Report Writer 
Report Writer
Purpose
In addition to the
Report Painter, you can use the Report Writer to define reports. You use the Report Writer to create reports from data in the Special Purpose Ledger (FI-SL) application component and other SAP application components to meet your specific reporting requirements.The Report Writer is a tool using which you can define reports.
Many reporting requirements can be met using the standard reports provided by various SAP application components. However, if your reporting requirements are not fulfilled by SAP's standard reports, you can also define complex reports using the Report Writer.
With the Report Writer, you can organize reports to meet the specific needs of your enterprise. The Report Writer uses reporting building blocks, such as sets, which can be used in any report.
Integration
The Report Writer fulfills a similar function to the Report Painter, is however more complex and requires a certain amount of familiarization time.
To facilitate report definition, you can use many of the standard reporting objects provided by SAP (such as
libraries, row/column models, and standard layouts) in your own specific reports. You also use the following additional functions to create Report Writer reports:
Sets
Key figures
Variables
Features
The Report Writer report definition is based on
sets, which means that the look of the report is determined by the set construction used to define the report. There are a number of ways you can use these sets in the rows, columns and general selection data.A set is a system structure that you can use to link together specific values or ranges of values under a name. These values exist within one characteristic of a coding block. A characteristic is a single field or column of a database table. Account, cost center, and business area are examples of characteristics. Within these characteristics, you can store specific characteristic values under a set name.
You create a set called TD-RACCT-EXP. This set uses the characteristic Account and contains all of your expense accounts.
Using sets, you define which data is used in your report and how the data appears in report rows and columns.
Using sets in the Report Writer offers the following advantages:
Sub-totals at levels defined by the user
The Report Writer is a multidimensional reporting tool. When you use the Report Writer, you can easily rearrange the characteristics within a report. In the following graphic, the characteristics Cost Center and Account make up the rows of the report; local and group currency make up the columns of the report.
Changing the order of characteristics used in this report involves only a small change in a set used in the report; you do not have to change the report itself. You can easily report on any combination of characteristics without having to maintain complicated user tables in the background.
Using
variables (value, formula or set variables) provides you with great flexibility via different options for characteristic and group values in the report design.You have many possibilities for portraying Report Writer reports: You can, for example, vary the level of detail.
You can convert a Report Painter report to a Report Writer report in Report Writer. In this way you can use all the functions available in Report Writer for the report that was originally a Report Painter report. For more information, see
For more information about Report Writer, see:
Report Painter / Report Writer Report Writer Reports Report Writer Utilities Report Groups Report Painter Report Painter or Report Writer? Report Painter Reports
For information about terminology within reporting, see