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Your First Report

The Report Canvas lets you build professional engineering calculation documents with draggable boxes, live LaTeX rendering, and one-click PDF export. Here's how to create your first one.

Step 1: Create a Report tab​

In the left sidebar, click the + beside the Reports heading (or use Home → New → New Report). A blank canvas opens — this is your workspace.

Step 2: Add a text box​

Press Shift+A to create a new box. By default, it's a calculation box. Type a title:

Steel Beam Design — Simply Supported

Click outside the box or press Escape to commit. The text renders as a heading.

Step 3: Add calculation boxes​

Press Shift+A again to add another box. This time, type a variable assignment with units:

L = 20 ft

Press Escape to commit. The box switches to render mode and displays the formula in LaTeX with the result:

L = 20 ft

Continue adding boxes for each calculation step:

w = 1.5 kip/ft
Mmax = w * L^2 / 8

Each box evaluates independently but shares variables — Mmax can reference w and L from earlier boxes.

Box types

Boxes are classified automatically based on their content:

  • Variable boxes: assignments like L = 20 ft
  • Equation boxes: formulas like Mmax = w * L^2 / 8
  • Text boxes: plain text without formulas

Step 4: Arrange your boxes​

Click and drag boxes to arrange them on the canvas. The layout is free-form — position boxes however makes sense for your document.

  • Click a box to select it
  • Drag to move it
  • Shift+Click to select multiple boxes
  • Use the z-order to control which boxes appear on top

Step 5: Add a chart​

Use Insert → Chart to add a chart box, then configure its series in the chart editor panel. Charts render on the canvas and export into the PDF as high-DPI images.

Step 6: Add a table​

Use Insert → Table. Reference table cells using the syntax TableName[A1]:

VLOOKUP(W14x22, SteelTable[A1:D50], 3, 0)

Step 7: Export to PDF​

When your report is complete, open Print Preview from the View ribbon and print to PDF. The output is vector — formulas stay crisp and text stays selectable.

Box types reference​

KindContentRendering
textPlain text, headings, notesAs-is text
variablename = value unitLaTeX: name = value unit
equationresult = formulaLaTeX with full expression
chartChart spec (ECharts)Rendered chart
plotLegacy 2-D plot (Chart.js)Rendered plot
tableTabular dataGrid with cell references
drawingEmbedded drawing referenceCAD-style diagram

Box modes​

Each box has two modes:

  • Edit mode — shows the raw input; type or modify your formula
  • Render mode — shows the evaluated result with LaTeX formatting

Double-click a box to enter edit mode. Press Escape or click outside to return to render mode.

Cross-referencing between boxes​

Boxes share a variable scope. A variable defined in one box is available in all subsequent boxes:

// Box 1
b = 12 in

// Box 2
h = 24 in

// Box 3
A = b * h    // → 288 in^2

You can also reference boxes by ID using the Box7 syntax.

Next steps​