Ad Hoc Reporting

Ad hoc reporting enables anyone to generate new reports quickly and easily. With just a few clicks you can choose your report's data and the form you'd like it to have, and then run your report.

Default render format

Here you can define the default render format for ad hoc reports. Available formats are:

  • PDF - provides fast rendering and loads all pages at once but requires a PDF viewer on the client machine and will only be displayed after all pages are finished
  • JPG - provides fast rendering and displays the first page as soon as possible. Only one page can be displayed at a time.
  • PNG - provides slower rendering and displays the first page as soon as possible. Only one page can be displayed at a time.
  • Default value: JPG

Ad Hoc Base Directory

Ad hoc reporting loads both its layouts and data views from a directory structure and its sub-directories. This option defines which type of directory will be used.

  • Internal Webserver - This option uses the built-in ad hoc layouts, which provide layouts for all typical use cases with different generic styles.
    The internal templates are stored in the folder 'templates'.
  • Directory - With this option enabled, the ad hoc reporting tool will search an external directory for layout and data views. The layout and data views visible to the user can be restricted by setting permissions.
  • Repository home folder (Plus Feature) - With this setting, the ad hoc reporting will search the currently set repository in the given sub-folder for layouts and data views. The layouts and data views visible to the user can be restricted by setting report permissions in the repository. All sub-folders of the given folder will be included. The set folder must be located under the repository-root, paths to a sub-folder are not possible.
  • default value: Internal

Layout Base Directory

If the layouts and data view should be read from an external directory, this directory has to be set here.

Repository subdirectory

If the repository is selected as the base directory of ad hoc reporting, this options defines the subdirectory which will be scanned for layouts and data views. Leave this field empty to let ad hoc reporting use the whole repository (not recommended).

  • default value: adhoc_root

Storage Type

When enabled, this option allows any user to store his current ad hoc report. These ad hoc reports can be reloaded on demand on the reports page, allowing the user to continue an ad hoc report. Possible values are

  • Disabled - Disables the feature.
  • Directory - Store the reports directly to the hard disk. Requires to set a target directory.
  • Repository - Requires a Plus-license and an active repository with user home enabled. Stores the reports into a hidden folder in the user's home folder.
  • default value: Disabled

Root Directory

This options sets the directory where the ad hoc reports stored by the user are located on your server. The user store feature will only be available if this directory is set and exists.

CSV data upload by users

Enable Data Upload

The data upload feature enables your users to upload their own data in form of CSV files and to design and execute ad hoc reports using this data. If this option is enabled, a user can use the ad hoc reporting tool even if he has no permissions for data sources or data views. The data uploaded by a user will be stored in the temporary directory of this server and will be overwritten on any subsequent upload or, in case of an anonymous user, when the session expires or the user logs out.

Note: This feature is only visible to users who use dataviews since it generates a dataview. A user with datasource module permissions will get datasources instead of dataviews and therefore will not be able to upload CSVs.

  • default value: Activated

Upload Limit in KB

This option limits the amount of data a user is allowed to upload. If the limit is exceeded the upload will be aborted.

  • default value: 1024

Maximum Columns

The column limit is the maximum number of columns allowed for a CSV file. If the limit is exceeded, the uploaded file will be handled as invalid and cannot be used. This option helps to prevent excessive load due to corrupt CSV files.

  • default value: 100

Download Features

Download/Upload of save points

This option enables your users to download the current configuration of their ad hoc session. The downloaded file can be uploaded to any ad hoc session of any user to re-create the configuration in this session. This settings file does not contain security relevant data.

  • default value: Disabled

Download as report file

With this setting enabled, any user of the ad hoc interface can download the resulting report in addition to rendering it. The downloadable file is a complete report file and can be executed and edited by the i-net Designer as well. For security reasons the report file only contains the name of the referenced data source, it never contains the actual connection settings.

  • default value: Disabled