Report Comparison Tool User's Guide

SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.1 Service Pack 3 windows

Copyright

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved.SAP, R/3, SAP NetWeaver, Duet, PartnerEdge, ByDesign, SAP Business ByDesign, and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and other countries. Business Objects and the Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects, Crystal Reports, Crystal Decisions, Web Intelligence, Xcelsius, and other Business Objects products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects S.A. in the United States and in other countries. Business Objects is an SAP company.All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Data contained in this document serves informational purposes only. National product specifications may vary.These materials are subject to change without notice. These materials are provided by SAP AG and its affiliated companies ("SAP Group") for informational purposes only, without representation or warranty of any kind, and SAP Group shall not be liable for errors or omissions with respect to the materials. The only warranties for SAP Group products and services are those that are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services, if any. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. 2010-05-24

Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction 5 Chapter 2 Using the Report Comparison Tool 7

Report Comparison Tool environment.........................................................8 Prerequisites for using the Report Comparison Tool with Business Objects 5.x...........................................................................................................9 Making a new comparison.........................................................................10 Comparing documents...............................................................................11 Interpreting the high-level comparison results...........................................13 Saving the comparison result file [.roc]......................................................13 Opening a Report Output Comparison [.roc] file.......................................14 Delta Viewer..............................................................................................14 To analyze result using Delta Viewer...................................................15 How does the Comparison Engine Process Documents.....................15 Chapter 3 Modifications in BusinessObjects 19

Modifications in version 6.x........................................................................20 The Count() function from Business Objects 5.x to 6.0........................20 Filtering empty values from Businessobjects 5.x to 6.0.......................22 Filtering master/detail reports with incompatible objects from BusinessObject 5.x to 6.0.....................................................................22 Ranking blocks with different data provider and empty values from BusinessObjects 5.x to 6.0...................................................................22 The NoFilter() function in a Where clause from BusinessObjects 5.x to 6.0........................................................................................................23 Using the Avoid Duplicate Row Aggregation setting............................24

Report Comparison Tool User's Guide

Contents

Modifications in Desktop Intelligence........................................................25 The UniverseName() function..............................................................25 Unicode fonts.......................................................................................25 Decimal precision.................................................................................26 Appendix A More Information 27

Report Comparison Tool User's Guide

Introduction

Introduction

The Report Comparison tool is a Java standalone application. It enables you to compare a [.rep] document created using BusinessObjects 5.1.9, 6.x, or XI Release 2 with the migrated version of that document in BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1.
Why?

The BusinessObjects Full Client calculator was modified and the [.rep] documents migrated from versions prior to 6.0 to XI Release 2 displayed different values before and after migration. To view the differences between two [.rep] reports, the Report Comparison tool is used . The Report Comparison tool detects these changes and alerts the user about them. After migration, the Report Comparison tool displays the report that requires user's attention.

Report Comparison Tool User's Guide

Using the Report Comparison Tool

Using the Report Comparison Tool Report Comparison Tool environment

The Report Comparison Tool enables you to perform the following tasks: Define the connection to systems where documents to be compared are stored.
Note:

The Authentication type for Business Objects 5.1.9 or 6.x is repository authentication and Business Object Enterprise XI Release 2 and XI 3.0 requires Central Management Server authentication. Select source .rep and the migrated rep documents, and launch the Report Comparison Tool.

Running the Report Comparison Tool on two [.rep] documents enable you to obtain the following options: a high level view of the comparison - which describes the status of reports such as identical, need manual check, different and aborted with exception. a detailed view of the comparison - which provide differences between the two [.rep] documents. You have two options, to run the Report Comparison tool: Do a fresh comparison of the documents. Open an already compared [.roc] documents and view the comparison.

