Importing external data

One of the unique features of Interactive Reporting is the ability to import Microsoft Excel documents, XML files, tab-delimited text files, and comma-separated text files into Interactive Reporting. The imported file acts as a table section where data can be analyzed, filtered, and manipulated similar to Tables (discussed later in the Results and Table chapter). Pivots and Charts can be added to summarize and analyze the external content, and the data is available for use in Reports and Dashboards. The content is also available for use as a local results section allowing for the use of the external data in a data model.

There are many uses for using external content in a model, but the most common use is the ability to model scenarios of data not currently in existence in a reporting structure. For instance, a very common use for this feature is to model a new organizational structure. Since the software allows the external data to be easily updated, the scenario...