Design Your First Output
An output template is the designed layout that presents edition data as a polished report. Build it once in the Output Designer, and every future edition automatically populates it with the latest data.
For the full designer reference see Output Designer.
Before you begin
- A published blueprint with at least one edition of data must exist.
- You need the Output Designer or Admin role.
- Know your target audience: executive summary (fewer components, large KPIs), operational detail (tables, Gantt), or a combined board pack (multiple pages).
Step 1: Create a new output template
- Go to Report Forge → Output Templates.
- Click + New Output Template.
- Select the blueprint this template is for.
- Name the template (e.g. "Monthly Progress — PDF", "Executive Dashboard").
- The Output Designer opens on a blank canvas.
Step 2: Set the page layout
- In the Page Layout settings (top ribbon → Page Layout tab), choose:
- Paper size: A4, A3, Letter, A0, or custom dimensions.
- Orientation: Portrait or Landscape.
- Margins: top, bottom, left, right (default 20 mm).
- Choose a Canvas mode:
- Grid layout — components snap to a 12-column grid. Best for structured reports and PDF export.
- Freeform layout — pixel-precise positioning with layering. Best for dashboards and executive summaries.
- Optionally add Header and Footer content (logo, report title, page number, date).
See Canvas Layout Modes for full detail.
Step 3: Add a component
- Click Insert in the ribbon, or click the + button on the canvas.
- The Component Picker opens — browse by category or search by name.
- Click a component to insert it, then drag it to position on the canvas.
- Resize using the handle on the bottom-right corner.
Choosing the right component
| What you need to show | Component to use |
|---|---|
| Schedule status and RAG | KPI Card |
| Activity list or issue register | Table |
| Period-over-period data | Matrix |
| Schedule bar chart | Gantt |
| Cost or cash flow curve | Cash Flow Curve |
| Schedule performance | Earned Value |
| Risk position | Risk Matrix and Exposure |
| Trend over reporting periods | Chart or Combo Chart |
| Milestone forecast drift | Milestone Trend Analysis |
| Executive numeric summary | KPI Card |
| Narrative text | Text component |
| Section label | Section Header component |
Step 4: Bind the component to edition data
Every component must be connected to blueprint fields before it can display data.
- Click the component to select it.
- Open the Build panel (right side — Build tab).
- Drag fields from the Fields tree (left panel) into the wells in the Build panel:
- Rows — the dimension axis (e.g. Discipline, Activity ID, Risk ID).
- Values — the numeric metric (e.g. Duration, Variance, Count).
- Columns — secondary grouping for matrix and cross-tab views.
- Filters — restrict the data this component shows.
- Choose an Aggregation for value fields: Sum, Average, Count, Min, Max, First, Last.
- For Gantt, Earned Value, and Cash Flow: use the preset selector to auto-populate the required field bindings for common configurations.
See Fields and Build Panel for the full wells reference.
Step 5: Format the component
- With the component selected, open the Format panel (right side — Format tab).
- Common options available for all components:
- Title — component heading text.
- Typography — font, size, weight, colour.
- Number format — decimal places, currency symbol, percentage display, abbreviation (K / M).
- Colours — accent colours, series colours, conditional zone colours.
- Borders and padding.
- Chart-specific options: axis labels, scale, legend position, data labels, gridlines.
- Table-specific options: grouping, subtotals, conditional formatting, in-cell visuals.
See Format Panel for the full reference.
Step 6: Add filters and slicers
Filters restrict what a component shows without adding interactive controls:
- Open the Filters panel.
- Add a Visual filter (scoped to one component), Page filter (all components on this page), or Report filter (all pages).
- Set the field, operator, and value.
Slicers let viewers interactively filter the report:
- Insert a Slicer component from the component picker.
- In the Build panel, bind the field you want to filter by (e.g. Discipline, Reporting Period).
- Set the Scope: page or report.
- Choose the Slicer type: Dropdown, List, Tile, Date picker, Hierarchy, or Relative Date.
See Filters Panel and Slicers and Filters.
Step 7: Add more pages
- Click + Add Page in the Pages panel (left strip) or via the ribbon → Pages tab.
- Each page has its own set of components and page-level filters.
- Use Page filters to scope each page to a different data slice (e.g. one page per discipline).
- Add a Table of Contents component to the first page if the report has 4+ pages.
- Use Button components to add navigation links between pages.
Step 8: Preview and publish
- Click Preview in the ribbon to render the report using live edition data.
- Review each page — check for overflow, missing data, and unreadable text.
- Return to the canvas to correct any layout issues.
- When the layout is correct, click Publish template.
Publishing the template makes it available for all editions using this blueprint. Run Generate output on any edition to apply the template.
Output design tips
- First page = executive summary. Lead with RAG status KPI cards, top risks, and key decisions. Save the detail for later pages.
- Grid layout for print; freeform for dashboards. Grid layout avoids component overlap in PDF export. Freeform gives more visual control for screen-only views.
- Bind early, format later. Get all components connected to real data before spending time on colours and typography.
- Use presets. Gantt, Cash Flow, Earned Value, and KPI Card all have built-in presets that configure the common binding patterns in one click.
- Test PDF export on an A4 page. Some components (Gantt, large tables) overflow differently in print. Test early.
- Save after each major step. The designer auto-saves, but manual saves give you clear restore points.