Introduction to iReport
iReport is a third-party application that allows you to generate custom-defined reports on IMSMA data. Using iReport, you may define the attributes that are returned by a report and also customise the appearance of the report. Report templates designed in iReport can be imported into IMSMANG and run by {{IMSMANG} users to extract data based on search criteria. Reports can be exported to PDF, RTF, XLS, and other formats. iReport Designer version 5.0.1 is included with the IMSMANG distribution. Using iReport Designer, users create .jrxml iReport templates, a kind of xml report definition, that can be used by IMSMANG to produce a formatted report.
iReport Basics
iReport uses standard reporting terms to refer to the basic building blocks of a report templates
- Data Sources: Data sources in iReport refer to the connection between the report template and the IMSMANG database. Each iReport template will have one data source. Data sources in iReport generally refer to items in IMSMANG such as Land, Activity, Education, Accident, Victim, etc. Available data sources include:
Available Data Sources
| Accident |
MRE
|
| Assistance Classification |
MRE Detail
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| Cause Classification |
Needs Assessment Classification
|
| Field Report |
Ordnance
|
| Gazetteer |
Organisation
|
| Geopoint |
Place
|
| Geospatialinfo |
QM
|
| Hazard |
Question
|
| Hazard Device |
Received MRE
|
| Hazard Reduction |
Task
|
| Hazard Reduction Device |
Victim
|
| Impact Survey |
Victim Assistnace
|
| Interviewee |
Work Item
|
- Fields: Fields in iReport refer to individual IMSMA data elements that are available from a data source. Fields are denoted in iReport using the following syntax $F{fieldname} (e.g. $F{guid}). Each data source contains a list of available fields.
- Variables: Variables in iReport are created within the iReport template to manipulate or calculate data. Using variables, users can create calculations such as sums, counts, averages, or other totals. Variables are denoted in iReport using the following syntax $V{variablename} (e.g. $V{SumAreaSize}). Variables can use field and/or parameter data.
- Parameters: Parameters in iReport are used to accept and transfer external information, such as information from another report. Parameters are denoted in iReport using the following syntax $P{paramtername} (e.g. $P{ParentGuid})
- Bands: Bands are used in iReport to specify areas on the resulting report. Each band acts differently in a report. The most used bands in iReport are:
| Band Name |
Use
|
|---|
| Title |
Displayed once at the beginning of the report
|
| Column or Group Header |
Displayed at the top of each page or section
|
| Detail |
Displayed once for each data row returned by the report. Most often data elements will exist in this band.
|
| Summary |
Displayed once at the end of the report. Useful for charts, crosstabs, and totals.
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- Groups: Groups in iReport are used to display records with one or more common values together on a report. For example, Land with the same value for "Province" could be grouped together in a report. Groups can be added in the iReport Wizard or after a report has been created.
- Subreports: Subreports are used in iReport to include more than one data source in a report. For example, to include information about Activities performed on a particular Land, you would include an Activity subreport in the Land report.
- Crosstabs, Charts, and Formatting Elements: In addition to the iReport elements addressed above, additional specialized iReport elements are available to include in iReport templates including Crosstabs, Charts, and additional formatting elements such as lines, rectangles, etc. Crosstabs and chart elements typically belong only in the Summary band of a report while formatting elements including images can be included anywhere within the report template.
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All field, variable, and parameter references in IMSMANG are case-sensitive
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Creating an iReport Template Using the Wizard