Report Comparison Tool environment

The following figure explains the authentication types involved in the BusinessObjects 5.x/ 6.x and BusinessObjects XI Release 2/ XI 3.x releases. The BusinessObjects 5.x/6.x versions has repository authentication and BusinessObjects XI Release 2\ XI 3.x versions involves CMS authentication. Install the Report Comparison Tool on the same machine as BusinessObjects client XI 3.1. To compare different versions of a [.rep] file, you must install BusinessObjects client 5.x, 6.x, or XI Release 2 to on the same machine as the BusinessObjects XI Release 3.1 installation as shown in the following figure.

Report Comparison Tool User's Guide

Using the Report Comparison Tool Report Comparison Tool environment

Figure 2-1: Report Comparison Tool running environment

Prerequisites for using the Report Comparison Tool with Business Objects 5.x
A patch is released for BusinessObjects 5.x version. The folder where the Report Comparison Tool is installed in the system ..\Report Comparison Tool\ folder contains zipped file named Patch for 5.1.9.zip, The zipped file contains the following files: busobj.exe busobj.tlb designer.exe report50.dll.

The Report Comparison Tool uses the XML information contained in a document, and because the XML feature was not available in Business Objects 5.x, you need to replace the existing files in the Business Objects 5.x folder to be able to compare Business Objects 5.x documents.

Report Comparison Tool User's Guide

Using the Report Comparison Tool Making a new comparison

To unzip the file, complete the following steps: 1. Make a copy of the existing files in any local folder for back-up. 2. Unzip thePatch for 5.1.9.zip in ..\Business Objects 5.x folder.

Making a new comparison

To make a new comparison, complete the following steps: 1. Launch the Report Comparison tool, and select the Make new comparison button.

2. Select the source file in Original version as follows:

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Using the Report Comparison Tool Comparing documents

a. From the Original location list box, select the source location information for the documents you want to compare with the documents Business Objects Enterprise XI 3.1. b. In the User Name field, enter the login name. c. In the Password field, enter the password. d. In the Authentication field, select the authentication type. e. If you selected BusinessObjects 6.x or 5.x, select the [.key] file that gives access rights to the repository. You can view only those documents to which your General Supervisor has granted you permission. The source file is defined. 3. Select the Business Objects XI 3.1 connection parameters in New version as follows: a. In the Server name field, enter the BusinessObjects Entreprise XI 3.1 server name. b. In the User name field, enter the login name. c. In the Password field, enter the password. d. In the Authentication field, select the authentication type. The destination file is now defined. 4. Click Next to connect to the repository or CMS, and retrieve the source and the destination documents to compare.

Comparing documents
This section describes comparing the documents, when the user has already identified the documents to be compared and provided the necessary authentication to the repository or CMS.
Note:

The documents displayed in the Select Document to be Compared dialog box depend on user's rights. If you are not General Supervisor, you cannot see the documents that you are authorized to view. To compare two documents, complete the following steps: 1. In the Compare... documents tree view, select the [.rep] name of the document that you want to compare on the BusinessObject XI 3.1 calculation engine as shown in the following figure.

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Using the Report Comparison Tool Comparing documents

2. In the with... documents tree view, ensure that the [.rep] document name is the same as the name that is displayed on the left side of the window. 3. In the Selected documents for comparison table list, click Add to add the documents to compare. 4. Repeat Step 1 to select other documents to compare. To remove a document from the selected list, select a document in the Selected documents for comparison and then click Remove. The Report Comparison Tool processes the comparison in a FIFO (First In First Out) basis. 5. Click Next to start the comparison. The "Comparison in progress" message is displayed. The high level comparison result is displayed in a new dialog box.

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Using the Report Comparison Tool Interpreting the high-level comparison results

Related Topics

Interpreting the high-level comparison results

Interpreting the high-level comparison results

This section helps you to identify the documents that you need to look at more closely. After comparing two documents, a summary of the comparison results is displayed in the Result Summary table at the top of the screen. The status of each pair of compared documents is displayed in the second table. The status can be one of the following: Identical: no differences have been found, Modified: differences have been found Manual check required: comparison cannot be processed automatically by the comparison engine, as the document contains an image or chart.

