Multi-channel Reporting (Concepts Guide)

Cinnamon Reporting has been built from the ground up to support reporting over multiple channels to paper and to interactive devices like tablets or smartphones.

Word Channel

The goal of the Word Channel is to produce high-quality Word- and PDF-Documents. The production of a document follows these steps:

Step	Description
`Abstract Report`	The word channel interprets the abstract report and iterates over the tree of `Report Nodes`
`Word Template`	The word channel fetches the `Word Template` referenced in the abstract report
`Report Node`	For every report node, depending on the type of the node, the `Style` referenced (or the default style) is merged with the data in the node to produce the desired output.
`Vertical Table Node`	A table template is applied The respective number of columns and rows are generated and filled with data
`Chart Node`	The chart is rendered to SVG using the Machinata library A template is applied to hold the titles and footer (produces a word table) The rendered chart is placed into the intended table cell
`Layout Node`	The layout template is applied. It has the form of a word table with arbitrary arranged cells marked as `Slots` The child nodes are rendered and placed into their respective `Slots`
…

Online Channel

The goal of the Online Channel is to visualise Abstract Reports in the web browser. It provides

identical structure (chapters, column layouts, etc.)
same branding (colors, fonts, table formatting etc.)
same nodes (tables, charts, etc.)

In addition to the paper channels, the online channel provides the following functionalities:

Functionality	Description
Navigation	Interactive navigation between chapters, from overview nodes to chapters etc.
Toggles	Multiple versions of a content can be displayed as a stack so only one element is visible at a time. The user can then toggle through the different elements.
Full-Screen	The user can view the report nodes in a full screen view to better focus on the specific content.
Exports	The user can export the underlying data of tables into the clipboard or as CSV or Excel files. the charts as SVG or PNG files.
Printing	The user can locally print the current view in the Browser.
Responsiveness	The online reporting is able to dynamically handle different screen sizes for devices like tables or phones. Report nodes are arranged and rendered more compact when on smaller screens.

Cinnamon Portal Services

When combined with the Cinnamon Portal Services, the online channel is extended with the following functionalities:

Functionality	Description
Security	The portal services provide report-based authorisation for the logged-in user.
`Catalog`	The portal services fetch a catalog of available reports for the logged-in user
Navigation	The user can navigate through the available reports by Select a portfolio / mandate and view the newest report available View a report for a past date (available in the catalog) View a report in a different (available) language
`Dashboard`	The user can select report nodes from one or multiple reports and mirror the nodes in a dashboard The user can manage one or multiple named dashboards The dashboards get automatically updated with the newest data available in the catalog
`Print Composer`	When locally printing, the user is able to interactively select the report nodes to be printed.

Excel Channel

The goal of the Excel channel is to produce data oriented Excel reports. Since Excel is essentially a tabular format, only a limited set of report nodes is supported. As for the Word channel, the Excel formatting is template driven and highly configurable. The Excel channel provides the following functionalities:

Functionality	Description
`Excel Template`	An Excel document defining the page setup and containing default and style specific `Cell Patterns`.
`Cell Patterns`	`Cell Patterns` are copied from the `Excel Template` with content from the `Abstract Report`. `Cell Patterns` completely describe the visual appearance of a range of cells, e.g. a table row.
Multiple Worksheets	A `Section Node` with a page break introduces a new worksheet.