Report Direct Details

• Does Report Direct only produce charts?

No, you can also produce PowerPoint tables as well as charts.

• Does Report Direct paste Excel pictures into PowerPoint?

No, the charts produced are ‘proper' PowerPoint charts. They are just the same in appearance as if you have typed in the figures yourself.

• Does Report Direct lose the figures its charting if the tables change order/layout?

No, Report Direct links back to the texts in tables. First of all, it identifies the table and base title of the table it is using for the chart/table and then it links into the texts used on to the tables. This means that if the table changes position in the output file or the rows change order, for example, Report Direct will re-map automatically to the table source.

• What does Report Direct do if a table or row that is charted is missing?

When a source file changes, Report Direct will offer you the option to run a report of anything that it can no longer find. This may be a whole table or, perhaps, one row of a table. In the report, it will tell which things it cannot locate. Then, you can run an interactive session where you can re-select tables, rows, columns or delete/hide your redundant charts. If you wish, you can miss out the report stage.

• How does Report Direct know when to update its presentations?

Report Direct works on the date stamps of the file(s) that are supplying the figures for the tables and charts. If the timestamp changes, Report Direct will automatically go into an update mode, unless you override it. Also, you can choose to force an update on your presentation – this may be useful if you are preparing repeat presentations for different data sets.

• What if I get my tables files confused, can I destroy my whole presentation?

Well, yes you could! However, Report Direct keeps an archive system of your files, so that if you were to feed a presentation with the wrong data and then accidentally deleted all the charts, you could return to the same point easily.

• Does Report Direct allow me to chart figures or percentages?

Yes, you can choose between figures and percentages, as well as re-percentaging on the rows selected for, say, brand share amongst the top 5 brands.

• Can Report Direct choose all rows above a given percentage?

Yes, Report Direct has tools to pick the highest rows amongst those selected or figures or percentages above a named value. You could, for example, set a chart to show the top 5 brands or all brands above 20% awareness.

• How can I use chart templates in Report Direct

There are several ways you can do this. You can paste a template from a ‘dummy' presentation into your Report Direct presentation and then update it by linking to the figures you wish to chart. Alternatively, you could have a second presentation open that has hyperlinks which copy the style required to clipboard so that you can paste into your presentation.

• Will a client, for example, know that I have used Report Direct to prepare a presentation?

No, not unless you tell them! The file will appear as a normal PowerPoint file. Even if your client had Report Direct they would not be able to know unless you supplied them with the specifications file and the tables files that support the presentation.

Compatibility

• Is Report Direct compatible with all MRDC products?

Yes, whether you use OnTraq Professional, OnTraq Small Business Edition or MRDCL, the files that they use products produce are all the same and, therefore, compatible with Report Direct.

• Is Report Direct compatible with other products?

It is compatible with most other products – specifically those that produce tables in Excel or CSV format or most text formats. You do need a utility called RDParse to convert your files to Report Direct format – this is a simple operation that takes a few seconds to run. Report Direct can also be used with exports from Winyaps.

Technical

• How does Report Direct work?

As you specify your charts using Report Direct's easy menu system, the program stores a specification of the source and the selections you have made. This specification is based on text, so that if tables change, Report Direct will automatically search for the same texts when re-drawing the charts. This means that tables may change order and Report Direct will find the relevant figures by searching for table titles and rows/columns within those tables.

Report Direct knows when to update presentations by logging the timestamps of the files containing the data. If any of the files feeding data to the charts/presentation change or are updated, Report Direct will automatically go into an update mode.

• Is the Report Direct specification file easy to understand?

The specifications for your presentations are stored in an Excel file. These can be hidden from the user or can be actually edited in Excel. The specifications are easy to understand and offer users alternative way to prepare repetitive requirements.

• Can Report Direct generate charts from a specification file?

Yes, by generating the specifications either through software or manually, Report Direct will allow you to import the chart specifications to automatically generate charts.

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