Create report that have many columns

[msngu72]

Hi,
I am new to openoffice. I want to create a report in OpenOffice Database. How to create a report which can display to multiples pages because i have too many column which cannot fix into a single page width.
Hope someone that is expert to this can help.

Thanks

[Villeroy]

Use Calc as alternative report engine: [Tutorial] Using registered datasources in Calc

[MTP]

I'm not sure I understand what you are asking. Is this correct: you have created tables, and your tables have data in them? And you want a read-only (no data entry) way to view this data over multiple pages in a Writer (the default Form/Report) or a Calc file?

[Villeroy]

A Writer report is limited to a paper sheet layout which becomes messy when you dump 20 columns side by side. On a spreadsheet you can view up to 1024 columns, show and hide columns, format them nicely and print them in different ways.

P.S. I just noticed that I can open an embedded report for editing, turn on menu:View>WebLayout, do some dummy edit (insert and delete some character) drag column as wide as needed, save the report and the web layout remains fixed for this particular report.

[msngu72]

Thanks MTP & Villeroy for your replies.
MTP,
I use OpenOffice Base to create tables, queries, forms and report to keep track of my inventory listing.
Now i want to have report which can show me 20 fields, but as Villeroy mentioned Writer report is limited to a paper sheet layout. I am wondering is there any setting where i can do to show all these fields expanded to few pages inside OpenOffice Base reporting function?

[Villeroy]

Try the web layout trick.

[msngu72]

Hi Villeroy,
i try to use the wizard to create the report, then i go to edit mode. Then i go to "View", "Web Layout", but the report still squeeze to 1 page only

[Villeroy]

It's an ordinary Writer document having one table with one row for the column headers and one place holder row for the data. While in web layout view, drag the table columns as wide as you need them. You can format the table, apply number formatting to numeric cells in the second row, add descriptive text, drawings, headers, footers, Writer fields etc.

[MTP]

I have very limited experience with reports; my guesses would be to try landscape orientation instead of legal orientation. Or maybe tell it you have a bigger paper size than 8 1/2 x 11.
(I won't be able to offer anything else, but in case someone else with more knowledge of reports chimes in - are you using Report Builder, or the standard Base reports? I suspect your original idea of spreading the columns out over several "rows" tall enough to force them to separate pages would be more feasible in Report Builder.)

Otherwise I second Villeroy's suggestion of using a Calc form as a report (see also [Tutorial] Standalone Forms / Switchboard).