To view the details of a specific document, select the check box that corresponds to the documents that you want to analyze, and click View details. The Delta Viewer dialog box displays the document details.
Related Topics

Delta Viewer

Saving the comparison result file [.roc].

To save the document, complete the following steps: 1. Click Save the selected document. The Save dialog box displays the tree folder of your computer. Browse the tree to select the folder in which you want to save the file. 2. Click OK. The results of the comparison are stored in a Report Output Comparison [.roc] file, that can be read by the Delta Viewer.

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Using the Report Comparison Tool Opening a Report Output Comparison [.roc] file

Related Topics

Delta Viewer

Opening a Report Output Comparison [.roc] file

This section describes the process to open a report comparison file after the user has already compared two documents and saved the result in a Report Output Comparison [.roc] file. In the Select the Original and New Version of the documents to be compared dialog box: 1. Select the Open Result Comparison File. 2. Click Browse to select the [.roc] file you want to analyze. The [.roc] file is displayed in the Delta Viewer.
Related Topics

Saving the comparison result file [.roc]. To analyze result using Delta Viewer

Delta Viewer
Delta Viewer is the main dialog box of the comparison tool. It enables you to view the details of the comparison result. The Delta Viewer opens, saves, and analyzes Report Output Comparison [.roc] files. It uses the following colour codes to highlight the difference between 2 documents: Modified items are displayed in Green Removed items are displayed in Red Inserted items are displayed in Blue Identical items are displayed in Black You can launch the Delta viewer when you open a [.roc] file, or after you have processed for a new comparison.

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Using the Report Comparison Tool Delta Viewer

To analyze result using Delta Viewer

The Delta Viewer dialog box displays the details of the comparison between two documents. The Report Comparision tool option menu includes the following: Tree panel. Block panel. Slice and Dice panel. Delta Viewer supports the following views: Merged view - Enables the user to merge and view the both source and target systems report. Source view - Enables the user to view the source system report. Target view - Enables the user to view the target system report. Split view - Enables the user to view the split reports of both source and destination systems. When you select a report element in the Report Panel, the result is displayed in the Block Panel and in the Slice and Dice Panel if it is a table. 1. From the View menu, select the Split view option. The description of the report element in the source and in the destination document is displayed on the same tab. 2. Select the report element in the Report Panel. The high level information of the report element is displayed in the Block Panel. Green, Blue or Red text means that changes have been made during the migration. Table structure is displayed in the Slice and Dice Panel.

How does the Comparison Engine Process Documents

The main function of the comparison engine is to provide a status for each object in the migrated document. A [.rep] document is composed of the elements illustrated in the Document Model.

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Using the Report Comparison Tool Delta Viewer

The Report Comparison Tool shows three types of differences between objects in a migrated document: Removed: The Report Comparison displays the status as Removed when an element, row, a section, or a block disappears between the source and the target version Modified: The Report Comparison displays the status as Modified when data have different values (cell content, result of a local variable). Inserted: The Report Comparison displays the status as Inserted when a new element is inserted in the target version of the document.
Related Topics

Document Model

Document Model
The comparison begins at the root of the tree structure (the BusinessObjects document) and continues down to the child nodes as shown below:

Figure 2-2: [.rep] Document Model

Free cell comparison

A free cell is set to Modified if:

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Using the Report Comparison Tool Delta Viewer

the source free cell and the target free cell display different values. the source free cell and the target free cell have different formula evaluation.

Block comparison
A block is set to: Inserted or Removed: If a conditional formatting on the block has a different formula evaluation. The Report Comparison Engine stops the comparison at this point, and displays a message suggesting the status of the block. Requires Manual Check for chart: The Report Comparison Tool cannot compare charts. Modified or Unchanged for a table: The block contents remain the same.

