Merging Report Fields in a Property Grid

Combining data from two sources in one column on a report can make reports more useful.  Merged data can summarize information, assist in analysis, or provide new insights into report content.

To merge report fields, in the Report Designer, in the Toolbox Panel, expand the Calculated Columns category and drag a CombineTextFields component to the workspace.

Example

The goal of this example is to:

1. Create a report containing information about the documents in a folder.
2. Combine data from two sources into one column on a report.

 To begin, navigate to a Designer Folder, click the Create Report button, and select Create Report.

Give the report a name and click Ok to open it in Report Designer.

To start building the report, select a data source and filter.

In the Toolbox Panel, under the category Data Sources > Common, drag a Document Data Source component to the Sources list.  This source bases the report on information related to the documents stored in system folders.

In the category Data Filters > In Folders, drag a For Folder component to the Filters list.

Because a For Folder filter is being used, the folder this filter will access must be set.

With the For Folder filter selected, in the Properties Panel, click the Select Folder selector.

In the resulting pop-up window, select the folder to use in the report filter and click Ok.

Next, add columns to the report.

In the Toolbox Panel, expand the Document Data Source category and drag an Entity Name, Document Type, Doc Size, and Created By component to the workspace.

To add a column with merged data, expand the Calculated Columns category and drag a CombineTextFields component to the workspace.

The Property Grid pop-up window opens, and the user can select the data to merge.  The data available to be merged is based on the selection of the Document Data Source.  The user can merge data from any two sources relating to a document entity.

Go to the Data Section and in the First Field drop down list, select Document File Name.  In the Second Field drop down list, select Doc Size.  Select Ok to save.

This completes the report, save it and close the Report Designer.

To run the report to see the merged field, select its thumbnail, and select Run Report from its Auction menu.

The report opens, with the column combine_text_fields containing data from the merged fields.

Additional Resources

• Creating Your First Report