The Ad Hoc Editor allows you to create 3 different types of reports; a table, chart or crosstab. Each type displays the data in a different way. These report types can be edited simultaneously by clicking on the corresponding tab. As one report type is edited, it will affect the way the other report types are displayed. (Source https://community.jaspersoft.com/).
Tables
A table is the simplest form of a report. It displays data using rows and columns. A table can display all the data in the report or summarize the data across one set of related fields.
Charts
Charts are a graphical representation of the report. There are several chart options that allow you to display the information in a more effective manner.
Ad Hoc Editor’s Chart Layout |
Component | Description |
Rows area | Drag fields and measures to the Rows area to define the grouping along the horizontal axis. All measures must be in the same area. You can't have measures in the Columns and Row areas at the same time. Right click a measure to change its summary function. |
Columns area | Drag fields and measures into the Columns area to add series. All measures must be in the same area. You can't have measures in the Columns and Row areas at the same time. Right click a measure to change its summary function. |
Sliders | Drag to set the level of aggregation to use for viewing the data. |
Canvas Options | Click to select the Select Chart Type or Chart Format window. |
Select Chart Type window | Select Canvas Options to display this dialog. Click to select a chart type; a blue border indicates the current selection. Click and drag to move the dialog; click |
Chart area | A chart’s appearance is determined by the type of chart, the fields selected as measures, and the fields that group the data. |
Scale | All measures are plotted against the same scale, which is sometimes confusing. You can use a calculated field to multiply or divide one measure so that its values are closer to those in the other measures in your chart. |
Legends | The legend is created when measures are added to the chart. Click one or more legends to hide the associated measures; click again to show them. |
Labels | The labels on the horizontal scale indicate the values by which the chart is grouped. If there are too many values in the chart, zoom in or use filters to reduce your data. |
| Because the nature of a chart is to display summarized data, the data mode menu is not available. Charts always present the full data set, not a sample. This may impact performance when working with large data sets. |
Common tasks when working with Ad Hoc charts include:
Zoom | Click and drag or swipe to zoom. Only labels used in the zoom area are displayed, so you can use zoom to simplify your view. The zoom level is not saved when you save a view or report. |
Filter a chart | Right-click a field in the Data Selection panel or the layout band and select Create Filter. |
Select a measure’s summary function | Right-click the measure’s name in the layout band and select a function from the context menu. |
Set the granularity of groups | Use the slider to specify the granularity of groups. |
| Because charts and crosstabs both work with summarized data, you can sometimes change your chart display by switching to crosstab view and making the correct selection there. For example, you can often change the sort order in a chart by switching the view to crosstab, making the sort selection you want, and then switching back to chart view. |
Crosstabs
Crosstabs summarize data across multiple sets of related fields.The rows and columns represent properties while the cells contain the data that connects these properties. Both rows and columns may be grouped in order to break the data down even further.
Ad Hoc Editor’s Standard Crosstab Layout |
| By default, a crosstab displays a subset of the data its query retrieves. Click Full Data to view the full dataset. This can be helpful in showing a more accurate view of the final view (by showing more data). Click Sample Data or No Datato improve performance if you find the editor has slowed down. |
Component | Description |
Columns area | Drag dimensions and measures from the Data Selection panel to this area to create column groups. Drag fields to change the order of the groups. Measures must all be in the same area; you cannot have measures in the Columns and Row areas at the same time. |
Rows area | Drag dimensions and measures from the Data Selection panel to this area to create row groups. Drag fields to change the order of the groups. Measures must all be in the same area; you cannot have measures in the Columns and Row areas at the same time. |
Row and column | Displays the name of each field used for grouping. Right-click the group labels to use the context menu. When no row groups are defined, the words Row Group indicate this vertical region. |
Row and column group values | Heading cells that show the group values. When there is more than one level of grouping, use the icons on the outer groups to expand or collapse the inner groups. Right-click a group value to exclude it or to keep only that value from among all group values of the same level. |
Sorting controls | An icon beside a label shows the current sorting. Right-click a label to apply or change sorting. You can sort on multiple groups, but only one measure; sorting on a measure will reset all other measure columns to Don’t Sort. |
Measure labels | Display the name of each measure in the crosstab. Right-click the measure label to change the summary function or data format of the measure. |
Measures | Measures show an aggregated value in each cell of the crosstab, as well as row and column totals for each level of grouping. Click on a measure value to open an Ad Hoc table view in a new window showing the individual values that make up the aggregated value. |
Common tasks when working with Ad Hoc crosstabs include:
Set the granularity of date groups | When you select a date field as a group, you can specify the granularity of the group values. Right-click the group label, select Change Grouping and select Year, Quarter, Month, or Day. |
Pivot a single group | To pivot any group from row to column or vice-versa, select the group by clicking its label, then drag it to the other area. You can also right-click the group label and select Move to Column Group for row groups or Move to Row Group for column groups. |
Pivot entire crosstab | To pivot all row groups to column groups and vice-versa at the same time, click |
Filtering | Right-click a group label and select Create Filter to slicing (Keep Only). |
Keep Only | Slice out a single group by right-clicking its group value and selecting Keep Only. Use Ctrl-click to select multiple members to keep. |
Exclude | Remove a group value from any group by right-clicking it and selecting Exclude. Use Ctrl-click to select multiple members to exclude. |
Summaries (Totals) | By default, the crosstab includes grand totals of all row groups, shown in a Totals row at the bottom, and of all column groups, shown in a Totals column to the right. To toggle the row totals, right-click the left-most row group and select Delete Row Summary or Add Row Summary. To toggle the column totals, right-click the top-most column group and select Delete Column Summary or Add Column Summary. You cannot hide the inner totals of an expanded row or column group. |
Change Summary Functions | Right-click a measure label and click Change Summary Function to select a summary function. For example, you may want to display an average rather than a total. |
Column group limits | In some cases, the editor prompts you to confirm that you want it to return large amounts of data. When the number of column groups exceeds a configurable limit, the editor displays an ellipsis (...); its ToolTip indicates the number of remaining groups. Click the ellipsis to display them. For more information on configuration. |
Sorting | Crosstabs support multiple levels of sorting:
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| Filter top or bottom N values | Filter the numeric data shown in a crosstab to show only the rows with the top or bottom N values, where N is a number that you specify. For example, you can filter a crosstab to display only the top 10 values in a column. Right-click the header you want to use for filtering and select one of these options:
Enter the number of values you want to show in the crosstab and then select whether to apply the filter across all row groups. You can also choose to show an aggregate of the unranked values in the crosstab. |
Drill to detail | Click a measure to drill to open an Ad Hoc table that displays a summarized column for each measure in your crosstab; the table is filtered by the group values for the measure you clicked. The original crosstab and the summarized table operate independently. |
| Merge and unmerge cells | By default, the Ad Hoc editor merges cells containing the same data into a larger, single cell to make the crosstab data easier to read. To display all of the individual cells in the crosstab instead of merged cells, hover over |
