Using BIRT Viewers describes how to use Actuate BIRT Viewers to view, navigate, and export data from report files stored in a volume. This document also describes how to use Interactive Viewer to change the appearance and structure of a report document and filter the contents of the document.
This document is a guide for general users of a default BIRT iHub Visualization Platform installation. Technical concepts and explanations that describe how to accomplish common activities are included in the following sections. For more detailed information about any of the subjects discussed, see the complete set of Actuate documentation included with Actuate software or contact your volume administrator.
The following sections are included:
Introducing Actuate Viewers. This section introduces the available viewing environments for BIRT reports, and lists the modification capabilities each environment provides. The section also compares features in Actuate Viewer and Interactive Viewer.
Exporting report data and content. This section describes the exporting options in the viewers and explains how to export report data to various flat file formats. This section also describes exporting report content to various formats such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, PostScript, PDF, or Extensible HTML using the viewers and Interactive Crosstabs.
Organizing and modifying data. This section discusses the functionality Interactive Viewer provides for organizing data, such as sorting data, moving columns, removing duplicate values, creating data groups, performing aggregate calculations, and setting page breaks in a report. This section also describes how you can insert calculated columns in a report and explains how to build expressions and create custom expressions to create new computed columns. The section also describes how you can use Interactive Viewer to specify viewing parameter values, and create filters for data in a report.
Editing and formatting a report. This section describes the formatting options in Interactive Viewer: formatting data columns and static text, formatting various types of data, and applying conditional formatting.
Modifying charts and gadgets. This section describes the types of charts in a report and explains how you can modify them using Interactive Viewer. The section provides procedures for changing the subtype and formatting of a chart, and also explains how to drill up and down through data hierarchies, drill through hyperlinks, and switch views between a chart and table or cross tab view of data. The section also describes gadgets and explains how you can modify them.
Analyzing data. This section describes cross tabs and explains how you can use Interactive Viewer to modify the formatting properties of data in a cross tab. The section also describes how you can create a cross tab using Interactive Crosstabs, organize data in a cross tab, create computed measures, filter data in a cross tab, and display cross tab data in charts.
Functions and operators. This section is a reference for all the functions available in Interactive Viewer and Interactive Crosstabs. The section also describes the operators you can use when creating expressions for calculations and filter conditions, as well as creating expressions and filter conditions using relative time periods.
Introducing Actuate Viewers. This section introduces the available viewing environments for BIRT reports, and lists the modification capabilities each environment provides. The section also compares features in Actuate Viewer and Interactive Viewer.