---
url: /card-guides.md
description: >-
  ​MODLR's Card feature is an innovative reporting technology that empowers
  users to create customized, interactive reports by assembling a variety of
  components.
---

# Cards Guide

​MODLR's Card feature is an innovative reporting technology that empowers users to create customized, interactive reports by assembling a variety of components. This flexibility enables the design of tailored reports that cater to specific business needs, enhancing data visualization and operational efficiency.

**Key Features of MODLR Cards:**

* **Component Variety:** Users can select from a comprehensive library of components-including text, images, charts, tables, and more-to construct their reports. This modular approach ensures that each report is uniquely suited to its intended purpose.​

* **Drag-and-Drop Interface:** The intuitive interface allows users to effortlessly drag and position components within the report canvas, streamlining the report creation process without the need for extensive technical expertise.​

* **Data Integration:** Cards can seamlessly incorporate data from various Cubes within MODLR and Tables from any Datasource, facilitating comprehensive analysis and reporting across multiple data sources.​

* **Interactivity:** Incorporate interactive elements such as buttons, custom controls and input fields to create dynamic reports that respond to user inputs, enhancing engagement and functionality.​

* **Versatile Deployment:** Cards can be integrated into screens, dashboards, exported to PDF or CSV formats, embedded in Excel, and included in emails, providing flexibility in how reports are shared and utilized.

![MODLR Card Components](/modlr-cards-components.png)

## The component library

Components fall into six groups:

![The component library grouped into Display, Container, Interactive, Variable, SQL and Developer components](/card-guides/component-library.png)

| Group | Components |
| :--- | :--- |
| **Display** | [Text](/card-guides/text), [Image](/card-guides/image), [Divider](/card-guides/divider), [Chart](/card-guides/chart) |
| **Container** | [Container](/card-guides/container), [Flexible Container](/card-guides/flexible-container), [Grid](/card-guides/grid), [List](/card-guides/list), [Card](/card-guides/card), [Tree Graph](/card-guides/tree-graph) |
| **Interactive** | [Button](/card-guides/button), [Input](/card-guides/input), [Trigger](/card-guides/trigger) |
| **Variable** | [Variable](/card-guides/variable), [SQL Variable](/card-guides/sql-variable) |
| **SQL** | [SQL Table](/card-guides/sql-table), [SQL Trigger](/card-guides/sql-trigger) |
| **Developer** | [Debugger](/card-guides/debugger) |

## Reporting inside-out

A Card starts from a **context** - a set of dimension/element selections - and every component inside it inherits that context unless it overrides it. That's the opposite of how most BI tools work, where a report loads everything and filters narrow it down.

![Inside-out versus outside-in reporting: outside-in starts unfiltered and narrows down, inside-out starts in the right place and spreads from there](/card-guides/inside-out-vs-outside-in.png)

The practical effect is that a card only ever reads the intersection it needs, and changing the context re-reads rather than re-filters. See [Adding Selections](/card-guides/adding-selections) for how the context is driven by the user.

The following sections provides a comprehensive guide on utilizing MODLR's Card feature, including detailed instructions on each component and advanced functionalities.​

Formulas throughout a card can also read from a set of built-in [Reserved Variables](/technical/reserved-variables) - the current user, the card's rendered size, and variables scoped to specific components like List, Table, Chart and Tree Graph - without needing to define them yourself.

By leveraging MODLR's Card feature, organizations can create highly customized and interactive reports that enhance data-driven decision-making and operational insight.