Planning with subtotals

Overview

This guide shows you how to generate a professional planning report that includes:

• Dynamic tables that adapt column widths between first and subsequent pages
• Smart content layout that adjusts based on text length
• Simple and maintainable template syntax
• Automatic subtotal calculations for first-page items

Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these steps to create your planning template:

1. Calculate Characters per Line

First, create the initial table for page one. Since descriptions can vary in length and may take multiple lines, we need to:

• Determine how many characters fit on one line based on your layout
• Use 40 characters as a standard line length for this example

2. Calculate Description Line Count

To determine how many lines each description needs:

• Get the description length using the :len formatter
• Divide by characters per line (40) using :div
• Round up to the nearest whole number with :ceil
• Calculate running totals using :cumSum
• Store the result using :set

Use this formula: {d.steps[].description:len:div(40):ceil:cumSum:set(.nbRow)}

This adds a nbRow property to each item, showing how many lines it needs in the first table.

Input JSON Example

{
  "steps": [
    {
      "step": 1,
      "name": "Choosing the land",
      "duration_days": "30",
      "description": "Identify and visit several plots to assess location, viability, and utility connections. Finalize the purchase once the land is selected."
    },
    {...},
    {
      "step": 6,
      "name": "Foundations",
      "duration_days": "20",
      "description": "Dig trenches, pour the foundations, and set up the base structure."
    },
    {...}
  ]
}

Output JSON Example

{
  "steps": [
    {
      "step": 1,
      "name": "Choosing the land",
      "duration_days": "30",
      "description": "Identify and visit several plots to assess location, viability, and utility connections. Finalize the purchase once the land is selected.",
      "nbRow": 4
    },
    {...},
    {
      "step": 6,
      "name": "Foundations",
      "duration_days": "20",
      "description": "Dig trenches, pour the foundations, and set up the base structure.",
      "nbRow": 22
    },
    {...}
  ]
}

3. Create and Use Aliases

Use aliases to make your template code cleaner:

{#steps = d.steps[i, nbRow < 22]}
{#steps2 = d.steps[i, nbRow > 21]}

Then use {$steps.description} and {$steps2.description} in your tables.

4. Add Subtotal Calculations

Calculate subtotals using the :aggSum formatter: {d.steps[nbRow<22].duration_days:aggSum}

Technical Tips for Better Layout

• Prevent Row Breaks Across Pages

  • Select the entire table
  • Right-click → Table Properties
  • Go to Row tab
  • Uncheck "Allow rows to break across pages"

• Repeat Headers on New Pages

  • Select the table's header row
  • Right-click → Table Properties
  • Go to Row tab
  • Check "Repeat as header row at the top of each page"

Related Examples