Paginated reporting

Use a paginated report for statements, ledgers, invoice detail and other documents that must keep their headings, groups and totals across pages. Dashboard grids are interactive views; table and matrix cards have separate interaction and export behavior.

The builder

The paginated builder has the report editor’s frame: one bar at the top, a rail of tools at the left, and pills at the foot of the report. Every action is a command too: press Ctrl+K (⌘K on a Mac), or choose Search commands or ask AI in the bar, and type its name; Reporting help opens this guide.

• The top bar — the logo tile and Back to reports; the report’s title, which holds its menu (Rename… and Subtitle…, each edited in place); Preview PDF; Share with its arrow (More sharing actions: Schedule delivery… and Export…); and the primary Save, Create report for a new one.
• The rail — Insert (Add a computed column, Add document sections), Data (the Data model, the Table and its fields to add as columns, Group rows by and the Parameters; a new report opens on it), Pages (the page size and orientation, and the print layout) and Layers (the columns in order: select one, move it up or down, or remove it). One drawer is open at a time; it folds on Esc or when you choose its tool again.
• The selection’s panel — at the right while a column is selected (in Layers, or by its header in the preview): Column settings, its label, format, expression and subtotal.
• The pills at the foot — Explore or Print layout view, Run report values, Compare changes for a saved report, and the preview’s rows (Previous rows, Next rows) once there are more than fifty.

Ctrl+Z undoes a change to the report’s columns, grouping, page or document, and Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y redoes it, each change one step; a field you are typing in keeps its own undo.

A column’s menu. Right-click a column’s header in the preview, or press Shift+F10 or the Menu key on it (on a Mac, Ctrl-click): the column is selected and its menu opens with Column settings, Move column left, Move column right, Group rows by this column, Add a subtotal and Remove column. Group rows by this column makes the column the next level of the grouping, up to three, or takes it out of the grouping when it is one; Add a subtotal sums a number column and counts any other, then opens Column settings to choose another. In an Orders by country ledger, right-click the country header and choose Group rows by this column, then the order total header and Add a subtotal: each country gets its own block of rows and its total.

A document section’s menu. In a multi-section document, right-click a section’s row in Document sections, or press Shift+F10 or the Menu key on it, for Move section up, Move section down and Remove section. Undo brings back a column or a section removed from a menu. See Right-click menus and selecting several things.

On a phone, a tablet held upright or a narrower window, a saved report shows its preview, and says why in one line: Editing needs a window at least 1024 px wide. You can preview, export and share it here. Preview PDF, Share, Export… and Schedule delivery… are in Ctrl+K, the bar keeping the way back, the title and the search (an icon); the foot holds Explore, Print layout view, Run report values and Compare changes as icons, each named for screen readers and on hover. Nothing of the report changes there. A new report is not made there: it says Creating needs a window at least 1024 px wide.

Start with data or a business template

Open the paginated report builder from Reports → New report → Paginated report: it opens on Data, on the rail. Choose a Data model and Table, then add fields. Arrange the columns in Layers, and their labels, formats, expressions and aggregates in Column settings; use Group rows by for grouped detail and subtotals.

For a new empty report, Business template offers five starting points. Map every role to a different field of the required type before applying the template.

Template	What it calculates	Review before distributing
Customer statement	Transaction amount totals by customer	Use one currency. This is not an opening or running balance.
Invoice detail	Quantity × unit price by invoice	Taxes, discounts and currency conversion are not added.
Account ledger	Debit, credit and debit minus credit by account	Net movement is not an opening or running balance.
Inventory valuation	Quantity × unit cost by location	Use one currency and valuation date. Quantities across units are not summed.
Exception report	Rows matching a required exception status	Set the status that actually means an exception in your model.

Templates create editable report settings; they do not certify the business data. Save a name with Create report, or use Save for an existing report.

Review AI layout suggestions

Open AI layout suggestions, describe the change and choose Generate suggestions. This explicit action uses AI credits. The provider receives your request and up to 100 layout settings and column labels; report queries, rows, filters, formulas, source identifiers and delivery settings are excluded. Avoid placing sensitive information in your request or column labels.

Review each proposed setting, its current and proposed values, and the reason. Suggestions start unselected. Select the changes you want and choose Apply selected to draft. The application validates the selected changes against the same draft, then updates its local preview. Choose Save or Create report separately. Changing the draft invalidates existing suggestions; cancellation or a rejected response leaves it unchanged. Report editing permission is required throughout.

Supported suggestions cover orientation, A4/Letter paper, default row height and table column labels, widths, wrapping, alignment and formats. Document sections retain their own row-height overrides. Check number formats and units carefully. The assistant proposes at most 12 changes and cannot rewrite queries, expressions, filters, data or delivery settings. AI availability and credits may vary by environment; the ordinary editing controls remain available.

Explore values and preview physical pages

Explore initially shows a sample of up to 25 rows for an ordinary table. Choose Run report values to evaluate totals and dataset expressions across the complete returned query result. Query row limits still apply: read the partial result notice before treating a total as complete. Sorting or paging the preview does not turn a capped query into a complete source extract.

Choose Preview PDF to render the current draft and current parameters into physical pages, then inspect Print layout view at the foot. Export… (in Share’s arrow) and scheduled delivery use the saved definition. Save draft changes before downloading or scheduling. A later run or export captures fresh data and may differ from the preview.

Page layout and wide tables

Choose A4 or Letter and the orientation, or enable Custom paper size under Use measured page layout. Dimensions and margins use points: 72 points = 1 inch. Set repeated header/footer text, then check the actual PDF pages.

