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title: "Different Ways of Creating Reports"
canonical: "https://wiki.yellowfinbi.com/space/USER74/2491097/Different%20Ways%20of%20Creating%20Reports"
format: markdown
---
Overview Start the  Report  creation process by using one of these methods:   Left Side Nav  - open the left side navigation panel, click on Create, select the Report option Top Right Button  - click on the create button, select the Report option. Toolbar  - click on the Create link in the toolbar, select the Report option. You will now see the  New Report  lightbox. Note:  Only users with CREATE access to the reporting function will be able to create new reports. Left Side Nav Top Right (with Left Side Navigation enabled) Toolbar         Authoring Options Drag and Drop Builder Drag and Drop builder allows users to use a pre-defined data view to build their reports. All business logic is built into the view. CSV Import can take place as part of this builder, if the user has permission to access these options. See  Drag & Drop Builder  for more information. Note:  all the Report Builder documentation uses the Drag and Drop Builder unless otherwise specified. Freehand SQL These allow the report writer to define the query, rather than using a predefined view. See  Freehand SQL Reports  for more information. Jasper Reports You can use a Jasper XML report editor such as iReports to create pixel perfect crystal style reports. This definition can be loaded into Yellowfin. See  Jasper XML Reports  for more information. BIRT Reports You can create load previously defined BIRT reports into Yellowfin. See  BIRT XML Reports  for more information. Note:   for most users it is recommended that you choose the Drag and Drop report creation method.