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Grouping Reports

This guide demonstrates how to configure data grouping in Fast Designer. Grouping allows you to organize report data rows into distinct collections based on a specific criteria, such as categorizing customers by their respective countries.

Step 1: Database Connection and Table Setup​

  1. Create a new report template and establish a new data connection.
  2. Choose SQLite as your database provider.
  3. Download the following database archive, extract it, and select the file: Northwind.db.

Establishing SQLite Connection

  1. In the database schema explorer, check the Customers table to include it in your report dataset. Selecting Customers Table
  2. To inspect the records within your dataset, right-click the Customers table in the Data Sources window and select View Data.

Inspecting Dataset Records Data Preview Grid

Step 2: Add and Configure Report Group Bands​

  1. Navigate to the Main Menu, select Report, and click Configure Bands (or use the shortcut Ctrl + B).
  2. Within the band configuration utility, click Add and select Group. This action generates a GroupHeader1 and a corresponding GroupFooter1 around your layout's data band.

Adding Group Bands

  1. Drag and drop the following data columns into the Data band workspace: CustomerName, ContactName, Address, City, and PostalCode.
  2. Drag and drop the Country column into the GroupHeader1 band workspace.
  3. By default, Fast Designer assigns the Customers table as the active active data source for the workspace. You can verify this linkage by right-clicking an empty section of the Data band and choosing Edit. Ensure that the Data Source property field is explicitly set to Customers.

Layout Elements Allocation

  1. Right-click the GroupHeader1 band title and select Edit.
  2. Define the grouping logic by setting the Condition expression field to: [Customers.Country].

Configuring Group Header Rules

Step 3: Create Totals and Aggregations​

To compute summary numbers for each individual grouping (e.g., counting the total number of customers within each country), implement an aggregate function:

  1. Create a new Total instance via the data window.
  2. Set the aggregation Function property to Count.
  3. Direct the engine to evaluate values line-by-line by setting Evaluate on each row of the band to Data1: Customers.
  4. Control target visibility by setting the Print on band property to GroupFooter1, then click OK to save.

Defining Totals Parameters

  1. Drag and drop your newly generated Total object from the data catalog directly onto the GroupFooter1 band area.

Positioning Aggregates in Layout

Step 4: Preview Layout Outcomes​

Press F5 (or select Preview from the workspace options) to compile and render your grouped dataset layout.

Rendered Group Report Preview

Download Completed Example