Datasheet

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CHAPTER 1 BUSINESS REPORTING PARADIGMS
more feasible for small businesses but it has created more demand for sophisticated reporting tools
capable of producing pixel-perfect reports and forms.
Tabular and List Reports
Tabular, row-based reports have been common for so long and many variations of this design have
become commonplace. The green bar-style report, shown in Figure 1-2, uses a shaded background for
every other row to make it easier for users to differentiate and follow each row visually.
FIGURE 1-2
Grouped reports add more information to the tabular layout with grouped bands, headers, and footers.
Color has become more important in report design, and different background colors are often used
to differentiate not only each row but the group bands and other related elements. This report type
uses different background colors for the table header and two group bands, and then a light color for
alternate row shading. A simple example is shown in Figure 1-3.
Sometimes it may be more important to differentiate group values rather than the detail rows. In the
example shown in Figure 1-4, the Category values use alternating shading bands.