Cross-tab overview

A cross-tab is an object that summarizes data and then presents the summaries in a compact row and column format that makes it easy to make comparisons and identify trends.

Report examples are provided to demonstrate the power of a cross-tab in those situations in which the cross-tab is an option. Those are often situations in which the word by is included in your report description:

●sales by state,

●products sold by color and size, or

●orders by customer.

While there are certainly many ways to create these kinds of reports, cross-tabs generally present more data in a more compact, easier to understand form than other reporting methods.

NOTE: You can insert as many cross-tab objects in your report as you need. You can even place them in subreports. Thus, you can use cross-tabs to show summarized data in a report that presents the details in another form.

In the following examples, the goal is to analyze the unit sales of five different bicycle locks in four different regions (a unit sales of locks by region report). For clarity, only the most essential information in these reports has been included:

●the region the order came from,

●the name of the lock, and

●the quantity ordered.

The first way of looking at the data is in the most basic of all reports, a columnar report with no grouping or sorting.

Report of order data - no sorting/ grouping

Each Region group contains orders for different kinds of locks.

Each product group contains orders for many regions.

Regions.

Product names.

Total - one product in one region.

In this cross-tab:

●Product names make up the row headings.

●Regions make up the column headings.

●The value at each row/column intersection is the sum of all the orders for a particular product from a particular region, for example, the total number of Guardian Mini Locks ordered in British Columbia.

●The total at the end of each row is the total of all of the purchases for one product in all regions, for example, the total number of Guardian ATB Locks ordered in Alabama, British Columbia, California, and Florida combined.

●The total at the bottom of each column is the total number of all kinds of locks ordered in one region, for example, the number of locks of all kinds purchased in California.

●The total in the bottom right corner is the grand total showing the total unit sales of all five locks in all four regions.

The report is compact, and you can compare your customers' purchasing habits in a hurry. Clearly this is a worthwhile report in situations such as this.