When it comes to creating reports, choosing the right design tool is crucial for efficiency, accuracy, and overall effectiveness. There are several approaches to report design, of which only the Pixel Perfect Reports designer uses a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor. The SSRS designer is not a WYSIWYG editor. The designers of other reporting tools in the market, like Crystal Reports, mostly use band style report, which is only optimized for a certain kind of report, like creating an invoice report.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the key differences between Pixel Perfect Reports designer, the SSRS designer and band style designers.
WYSIWYG Editors
What Is a WYSIWYG Editor?
A WYSIWYG editor allows users to design and edit reports in a way that visually represents how the final output will look. This approach is intuitive for many users because it provides a direct, visual method of design. You drag and drop elements onto a canvas, adjust properties, and see the changes in real-time. Examples of WYSIWYG editors include tools like Adobe InDesign for print media and various web-based design platforms.
Key Features
1. Real-Time Visualization: WYSIWYG editors provide a real-time preview of the final output, making it easier to design complex layouts without needing to switch between design and preview modes.
2. User-Friendly Interface: These editors often come with a more user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface, making them accessible for users without extensive technical backgrounds.
3. Design Flexibility: Users have significant control over the design elements, allowing for highly customized and visually appealing reports.
4. Immediate Feedback: You can see how your changes affect the report instantly, which can speed up the design process and reduce errors.
Pixel Perfect Reports Designer
The canvas in Pixel Perfect Reports provides a background that allows users to place design elements in a freeform manner.
Microsoft SSRS Designer
What Is Microsoft SSRS Designer?
Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) Designer is a reporting tool to enable users to design the layout of the report.
Drawbacks
Steeper Learning Curve:
SSRS Designer can be complex to learn, and users have to remember different actions to perform (like when to click inside or outside of a tablix) depending on the situations, which is often unintuitive.
Less Focus on Visual Design:
While the SSRS designer does offer design capabilities, it lacks freeform layout options, which can make certain configurations challenging or even impossible to implement. For example, if you want a side-by-side layout of two tabular lists, you need to use a workaround by placing the two lists in a grid.
Crystal Reports Designer
What Is Crystal Reports Designer?
Crystal Reports Designer is a reporting tool to enable users to design the layout of the report.
Drawbacks
Crystal Reports' band-style designer divides a report into horizontal bands, each controlling the behavior of the elements within it. This designer is optimized for creating document-style reports, such as invoices. For non-document-style reports, some bands, like the Header and Footer, may not be utilized. Additionally, the band-style designer can exhibit undesirable behavior if not handled properly; for example, it might result in an extra empty page if a band is not fully collapsed. Because the Crystal Reports designer does not offer freeform layout capabilities, certain layout configurations can be challenging or even impossible to implement. For instance, achieving a side-by-side layout of two tabular lists requires a workaround, such as placing the two lists in a grid side-by-side.
Conclusion
Pixel Perfect Reports Designer is the only report designer that offers a WYSIWYG interface, allowing users to easily and precisely layout the positions and sizes of elements on a canvas.