Agilent Technologies Agilent MassHunter Workstation Software Report Designer Add-in

Significance of the Topic

Analytical laboratories routinely generate large volumes of instrument data that must be formatted into consistent, professional reports. Customizing report templates streamlines data review, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance. The Agilent MassHunter Report Designer Add-in for Excel empowers analysts to tailor report layouts, tables and graphics without specialized programming.

Objectives and Overview

This guide introduces the key features and workflows of the Agilent MassHunter Workstation Software Report Designer Add-in. It explains how to:

• Create or modify Excel-based report templates.
• Add and format data tables and graphics.
• Validate, process and preview reports using Agilent MassHunter data outputs.

Coverage spans basic operations, template customization, advanced properties and practical tips for generating consistent reports across different MassHunter applications.

Methodology and Instrumentation

The Report Designer is an Excel add-in compatible with Microsoft Excel 2003 and 2007. Installation occurs automatically with Agilent MassHunter Quantitative, Qualitative, Data Acquisition and ICP-MS modules. Core components include:

• Report Design menu and toolbar embedded in Excel.
• XML mapping to bind MassHunter intermediate report files (e.g. report.results.xml, Report.xml) to worksheets.
• Advanced Properties dialog to configure template type, worksheet inclusion, table properties and graphic sizing.

Users employ Windows Explorer to locate built-in template directories and the XML schema (.xsd) files required for mapping.

Main Findings and Discussion

Key capabilities of the Report Designer Add-in are:

• Template management: open, save and rename built-in templates (Letter or A4 formats) to preserve defaults.
• Dynamic table and graphic insertion: add data tables (samples, compounds, calibration) and chromatogram or spectrum graphics via the Add Data and Add Graphics menus.
• Custom layout controls: set column widths, hide rows or headers, apply filters, repeat sections by sample or compound ID, insert page/sheet breaks.
• Formatting and formulas: leverage Excel formatting and conditional rules, insert calculated columns, and maintain cell–graphic associations.
• Validation and preview: validate template design to detect errors and generate a processed report worksheet directly in Excel for visual inspection.

These features enable rapid development of tailored reporting workflows without manual post-processing.

Benefits and Practical Applications

The Report Designer Add-in delivers:

• Reduced turnaround time by automating report generation and formatting.
• Consistent branding and layout across multiple report types.
• Scalable templates that adapt to varying datasets (multi-sample, multi-compound).
• Minimized user errors through built-in validation and XML schema enforcement.

Typical use cases include routine QA/QC reporting, method development summary sheets, metabolite identification reports and ICP-MS tuning logs.

Future Trends and Potential Applications

As laboratories move toward fully electronic workflows, integration of report design tools with LIMS and cloud-based platforms is anticipated. Potential enhancements include:

• Expanded support for newer Excel versions and non-Microsoft spreadsheet software.
• Interactive dashboards combining data tables and graphics within a single view.
• API-driven template management for automated pipeline deployment.
• Advanced templating with conditional logic tied to sample metadata.

These developments will further accelerate data reporting and decision-making processes.

Conclusion

The Agilent MassHunter Workstation Software Report Designer Add-in equips analytical chemists with a flexible, Excel-based platform for creating and customizing high-quality reports. By harnessing XML mapping, template validation and Excel’s native features, users can design reproducible report layouts that meet diverse regulatory and business requirements.

Reference

Agilent Technologies (2008). Agilent MassHunter Workstation Software Report Designer Add-in Quick Start Guide.