7 shortnesses of displayTag

Today, I want to share my using experience of displayTag with you. It is an open source suite of custom tags, which is mainly used to display data.

The functions of displayTag are abundant, such as data display, combination with css, extraction and display of data subset, automatic generation of hyperlink and sequence number, page break, grouping, group summary, data export, subreport, multi-report display, report head and bottom, dynamic column, data prewarning, condition summary, etc.

In use process, I find some shortness of displayTag:

1. The reports generated by displayTag usually involve some regular rules, and it can not make reports with merging cells, multi-layer report head, or left report head.

2. It is impossible to make complex reports, for example, multi-source subdivision report.

3. Although it has a great combination with css in display, it can not apply the style of css to exported Excel/Word/PDF files. As a result, if you want to export distortionless Excel/Word/PDF files, you have to write three specialized display classes for each kind.

4. For page break, its memory footprint is large, while the performance is poor. That is because it fetches all the records at a time, and then displays them in pages. Moreover, the style of background data storage is one record one object.

5. For displayTag does not involve print function, You have to use the print function of web page. If you need a precise print, you have to develop the function all by yourself, and you can not use displayTag then.

6. As displayTag can not freeze report head, when there are a great number of records, you can not fix the report head and browse with the scroll bar.

7. For summary, displayTag is unable to do operations cross row groups, and it can only realize easy group summary, global summary, and a part of condition summary.

To sum up, the functions which displayTag has realized are exquisite, and as a display package, it is simple to use. However, it is not applicable to make practical reports with complex styles and various requirements.

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How to fix report head easily with reporting tool?

Background

Sometimes, we will meet a report with large height and width like the one below. If its report heads have not been fixed, when we drag the scroll bar, they will move with the data area. This will be very inconvenient for users to read the content.

A report with large height

Solution

Fortunately, RAQ Report can easily fix only the top report head or the left report header, or both of them at the same time. Moreover, the only thing you need to do is to set the properties of report head.

Example

Next, we will take this report for an example to show how to fix report heads easily.

If you want to fix the top report head, select the rows to be fixed as the top report head, and set their Row Type as Table Header. Then, the first cells of these rows will be displayed as report head region. As shown below:

The screenshot of the report IDE

(Set as the red box shows, and the result is showed as the blue one)

(If you want to freeze the left report head, the operation is similar.)

Graphic Illustration

The screenshot of the report

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Print report on a specified paper with reporting tool

Background

Sometimes, we want to print a report on a preformatted paper. Such as invoice, bill, credential, etc. With traditional reporting tools, it will be very difficult.

Solution

But now, it will be very easy. With the background picture mode of RAQ Report, we can solve the problem of preformatted paper printing very easily.

Example

Following the example below, you can have a try of preformatted paper printing.

Step 1: Open the report IDE of RAQ Report, and create a new report.

(Tip: You can choose Normal Report or Input Report in "Properties > Report Properties > Input type". If the data of the report for preformatted paper printing are fetched from database, you can create a Normal Report. If it needs to input data and backfill them into the database, you should create an Input Report.)

Step 2: Choose "Insert > Background", and the Report Properties dialog box is shown below:

The Background picture tab in the Report Properties dialog box

Select Each page in the Display Mode drop-down box. Then, the background picture will be displayed in each page. Click the button Next to the URL/class name box to select the path of the background picture for preformatted paper printing. Click the OK button to close the Report Properties dialog box, and the background picture is displayed in current report as shown below:

The screenshot of the report IDE (The aligned gridlines are marked red.)

Step 3: Drag the gridlines of report to align them with the gridlines of background picture as shown above. After adjusting the size of each cell, input needed information in appropriate positions. (Make sure that characters are in blank areas.)

(If the data are fetched from database, you can write expressions in cells directly like Normal Report. If it needs to input data and backfill them into the database, you have to set the properties of cells to which data will be inputted as Editable.)

Step 4: Choose "Properties > Report Properties", and check the Print background at the lower left in the Print tab. It means to print the report with the background picture. (If uncheck it, it means to print the report without the background picture.) As shown below:

The Print tab in the Report Properties dialog box

Step 5: Save the report as bill.raq.

