# Report Templates

GeoDin ships with pre-built report templates organized by object type. You can customize these templates or create new ones from scratch using the layout editor.

## Template basics

Templates are accessed via the **Layout** section in the Graphic Printing and Editing method. Default layouts ship in `GeoDin\Layouts\`, organized by object type — for example, G1 includes borehole logs, stiff/parameter layouts, water content vs. depth, and Atterberg limits charts.

Users can add custom layout folders via `Available Layouts > + button > browse to folder` (e.g., a network share for team-wide templates).

### File formats

Templates can be saved in two formats:

* **GLO (GeoDin Layout)** — template only, no data connection. Reusable across projects. Only GLO files appear in the Available Layouts overview.
* **GGF (GeoDin Graphic Format)** — layout with connected data (e.g., a specific cross-section with 10 boreholes). Can be reopened by drag-and-dropping into GeoDin.

Save as GLO for reusable templates; save as GGF to preserve a specific graphic with its connected objects.

{% hint style="warning" %}
When editing a default layout, always use `File > Save As` (never Save) to avoid overwriting the shipped default. Create a folder like `[YourCompany]_Layouts` and copy defaults there before editing. If a default is accidentally overwritten, there is no built-in reset — you must request a copy from the GeoDin team. In a network installation, overwriting a default affects all users.
{% endhint %}

### Layout snippets

A layout can embed another layout as a **snippet** — for example, a company header/footer stored once in `Common_A4_LHF.GLO` and referenced by many templates. Changing the logo in the snippet file automatically updates all layouts using it. In edit mode, snippets appear as green-boxed regions that cannot be edited inline; open the snippet layout directly to modify it.

### Multi-language support

Templates can carry translations and print in different languages depending on the `File > Language` setting — the same template can output in German or English without modification.

For detailed layout creation steps, see [Creating Custom Layouts](/data-visualization/creating-custom-layouts.md).

***

## Report elements

The **Report element** is a table-based component for displaying tabular output of general, layer, sample, or measurement data within a layout.

### Setting up a report element

1. **Data source:** choose from General Data, Layer Data, or Samples > specific data type (e.g., CU triaxial tests)
2. **Column configuration:** use the blue `+` button to add columns. Each column has a **Text Macro** (the parameter to display) and a **Heading**.
3. **Selectors:** exclude rows by parameter conditions (e.g., skip values above or below a threshold)
4. **Conditional formatting:** set presentation options to highlight data — for example, "if CU > 50, color the row red" via `Column Properties > Presentation Options`

Multiple report blocks can be combined in one layout (e.g., a general-data table and a measurement table side by side).

### Report types

Two categories of reports are available:

* **Original data reports** — display raw data in summary (borehole tabs, sample overviews, measurement tables)
* **Calculation reports** — process data before display (statistics, list comparisons, plausibility checks, grain size analyses)

### Exporting report data

Reports can be exported to Excel or CSV in two ways:

* From edit mode: right-click the report element > Export as Excel or CSV
* From the layout overview: use the Report Access button (no need to open edit mode)

***

## Text macros and annotations

### Variable text element

The **Variable Text** element displays dynamic data from the database in headers, footers, and annotations. Use the `Build` button to select macros from available parameters.

Common macros include: long name (full location name), project name, driller, borehole, EPSG code, X coordinate, Y coordinate. The macro search bar in the Build dialog speeds up finding specific macros.

### Image element

Load company logos and reference images via `Object Properties > Data Source > Load image file`. Supported formats include BMP, JPG, PNG, TIF, EMF, WMF, and GGF.

### Legend element

The **Legend** element auto-detects fill patterns from objects currently in the frame. Configure via `Options > ... > choose which graphic element to reference` (e.g., select the object frame to show all fill patterns in that frame).

{% hint style="info" %}
The auto-generated legend only includes patterns from objects currently displayed. For an "all possible fill patterns" legend, it must be built manually.
{% endhint %}

For a focused guide to text-macro syntax, conditional separators, calculated parameters, and translation support, see [Text Macros in Reports](/reporting/text-macros-in-reports.md).

{% hint style="info" %}
PSD (Particle Size Distribution) layouts are pre-built and shipped with GeoDin. It is recommended to customize existing PSD templates rather than building from scratch.
{% endhint %}

Template creation is documented comprehensively in the in-product **F1** guide, covering object frames, single vs. multiple frames, macros, and dynamic objects.


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