matlab-generate-report

name	matlab-generate-report
description	Unified skill for all MATLAB and Simulink report generation tasks. Covers report generation, PDF report, document generation, mlreportgen, Report Generator, template, TitlePage, Chapter, multipage HTML, HTMLPage, html-multipage, custom reporter, customizeReporter, template hole, page header, page border, company style package, branded reporters, buildTemplates, Simulink report, model documentation, slreportgen, block diagram report, model report, subsystem documentation, SystemDiagramFinder, SystemIO, ExecutionOrder, LookupTable, template style, page footer, TemplateSrc, report package, table variants, multiple HTML pages, PDF report generation, Word report, DOM API, FormalTable, BaseTable, Figure, FormalImage, Section.
license	https://www.mathworks.com/content/dam/mathworks/license/pmrl/license.md
metadata	{"author":"MathWorks","version":"1.0"}

MATLAB Report Generation

Generate structured, professional reports (PDF, Word, HTML) from MATLAB data and Simulink models.

When to Use

• Creating PDF, Word, or HTML reports from MATLAB data
• Building reports with chapters, title pages, tables of contents
• Adding auto-numbered figures and tables to documents
• Creating multipage HTML reports (separate HTML files with navigation)
• Documenting Simulink models with block diagrams, I/O tables, execution order
• Customizing report templates (styles, colors, fonts, headers, footers)
• Creating custom reporter classes with template holes and dynamic content
• Building multi-reporter packages with shared company styles
• Creating table variant reporters with different header colors
• Including HTML content in reports

When NOT to Use

• Simple file export (CSV, Excel) — use writetable, writematrix
• Live Scripts as reports — use MATLAB Live Editor export
• Interactive report building — use Report Explorer GUI
• Web views of Simulink models — use slreportgen.webview.* directly

API Selection

Always use the Report API (mlreportgen.report.*) as the foundation. It provides the Report container and reporters (Figure, BaseTable, FormalImage, Chapter, TitlePage, etc.) that handle auto-numbering, captions, and document structure.

Use both APIs together. Use the Report API to create the report and add content for which reporters exist. Use the DOM API (mlreportgen.dom.*) for styled paragraphs, custom tables, inline formatting, HTML inclusion, and images without captions. DOM objects append directly to Report, Chapter, or Section alongside reporters.

Critical rule: Report API reporters (Figure, BaseTable, FormalImage) can ONLY be appended to Report, Chapter, or Section objects — never to DOM objects like TableEntry. Use DOM objects inside TableEntry.

Simulink reports: Use slreportgen.report.Report (not mlreportgen.report.Report) — it extends the base with model compilation support required by SystemIO, ExecutionOrder, and other Simulink reporters.

Multipage HTML: Use mlreportgen.dom.Document with "html-multipage" type + HTMLPage objects. This is the only case where you use the DOM Document instead of the Report API Report.

Core Workflow: Standard Report

TitlePage, TableOfContents, ListOfFigures, and ListOfTables are optional — include only when the task requires them. The minimal report is just Report + content + close.

import mlreportgen.report.*
import mlreportgen.dom.*

rpt = Report("MyReport","pdf");
append(rpt,TitlePage(Title="Report Title",Author="Team"));  % optional
append(rpt,TableOfContents());   % optional
append(rpt,ListOfFigures());     % optional
append(rpt,ListOfTables());      % optional

ch = Chapter("Results");
append(ch,Paragraph("Analysis complete."));

% Auto-numbered table
data = FormalTable(["ID","Value"],[1 10; 2 20]);
bt = BaseTable(data);
bt.Title = "Measured values";
append(ch,bt);

% Auto-numbered figure
fig = figure("Visible","off");
plot([1 2],[10 20]);
rptFig = Figure(fig);
rptFig.Snapshot.Caption = "Value trend";
append(ch,rptFig);
close(fig);

append(rpt,ch);
close(rpt);
rptview(rpt);

Core Workflow: Simulink Report

load_system(modelName);

% MUST use slreportgen.report.Report for Simulink content
rpt = slreportgen.report.Report(outputPath,"pdf");
append(rpt,mlreportgen.report.TitlePage("Title","Model Report"));
append(rpt,mlreportgen.report.TableOfContents());

ch = mlreportgen.report.Chapter("Diagrams");

% Root diagram — direct reporter
rootDiag = slreportgen.report.Diagram(modelName);
rootDiag.Snapshot.ScaleToFit = true;
append(ch,rootDiag);

% Subsystems — finder pattern (iterator for memory efficiency)
finder = slreportgen.finder.SystemDiagramFinder(modelName);
finder.IncludeRoot = false;
finder.SortType = "alphabetical";

while finder.hasNext()
    result = finder.next();
    sec = mlreportgen.report.Section("Title",result.Name);
    append(sec,result);
    append(ch,sec);
end

append(rpt,ch);
close(rpt);
rptview(rpt);

Choosing Built-In vs Custom Reporters

Before writing code, analyze requirements against built-in reporter capabilities:

1. List all content/format requirements — title page fields, page borders, headers/footers, branded styling
2. Check built-in reporters. Built-in TitlePage has: Title, Subtitle, Author, Publisher, PubDate, Image. Built-in Chapter/Section provide headings, auto-numbering, and a Content hole.
3. If built-in reporters meet all requirements, use them directly
4. If any requirement is unmet, create custom reporters:
   • Single custom reporter — see references/custom-reporters.md
   • Multiple reporters sharing a visual identity — see references/report-package.md

Common triggers for custom reporters:

• Title page needs fields beyond the standard set (project name, facility, contract number)
• Page borders, watermarks, or custom page layout
• Page headers/footers with dynamic content (per-chapter images, tickers)
• Branded table variants with different header colors
• MATLAB-generated logos (geometric shapes drawn with plot/patch + exportgraphics)

Do NOT force-fit requirements into built-in properties (e.g., concatenating fields into Subtitle). Create a custom reporter instead.

