BIRT Designer is an intuitive and quite easy Eclipse-based set of plugins to make reports. In this chapter we will describe its interface and its features to you.
The central part of the user interface is the Layout Editor. It displays the whole process of building a report and contains the following tabs:
Layout - this is an area where you can edit your report design;
Preview - runs your report created and shows the output;
Script - on this page you can add JavaScript to your report to customize its behavior;
XML Source - this is an area where you can view and modify the XML source of your report;
Master Page - use it to format page data.
The next part of user interface is different Views that can be arranged around the Layout Editor area the way you like:
Palette - shows the standard report items you can add to your report using drag and drop.
Outline - shows the structure of your report as a tree view.
Navigator - shows your projects and reports within the projects.
Data Explorer - shows your data sources, data sets and report parameters. You also can use this view to add data set columns to your report layout.
Property Editor - displays properties for many report items.
Properties View - shows all properties for a report item as a simple list.
Library Explorer View - allows the reuse of report objects, such as tables, data sources and styles. Objects created for reuse are stored in a library file. The Library Explorer will display Libraries that exist in the Resource folder. Developed libraries can be added to the resource folder by selecting File→Publish Library in Resource Folder. The resource folder location can be configured.
Here are the main BIRT Report Designer features:
Palette - contains tables, labels, and charts. It is used in conjunction with the Layout View to design reports.
Data Explorer - organizes your data sources and data sets. The Data Sets editor enables testing your data set to check whether the report receives the correct data. You can also create cubes using your data sets (when building any dynamic cross tables) and design necessary report parameters.
Resource Explorer - BIRT allows the reuse of report objects, such as tables, data sources and styles. Objects created for reuse are stored in a library file. To browse the contents of report libraries BIRT supplies the Resource Explorer view. This view lists all libraries within the resource folder, in addition to other shared content such as images and JavaScript files.
Property Editor - shows the most commonly used properties. BIRT also integrates with the standard Eclipse property view to display a detailed listing of all properties for an item.
Layout View - WYSIWYG editor. You can select any element from the Palette, drag and drop it to the report and then edit the way you like.
Script Editor - scripting adds business logic to reports during data access, report generation, or viewing. The code editor provides standard features for editing scripts: syntax coloring, auto-complete etc. You also can debug scripts when the report is running.
Report Preview - Report Preview is used to test your newly created report with some real data.
Chart Builder - using the Chart Builder you can add any charts to the design of your report. Just select a chart type, then data and, finally, format the chart.
Expression Builder - expressions are simple scripts that return a value. They are used to assign data values to report elements, build image locations, hyperlinks, parameter default values etc.
Cheat Sheets - Cheat sheets are small pices of useful documentation that lead you through a report creation process. Just select what you need and then follow the instructions.
Outline - this view provides a compact overview of the entire report structure.
In this guide we made a short overview of the BIRT plugin: its installation, support, features etc. that will help you to make your first steps with it.