Formatting Web Reports

Report format options

You can format the following elements in a report:

• Data -- Formats the data

• Numbers -- Formats numeric values

• Rows -- Formats rows

• Columns -- Formats columns

• Pages --   Formats page controls

• Titles -- Indicates whether a title, subtitle, and footnote will be displayed and provides the text for each element

• Dimension label type -- Specifies the type of dimension labels that will be displayed

You can also define special color format conditions that will apply when the data values for a financial data item meet specified criteria.

Whether format specifications persist beyond your current working session depends on the type of user that you are set up to be.

• If you are an analyst user and save the report or graph, your format selections are saved with the document.

• If you are not an analyst user, you can make format selections while the report or graph is open in the workspace, but formatting selections will not be retained when you close the document.

Procedure: Formatting report data

To format the data in the body of a report, follow these steps:

1. With the document open in the workspace, click the Format Document button on the Document toolbar.

   
   

   Result: The Format Document dialog box appears.

2. Select the Data tab.

3. Choose one or more data format options:
   • Font properties -- Select font name, size, color, bold/italic, background color

   • Alignment -- Specify the alignment for numeric values

   • Display Options
     • Specify whether to show all rows or suppress rows with zero values, NA values, or both NA and zero values

     • Specify whether to show or hide horizontal and vertical gridlines

4. Choose OK to apply your selections.

Procedure: Formatting numbers in a report

To format numeric values in the body of a report, follow these steps:

1. Select the rows or columns for which you want to format numbers.
   • To select a column, click the tile under the column label.

   • To select a row, click the tile next to the row label.

2. Click the Number Formatting button on the Document toolbar.

   
   

   Result: The Format Number dialog box appears.

3. Select the desired format options:

   Option	Description
   Number of Decimal Digits	Number of decimal places (up to seven)
   Positive Values	Format for positive numbers
   Negative Values	Format for negative numbers
   Scale Values Down By	Scaling for large numbers
   Formatting Precedence	If there are conflicts in row, column and page formats, the precedence order for format options
   Thousands Separator	Displays thousands separator
   Leading zeros	Displays leading zeros
   Currency/Percent Formatting	Activates current/percent format options: Symbol -- Symbol for dollars, yen, pounds, francs, or percent Positive Values -- Format for positive values Negative Values -- Format for negative values

4. Choose OK to apply your selections.

Example: Number formats

The following illustration shows a report that includes number formatting. In this example, the first two columns have been formatted to display positive numbers with a plus sign (+).

Procedure: Formatting report rows

To format the rows in a report, follow these steps:

1. With the document open in the workspace, click the Format Document button on the Document toolbar.

   
   

   Result: The Format Document dialog box appears.

2. Select the Rows tab.

3. Choose one or more row format options:
   • Font properties -- Select font name and size, color, bold/italic, background color for row label text

   • Alignment -- Specify the alignment for row label text

   • Display Options -- Specify whether to indent rows by hierarchical level and the number of indent characters to use

   • Row Sizing -- Select Autosizing by Label, Equal Sizing, or None

4. Choose OK to apply your selections.

Procedure: Formatting report columns

To format the columns in a report, follow these steps:

1. With the document open in the workspace, click the Format Document button on the Document toolbar.

   
   

   Result: The Format Document dialog box appears.

2. Select the Columns tab.

3. Choose one or more column format options:
   • Font Properties -- Select font name, size, color, bold/italic, background color for column label text

   • Alignment -- Specify the alignment for column label text

   • Column Sizing -- Select an autosizing option, Equal Widths by Character, or None

4. Choose OK to apply your selections.

Note: Applying autosizing to report rows or columns

If you have resized report rows or columns, but want to quickly return to the default autosize settings, click the Format Document button on the Document toolbar and choose an autosize option. Alternatively, you can right-click in the body of the worksheet and select an autosize option from the popup menu.