Step 6: Click the buttons and to preview the report in browser as shown below:

The preview of the report for preformatted paper printing

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Comparison between RAQ Report and Crystal Report

Overview:

In Java environment, RAQ Report has obvious advantages in deployment, integration, application and application program interface as a pure Java reporting tool.

In non-Java environment, both RAQ Report and Crystal Report operate in the independent report service mode. Therefore, there is no much difference.

In report design, RAQ Report is obvious more convenient in report plotting than Crystal Report. More important, the data models of RAQ Report make its ability of making complex reports much better than that of Crystal Report. Therefore, the report design efficiency of RAQ Report is much higher than that of Crystal Report.

In report display, there is no much difference between RAQ Report and Crystal Report. RAQ Report only has a few details better than Crystal Report.

Detail Comparison:

Item	RAQ Report	Crystal Report
Deployment and Integration (Java Environment)
Application Integration	Embed applications directly.	Need to deploy an independent server.
Load Balance	Use the load balance system of application server directly.	Need to deploy an independent load balance system.
Database Connection	Use the connecting pool of application server directly.	Need an independent database connection, and this may be a performance bottleneck.
Server Deployment	Pure Java and cross-platform application. There are many successful cases in Unix, Linux and Windows.	Platform-dependent and the configurations in different operating systems will be complex.
Application Program Interface	Abundant, complete and well knit J2EE application program interfaces.	Non-J2EE interface and it connects through network protocol, and statistical chart often adopt the old CGI mode.
Deployment and Integration (Non-Java Environment)	Like Crystal Report, operate in the independent report service mode.	Operate in the independent report service mode.
Report Design
Simple Data List	Support.	Support.
Group Report	Support.	Support.
Cross-tab Report	Support and the cross-tab report can mix or have all kinds of changes like other report types.	Support, but the cross-tab report can not mix with other report types or have any change as an independent type.
Chart	Support.	Support
Horizontal Expansion	Support	Very difficult.
Main-Sub Report	Available and do not need the concept of sub report.	It needs the concept of sub report, and data can not communicate.
Sub Report	Support with unlimited layers, Gridlines can align and zoom. Both horizontal report and vertical report can position automatically.	Support, but it is usually two layers. Horizontal report can not position automatically.
Gridline	Excel-like operations.	Fussy and difficult.
Preformatted Paper Printing	Simple and easy with the base image drawing mode.	Fussy and difficult with the precision measure mode.
Import Excel File	Support, and previously made spreadsheet reports can be used directly.	Non-support, and previously made reports need to be made again.
Report Display
·Display in HTML Mode	Support.	Support.
·Precise Print	Support.	Support.
·Export to PDF File	Support.	Support.
·Export to Excel File	Support distortionless export.	Export data only, and it is difficult to use them.
·Text with Format	Support.	Non-support.
·Print with Page or Column Break	Support both vertical and horizontal print with page break. Page break is forcible.	Support vertical page break only, and can not make column break.
·Other Print Control	Print several pages on a piece of paper. Supplement empty rows. Zoom.	Zoom.
Input	Powerful input function which supports all kinds of control, like drop-down calendar.	Absolutely non-support.

As the comparison is made according to the materials we have got, there may be some inaccuracies in the description of other product’s function. Therefore, it is provided for your information only.

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Dynamically add or delete a row when inputting data

Background

When inputting data, users often need to add, delete and insert rows dynamically. Moreover, the newly added rows should automatically generate the same properties with existing rows. Such as edit style, auto computation and validation.

It’s not easy to achieve these functions with common reporting tools. Especially for group report and subdivision input report, it’s more complex. Because users should be able to select a report region, and insert, delete or add rows in the selected region.

Difficulties

To achieve these functions by programming, there are a lot of difficulties.

1. It’s required to keep a record of each addition, modification, and deletion.

2. It’s needed to write complex javascript to achieve dynamic addition and deletion.

3. For group report and subdivision input report, the report region selected for addition and deletion needs to be identified intelligently.

4. Users have to take many details into consideration. For example, when adding a row, properties like edit style, auto computation, validation need to be dynamically parsed to the newly added row. For these properties often relate to the data of current row, it will be of great difficulty. Moreover, as some automatic computations are global, their expressions need to be dynamically parsed according to the data of all rows. The summation function sum () is an example.