Do NOT build custom title pages with raw DOM elements (Paragraphs, Images appended to a Chapter). Always use customizeReporter for template-based layout and format portability.

Decision Tree: What Reference Do I Need?

I need to...	Reference
Build a standard report with chapters, figures, tables, verification	references/report-api-patterns.md
Work with DOM tables, HTML inclusion, multipage HTML, Number/NumberFormat	references/dom-api-patterns.md
Understand template file types, locate/inspect templates	references/template-system.md
Look up built-in template holes, styles, page layout (pre-computed)	references/template-reference.md
Create a custom reporter class (customizeReporter, holes, headers)	references/custom-reporters.md
Build a multi-reporter package with shared styles and buildTemplates	references/report-package.md
Generate Simulink model reports (finders, orientation, centering)	references/simulink-report.md
Look up all Simulink finders and reporters	references/finders-and-reporters.md
Iterate struct arrays into chapters with custom reporters	references/data-driven-report-pattern.md
Edit template styles (colors, fonts, headers, footers, TOC)

Key Functions

Class	Purpose	Package
Report	Top-level report container	mlreportgen.report
TitlePage	Title page with title, subtitle, author	mlreportgen.report
TableOfContents	Auto-generated TOC	mlreportgen.report
Chapter / Section	Document structure	mlreportgen.report
Figure	Auto-numbered figure from MATLAB figure	mlreportgen.report
FormalImage	Auto-numbered image from file with caption	mlreportgen.report
BaseTable	Auto-numbered table wrapper (pass FormalTable)	mlreportgen.report
FormalTable	Table with header/body/footer from cell arrays	mlreportgen.dom
Template (3-arg)	Edit templates: Template(out,fmt,src)	mlreportgen.dom
HTMLFile / HTML	Include HTML content in any output format	mlreportgen.dom
HTMLPage	Page in multipage HTML document (R2024a+)	mlreportgen.dom
Number	Numeric DOM object (use with NumberFormat)	mlreportgen.dom
TemplateHole	Placeholder filled at report time	mlreportgen.dom
Page / NumPages	Page number / total pages	mlreportgen.dom

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Correct Approach
Using mlreportgen.dom.Document as report container	Use mlreportgen.report.Report. Exception: multipage HTML requires Document with "html-multipage"
Using mlreportgen.report.Report for Simulink content	Use slreportgen.report.Report — needed for model compilation
Using Report with "html" for multipage output	Use mlreportgen.dom.Document with "html-multipage" + HTMLPage objects
Appending reporters to DOM objects (Paragraph, TableEntry)	Reporters can ONLY go in Report, Chapter, or Section. Use DOM objects inside TableEntry
Putting raw doubles in FormalTable cells	Use Number with NumberFormat in Style: n = Number(42); n.Style = {NumberFormat("%.0f")}. Put n directly in cell arrays. See references/dom-api-patterns.md § Number and NumberFormat
NumberFormat("$%.0f") or NumberFormat("%,.0f")	Only standard sprintf specifiers work (no $, no %,, no %d). For currency/units, wrap Number in Paragraph and prepend/append Text
Customizing only "default"/"even" page headers	Customize ALL page types: "first", "default", "even" — but differentiate content (see below)
Putting StyleRef (chapter title) in the first-page header	First page already displays the chapter heading — omit StyleRef from "first" header. Use it only in "default"/"even" for wayfinding
Opening DOCX with winopen/open/start	Use rptview(rpt) or docview(file,"updatefields") — triggers field update

Conventions

• Always close(rpt) after appending all content — generates the output file
• Always rptview or docview to open DOCX — never winopen or open
• Use figure("Visible","off") for plots destined for reports
• Use exportgraphics (not print) when saving figures to files
• One Chapter = one numbering scope — figures/tables numbered Chapter-Sequence (e.g., "Figure 2-1")
• BaseTable wraps FormalTable — pass FormalTable(headers,body), not a MATLAB table()
• Cell-level styling: Use entry(t,row,col) after construction, not during
• Template styles use [] arrays; inline .Style properties use {}
• Reporters in @ClassName directories — each needs its own resources/templates/
• Scaffold ALL reporters before editing ANY — customizeReporter creates binary templates + overwrites classdef
• Fix unqualified class names after scaffolding — use package-qualified names
• Customize all output formats — PDF/Word/HTML templates are independent
• Simulink: Always slreportgen.report.Report; always Diagram.Snapshot.ScaleToFit = true
• Simulink finders: Use .Object handle (not path string) for get_param; use result.Name for titles
• JSON is single source of truth for multi-reporter packages — never hardcode style values

Viewing and Processing Reports

rptview(rpt);                           % Open in system viewer (updates DOCX fields)
rptview("MyReport.docx","pdf");         % Convert DOCX to PDF via Word
docview("Report.docx","updatefields","closedoc","closeapp");  % Update without display

Verification: Running without error does NOT confirm correctness. After close(rpt):

• Check isfile(rpt.OutputPath) and dir(rpt.OutputPath).bytes > 1000
• For PDF: call open(rpt), then set rpt.Document.RetainFO = true before appending content, search *_FO/*.fo files
• For DOCX: unzip and search word/document.xml
• Assert expected titles, headings, captions appear in output

See references/report-api-patterns.md for full verification patterns.

Required Toolbox

MATLAB Report Generator (verify with mcp__matlab__detect_matlab_toolboxes). Simulink Report Generator additionally required for Simulink model reports.

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Copyright 2026 The MathWorks, Inc.

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