Windward Studios' Autotag Vs Business Objects' Crystal Reports

Most of the tools in AutoTag seem like lightweight versions of Very Reports' tools. For instance, AutoTag's set tags are just like lightweight versions of Very Reports' Parameter Fields. Another example may be the small group of functions AutoTag's function tags offer in comparison to Very Reports' extensive library of predefined functions.

The entire process of building reviews using AutoTag is easy. It is because tags are explicit. Perhaps a user really wants to frequently produce a new row inside a table for every item within an inventory list - a forEach tag is going to be used. Suppose a part of a study must only print if your condition is met - an if tag is going to be used. However, with Very Reviews, customers need to learn how to manipulate the audience section and Particulars portion of the development atmosphere to complete feasible for-each-record actions, and they've to setup Parameter Fields and Formula Fields to obtain the aftereffect of the conditional actions.

Very Reports' sectioning plan raises another point: AutoTag's development atmosphere now is easier and simpler to understand than Very Reports' atmosphere. Actually, the chances are customers will be very acquainted with it since it is MS Word! Why would anybody spend your time learning another software program once they could stay with one that they are already acquainted with (and when they aren't, it is easy to determine) and lower the quantity of information they would need to trudge through before they might get started on serious report creation?

Well, you will find a minimum of a few things that may drive someone to that call. The first is it's really possible to find a way with creating lots of reviews without needing to take a look at any code in Very Reviews because of its Link Tab, Group Sections, and Linked Subreports. Essentially, individuals three things cause automatic record choices to happen. Really, automatic record selection is most likely the good thing of Very Reviews, specifically for individuals who're not so good with databases. Regrettably, automatic record selection are only able to be used to date, and by itself, it may generate reviews of just a minimal degree of complexity. One more reason to invest the additional time learning Very Reviews is perfect for the gorgeous charts using their effective drill lower capacity.

Coming back to AutoTag's straightforwardness, suppose a person really wants to print a table, then a picture, then some text below that, then another image, and more more text. Well it certainly is sensible to put them on their page this way, that is how the installing could be completed in AutoTag, however it would try taking some tricky (or at best unintuitive) work to do this layout in Very Reviews.

Awkward report design appears is the greatest trouble with selecting Very Reviews. The Mix Tab object - that is a power grid that enables customers to come back values according to criteria they enter - is a great one from the problem. This object looks and sounds spectacular - before the developer attempts to play one. Actually, it's so hard to determine that Business Objects really made a whole template wizard only for reviews which include a Mix Tab object. The Windward option to using Mix Tabs would be to simply place tags in short table, which feels a lot more natural.

Indeed, it is incorporated in the character of AutoTag to allow customers with intuitive control of their reports' layout - even lower towards the cells of tables. For instance, AutoTag's Table Sample report helps guide you tags may be used to make special plans of information inside a table. Although replicating this specific example is most likely achievable, customers will find it hard to accomplish in Very Reviews without battling with special selection formulas and staring at the manual for some time.

The final features to check listed here are AutoTag's Xpath and SQL magicians to Very Reports' Formula Workshop. Will still be true here that AutoTag is a lot simpler than Very Reviews, since the Formula Workshop is loaded with the amount of buttons and frames that it's quite intimidating. However, Formula Workshop provides customers a lot more energy in creating whatever formulas they require. The AutoTag magicians are really efficient for building simple selection formulas weren't any comparison with other data in the databases is required, but unlike Formula Workshop, they can't compare one node to a different.

AutoTag's has simplicity, includes a lightweight, intuitive feel, and offers explicit control of report layout, however it lacks a few of the energy more functionality. Very Reviews is really a complex monolith, and also the design atmosphere needs time to work to know, however it provides better charts with drill lower capacity, automatic record selection, and nearly codeless report creating capacity.