5. The new row may have some default properties like dynamic sequential number.

Solution

As a wonderful Web reporting tool, RAQ Report takes great effort to solve this problem. As a result, the Row report mode of RAQ report has fundamentally solved the above problems of dynamic additions and deletions. With RAQ Report, users can achieve these functions easily.

Easy Operations:

1. Set Report style as Row report and set Input type as Input Report. As shown below:

2. Define properties like Edit style, Auto compute, Sequential Number and Validation according to requirements.

3. Add properties like insertRowLabel, appendRowLabel, deleteRowLabel to the jsp file.

Graphic illustration:

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Dropdown tree makes report’s data input faster

Background

In order to simplify user’s data input and avoid erroneous input, reporting tools often provide a variety of drop-down boxes for users to choose. However, when there are too much data, drop-down box is troublesome too.

If data are cascaded, it will be much easier. In this condition, a drop-down tree will be helpful. For example, we need to select city A when designing an input report. Obviously, it’s very difficult to select A in a drop-down box which lists all cities in the world. Suppose A is in region B, country C. If we can select C in all countries first, and then select B in corresponding regions of C, and select A in corresponding cities of B at last, it will save plenty of time.

Difficulties

To achieve the above drop-down tree, there are several problems to be solved.

1. Make a drop-down tree with javascript.

2. Ensure the versatility of the drop-down tree. As there are various tree structures of data, the data of the drop-down tree are hard to define. As there is no fixed mode of grade number or the relation condition between grades, they both need to be determined dynamically.

3. Add access control to the drop-down tree.

a) In some applications, users are allowed to select only leaf nodes; while in some others, all nodes are available.

b) In some applications, users are only allowed to make single selection; while in some others, multi selection is allowed.

c) These options are only for these users, while those options are only for some others.

Obviously, it is of great difficulty to achieve the above three functions by programming.

Solution

Fortunately, the input module of RAQ Report has achieved the function of drop-down tree. In the input module, RAQ Report takes a lot of details into thoughtful consideration, including the relation condition between cascaded grades, loop search, single selection and multi selection, optional control of leaf nodes and root node, user permissions, etc.

Easy Operation

It’s very easy to achieve these functions with RAQ Report. In the design of input report, you just need to define the relation condition between cascaded grades in drop-down tree, and set the properties of loop search, single selection and multi selection, optional control of leaf nodes and root nodes, user permissions, etc.

Graphic illustration

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Do you want more date time functions in reporting tool?

Background

When designing a report, users often need a lot of date time functions. However, most reporting tools only provide some common functions as follows: functions today(), now() which are used to get current date or time, and functions year(), month(), day(), hour(), minute() or second() which are used to get corresponding year, month, day, hour, minute or second from a date time. In addition, there are some data type conversion functions, which are used to convert date time to string or convert string to date time.

However, that’s far from enough, as users may often have complex requirements like the ones below:

1. Calculate age accurately. Many reporting tools have no specialized function to do this. Some provide, but as the accuracy is only year or month, the result may be not exactly right. Take a child born in May 23, 2000 for example. He is only 7 years old, not 8 in May 20, 2008. It is easy to find that users can get the exactly right age only through a function with day accuracy.

2. Calculate the beginning or the end of a time period. With functions like weekbegin(), weekend(), monthbegin(), monthend(), yearbegin and yearend(), users can calculate the beginning or the ending of a week, a month or a year. Besides, calculating the beginning or the ending of a quarter is also very common. However, almost no reporting tool provides corresponding quarter functions.

3. Calculate the difference between two dates or two time points. For dates, users sometimes need to calculate the number of days between two dates, the date which is N days away from a specific date, or just last day, last month, last year and so on. The case for time point is similar. Requirements for these functions are common. However, most reporting tools neglect them. As a result, users have to write functions by themselves.

Solution

RAQ report is the best choice to solve these problems. For users’ convenience, RAQ Report provides much more date time functions specifically to meet users’ needs and wants. As shown below:

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Built-in dataset: an innovation in reporting tool

Background

Users often ask for technical support when meeting difficult problems in designing reports. However, as technical support can’t link to users’ databases, they can’t preview users’ reports and find exactly the causes of the problems. Then technical support can only guess and give users advices like “Try method A”, “Or try method B” and so on. It’s not just a waste of time. What’s more, after trying again and again, users may still can’t solve their problems at last.

