnalyzerdirectlyfromtheInteractiveViewertofurtheranalyzethecontents.

ConditionalFormatting

BIRT Interactive Viewer can be used to change data formatting when a certain condition is true; for example, in a report that shows customers’ past-due invoices, a user can highlight in red any customer name that has an invoice 90 days or more past due, and then highlight in blue any customer name that has an invoice 60 days or more past due.

• ConditionalFormatting–setsuptothreeconditionalformattingrulesforasinglecolumn,andremovesormodifiesconditionalformatting

• Cross-columnconditionalformatting–affectstheformattingofonecolumnbasedonthevalueinanothercolumn;forexample,ifCustomerNameistheselectedcolumn,ausercanbasethe

conditiononthecreditRankcolumnsothatconditionalformattingappliestothecustomernameifthecustomer’screditRankisaparticularvalue

• Numerouscomparisontypes–setsupcomparisons,includingnullorfalse;comparesacolumnvaluetooneortwoothervalues;checkswhetheravalueisbetweenornotbetweentwovalues

• Flash-enabledsliders–Usespre-setsliders;letsusersselectthevalues

Interactive Report Analysis BIRT Interactive Viewer provides a variety of features to help users analyze the data in a report, arranging the data to support the insight they are seeking. It lets users display and organize report data sets; sort a data column in ascending or descending order; organize data into groups: aggregate data; and calculate numbers such as sums, standard deviations, rankings, and differences. Users can also exportcontenttoliveExcelspreadsheetsfor further analysis.

Reorder,hide,mergeandremovecolumns

BIRT Interactive Viewer lets users make changes to report columns.

• Addcolumns• Changecolumnorder• Movedatavaluesfromacolumntoagroup

Inadditiontofilters(center),BIRTInteractiveVieweroffersapanandscrollcontrol(left)thatenablesreport

consumerstoaccessalltheinformationinareportdespitescreenrealestateconstraints.Italsosupportsdrag-and-

dropfunctionalitytomovecolumns(right).

http://www.actuate.com/download/actuateone_demo/excelexport/excelexport.mp4


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• Removecolumns• HideColumns• Interactwithcrosstabs,andlaunchBIRTDataAnalyzerdirectlyfromtheBIRTInteractiveViewertofurtheranalyzethecontents.

Sort,groupandungroupdata

BIRT Interactive Viewer lets users group data if the report design does not contain the grouping desired, without affecting the underlying report design. There are several grouping functions in IV.

• Simplesortonasinglecolumn–sortssinglecolumnsusingascendingordescendingsortoptions

• Advancedsortonmultiplecolumns–sortscolumnsusinguptothreecriterion

• Addagroup–createsagroupwherenogroupformerlyexisted;forexample,groupdatabasedondateortimedata–setagroupinginterval;orifthecolumncontainstimedata,grouponhours,minutes,orseconds.

• Removeaninnergroup–ungroupacolumnortableinareport.

CreateCalculationsandSummaries

BIRT Interactive Viewer supports standard mathematical functions, along with standard operators and using numbers and dates in expressions.

• Standardmathematicalfunctions–performscalculationsusing

counting,addition,subtraction,multiplication,divisionandmore.

• Standardoperators–performcalculationsusingcommonoperators,includingplus(+),minus(–),multipliedby(*),dividedby(/),andmore.

• Expressions–extendbasicfunctionsbeyondsimplecalculations;forexample,userscancreateacolumnthatdisplaysdatevaluesthataregreaterthanthedatevaluesinanothercolumn.

• Aggregatedata–aggregatesdatabyperformingacalculationoverasetofdatarows;forexample,inareportthathasacolumntocalculateprice*quantity,takethesumofallthosecalculationstoobtainthetotalpriceofallitems.Userscancreateuptothreeaggregationsforacalculatedcolumn.

Filterdata

BIRT Interactive Viewer allows users to specify and set conditions for how data and other reports elements are displayed and hide and filter out unwanted data at run–time.

• Filters–createsdefinitionsthatlimitwhichdataappearsatwhatlevelofdetailandwhichdatadoesnotappear

• Advancedfilters–createsdefinitionswithmultipleconditions

• Parameterizedfilters–rerunsreportusingnewrun–timeparametervalues

InteractiveViewerallowsuserstoviewcrosstabreportsandexportcontentaslivepivottablesinExcel.

UserscanalsolaunchBIRTDataAnalyzerdirectlyfromBIRTInteractiveViewertofurtheranalyzereportcontent.


