Getting Around

The ReportsDNA Toolbar provides access to all functionality. The toolbar can be displayed or hidden by clicking the ReportsDNA Button in Excel's menu. The button is the last item in Excel's menu except in Excel 2007.

In Excel 2007, the button is accessible after clicking the Add-ins button (see below). A detailed description of each button on the toolbar can be found on the Toolbar page.

Accessing the Configuration Form

All report settings are accessed through the report configuration form, which is activated by clicking the New/Edit Report button show below.

Configuration Form

The configuration form has the following functional areas:

Configuration Tabs - group similar report settings together
Source ListBox - lists data sources that can be used to create a report
Settings - checkboxes and fields that specify report configuration settings
Common actions - actions available regardless of the Configuration Tab that is active. They allow the configuration to be saved, reset, cancelled, ....
Variables - a list of available dynamic values that changes depending on the setting that is active.

ReportsDNA Color Scheme

The iinterface uses the color scheme for settings in the table below.

Text Color of Setting Meaning

Black
Mandatory setting required to generate the report. These are typically data source settings.

Gray
Optional setting. The report will generate even if this field is not set.

Blue
A field that takes variables. The Variable list will change to reflect variables specific to this type of field when the field is edited.

Common Actions / Settings

The features in this section are common throughout the ReportsDNA configuration form.

Run Report
ReportsDNA will only execute a report when this setting is enabled. This feature protects a report from being acidentally overwritten.
Default Setting: checked

Source
The Source listbox is used to select the source of data for a given report. Clicking a source will display the dialog for entering source-specific settings. For example, clicking on Excel sets Excel as the source of data and displays the Excel setting form.
Default Setting: Excel

Column Selector Buttons
Many report formatting features require you to specify the columns to which you want to apply the format. For example, you may want to bold the NUMBER or the ID column in your report. A list of available columns are displayed when you click a column selector button to allow you to specify the columns to format. Select the fields of interest. You may also click the All button to select all columns or the None button to deselect all columns. Click the close window x to cancel your changes.

Save Button (formerly the OK button)
This button saves the report configuration and closes the dialog box. It saves all settings from every tab.

Reset Button
This feature reverts all settings to their state when the dialog box was first opened. All changes since the last save will be lost. The dialog box will remain open for additional changes.

Cancel Button
The Cancel button performs all the functions of the Reset button, however, it closes the dialog box.

Save As Template Button (formerly Save Settings)
This button saves the report configuration to a file, which you can load at a later time using Load Settings. This features makes it easy to load frequently used settings. For example, this feature can be used to save a different configuration for each type of data source: BugZilla, Access, Test Director, ....

Note: password settings are encrypted when saved.

Load From Template Button (formerly Load Settings)
Load report configuration settings from a file you select. The settings in the file will overwrite all the settings in the current report configuration.