Is there any way to enable technical support to browse and debug a report without linking to user's database?

Solution

For users’ convenience, RAQ Report makes great effort to solve this problem. As a result, RAQ report invented a method－Built-in Dataset. It means to store the data of a report into the report template. Then, there is no need to link to user's database when previewing the report.

With the help of built-in dataset, technical support can solve users’ problems in shortest time.

Only built-in dataset may create another problem. When the dataset of a report is converted to built-in, users need to save the report as a new one, or else the original report would be covered and the dataset has to be edited again. Moreover, after the modified report is sent back by technical support, users have to modify the original report according to it again.

Don’t worry. In order to reduce users’ workload, RAQ report provides the function of Recovering Built-in Dataset. That is to say, users can recover datasets of SQL or other types when they are converted to built-in dataset.

Built-in dataset makes no obstacle between technical support and users. That’s great!

Easy Operation

In the configuration dialog box of dataset, users just need to click a button to convert a dataset to a built-in dataset or recover a built-in dataset.

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Make perfect title area for report with reporting tool

Background

In designer, report is usually designed in a specific format. Title is in the top center. Other relevant informations such as date, unit are on the right or left. As shown below:

However, when the report is a cross report with horizontal expansion, the title “Product” and “Unit:$” are at wrong positions after expansion. As shown below:

Furthermore, if the report is too broad after expansion, it needs to be broken horizontally. Users often hope the title and other relevant informations can be displayed on each page. Some reporting tools require users to realize these functions by programming. It’s too difficult and tedious.

Solution

As a real Excel-like reporting tool, RAQ Report provides a perfect solution to this problem. With its non-linear report model, RAQ report only needs two steps to solve all these problems.

1. Select “Head Title” as the row properties of the title area.

2. Except for cells need to be aligned right or left, check Stretch as the Page Break property of other cells as show below:

Graphic Illustration

Then, the report will be neat and beautiful as shown below:

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Make title area always aligned with data area

Background

Have you ever experienced this case? When designing a report, the column number of data area is less than that of title area. But after expansion, the column number of data area is much bigger than that of title area in display. As a result, the report seems irregular.

Example

Take a cross report with horizontal expansion as an example. The design interface is shown below:

In design, the data area has only 4 columns, while the title area has 5 columns.

After expansion, the preview of the report is shown as below:

You can see that the data area has 7 columns and title “Product” and “Date: 2008.12.17” are at wrong positions. This brings down the neatness and beauty of the report greatly.

How to make title area always aligned with data area?

We can calculate the column number of data area after horizontal expansion and move the corresponding grids in title area right. Then, which ones to move? How to solve the spare area? Fill up blank cells or extend some cells? All these problems are difficult to be solved.

Solution

As a real Excel-like reporting tool, RAQ Report provides a perfect solution to this problem. Not matter how data area expands, with the combination of stretch rules and cell extension, RAQ report can keep specified cells center, right, or left easily. With this function, the beauty of report is guaranteed.

Easy Operation

1. Find cells that need to be aligned right.

2. Check the “Stretch” property of their left cell as show below:

Graphic Illustration

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Don’t let sub report uglifies your report

Background

Sub report is a technology, which is used to deal with some complex reports that can’t be achieved by basic models. In other words, you can design a relatively independent part of a report as a sub report, and add it to the main report.

For users' consideration of report’s neatness, it’s very important to align the gridlines of main report and sub report.

Then, is it easy? No.

Difficulty

For traditional reporting tools, the report frame is built on some basic controls. As this type of reporting tools is not Excel-like/grid-shaped construction, it is impossible to design accurate aligned gridlines.

For new grid-shaped reporting tools, the report frame is formed by straight lines. As they have a real construction of the gridline, if they follow the method of the traditional-control reporting tools (it’s called embedded), unaligned gridlines will bring down the neatness and beauty of report, and even affect the reusing of the report. For example, report data with unaligned gridlines can’t be organized in the form of Excel or export to Excel.

In aligning gridlines, the biggest difficulty is how to align rows and columns between main report and sub report.