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ChartingWhile some chart elements are determined by a report template, BIRT Interactive Viewer can be used to modify certain chart elements such as chart format, subtype and data.

Filter chart data

In BIRT Interactive Viewer, data displayed in a chart can be filtered in the same way any data column is filtered. Users can filter on either the x–axis or the y–axis.

Change chart formatting

In BIRT Interactive Viewer, users can modify items of the chart’s format, including the fonts and font sizes of the chart title and axis labels and the height and width of the chart; they can also hide axis labels, place labels at an angle relative to the axis, and hide the legend or determine where to display the legend in relation to the chart.

• Titles – Edit and format the default chart, category, or x and y axis titles

• Axis – modifies, rotates, staggers, and spaces the settings for the labels on the x–axis:

• Size – sets the chart’s height and width

• Dimensions – creates a 2D or 2D chart with depth

• Orientation – flips or reverses a chart’s x– and y–axes

• Legend – shows and places a legend

Change chart layout (subtype)

In BIRT Interactive Viewer, users can change the subtype of a chart. Several types of charts have subtypes:

• Bar chart – side–by–side, stacked, percent stacked

• Line chart – overlay, stacked, percent stacked

• Area chart – overlay, stacked, percent stacked

• Meter chart – standard, superimposed

• Stock chart– candlestick, bar stick • Two–dimensional subtypes– chart

shape appears flat against the chart background

• Charts with depth – a chart with depth appears to have an added dimension.

BIRT Interactive Viewer perspective showing the same report after personalization.

BIRT Interactive Viewer perspective showing a typical financial report before personalization.

The “after” view is below; the top section (Accounts) is converted to a more quickly read, appealing chart.


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Generating Reports: Data Sources for BIRT Interactive ViewerActuate’s web report tools—BIRT Designer Professional and BIRT Studio—allow developers and power users to create reports. Users access these same reports and enable the BIRT Interactive Viewer as required to modify their view of report content.

Actuate’s report development and formatting products, designed specifically for application developers, report developers, business analysts, business users and end users, permit everyone to share the same report design, allowing anyone to start the design process and anyone to fine tune it based on user requirements or preferences.

• BIRTDesignerPro:Enablesapplicationdeveloperstobuilddynamic,interactivereportsreadyfordeploymenttoendusersandtocreatecompositereportdesigntemplatesforBIRTStudio.ThisdesignenvironmentincludesacompleteEclipseIDEinstallationwithafullytested,commerciallysupportedBIRTplug–intoprovidemaximumflexibilityforengineersfamiliarwithEclipse.

• BIRTStudio:Enablesbusinessanalystsandpoweruserstocraftad-hocwebreportsbyusingpre-definedBIRTreporttemplates,reportsandoptionalBIRTInformationObjects.

BIRT Interactive Viewer is the end user reporting centerpiece of Actuate’s Progressive Design Architecture.

BIRTInteractiveViewercanbeusedtoaccessnearlyanydatasource,includingdatafromActuatee.Reports

andopensourceBIRTreports.


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BenefitsBIRT Interactive Viewer enables users to modify and personalize their report views. This allows one design to serve more users because it does not need to conform to any one format. This flexibility reduces the number of reports that need to be created.

• Allows users to prototype their next requirement request before they make it, which makes obtaining that change easier and faster.

• Requires fewer report designs for specialty cases, because end users can modify their personal views.

• Reduces the system management burden on IT while continuous usage of the reports remains high.

• Enables every user to think beyond the current structure of the report and transform it to meet needs and fulfill task requirements. This flexibility rewards end user initiative with fast results and the insight to drive change.

• Decreases learning curve, because users are able to work immediately with BIRT Interactive Viewer, cutting training costs.

• Frees up IT to shift its focus from report generation activities to higher-level priorities, because ease of use shortens cycles between report design and completion

• Increases ROI

Deployment BIRT Interactive Viewer is deployed as part of Actuate’s Progressive Design Architecture, which can be configured to address the needs of almost any type of reporting project in any business environment.

BIRT iServer provides high-scale performance, reliability and security, and supplies BIRT Information Object metadata and multi-server and multi-project capabilities to enterprise collaborative reporting projects.

The BIRT Interactive Viewer toolbar is streamlined, initially displaying only a basic set of global toolbar

buttons, make it inviting to new users. Advanced users can easily find

the advanced function keys.


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The Progressive Design ProcessActuate’s iterative approach to report development and evolution allows users of all skill levels to participate in the report creation and review processes:

1. IT developers create BIRT-based templates in BIRT Designer Pro, and publish them to BIRT iServer as the foundation for BIRT Studio.

