Report Object Overview

A report object defines the type of content that is in a report. Report objects represent most of the content of your report in CDM.

There are five types of report objects in CDM: Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Web Page, and PDF. If you are the administrator, you can add report objects to any report.

Overview of Excel Objects

Excel objects are primarily used to work with data values in CDM.

When an Excel object is added to a report, the Excel object has no data. You can reference and display data from the database or an external source in the Excel object. You can also add text or data manually.

When the data is in the Excel object, it can be referenced by other Excel formulas. You can reference a large data set and display only some of the values. You can also import external Excel files directly into Excel objects for reference and storage.

Overview of Word Objects

Word objects are primarily used to present textual information in a report in CDM.

When a new Word object is added to a report, the Word object contains no text. CDM can leverage existing reports by importing them directly into the Word object for use in the report. You can add text, images, graphs, or data to enhance the report. Every time you save a Word object, the data is saved in the CDM database.

You can view an audit trail for the report object information and content in the database and you can compare different versions.

Overview of PowerPoint Objects

In CDM, PowerPoint objects are primarily used for visual presentations in a report.

When a new PowerPoint object is added to a report, the object contains no text. CDM can take advantage of existing PowerPoint documents by importing them directly into the PowerPoint object for use in the report. You can add charts, display ranges, or image ranges containing data or graphics to enhance the PowerPoint object. Every time you save a PowerPoint object, the data is saved in the CDM database.

You can view an audit trail for the report object information and content in the database and you can compare different versions of the PowerPoint object.

Note: If you work in Microsoft™ Office 2007, you can work with only one instance of a PowerPoint object at a time. When you view audit trails for PowerPoint objects, the audit trail content does not load because of this limitation. You will receive a message in which you can save the logs separately. If you work in a later version of Microsoft Office, this restriction does not apply.

Overview of Web Page Objects

You can use Web Page objects to display web pages in a report in CDM for reference.

Web Page objects can be included in the report for reference while you are working on the report, but they are not generated upon output.

Note: Because Web Page objects are not included in the generated report, Web Page objects cannot be included in the Table of Contents.

Overview of PDF Objects

You can use PDF objects to attach documents in Portable Document Format (PDF) to a report in CDM for reference.

PDF objects can be included in the report for reference while you are working on the report, but they are not generated upon output.

Note: Because PDF objects are not included in the generated report, PDF objects cannot be included in the Table of Contents.