Autosize options are as follows:

• Autosize Now -- Applies default autosizing to rows or columns. Does not override manual resizing (drag and drop).

• Autosize All Now -- Applies default autosizing to rows or columns. Overrides manual resizing (drag and drop).

Note: If both rows and columns have custom settings, autosize options will not be available.

Procedure: Formatting report page controls

To format the page controls in a report, follow these steps:

1. With the document open in the workspace, click the Format Document button on the Document toolbar.

   
   

   Result: The Format Document dialog box appears.

2. Select the Pages tab.

3. Choose one or more format options:
   • Font Properties -- Select font name, size, color, bold/italic, background color for page label text

   • Alignment -- Specify the alignment for page label text

4. Choose OK to apply your selections.

Procedure: Specifying report title, subtitle, and footnote for a report

To specify a title, subtitle and footnote for a report, follow these steps:

1. With the document open in the workspace, click the Format Document button on the Document toolbar.

   
   

   Result: The Format Document dialog box appears.

2. Select the Titles tab.

3. Choose a text element (Title, Subtitle, or Footnote) and proceed as follows:
   1. Select font properties (name, size, color, bold/italic, background color) for the text.

   2. Specify the alignment for the text.

   3. In the Display Options box, choose Show to display the specified text element in the current document.

   4. In the Text box, type the text for the title, subtitle, or footnote (498 characters maximum).

4. Repeat Step 3 for each text element that you want to include.

5. Choose OK to apply your selections.

Procedure: Selecting dimension label type for a report

To select the type of dimension labels to include in a report, follow these steps:

1. With the document open in the workspace, click the Format Document button on the Document toolbar.

   
   

   Result: The Format Document dialog box appears.

2. Select the Dimension Labels tab.

3. In the Labels type box, select the cell next to a dimension whose label you want to change.

4. Click the arrow in the cell to display a list of dimension label types. Choose one of the following options:
   • Automatic -- Displays the most appropriate label based on the amount of space available.

   • Long -- Displays the name of the dimension value. (This is the text that was entered in the Name box of the Add a New Dimension Value dialog box when the dimension value was created.)

   • Short -- Displays the column label text for the dimension value. (This is the text that was entered in the Column Label box of the Maintain Dimension Value dialog box when the dimension value was created.)

   • Medium -- Displays the row label text for the dimension value. (This is the text that was entered in the Row Label box of the Maintain Dimension Value dialog box when the dimension value was created.)

5. Repeat Step 4 for each dimension label that you want to set.

6. Choose OK to apply your selections.

Formatting reports based on data conditions (color coding)

You can create conditional format rules that will apply to a report only when data values for a financial data item meet specified criteria. This is referred to as color coding. Color coding enables you to highlight exceptions and map trends.

A color coding rule is composed of the following information:

• One or more conditions that the data must meet in order to have the selected formats.

• A set of formatting options that specify how the data that meets the conditions will look.

Types of color coding conditions

Using color coding rules, you can implement conditions such as the following:

• When data values for a financial data item meet a specified value condition, the data will display in a specified format. For example, you might define a rule that applies bold text and a green background to cells in which the value for Budget is greater than or equal to a specified amount.

• When values of a financial data item relate to the values of another financial data item in a specified way, the data will display in a specified format. For example, you might define a rule that applies italic text and a red background to cells in which the value for Budget is 10% greater than Budget a Year Ago.

You can also combine two conditions within a single rule and specify whether the data must meet one or both conditions. For example, you might define a rule that applies a green background to cells in which the value for Budget is greater than or equal to a specified number and Budget is 10% greater than Sales Year Ago.

Color coding format options

You can specify the following formats when you define a color coding rule:

• Stoplight formatting -- Stoplight formatting is a special type of color coding that highlights trends. When you apply stoplight formatting, data cells that meet the conditions appear as solid blocks of color. The actual value for a cell becomes visible only when you select it.

• Font -- You can specify font name, font size, and indicate whether the font is regular, bold or italic. If you selected stoplight formatting, font options are not available.