Solution

As a real Excel-like reporting tool, RAQ Report pays great attention to details in report design. With the combination of cell expansion and sub report model, RAQ report made the model of Imported Sub Report. With imported sub report, users can align gridlines easily.

Easy Operation

1. Design main report and sub report separately.

2. Import the sub report into the main report, and select the import type: Imported.

3. Browse and release it.

Graphic illustration

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Set pagination for mergence cell with reporting tool

Background

Mergence cell is widely used in report. However, the page break of mergence cell may cause a lot of troubling problems if users don’t have a professional reporting tool.

For group report, mergence cell is usually the title of a group. Then, if this group has too much to be displayed on one page. Users often hope the title can be displayed in the mergence cell in each page.

As a result, report programmers commonly have to count how many pages and rows the group occupies, and display the title in corresponding mergence cells.

When the content of a mergence cell is a large text, there is a bigger problem.

As the content is too long to be displayed in one page, it has to be split and displayed in pages. In order to split the content, report programmers have to count that how many words can be displayed in one page. However, as the font sizes of server and browser-side may be different, this is really difficult.

Imagine that if all these functions are to be realized by programming, anyone will be driven crazy.

Then, how to solve it?

Solution

As a professional Java reporting tool, RAQ Report takes great effort to reduce users’ workload. For users' convenience, RAQ Report provides a wonderful function for the pagination of mergence cell. With RAQ Report, you only need to check some options.

Check your needed mode

Graphic Illustration

As the content of this cell is too long, it is displayed in two pages for page break.

As the content of mergence cell SP is too long, it is displayed in two pages for page break.

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Wonderful data input with reporting tool

Background

With the continual development of information technology, the application of enterprise-level reporting tool is also improved gradually. At first, it was stand-alone data operation, and on-line file processing later. Then, OA software appeared before the brilliant shining of standard financial software and QgESS software. After that, the concepts of business process reengineering appeared, such as MRPⅡ, ERP, EPM, BI, etc. Today, there are a lot of reporting softwares available. However, too many choices only make users confused.

Some industries need to flexibly submit data with different data types, but traditional reporting tools can not satisfy their requirements. Users of this kind are often in the industries like finance, consultation, chemical engineering, smelting, communication, etc. With the increase of this kind of application, users are eager for a Web reporting tool which can realize wonderful data input dynamically.

Solution

RAQ Report provides complete data input proposal for data acquisition with great changes and flexible requirements. Therefore, it can meet all kinds of Web data acquisition requirements.

The input model of RAQ Report is a professional tool which can develop all kinds of data acquisition systems quickly. It can implement all kinds of normal/complex input applications, and the design process is easy and efficient.

The input model of RAQ report divides data acquisition into two basic modes, Row Input and Freestyle Input.

Row Input is used to process simple quick input. It can add, insert, delete rows conveniently, and save the single-line data inputted instantaneously.

Freestyle Input can be used to make complex data input formats. Compared with Row Input, the input format of it is more flexible.

With Freestyle Input, you can implement data acquisition requirements of any complex format.

Conclusion

As a pure Java reporting tool, RAQ Report can make report efficiently, deploy quickly, and implement seamless integration with existing J2EE projects. Therefore, it gains the approval and praise of more and more users. At the same time, RAQ Report is insisting on the realistic attitude for product optimization and technology innovation, and striving to provide more powerful and complete report solutions!

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The Excel-like design style of reporting tool

Background

Designing reports with traditional reporting tools of control drag and drop style, we are often troubled by the alignment of gridlines. Especially when the report has a multi-level complex report header, it has a huge workload and usually can not achieve a perfect effect.

With its unique spreadsheet design style, Excel avoids the trouble of the alignment of gridlines. Therefore, wide end users have a special liking to it, and ask for a reporting software with an Excel-like design interface.

As a result, many report companies emulated Excel, and they thought the only thing was to add a table control.

Difficulty

However, end users are not so easy to be satisfied with only a table control, and they ask for various design capabilities of Excel. Such as merge/split cells, word wrap, shrink to fit, format painter, etc. Then, cell properties are even more, such as border, background, foreground, font, size, etc.

