Supercharging Reporting with Jet Reports 2010
As a Jet Reports Authorised Partner, and the UK’s largest distributor for the software, we are privileged to have early insights into the plans for Jet Reports 2010. Jon Gardner outlines some of the highlights.
A year on from the UK launch of Jet Reports 2009 at our Client Day in Huntingdon, we have been beta testing the new Jet Reports 2010 solution which has just been launched this month. Beta testing means that we can actively participate in the development of the new version, offer our clients early training on all the improved functionality and also provide a sneak preview of some of the very helpful improvements that are being made to the product.
The main focus of the new release has been to ensure that Jet Reports is fully set up for the Dynamics NAV 2009 RoleTailored Client. Overall, however, a great deal of effort has been made to respond to user issues and to make Jet Reports even more user friendly, especially in the “difficult” areas of linking tables and multiple databases. Much work has also gone into making Jet Reports work better with non-NAV databases. This is so effective that at Cambridge Online we are doing much of our own monthly reporting from Dynamics CRM using Jet Reports, giving us benefits such as:
- A suite of standardised reports
- Detailed or overview-level tracking of opportunities and support activities
- Substantial productivity and time-saving, plus real clarity over the “numbers”
Here is a brief taster of some of the main enhancements in Jet Reports 2010 - and I can provide more technical and “how to” details for anyone who is interested.
Windows Based Authentication
Windows based authentication allows for Jet Reports Designers to be licensed based on their Windows SSID, i.e. DOMAIN\User. This ensures that users are only allowed to design Jet Reports if they are logged onto Windows using one of the designated logins.
Report Builder for Universal Data Sources
The Report Builder feature, previously only available for Dynamics NAV, is now available to users with the Universal license, allowing them to access any database with an ODBC or OLE connection. Enhanced features in Jet Reports 2010 will make it even simpler to generate reports, to create customised relationships between tables and to define the primary key for the Data View where appropriate.
Enhanced Browser with Favourite Tables & Fields
Many data sources - including Dynamics NAV and CRM - have numerous tables and fields which can be overwhelming to an inexperienced report designer (and can slow down even experienced designers). Now, the look and feel of the Jet Reports Browser has been improved by giving every user the option of only viewing and configuring the tables and fields they use most often - delivering a positive impact on efficiency.
Integrated Date & Integer Generator Functions
This new function enables designers to generate dates or integers across rows, columns or sheets regardless of the data source. One can still use the excellent Excel =EDATE() and =EOMONTH() functions, but the new =NP(Dates) function will speed up the whole process and eliminate errors such as the use of 31st February and other impossible dates.
Dynamics NAV 2009 Code Unit Execution using Web Services
Code Units that are exposed via Dynamics NAV 2009 web services can now be executed using the new =NP(CodeUnit) function. For instance, real-time currency data can be imported into a spreadsheet from the Travelex website with just a few keystrokes.
Excel Table Integration
Jet Reports 2010 is now integrated with Microsoft Excel Table objects. This allows users to dynamically create Excel tables populated with data from the data source when refreshing a Jet Report and then to filter, sort, and total as they would any other Excel table created manually.
Automatic Refresh of Pivot Tables & Charts
Pivot tables and pivot charts within a Jet Report are now automatically refreshed upon completion of the report.
Key Selection for Dynamics NAV
Jet Reports now provides power-users with a way to specify the filter key that is being used when executing a query against a Dynamics NAV data source. That means they can choose to override the default algorithm and specify a key that performs better, or which they feel will perform better.
Scheduler has PDF Output
Jet Reports can now be output in PDF format using the Scheduler. This feature is available for Excel 2007 (SP2 & later) and Excel 2010 and provides a fast and far more secure means of sharing reports than just a locked Excel spreadsheet.
Improved Progress Window Details
The Jet Reports progress window can now be expanded to display the details about the status of the running report. Details include:
- Cell Address for the Jet formula currently being evaluated
- The Jet Formula currently being evaluated
- The SQL Query for the formula being evaluated
- The Current Key
- The number of Records Scanned in the table
- The number of Records Matched to the filters
Grid Drilldown
This feature gives NAV2009 RTC and Universal users a more personalised experience by allowing grouping, sorting and filtering of the drilldown data. Users can choose which fields are displayed in the drilldown form and re-order columns. The system will store the user preferences and load the same view when the user next drills down on the same table.
Snippets
The brilliant new Snippets feature allows Jet Reports users to create and share small, reusable report parts. They act as a permanent clipboard for Jet and Excel logic and, again, give users a more efficient and personalised experience. As with many of the new features in Jet Reports 2010, you need to see this in action to fully appreciate how innovative and useful it is.
If this has whetted your appetite for Jet Reports 2010, you will need to be running the following:
- Excel versions 2003 or above
- NAV Version 4.01 or above
- CRM Version 4.0
- Any SQL database (or a database with the appropriate ODBC or OLE drivers)
The ideal would be to have Windows 7, NAV 2009 RTC, Office 2010 and Jet Reports 2010. This really could be a good time to consider your upgrade strategy for all these products - to supercharge your efficiency.
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