• Color --You can specify the font color. If you selected stoplight formatting, font color options are not available.

• Background color -- You can specify the background color for the cell. If you selected stoplight formatting, the label for this option is "Cell Color."

You can also specify that a rule use default formats for font or color. The default formats are the formats that have been set up in data formatting. If no formats have been specifically set, the formats in the document on which the document is based determine the defaults.

Using multiple conditions and rules

You can define one or two conditions for each rule and associate each financial data item in a report with a maximum of four rules. If the format associated with one rule conflicts with the format associated with another rule, the format that was defined last takes precedence.

Tip: Using value ranges rather than absolute values can help to avoid rule conflicts.

Procedure: Defining a color coding rule

To define a color coding rule for a report, follow these steps:

1. With the report open in the workspace, click the Color Coding button on the Document toolbar.

   
   

   Result: If this is the first color coding rule for this report, the Color Coding Wizard starts up. If the report has at least one color coding rule, the Color Coding dialog box appears, from which you can view the existing rules and choose Add to define a new rule.

2. In the Color Coding Wizard -- Specify Financial Data Item dialog box, select the financial data item to which the color coding rule will apply. Choose Use Stoplight Color Formatting to apply stoplight formatting.

3. Choose Next to continue.

4. In the Color Coding Wizard -- Specify Data Condition dialog box, complete the Select by box as follows:
   • Choose value to compare the financial data item with a numeric value.

   • Choose financial data item to compare the financial data item with another financial data item.

5. If you selected value in Step 4, proceed as follows:
   1. In the where box, select a financial data item on which to base the value condition. You can select the default financial data item, or you can select an alternate financial data item.

   2. In the is box, select an operator that specifies how data values in the selected financial data item must compare to the value in the value box.

   3. In the value box, specify a numerical value that the values in the financial data item will be compared to.

6. If you selected financial data item in Step 4, proceed as follows:
   1. In the where financial data item box, select the first of the two measures that you will compare. You can select the default financial data item, or you can select an alternate financial data item.

   2. In the is box, choose the operator that specifies how the data values in the first financial data item must compare to the data values in the second financial data item.

   3. In the financial data item box, specify the second financial data item to use in the comparison. You can select the default financial data item, or you can select an alternate financial data item.

   4. You can specify a percentage or numeric value to include in the condition. Select percent if the value is a percent.

7. When the condition definition is complete, do one of the following:
   • Choose Next to continue.

   • Choose Add a Second Data Condition to define a second condition for this rule.

8. To add a second data condition, define the condition in the Color Coding Wizard -- Specify Additional Data Condition dialog box. Then choose one of the following options:
   • Apply when both first and second condition are met

   • Apply when either first or second condition is met

9. Choose Next to continue.

10. In the Color Coding Wizard -- Specify Appearance dialog box, specify the formats in which data that meets the condition or conditions will display. You can choose font size, font style, font color, and background color or you can select Default to use default formats for any element.

    Note: If you selected Stoplight Formatting in Step 2, you can only choose the cell background color.

11. Choose Next to continue.

12. In the Color Coding Wizard -- Specify Name dialog box, review the summary description of the data conditions. You can also enter a name for the rule.

    Tip: You might want to use a name that describes the condition or conditions.

13. Choose Finish to continue.

    Result: The Color Coding dialog box appears. It includes information regarding the appearance, description, and financial data item for the rule.

14. Choose OK to apply the rule.

    Result: The report displays. If there are cells that meet a condition or conditions for a color coding rule, the data in these cells are formatted as specified.

Example: Color coded report

The following illustration shows a color-coded report. Data cells that meet the conditions "Revenue greater than 500,000" are displayed with a user-specified formatting.

Example: Color coded report with stoplight formatting

The following illustration shows a color coded report with stoplight formatting. Data cells are displayed as solid blocks of color. An actual data value only appears when you click in a cell.