Adding an empty report

An empty report does not have a dataset to populate the report with data. An empty report serves as a placeholder. The report placeholder is not displayed when the document is viewed in Presentation Mode or as a PDF until you add a dataset to it. For steps to add datasets to empty reports, see Adding a dataset to an empty report .

Empty reports can save time by allowing you to create a document template containing report placeholders but no datasets. You can then use the template to create several different documents, each with specific datasets and reports populated by those datasets.

The formatting of the empty report is retained when you add a dataset to the report. This allows you to format all reports identically in documents that are created based on a template, regardless of the formatting on the underlying datasets.

To format a report placeholder, populate it with data, format it, and then remove the data. The formatting is retained on the placeholder. To format the rows and columns of a report, edit the report and then format it. For steps, see Selecting and viewing a Grid/Graph.

You can also copy the formatting from the report. If you are creating a template, each report can be formatted differently, depending on the formatting in the original reports.

To add an empty report to a document

In MicroStrategy Web, open the document in Design Mode.
Do one of the following:

To add a placeholder that displays as a grid, select Grid from the Insert menu.
To add a placeholder that displays as a graph, point to Graph on the Insert menu, and select the graph style. For descriptions of the various graph styles, see the Advanced Reporting Guide.

Click and drag in the section where you want the report placeholder.

You can place a report placeholder anywhere in a document except in the Detail section. Since controls in the Detail section are repeated once per row of the dataset, the report would be repeated on each row.

A new report placeholder is displayed as an empty report in the document. You need to add a dataset to the report placeholder to populate it with data, as described below.

Adding a dataset to an empty report

You can add a dataset to an empty report by either dragging an existing dataset to the report placeholder, or by adding a new dataset to the report placeholder.

The data on the selected dataset (either new or existing) is used to populate the report placeholder.

To add an existing dataset to an empty report

In MicroStrategy Web, open the document in Design Mode.
Do one of the following:

To retain the formatting of the dataset, drag and drop the name of the dataset from the Dataset Objects pane to the report placeholder.
To use the formatting of the report placeholder, hold down the SHIFT key while dragging and dropping the dataset's name from the Dataset Objects pane to the report placeholder.

When the document is executed, the report is populated with data from the selected dataset. For details on formatting the report, see .Adding an empty report.

To add a new dataset to an empty report

In MicroStrategy Web, open the document in Design Mode.
Click the Add Dataset icon on the report placeholder (an empty report). The Select Dataset dialog box opens.
Locate and select the dataset to provide the data for the report.

You can select a dataset that is already used as a dataset on the document, or you can select a dataset that is not included on the document.
Select whether or not to use the formatting of the dataset:

To include all the objects of the dataset, whether they appear on the dataset's grid or in the Report Objects pane, clear the Add with formatting check box. Any view filters on the dataset are not applied to the report in the document. The default report formatting is applied to the report.
To copy the dataset's formatting and include only those objects displayed on the dataset's grid, select the Add with formatting check box. Any view filters on the dataset are applied to the report.

Click OK to return to the document.

The dataset is added to the Dataset Objects pane. When the document is executed, the report is populated with data from the selected dataset. For details on formatting the report, see Formatting Grid/Graph containers.