2. Business and power users utilize BIRT Studio to create personalized reports based on the template(s) and available data, configuring the report to meet their needs, and then publish and or schedule the reports back to BIRT iServer. Reports can be output in live Excel, .csv, .pdf or .html file formats, or be printed.

3. Authorized casual and end users can access and review these reports within their browsers by activating the optional BIRT Interactive Viewer, where they can edit and customize reports. Once a user is satisfied with the new view, it can be saved in BIRT iServer, where the user can return to it later to run it or schedule it to run on a regular basis. Report snapshots can also be saved to a user’s local machine, if desired.

4. If a casual user’s new design requires features that are beyond his or her skill level, IT can reopen the report as a design, make the changes, and save it back to BIRT iServer, where it can be accessed again by any authorized user.

The process of trading a common report design among report developers, ad-hoc report authors and end user consumers as a means of evolving a report in order to preserve its relevance is called “collaborative reporting.” BIRT Interactive Viewer drives business and end user self-service in collaborative reporting.

BIRT Interactive Viewer is part of the ActuateOne

products line, which provides

every user in the enterprise with the tools

required to make sound business

decisions based on current,

available data.


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The Progressive Design ArchitectureThe Actuate BIRT progressive design architecture includes:

• BIRT 360 – Operational and analytic user-created dashboards for a 360-degree view of the business in a true self-service environment.

• BIRT Data Analyzer – In-memory analytics application that helps business users uncover trends, identify anomalies and model scenarios.

• BIRT Reports – web reports based on open-source BIRT technology from the Eclipse project, available without charge from BIRT Exchange.

• BIRT Studio – self-service, ad-hoc web report development within IT control

• BIRT Interactive Viewer – end user report viewing and customization

• BIRT Mobile Viewer for iPhone – users mobilize and carry information wherever they go

• BIRT iServer – enables the use of BIRT Information Objects, and includes scheduling, versioning, and archiving functions,

allowing users to run both on-demand and scheduled reports without IT intervention but within IT-control. This highly scalable implementation of Actuate services provides multi-server, multi-project support; high-availability clustering, failover and load balancing; metadata caching; and enterprise management and tuning features

• BIRT onDemand – Actuate’s Software as a Service (SaaS) offering, which enables any user, anywhere, to access enterprise information via the Web, without downloading/installing Actuate BIRT desktop products.

These options provide an array of choices from which to create unique information applications that appeal to any user.

Within the progressive design structure, BIRT designs can be shared among highly skilled developers, business users and consumers. This encourages participation and supports an iterative development environment, which speeds development and adoption of information applications.

BIRT Interactive Viewer can include data represented by BIRT Flash Objects, enabling users to interact

with their data in a user friendly interface and change their view to meet their needs.

(Use check marks to change chart view.)

http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-user-experience/dashboards/http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-user-experience/analytics/http://www.birt-exchange.com/be/downloads/http://www.birt-exchange.com/be/home/http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-user-experience/ad-hoc-reporting/http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-user-experience/interactive-viewer/http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-user-experience/mobile-options/http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-server/http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-design/birt-designer-pro/http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-server/saas/

Actuate Corporation2207 Bridgepointe Pkwy., Ste. 500San Mateo, CA 94404

Tel: (888) 422-8828 Web: http://www.actuate.com http://birt-exchange.com

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System RequirementsSystem requirements vary with options chosen. For a system analysis based on your specific needs, please contact an Actuate expert at 1-800-914-2259 (US & Canada) or contact us by email. You can also contact one of our offices worldwide.

For More Information For more information about interactive web reporting please contact an Actuate expert at 1-800-914-2259 (US & Canada) or contact us by email. You can also contact one of our offices worldwide.

Applications built with ActuateOne provide users with one user experience regardless of task, tool or skill level; are supported by one server with a set of services

to support any deployment and are built with one design using BIRT Designer Pro. ActuateOne provides organizations with a quick time to market

and the ability to grow with success.

www.actuate.comhttp://www.birt-exchange.commailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.actuate.com/company/contact-us/worldwide-contacts.aspmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.actuate.com/company/contact-us/worldwide-contacts.asphttp://www.actuate.com/products/birt-user-experience/http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-server/http://www.actuate.com/products/birt-design/

Product Summary: BIRT Interactive ViewerOverviewFeaturesBenefitsDeploymentThe Progressive Design ProcessThe Progressive Design Architecture

System RequirementsFor More Information

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