In the reporting world, efficiency is key. Whether you’re a developer, designer, or end-user, the ability to merge multiple reports into a cohesive whole is a skill you’ll want in your arsenal.

Imagine this scenario: You’ve meticulously crafted individual ReportBuilder reports, including data, event code, calculations, etc. — but now you need to present a unified result. Perhaps you’re compiling a comprehensive report, combining contracts, or assembling a collaborative project. Whatever the reason, merging documents streamlines information, reduces clutter, and ensures a seamless reading experience.

Merging multiple reports into a single document either on screen or exported to file is a very useful and often asked for feature. ReportBuilder natively provides numerous ways to merge reports and this series of posts will address each one.

Part 1: Merging Reports With Subreports

Subreports are a fast and easy way to merge multiple reports with ReportBuilder. Subreports themselves are essentially full featured reports that can be embedded into a main report.

Start with an empty “container” report with a detail band only. Add a subreport component for each report you wish to merge. Each subreport will contain an individual report that is loaded from a template file or created manually. The use of Child or Section subreports will determine whether there is a page break between merged reports.

See the following article and example below for how subreports can be used to merge two (or more) reports.

https://rbWiki.digital-metaphors.com/design/layout-design/merge-reports-with-subreports

Pros:

1. Subreports are simple to use and provide visual design options.
2. Saving and loading report templates is quick and straight forward.
3. Reports are merged in the preview as well as when exported or printed.

Cons:

1. Not all report features are available in subreports.
2. All data, calculations, and event code must be present and valid before merging.
3. Sometimes all that’s needed is a simple merged file.

As you can see, using subreports to merge reports is a very simple an useful method and should be considered for every merging scenario.

Stay tuned for more merging tips and tricks in our upcoming blog series and in the mean time,

Happy Reporting!