Reports built from a query

The quickest kind of report to make is one you have already built without realising: run a query, set the results up the way you want them, and save that.

Save as Report

On a query's results screen, arrange things first — choose your columns, filter them, and move to the Group By, Pivot or Visual tab if you want the data reshaped. Then use Save as Report.

You are asked for a name and description, and the report is saved.

What gets captured

• The query it came from
• The parameter values you ran it with
• Which columns were showing
• Any filtering you had applied
• Whichever tab you were on — the plain results, a Group By, a Pivot, or a chart

That last point is the one to remember. A report saved from the Visual tab comes back as a chart; the same query saved from the Pivot tab comes back as a pivot. Get the view right before you save.

Editing one later

Edit Definition on the Reports list reopens the query results screen with everything restored — your columns, your filter, your transform, your parameters. Change whatever you need and use Save as Report again.

This time the dialog offers a choice, because there is now something to replace:

• Overwrite the existing report — the default, and what you usually want
• Save as new — keeps the original and creates a second report alongside it

Saving from a plain query run offers no such choice, because there is nothing to overwrite.

TIP

Save as new is the safe way to experiment with a shared report. Make your variant, leave the original alone, and delete yours if it does not work out.

Where these differ from a designed report

A saved view is shown in the same results grid you built it in, so everything on Working with results still applies — sorting, the filter row, column totals, and Export to Excel or CSV.

What it does not give you is page layout. If the output has to be paginated, carry a letterhead, or be sent one section per person, you want a designed report instead.