By selecting an ad hoc layout you define which elements you want to have in your final report. It also designates the resulting layout and it's overall look.
The ad hoc layout screen consists of two elements: a directory tree which is created by an administrator and the ad hoc layout preview.
The tree has three purposes:
If you have repositories configured for your designer you will be presented with a selection list above the tree. This list contains all your repositories and an entry for the local templates. The to-be-created report will be designed for the repository you chose from the list. This mean you will see the repository's database connections or data views and have access to configured fonts on the repository server later on.
The ad hoc layout preview gives a visual impression of what will be in the report and how it will look like. The layout names give additional information to support this impression. A colored outline shows the currently selected report.
To select a ad hoc report layout just click it - or double-click to select the layout and jump into the next section of the ad hoc report generator.
You can easily change the layout selection to any other report layout - even in another directory - without losing your current settings. When you select a report layout that does not consist of all the elements you've already set, you can change back the report layout and your settings will re-appear.
If report saving is enabled for Ad Hoc Reporting, you are able to save the current set up selecting the save button in the upper toolbar. To remove a stored set up, single-click the stored item an click remove on the upper toolbar.