Contents

 

Acknowledgements

Contents

Foreword

About the Author

Companion Web Site

Introduction

 

WHAT IS BIRT AND WHAT HAS ACTUATE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

What is BIRT?

What do you need?

The Eclipse Designer

Connecting to SQL Server

Getting Ambitious

Publishing to a Browser

What does Actuate Add?

 

THE COMPLETE GETTING STARTED GUIDE TO BIRT REPORTING

About BIRT

Downloading the Software

Report Writer Installation

Your first BIRT report

Publishing Your Report

Summary of Getting started with BIRT

 

GETTING STARTED WITH ACTUATE BIRT

About Actuate BIRT

What to download

Installation

Designing Your first report

Creating a project

Creating a report

Creating a Data Source

Creating a Data Set

Applying Filters

Adding data to the report

Grouping Data

Augmenting a data set

Simple Formatting

Flash Charts

Computed Columns

Runtime Parameters

Summary of Getting started with Actuate BIRT

 

ISERVER EXPRESS AND THE INTERACTIVE BIRT VIEWER

About iServer & the Interactive Viewer

Downloading the software

iServer Express Installation

Starting the iServer

Familiarisation

Modifying  and saving a report

Interactivity

Summary iServer Express & Interactive Viewer

 

DESIGNING INFORMATION OBJECTS

About Information Objects

What to download

Using iServer Express

Installing into Tomcat

Creating an Information Object

Connecting the report to the Information Object

Renaming & Deleting Database Fields

Filtering and Grouping

Summary designing Information Objects

 

WEB BASED REPORT DESIGN

About Web based report design

Opening the report designer

Starting a Report

Adding fields to the report

Merging Columns

Grouping Data

Computed Columns

Deleting Columns

Resizing Columns

Subtotals

Charts

Filtering and Parameters

Saving the report

Summary Web based report design

 

FORMATTING BIRT REPORTS

About Report Formatting

Background and foreground

Padding and Borders

Margins

Report Headings

Alternate Row Colours

 

BIRT SPREADSHEET DESIGNER

About BIRT Spreadsheet

What to download

Installation

Creating a Data Source

Create  Quick Report

Running your report

Adding Parameters

Custom Reports

Output as Excel or PDF

Summary of BIRT Spreadsheet Designer

 

CONCLUSION

Return on Investment

Authors Note

Further Reading

Index

 

 

Additional Chapters available in readers only section of web site:

 

BIRT Connection Profiles

BIRT Dynamic table Selection

 

Additional resources available in readers only section of web site:

 

BIRT Report Request Form

BIRT Information Object Request Form