Overview of Reports in Dynamics NAV

You can use reports to print or display information from a database. You can use a report to structure and summarize information and to print documents, such as invoices. For example, you can create a report that lists all customers and all orders that have been added by each customer. You can also create a report that is automatically filled with the relevant information for an invoice.

You can also use reports to process data without printing or displaying content. For example, you can use a report to automate updating all prices in an item list. It can be easier to create a report to process data instead of a codeunit to do the same processing because you can use:

• Request page functionality to select options and filters for data items, which are available in a report but are difficult to add to a codeunit.

• Report data items instead of writing code to open tables and retrieve records.

• Data modeling, which is available when you design reports.

Creating reports

Creating a report involves two primary tasks. First you design the data model, or dataset, by using Report Dataset Designer. The dataset determines the data that is extracted or calculated from the Dynamics NAV database tables that can be used in a report. After the dataset has been designed, you design the visual layout of the report. There are two types of report layouts that you can create: client report definition (RDLC) report layouts and Word report layouts. You create RDLC report layouts by using Visual Studio Report Designer or SQL Server Report Builder. You create Word report layouts by using Microsoft Word 2013.

Getting started

The following table includes links to information to help you get started designing reports.

See Also

Objects