The ideal requirement of end users is an Excel-like reporting tool with a complete set of report operational models. With it, they can easily make all kinds of reports, no matter simple or complex.

Simple report means linear report, such as freestyle report, grid report, group report, cross report, etc. Complex report means nonlinear report, such as multi-source report, irregular group report, symmetrical row/group report, etc. With operational capability, Excel-like design models will really become end users' favorite design style.

As end users like Excel so much, they may have made a great number of Excel templates before. When they are making reports, users hope that they can import these templates directly to avoid the trouble of designing again. Similarly, they also hope that they can export reports made with reporting tool to Excel templates to make a second operation conveniently.

Solution

Above is the ideal standard of Excel-like reporting tool. Perhaps some people will say that it is too hard, and there can not be such a perfect reporting tool. Luckily, RAQ Report meets all the requirements above and becomes the leader of the new generation of reporting softwares. Of course, besides the perfect Excel-like design style, RAQ Report has many revolutionary functions, such as strong correlation semantics model, multi-source input model, etc.

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If you would like to read more articles about reporting tool, you are also welcome to refer to my blog.

For more about RAQ Report, you can refer to its Overview.

Related articels:

The Basic Standard of Excel like Report IDE

High-efficiency report design with Excel-like reporting tool

High-efficiency report design with Excel-like reporting tool

Background

Have you ever seen a reporting software which has a more suitable interface to design static reports than Excel?

I believe that those who have made or read a certain number of reports will say no to this question. Exactly, Excel's interface is the best choice for static report design, as it has incomparable advantages in efficiency, operation and setting.

Then, drag and drop reporting tool and Excel-like reporting tool, which is better?

This dispute has once appeared in the professional reporting tool industry. After all, those senior reporting tools are using the drag and drop style. However, RAQ Report gives a resounding answer by releasing an Excel-like reporting tool: Even in professional reporting tools, the efficiency of Excel-like reporting tool is much higher than that of drag and drop reporting tool.

Even for non-professionals, Excel is a reporting tool easy to use. It only needs a little time to grasp the basic knowledge, and everyone can make a table with beautiful interface from scratch quickly.

Example

Next, with an example, we will see RAQ Report inherits the characteristic of Excel to what extent.

The Excel-like Design Interface of RAQ Report

The main design interface at the left side is the most common Excel-like spreadsheet. If you set format there, you will find that RAQ Report is totally the same with Excel in static style setting.

1. Cell's width, height, background, foreground, display format, line break, gridline, etc.

2. Content’s font, font size, bold, italic, and underline, etc.

3. Data’s horizontal alignment and vertical alignment.

4. Format painter.

In format definition, RAQ Report and Excel have no difference. Moreover, besides these inheritances in static format, RAQ Report also inherits the cell expression of Excel.

For example, in Excel, if you want to make a summary of the data of A3-D3 in E3, you should write "=SUM(A3:E3)" in E3. Then, if you want to do this in RAQ Report, you will find that it is similar with that in Excel.

Like Excel, RAQ Report also can automatically adjust the expression in the cell whose position changed. If you insert a new column between B3 and C3 in the table above, then the expression in F3 (original E3) will adjust to "=SUM(A3:E3)" automatically. Similarly, if you insert a new row or column in RAQ Report, corresponding expressions will also adjust automatically. Moreover, flexible expressions, such as "A2+B3-A4" and "(A1+E2*D4)/C3", can also be operated correctly.

Besides inheriting the design style of Excel, RAQ Report realizes dynamic data extension which Excel can not realize. Please look at the report below:

Its design interface is shown below:

In terms of efficiency, RAQ Report is certainly a powerful reporting software to make reports like the one above. Due to the advanced Excel-like design style, RAQ Report can improve the efficiency by 90%. Compared with traditional reporting tools, RAQ Report exactly can improve the efficiency of Web report design, shorten development cycle, and reduce development cost.

As a result, RAQ Report is so popular with large report designers, programmers and project managers.

This post is from freezea's blog. You are welcomed cc it anywhere, and please indicate the source.
If you would like to read more articles about reporting tool, you are also welcome to refer to my blog.

For more about RAQ Report, you can refer to its Overview.

Related articels:

The Basic Standard of Excel like Report IDE

The Excel like Design Style of Reporting Tool