WebFOCUS Online Help > InfoAssist > Introducing and Launching InfoAssist > Introducing InfoAssist

WebFOCUS InfoAssist extends the power of WebFOCUS Managed Reporting. InfoAssist provides business users with the most advanced, yet simple to use, ad hoc reporting features needed to create intricate reports and perform insightful analysis.

InfoAssist is a powerful report generation tool that enables business users to leverage state-of-the-art ad hoc functionality. With InfoAssist, you can quickly and easily:

• Generate highly complex reports, charts, and documents from any enterprise information source without IT intervention.
• Complete tasks, such as building a query, with minimal clicks.
• Progress to more sophisticated activities such as publishing and sharing documents.
• Convert reports to charts, or charts to reports, in a single click.
• Analyze multiple reports and charts simultaneously, using advanced tiling options to view data from multiple perspectives.
• Output report data in a variety of formats, including HTML, Active Reports, Active Flex, PDF, Active PDF, Excel, and PowerPoint.

InfoAssist is a Rich Internet Application (RIA) that uses AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) technology. It delivers its cutting-edge functionality using a familiar Microsoft® Office-like interface. This highly intuitive environment shields users from the underlying technical complexities associated with ad hoc reporting features, while providing access to all the functionality needed to address mission-critical information requirements.

This powerful ad hoc reporting tool enables rapid and efficient design and deployment of reports and charts. It uses an interactive and fully customizable WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) development environment. Users receive instant feedback throughout the development process to ensure that reports and charts are properly built.

InfoAssist offers ad hoc reporting in a single, thin-client environment. There is no software to install, no desktop clients to maintain, and no user licenses to track. It is a RIA that makes desktop-style ad hoc applications readily available, via the Web, to business users across your enterprise.

Note: The WebFOCUS toolset generates the rich FOCUS fourth generation language. While this language is very extensive, the WebFOCUS toolset only supports a subset of the language and only specific syntax constructs. While the user can manually modify the content of these WebFOCUS procedures/files, there is no guarantee that the user will be able to open the modified procedure in the tool.