A cross tab displays summary, or aggregate values, such as sums, counts, or averages, in a row‑and‑column matrix similar to a spreadsheet. For example, you can use a cross tab to view sales data for each product line, by year, or total sales for each product line, by geography, and so on.

In Interactive Viewer, you can modify and format a cross tab to change the appearance of specific data values. You can also display detail information for data values to view important summary information at a glance. You can export cross tab content to other formats such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint, PostScript, or PDF. You can also print cross tab content, modify charts, Flash charts and Flash gadgets in a cross tab, and save a cross tab as a BIRT design (.rptdesign) or BIRT document (.rptdocument) file.

If you need to drill further to analyze the data in various situations, you can launch Actuate BIRT Data Analyzer, which enables you to manipulate the data in the cross tab, create a pivot table of cross tab data, and display more detailed information for existing data.