Analyse data with graph and pivot views

Measures is the blue button at the start of the toolbar. It lists the numeric fields of the report in alphabetical order, and then, after a dividing line and always last, Count — which counts records rather than adding anything up.

A field reaches that list only if it is a whole number, a decimal or an amount of money and it is defined as something that can be added together. That last condition is why a numeric field you can see on the form is sometimes not offered here: a sequence number or a reference code is a number, but adding two of them together would be meaningless, so it is excluded. Fields hidden by the report's own layout are excluded too.

The graph shows exactly one measure at a time — picking a new one replaces the old. The pivot shows as many as you tick, one column each. There is always at least one measure selected; on Sales Analysis the report opens on Qty Ordered.

The graph is for shape: a trend, a comparison, a share of a whole. Everything it can do sits in one row of buttons above the canvas.

The chart is not just a picture. Hover any bar, point or slice for a tooltip with the exact figure — on a pie it also gives the percentage. Click the legend entry for a series to hide and show that series. And on a bar or pie chart, clicking a segment opens the underlying records as a list, so you can go from “that month is wrong” to the four orders that made it wrong in one click. On a line chart clicking does nothing — that is deliberate, not a fault.

The pivot is for taking a number apart. It is a table with groups down the rows, groups across the columns, and the measures where they cross.

Both axes start collapsed at a single cell reading Total, with a small + beside it. Click that + and a menu of groups appears — the same list as Group By, plus Custom Group for anything else on the record. Choose one and the axis expands. The + on any of the new headings expands that heading further, so you can drill into one product category by month without touching the others. A − collapses a heading again.

The three buttons beside Measures are:

All three are greyed out when there is nothing to act on: no records match the search, or you have unticked every measure.

Clicking a measure column heading sorts the rows by that column; a small caret shows which way, and clicking again reverses it. Clicking a value cell opens the records behind that one figure as a list. Where a cell has had to add up amounts in more than one currency, a small ? appears beside the number; hovering it shows the breakdown.

A report you have set up is worth saving. Open the search drop-down, click Save current search in the Favorites column and give it a name: WindoorERP stores not only the filters and groups but also the measures you ticked and, in a graph, the chart type and sort order. Tick Default filter and the report opens that way for you every time.

Sharing works from the same panel: click Edit instead of Save, and fill Shared with on the form that opens. Leaving that field empty shares the report with everyone rather than keeping it private.

The numbers look wrong. Read the measure before the chart. A count of records and a sum of amounts answer different questions, and the view remembers the last measure you chose rather than resetting to the report's default.

A total does not match another screen. The two are filtered differently. Compare the search bars, not the totals — and check whether one of them is on an untaxed measure and the other on a taxed one.

A category is missing from the chart. Grouping creates a block only where records exist. Records with nothing in the grouped field land in a separate group, and a date axis simply skips periods with nothing in them.

“There are too many data. The graph only shows a sample.” The grouping produces more than eighty series. Narrow the search or group by something coarser — by quarter instead of by day, by category instead of by product. Load everything anyway is available but rarely the right answer.

“Pie chart cannot mix positive and negative numbers.” The measure contains negatives — refunds, credit notes, returns. Filter them out, or read the data as a bar chart, which can draw below the axis.

“For Excel compatibility, data cannot be exported if there are more than 16384 columns.” The pivot is too wide for a spreadsheet. The message names the three fixes itself: flip the axis, filter further, or untick some measures.

Clicking a point on a line chart does nothing. Drill-down is offered on bars and pie slices only. Switch to a bar chart, or to the pivot, and click there.

The pivot buttons are greyed out. Either the search returned no records, or every measure is unticked. Open Measures and tick at least one.

The numeric field you want is not in the Measures list. The field is not defined as something that can be added up — most reference numbers and sequence fields are not — or the report's layout hides it. Group by it instead, or use the pivot's Custom Group.

The report opened differently from yesterday. A favourite marked Default filter is being applied on opening. Clear the search bar to see the report's own defaults again.