1. Click on File > New or click on the New report icon.
2. Now you have to connect to your Method account.  Under Account Name, User Name, and Password, fill in your Method credentials (Account Name is Company Name), then click Connect.
3. The New Report Preferences section is next.  Choose a Master Table based on the information you want to include in this report (for example, the Contacts table will populate your report with information from your Contacts). 
   
   

   TIP:	Tables can be a complicated concept if you aren't familiar with customization.  For a full definition of a table, click here.

    
4. Name your report in the area for Report Name, and include any pertinent descriptive details you'd like to see included.
   
   

   TIP:	The additional Detail Tables are for more complicated reports that include related tables; please see the screen overview for more information.

    
5. Click "Create New Report".  You will see the report designer space with three bars, called "bands", which will be used to build out the appearance of the report.  The page header and footer bands are obviously used to customize the header and footer of the report, and the detail band is likely where you will add fields and other controls to display data from the table you selected.
6. The Standard Controls menu to the left allows you to click and drag elements into your report (please see the Styling section for more information).  Click and drag a Label into the PageHeader band, then double-click to edit the title (e.g. "My contacts report").  The label can be resized and moved around this band as required, and the label will appear at the top of every page in your report.
7. The Field List on the right allows you to click and drag information into your report from your chosen Master Table.  Choose the specific information you would like to include (e.g. Name) and click and drag into the Details band.  You will find this listed in the Contacts table.  Multiple fields can be included in this section (e.g. if you would like to also include email addresses for your contacts) - just drag and drop them as you like!  Remember, where you place the fields will have an impact on how they appear in the finished product, so make sure to line them up the way you want them to appear when the report is ready to go.
   
   

   TIP:

   You will notice the Company table is a default table included with every report.  This contains fields associated with your company (for example, your company's billing address or phone number) so you can include pertinent company information in any report without having to specifically choose this table.

    
8. To preview what your report looks like at any time, click on Preview at the bottom of the grid.  As you can see, this is an extremely basic report including only the raw data you requested from the table.  The HTML view will show you what the report looks like when generated online.
   
   

   TIP:	Only the first 100 records will be displayed in Preview mode, but all information you selected will be included in the final version.

    
9. When you’re finished, click File > Save.  This report will now be available in your Method environment.  But where?  To find out, please see our documentation on Generating Reports in Method.

And that’s it!  You’ve created a very basic report in Method Report Designer - congratulations!