---
title: "Definitions"
slug: "definitions"
updated: 2024-04-16T11:18:11Z
published: 2024-04-16T11:18:11Z
canonical: "help.mail-and-deploy.com/definitions"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.mail-and-deploy.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Definitions

### General

Before we start to dive deeper into the world of Mail & Deploy, it is important to introduce a few definitions which are used consistently through this documentation and the user interface in Mail & Deploy.

#### Datasource

In Mail & Deploy, a [Datasource](/release35/docs/introduction-2) is a file or a service that provides content - such as data in the form of fields and tables, variables, visualizations, embedded reports etc. - which can be used in Mail & Deploy.

          
          

> **Example:** A QlikView document can be used as a datasource in Mail & Deploy; it contains tables, fields, variables, visualizations (charts, pivot tables etc.) and embedded reports which can be used by Mail & Deploy.

#### Report

In the context of Mail & Deploy, a report is an entity that consists of templates, settings, and instructions that describe how a report document (see below) will be created. A report is therefore not the final output document (e.g. a PDF file or a Microsoft Excel Workbook) but a set of information that describes how such an output file shall be created.

#### Report Document

A report document is the specific output when a report (see above) is created (e.g. a PDF file, a Microsoft Excel Workbook etc.).

          
          

> **Example:** A PDF file created from a Microsoft Word Report is a report document.