AX1672

Configuring a web report for printing to PDF

If you want users to be able to print a web report, you should configure the report to allow PDF generation. Users can then print the PDF as needed. Although it is possible to print a web report using the native print features of the browser, this is unlikely to provide useful results.

The ability to generate a PDF of a web report is only available if you enable it for the report in the Report Designer. You can also configure the page size and orientation of the PDF.

To enable PDF generation for a web report:

  1. In the Report Settings panel of the Report Designer, select Enable Export to PDF.

  2. Click the (edit settings) link to the right to open the PDF Settings dialog. Complete the following settings and then click OK:

    Item Description

    PDF Size

    The default paper size for the PDF, such as A4, Letter, or Legal. The default size is Letter.

    PDF Orientation

    The default orientation for the PDF: Portrait or Landscape. The default orientation is Portrait.

PDF design considerations

Note the following design considerations when generating a PDF of a web report for printing.

Data Grid component

  • The grid is automatically extended to show all rows in the PDF. It does not matter which rows are currently visible in the report.

  • Grid columns are resized to fit the component width in the PDF, regardless of their configured column size. If the columns exceed the page width, the remaining columns are omitted from the PDF. You should set the PDF page size and orientation as needed to fit the columns. For example, a wide grid with many columns should be set to Landscape.

  • User changes to the grid are reflected in the PDF. This includes filtered columns, sorting, and reordered columns.

  • If the grid is grouped using Show Hierarchical Data, only the top-level grouping is shown in the PDF.

  • Header groups are all shown in the same shade of gray in the PDF, instead of the varying shades shown in the report.

KPI Panel component

  • The KPIs in the panel will flow to fill the PDF page width (assuming the KPI Panel is docked to fill the screen width, which is the configuration in the default template). If the KPIs in the panel exceed the page width, the remaining KPIs are omitted from the PDF. You should set the PDF page size and orientation as needed to fit the KPIs.
  • The menu icon in the top right corner of KPI boxes is hidden in the PDF.