Table comparison logic

The following algorithm describes how table is compared in both target and source reports: The comparison starts from the point ( first column and first row) of the target table and the value of this point is compared to the value of same point (first column and first row) in the source table. When the compared values correspond, the pointer stays on the same row and the report comparison engine compares the value of the second column and first row of target report. The iteration continues to the subsequent column on the same row until values do not match. If corresponding value are not found in the source for the anchor point (first column and first row), the pointer goes directly to the second column without comparing the values of the subsequent column in the row. The status of this row is inserted in the Report Comparison tool. The algorithm does not know if the rest of the row is valid.

Row and Column comparison

The row element is used for vertical tables and column element for horizontal tables.

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Using the Report Comparison Tool Delta Viewer

Row and column comparison proceeds by comparing the list of values generated by the dimensions and the details present in the row. This comparison sets the row, column, or both to: Removed or Inserted Unchanged

Cell comparison
Cells are not processed alone. Their comparison is part of the comparison of their parent objects.

Section comparison
Section is set as: Inserted, when a new section is added. The Report Comparison Engine stops the comparison at this point and displays the inserted section in blue colour. Modified, when the values present in the Dimension have changed and displays the modified section in green colour. Unchanged, when the values driven by the Dimension have not changed and displays the section in black colour.

Break comparison
A break is set to: Inserted Removed Modified when the break is compared with the list of values resulting from the dimensions that are present in the break.

Report Header and Report Footer comparison

Report Header and Footer are displayed in Desktop Intelligence only if you select "Page Layout" option. Report Header and Footer usually contains information such as page number, date, and so on. The Report Comparison tool does not compare the report header and footer.

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Modifications in BusinessObjects

Modifications in BusinessObjects Modifications in version 6.x

Business Objects modified the calculation engine in BusinessObjects version 6.0. These modifications did not impact the calculation engine, but they resulted in changed values in certain circumstances.
Note:

BusinessObjects classic was renamed as Desktop Intelligence.

Modifications in version 6.x

Document version Areas affected by modifications

All 6.x versions starting from and including 6.0

Blocks with objects from different data providers and the Count() function to count the rows in the blocks. Filters that apply to objects that contain empty values. Master/detail reports with incompatible objects in the section header and body of the report and filters applied to the header. Rankings in blocks that contain empty values and objects from different data providers. The NoFilter()function used with a Where clause. Blocks with the Avoid Duplicate Rows Aggregation setting enabled.

The Count() function from Business Objects 5.x to 6.0

The Count() function calculates the number of rows in a data provider. Desktop Intelligence does not count the empty values. The Count() function for this block returns only the number of rows that have values. The following example describes the scenario of using the Count ( ) function:

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Modifications in BusinessObjects Modifications in version 6.x

Assume that the report in Business Objects 5.x contains the following two queries: Q1 (Country, Year, Reservation Year, Number of Guests) Q2 (Country)

When you run Q1, BusinessObjects cannot process it with a single query, because the Year and Reservation Year objects are incompatible. BusinessObjects therefore creates two cubes: (Country, Year, Number of Guests) and (Country, Reservation Year). As a result, the report contains the following: Country, Year, Number of Guests (Q1 cube 1) Country, Reservation Year (Q1 cube 2) Country (Q2)

The presence of multiple cubes and multiple data providers causes the Count() function to return different results in BusinessObjects 5.x and 6.0. If you create a block that contains the Country object from Q2 and the Number of Guests object from Q1, and apply the Count() function to the Number of Guests column, then you get the total number of rows retreived, including the rows for which no value has been found. In this situation, the underlying cube created by BusinessObjects to build the block contains empty values, because not all countries have a value for Number of Guests. BusinessObjects 5.x uses the Count() function to count these empty values while performing calculations.

Obtaining the Count() function result from BusinessObjects 5.x to 6.0

To obtain BusinessObjects 5.x results, you need to apply the Count() function to a column that does not contain empty values. In the above mentioned example, the formula for the total is Count(<Number of guests>). If you change this formula to Count (<Country DP2>), you will get the BusinessObjects 5.x version result.

