What Can be Formatted?

After you create and run an analysis, default formatting rules are applied to the analysis' results. Default formatting rules are based on cascading style sheets and XML message files. You can create additional formatting to apply to specific results. Additional formats help you to highlight blocks of related information and call attention to specific data elements. You can also use additional formatting to customize the general appearance of analyses and dashboards.

You can apply formatting to the following:

Columns in analyses, as described in "Applying Formatting to Columns in Analyses."
Views, as described in "Applying Formatting to Views."
Dashboard pages, as described in "Applying Formatting to Dashboard Pages."

Applying Formatting to Columns in Analyses

As you work with columns in an analysis, you can specify their formatting. The formatting that you apply is visible when the column is displayed in views such as tables and pivot tables. For information, see "Formatting Columns in Analyses."

Applying Formatting to Views

You can apply formatting to views in the following ways:

In the View editor: When you edit a view in its editor, you can generally display various dialogs that allow you to format either the view itself or its pieces, as applicable. Formatting options are unique to the view type. Formatting that you specify in the view editor overrides any formatting that was specified for columns.
In the Compound Layout: When you use the "Compound Layout," you can click a button on the toolbar of the container for each view to display a formatting dialog. Use that dialog to apply formatting to the view's container, such as to place a green background on the container for a table.

Applying Formatting to Dashboard Pages

You can apply formatting to the page layout columns and sections of dashboard pages. When you edit a dashboard page, you can edit the properties of its columns and sections and apply cosmetic formatting. For information, see "What is Cosmetic Formatting?" and Chapter 4, "Building and Using Dashboards".