Hi Mark,
When more than one date range is specified in the Report Settings window, the result is a report with all the columns repeated for all date ranges (except for the first column, generally the investment name). But some columns don't have to be repeated, as they always contain the same data whatever the date range, and the repetition leads to a report with a lot of redundant and unnecessary information, and not easy to read. In particular, this can be the case with custom reports. As an example:
A custom report to monitor and compare the %Gain-F for two date ranges: the last 5 days and the last 15 days. Useful to see where the momentum is for the very short term (5 days) and the short term (15 days). The fields I want to include in the report:
%Gain-F (between)
Latest Price Date
Asset Type
Share Price (ending)
Price Trend
Historical Price Count (between)
A screenshot of the report (with the option "Order Columns by date" selected in the Report Settings):
http://img4.hostingpics.net/pics/201192 ... 5h0801.png
The fields Latest Price Date, Asset Type, and Price Trend are unnecessary repeated, the same information appear for each date range. The result is a cumbersome report. In fact, I prefer to create two reports with one date range in each than to have to read this one. But with two reports the ability is lost to compare easily the two %Gain-F% values for each date range.
A mockup of the desired report:
http://img4.hostingpics.net/pics/744700Sanstitre.png
The fields with information that don't change with date ranges are gathered on the left and not repeated.
(Mistake: The End Nav column should not have been on the left part, but in the date ranges part).
The report is much more readable (at least, I think so), and figures from different date ranges can be compared much more easily. Easier to understand and to use.
I think this would imply a mechanism to point out the fields to gather on the left (not to be repeated), and the fields to show for each date range. Perhaps this choice could be made manually by the user in the report settings, or perhaps "automagically" by Fund Manager (the program "knows" the fields to gather on the left and the fields that change according to the date range)?
Thanks.