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Modifications in BusinessObjects Modifications in version 6.x

Filtering empty values from Businessobjects 5.x to 6.0

Empty values can occur in a BusinessObjects report for the following reasons: A query returns empty values Internal cube processing creates a cube that contains empty values

Related Topics

The Count() function from Business Objects 5.x to 6.0

Filtering master/detail reports with incompatible objects from BusinessObject 5.x to 6.0
Filters behave differently in BusinessObjects 6.0 in master/detail reports that contain incompatible objects in the section header and body. In BusinessObjects 5.x, if you have a report that contains the Country, Resort, Year, Reservation Year and Revenue objects, Reservation Year appears in the section header; the section body contains block with Country, Year and Revenue. If you apply a filter on Reservation Year, the filter can also causes the entire contents of the block in the section body to be filtered. In BusinessObjects 6.0, the filter on the object in the section header does not affect the objects in the section body.

Ranking blocks with different data provider and empty values from BusinessObjects 5.x to 6.0
Ranking in blocks is different from BusinessObjects 5.x and 6.0 if your report contains ranking with sub-totals in blocks that contains: objects from different Data Providers (DP) empty values.

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Modifications in BusinessObjects Modifications in version 6.x

In BusinessObjects 5.x, if your report is based on two data providers as: Data Provider 1 (DP1): Country; Data Provider 2 (DP2): Country, Resort, Number of Guests your report has a block that contains Country (DP1), Resort and Number of Guests. You rank the top country by Number of Guests and include sub-totals in the ranking. The Sum and Sum Other totals are incorrect. Sum totals all Number of Guests figures in the report, rather than those left in the block by the ranking.

In BusinessObjects 6.0, ranking returns correct sub-totals in reports from rankings on blocks that contain objects from different data providers and empty values. In the example sums are correct.

The NoFilter() function in a Where clause from BusinessObjects 5.x to 6.0

The NoFilter() function instructs BusinessObjects to ignore all filters while calculating a value. In BusinessObjects 5.x, it does not matter where you place the parentheses that enclose the input to the NoFilter() function. If you have a report containing the Resort, Services and Revenue objects, and if you apply a filter on Services to retain the value "Bungalow" only, the function NoFilter(<Revenue>) returns the total revenue for all services because it ignores the filter. You can refine the NoFilter() function with a Where clause: NoFilter(<Revenue>) Where (<Services>="Excursion") returns the total revenue for all the "Excursion" services. If you use the Sum of the Revenue, no matter where you place the parentheses NoFilter(Sum (<Revenue>) Where (<Services>="Excursion")) and NoFilter((Sum (<Revenue>)) Where (<Services>="Excursion")

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Modifications in BusinessObjects Modifications in version 6.x

returns the same result. In BusinessObjects 6.0, the position of the NoFilter() parentheses is critical. NoFilter(Sum(<Revenue>) Where (<Resort>="Bahamas Beach")) returns the same result as BusinessObjects 5.x, but NoFilter((Sum (<Revenue>)) Where (<Services>="Excursion") returns an empty value. When you use the second syntax, BusinessObjects does not apply the NoFilter() function to the sum before applying the Where clause. As a result, BusinessObjects returns an empty value, because the application of the filter (Service="Bungalow") followed by the Where clause (Service="Excursion") excludes all revenue values.

Obtaining NoFilter()...Where functions from BusinessObjects 5.x to 6.0

To obtain BusinessObjects 5.x results, ensure that the NoFil ter()...Where functions or variables use the syntax that returns the same result as BusinessObjects 5.x.

Using the Avoid Duplicate Row Aggregation setting

The Avoid Duplicate Row Aggregation setting for a block instructs BusinessObjects to return a single row for all rows where all column values are duplicated across multiple rows. In BusinessObjects 5.x, when you select the Avoid Duplicate Row Aggregation setting option in a block in a report that contains a sort, BusinessObjects ignores sort on the blocks. In BusinessObjects 6.0, the sort is applied whether or not the Avoid Duplicate Rows Aggregation option is selected.