• Cell height can grow to fit text or use a fixed height with shortening warnings. Use growing rows when the complete visible value must be printed.
• Repeat identifier columns carries selected identifiers into each horizontal column set of a wide table.
• Page order chooses down-then-across or across-then-down. Page numbering can cover the document or restart for each column set.
• Group options keep a group together when it fits and repeat its heading on continuation pages. A group taller than a page still needs continuation.

Not every format reproduces PDF pagination. Review the Word and spreadsheet differences and run draft checks for the intended export format.

Parameters and run values

Define parameters in the report options with a name, label, source field and type: text, number, date or boolean. Choose a single value, multiple values, or a number/date range. Configure defaults, allowed values, required values, nullable values and Lock to the default as needed. Locked values cannot be overridden by a run or comparison.

Available values from authorized data loads choices using the viewer’s current permissions. Use depends on to make choices cascade, such as country before customer. Fill parent parameters first; changing a parent refreshes its dependent choices. An unavailable or revoked lookup is an error, not permission to reuse stale values. Searching a choice list searches the authorized values.

Unset inputs use saved defaults; an explicit null is different from an unset value and needs Allow null. Numeric and boolean selections retain their types. Parameters add to the saved query’s filters and cannot remove its authored filters or bypass row security. Linked drill parameters are validated against the target’s saved definitions and current access.

Multi-section documents

When document authoring is enabled for the workspace, Add document sections extends the table into a document. The original table definition is retained. Use Edit section to select and arrange sections; Section title and Start on a new page control their presentation.

Section	Setup and behavior
Table	Keep selected columns, formatting, expressions, groups and totals. Additional tables retain their own column selection.
Text	Choose paragraph or heading. Within a repeated section, {{field}} inserts the value from the first detail row of that group.
Image	Upload a PNG or JPEG under 2 MB and enter an image description.
Chart	Choose a category, value, bar/line style and chart description. Up to 100 points; printed output also includes the values.
Matrix	Set row and column fields, add measures and choose sum, average, count, distinct count, minimum or maximum. Optionally include hierarchy subtotals.
Repeated list	Choose Repeat by, select Sections in each group, order them with the arrows, and optionally start a new page between groups.
Reuse	Select an existing reusable section. Reused content inherits the containing repeated group.

A repeated list and its data sections must use the same dataset. The document renderer applies the group’s partition before calculating its child tables and matrices. It supports at most 200 groups per list run, six reference levels, 2,000 expanded sections and two million resolved table cells. Narrow parameters or simplify the document if it exceeds these limits. Nested saved definitions are supported; the visual list editor offers one repeat field at a time.

Document matrices accept detail fields rather than pre-aggregated values, date buckets or window calculations. Up to three row keys, three column keys and eight measures are supported by a saved definition. Totals are recalculated from the detail rows: do not add group averages or group distinct counts to obtain a grand total. Matrix count excludes null and empty measure values. A source cap is disclosed.

Drill to another report maps a clickable table column to a saved target and its run parameters. The target is independently checked with the viewer’s current permissions. Drill navigation is available in the signed-in preview; exported files do not provide the same application navigation.

Existing documents can remain readable when authoring is disabled. A compatible standard block report can open as a separate paginated draft through the conversion flow; incompatible content remains in the original editor. Review and save the new draft before using it as a replacement.

Understand a calculation

How calculated explains the same capture shown in the preview. For tables it shows declared expressions, query aggregation, totals and the available numerator and row counts. For a document matrix, open a cell’s calculation control to inspect its row/column path, aggregate and contributing rows, including subtotal and grand total cells. Keyboard users can open the control and return focus with Close calculation.

Read the scope: sample, whole returned report, or repeated section. Check the query filters, returned grain, timestamp and query fingerprint. A fingerprint identifies the query definition, not a retained source snapshot. Actual source revision IDs are unavailable. A partial or failed capture cannot establish a complete source total; edits and failed refreshes remove obsolete evidence.

Row expressions can calculate values such as [quantity] * [price] or [debit] - [credit]. Fix unknown fields, dependency cycles and expression errors before distribution. Dataset expressions are evaluated over the returned scope, so the automatic sample cannot stand in for the full run.

Compare changes is a separate operation on the saved report: it runs Before and After parameters through two independent fresh queries. Read the comparison guide for averages, distinct counts, numeric min/max, repeated partitions, matrix cells/subtotals, optional AI summaries and troubleshooting. Use Load cells and subtotals to choose a saved matrix scope present in both captures. Dataset expressions use each capture’s returned section after repeated-partition filtering. Saved table windows run on the complete returned query before that filtering, with strict precision and ordering checks. Read the calculation-scope notice: adding running-total rows does not give the final running balance. Printed matrices still require detail fields without windows.

Check a draft before distribution

Open Report checks, choose Export format, and choose Check draft. Resolve Fix findings, review warnings, and follow the action supplied for each Pending check. Only the first 100 findings are shown; fix those and check again.

Draft settings, preview data, physical pages and delivery each have separate evidence. A successful settings check does not run the data query, inspect every physical page or send mail. After editing, rerun the applicable checks, run report values, inspect the PDF and save. Files with failed or partial sections include incomplete-result information; background document jobs withhold their download.

PDF output includes document structure and text alternatives where supported. That does not by itself certify PDF/UA or prove screen-reader usability. Provide meaningful descriptions and inspect the actual document with your intended reader.

Download and deliver

Use Export…, in Share’s arrow, for PDF, HTML, Excel, CSV, Word or PowerPoint. When enabled, Background exports… queues a private saved report or a complete table query and lets you return later. See background exports for supported sources, limits, cancellation and expiry.

Use Schedule delivery…, in the same menu, for the saved report and review its delivery policy and recipients. See scheduling and subscriptions. Feature availability depends on the capabilities enabled for the workspace and the installed client/API versions; a missing control does not mean that an unsaved draft was exported.