| Feature |
BI Publisher |
Windward Reports |
| Installation |
Installation Manual is difficult to follow - can take days to figure out how to get complete post-installation tasks. |
Even new users are able to install and set up WR in just a few minutes. WR walks the user through each simple step so that he/she does not get stuck. Watch the step-by-step video, or use the PDF for quick reference. |
| Desktop Tools |
Desktop Tools aid users in few tasks. Can be problematic to install. |
AutoTag is a desktop tool that is much easier to set up than BIP's. Provides much more assistance in designing reports. |
| Connecting to Server |
It is difficult to configure BIP to connect to Microsoft SQL Server. |
Connecting to SQL Servers and other Databases is easy in WR. |
| Learning Curve |
HIGH: With BIP's immense syntax, confusing manual, and tricky jargon, learning how to build templates requires a significant commitment since there is a lot to learn and remember. |
LOW: By using Word throughout, WR makes it extremely simple for any user to quickly learn and be comfortable with template creation. Fewer tags also reduces complexity and confusion. |
| Manual |
Manual language is heavily geared towards developers. It is extremely thick, with a lot of information unnecessarily repeated. Many feature explanations are either incorrect or incomplete. |
WR features are straightforward, doing what the manual says they will do - making them easier to understand and implement. |
| Coding |
Even with the Template Builder, users will have to create tags almost explicitly through hand-coding. |
WR requires very little hand-coding, and provides powerful wizards for building tags. |
| Tags |
BIP has access to all XSL elements and some XSL-FO elements for flexibility in template design. However, the large selection of complicated tags requires the user to refer to the manual often. |
WR has only a handful of tags and enables many full-scale reports without having to know all of the tags. Once a user knows about a tag, its use is intuitive. |
| Simplified Tags |
BIP offers simplified XSL syntax to reduce the complexity of the tags. |
There's no need for a simplified syntax in WR- the tags are few in number and easy to understand. |
| MS Word Features Supported |
Native Word features such as AutoShapes, Drawing, Backgrounds, Watermark, and Header/Footer control are supported by BIP (although many of these features only work in PDF output). |
AutoTag implements many of Word's toolbar features common to most business users. WR supports extensive Header/Footer control and image support for fixed or dynamic, linkable images. |
| Tag Construction |
Basic rtf Design Method for purely hand-coding (user does not have to learn how to use a special user interface); or Form Field rtf Design Method which enables Word Form Fields to hide details of code (template is cleaner and easier to read). |
AutoTag provides similar methods of template design, but the Insert Tag tool makes tag construction far simpler than BIP by taking out the work of writing the tags. Field style tags also hide the details of the code, making templates much easier to read. |
| Template Creation |
BIP's Template Builder for Word attempts to increase productivity by automating some tasks. It can be used to 'drag-&-drop' fields from data into the template, create charts, and automatically build tables. However, it doesn’t help build tags that aren’t part of a simple table or chart, which means that until the user remembers every single tag, he'll be running back and forth between the template and the manual. |
AutoTag, with 'drag-&-drop' fields, is Windward's "Template Builder for Word." Unlike BIP, we don’t make you do extra work to install a tool that should be there to begin with. |
| Control Flow |
Conditional formatting using if-statements, choose-when-otherwise-statements, and runtime parameters (to filter data). |
AutoTag provides if-statements - which can be manipulated to achieve the same results as BIP's "choose-when-otherwise" statements. |
| Table Formatting |
Highly flexible row, column, or whole table formatting capabilities. |
Bannered rows can be created in AutoTag and if-statements can be used to achieve conditional formatting. AutoTag does not support conditional cell/column coloring. |
| Charts |
Charts are easy to create, and allow a high degree of formatting flexibility. Also includes custom chart support. |
AutoTag provides charting capability by way of a single tag. No custom chart support. |
| Report Preview |
Without Template Builder, user must upload report template after every change, in order to test it. Template Builder provides a previewer. |
WR is more efficient out of the box because the user simply clicks the Report menu for a preview. |
| Validation |
There is no way to validate your mark-up without installing the Template Builder. Validation errors are cryptic, limiting the validation power. |
WR includes a Validate tool that checks the syntax of the tags before running the report, thus allowing the user to find and fix errors before they occur. |
| Nulls |
The syntax for checking nulls is complex. |
Checking for nulls in WR is easy with a common if tag. |
