Changing a display mode: Design, Editable, Flash, Interactive, and Express

You can work with a document using several display modes in MicroStrategy Web. For example, you might use Interactive Mode to analyze data in grid and graph reports, or you can use Flash Mode to work with Flash-only features like MicroStrategy widgets, which are a common feature of dashboards.

When a document is created, it is saved in a default display mode by the document's designer. If the designer enabled other display modes to make them available for viewing, you can view the document in another display mode: Changing a display mode: Design, Editable, Flash, Interactive, and Express.

Prerequisites

To select a new display mode, that display mode must be enabled for that document. The document designer can specify which display modes are available in a document.

To change display modes

Click the name of a document to execute it.
From the Home menu, select Design Mode, Express Mode, Editable Mode, Interactive Mode, or Flash Mode. Not all options are available, depending on your user privileges and the display modes enabled for the document.

The following list describes the best use for each display mode. Use the summary table below as a quick reference for display modes.

Interactive Mode: Lets you work with the data on a grid or graph report in a document by pivoting, sorting, adding totals, resizing rows and columns, and creating metrics based on report objects already on the grid report. You can use selectors to flip through the panels in a panel stack or display different attribute elements or metrics in a grid or graph report in a document. Interactive Mode is optimized for dashboard viewing. For the complete list of functionality available in Interactive Mode, see Viewing documents in Interactive Mode.
Flash Mode: Allows you to access features provided by Flash, such as interactive widgets. You cannot manipulate or format grid or graph reports in a document, except to sort and pivot objects on them. If a graph report uses a graph type that is not supported in Flash, the graph is not displayed. For the complete list of functionality available in Flash Mode, see Viewing documents in Flash Mode.
Express Mode: Displays the document results only. You cannot change the document or manipulate the data.
Design Mode: (Requires Document Designer privileges.) Displays the structure of the document, or the placeholders for the document components, without the associated contents. Use Design Mode to create and design a document or edit an existing document. To format Grid/Graphs, you must use Editable Mode.
Editable Mode: (Requires Document Designer privileges.) Displays the results of the document, while still allowing you to edit the document. In Editable Mode, you can quickly see how your changes affect the look and feel of the document. One difference between Design and Editable Mode is that, in Design Mode, you do not have to wait for the results of your documents to load. Therefore, you can work more quickly in Design Mode than in Editable Mode.

Summary of display modes

Display Mode	What You Can Do In It	Limitations
Design Mode	Intended for document designers. Create a new document. Edit an existing document. Quicker performance since document results are not displayed. Add and remove dataset objects. Insert controls such as Grids/Graphs, text fields, lines, shapes, and panel stacks. Edit and format controls. Format Grid/Graph containers only. Pivot report objects on grid reports. Use Group-by.	Cannot view the results of the document without switching modes. Cannot format all aspects of Grid/Graphs, including metric values and attribute headers. Cannot format widget Flash properties. Cannot use selectors to flip through the panels in a panel stack or display different attribute elements or metrics in a Grid/Graph. Cannot use Page-by to group data. Cannot sort grid reports. Cannot use the Fit to contents/window features. Cannot show or hide rulers.
Editable Mode	Intended for document designers. Create a new document. Edit an existing document. View the results of the document. Add and remove dataset objects. Insert controls such as Grids/Graphs, text fields, lines, shapes, and panel stacks. Edit and format controls. Format Grid/Graphs, including the formatting of metric values and attribute headers. Use selectors to flip through the panels in a panel stack or display different attribute elements or metrics in a Grid/Graph. Use Page-by to group data. Use Group-by. Use the Fit to contents/window features. Sort grid reports and pivot report objects on them. Show or hide rulers.	Performance reflects the fact that you see all document results as you work. Cannot format widget Flash properties.
Interactive Mode	Intended for document analysts. Edit an existing document. View the results of the document. Use selectors to flip through the panels in a panel stack or display different attribute elements or metrics in a Grid/Graph. Format Grid/Graphs. Sort grid reports and pivot report objects on them. Add totals. Resize rows and columns. Create metrics based on report objects already on the grid report.	Cannot create a new document. Cannot format the layout and positioning of objects or the entire document. Cannot format widget Flash properties.
Flash Mode	Intended for document analysts. Edit an existing document. View the results of the document. Access and interact with features provided by Flash, such as widgets. Use selectors to flip through the panels in a panel stack or display different attribute elements or metrics in a Grid/Graph. Format widget Flash properties. Sort grid reports and pivot report objects on them.	Cannot create a new document. Cannot manipulate or format Grid/Graphs, except to sort and pivot objects on them. If a Grid/Graph uses a graph type that is not supported in Flash, the graph is not displayed.
Express Mode	Intended for document analysts. View the results of the document only, as you might in a static PDF file. Provides better performance than all other modes, but the document is not interactive.	Cannot create a new document. Cannot edit an existing document. Cannot manipulate any objects on the document, as you can in any of the other display modes. Documents in Express Mode containing multiple pages cannot display ascending page numbers.