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Modifications in BusinessObjects Modifications in Desktop Intelligence

Modifications in Desktop Intelligence

Document ver- Areas affected by modifications sion

Desktop Intelli- gence

The UniverseName() function Unicode fonts Decimal precision

The UniverseName() function

The UniverseName() function returns the short name of the universe, rather than the long name. For example, where the function previously returned "Island Resorts Marketing", it now returns "beach". This change can affect the overall report size if the Autofit properties of the cell containing the function are enabled. The size of Autofit cells changes in relation to the data they contain, and the change in cell size can affect the size of the whole report. The changes in report size can in turn affect the functions whose output relates to the report size, for example, NumberOf Pages().

Unicode fonts
The sizes of the Unicode fonts used by Desktop Intelligence are not identical to the sizes of the corresponding non-Unicode fonts. This might have the following impacts: Data in cells which previously displayed all the cell data is truncated, resulting in ###s to denote the truncation. Functions that return data related to the report size--for example Num berOfPages()--may return different values in reports with cells whose Autofit properties are enabled. The size of Autofit cells changes in relation to the data they contain, and these changes in cell size can affect the size of the whole report. Reports are not identical when compared in a pixel-by-pixel comparison.

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Modifications in BusinessObjects Modifications in Desktop Intelligence

Decimal precision
Desktop Intelligence supports up to 24 decimal places, as opposed to 10 in previous versions. This increased precision can affect the output of some functions, in particular the euro conversion functions.

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More Information

More Information

Information Resource

Location

SAP BusinessObjects product http://www.sap.com information

Select http://help.sap.com > SAP BusinessObjects. You can access the most up-to-date documentation covering all SAP BusinessObjects products and their deployment at the SAP Help Portal. You can download PDF versions or installable HTML libraries.
SAP Help Portal

Certain guides are stored on the SAP Service Marketplace and are not available from the SAP Help Portal. These guides are listed on the Help Portal accompanied by a link to the SAP Service Marketplace. Customers with a maintenance agreement have an authorized user ID to access this site. To obtain an ID, contact your customer support representative. http://service.sap.com/bosap-support > Documentation
Installation guides: https://service.sap.com/bosap-inst guides Release notes: http://service.sap.com/releasenotes

SAP Service Marketplace

The SAP Service Marketplace stores certain installation guides, upgrade and migration guides, deployment guides, release notes and Supported Platforms documents. Customers with a maintenance agreement have an authorized user ID to access this site. Contact your customer support representative to obtain an ID. If you are redirected to the SAP Service Marketplace from the SAP Help Portal, use the menu in the navigation pane on the left to locate the category containing the documentation you want to access. https://boc.sdn.sap.com/

Developer resources

https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/businessobjects-sdklibrary

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More Information

Information Resource

Location

SAP BusinessObjects articles https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/boc/businessobjects-articles on the SAP Community NetThese articles were formerly known as technical papers. work

https://service.sap.com/notes
Notes

These notes were formerly known as Knowledge Base articles.

Forums on the SAP Communihttps://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/forums ty Network

http://www.sap.com/services/education
Training

From traditional classroom learning to targeted e-learning seminars, we can offer a training package to suit your learning needs and preferred learning style. http://service.sap.com/bosap-support The SAP Support Portal contains information about Customer Support programs and services. It also has links to a wide range of technical information and downloads. Customers with a maintenance agreement have an authorized user ID to access this site. To obtain an ID, contact your customer support representative. http://www.sap.com/services/bysubject/businessobjectscon sulting

Online customer support

Consulting

Consultants can accompany you from the initial analysis stage to the delivery of your deployment project. Expertise is available in topics such as relational and multidimensional databases, connectivity, database design tools, and cus tomized embedding technology.

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Report Comparison Tool User's Guide