Creating Reports

Overview

Reports are a list of records that meet the criteria you define during the creation process. This article outlines the steps to create and modify reports and report folders. For a further understanding of the features available through reporting, please consult our Understanding Reports & Dashboards article.

• Report Folders
  • Creating a New Report Folder
  • Editing Folder Access
• Reports
  • Creating a New Report
    • Filtering Reports
    • Adding and Removing Columns
  • Saving and Editing Reports 
  • Grouping
  • Adding Charts
  • Subscribing Team Members
  • Exporting

Report Folders

Report folders determine how reports are accessed and who can access them to view, edit or manage them. 

Creating a New Report Folder

1. Click the caret button next to the Navigation menu and select the Reports option from the drop-down menu.
2. Select the New Folder button located in the upper right-hand corner of the Reports page. 
3. In the Folder Label field, enter the name of the report folder. 
4. Click on the Folder Unique Name field. This value will auto-populate.
5. Select Save to finalize the creation of this folder.

Editing Folder Access

1. On the Reports page, select All Folders from the left-hand side.
2. Locate the report folder you would like to edit access and select the caret button for that record, located on the right-hand side of the table. 
3. Select Share from the drop-down menu.
4. In the Share With field, select the style of sharing. The options available are as follows:
   • Users 
   • Roles 
   • Role, Internal, and Partner Subordinates 
   • Role and Internal Subordinates 
   • Public Groups
     • Please note: If you are unsure which option to select from this list, please contact your CSM.
5. For the Name field, enter the name you want to match. The name must match the category selected in the Share With field. For example, if you select User as the category, specify the user's name.
6. Select the access level from the Access drop-down field. The options available are as follows:
   • Can view - Users can only view the reports within the folder.
   • Can edit -  Users can edit and view reports saved to the folder.
   • Can manage - Users can edit and view reports and modify permission access to the report folder.
7. Click Share. The change will then move the sharing settings to the Who Can Access list. Continue to add entries following the above steps as needed. You can share with users, groups, roles, divisions, or a combination.
   • Please note: The greatest permission is granted if a user is identified in multiple entities. For example, a group is added with view only, but a user in the group is also added with edit permissions. In this case, the edit permissions apply to that user.
8. To delete a Who Can Access entry, click X to the right of the entry. To modify the access level for an entry, select a new access level from the drop-down option beside the name in the Who Can Access list.

Reports

Creating a New Report

1. If not already within Reports, use the Navigation menu and select Reports from the drop-down menu. 
2. On the Reports page, select the New Report button on the screen's right-hand side.
3. Choose the report type that the report should reference from the list of report types. The report type will be highlighted to show it has been selected. Select Continue to finalize the selection.

Filtering Reports

1. Upon entry to the Report Builder, limited or no information will be displayed due to automated over-filtering. To update this, select the Filters tab.
2.  To adjust the already populated filters:
   1. Select the filter's box within the Filters sidebar. This will generate a pop-up with the information settings related to the filter displayed in drop-down menus.
   2. Select Apply to complete the change once the drop-down menus have been modified to create the correct filter. Typically, the Created Date standard filter will need its Range changed from "Custom" to "All Time" upon report creation. 
      • Please note: Updating the filter does not automatically rerun the data in the Preview Window without clicking the Run button after each change. If you would like this change to occur automatically, select the Update Preview Automatically radio button to ensure these changes occur without requiring the extra selections of the Run button. 
3. To add new filters:
   1. Select the Add filter... search bar and begin typing the field name, and select the field name from the drop-down menu.
   2. Set the Operator from the drop-down list to the appropriate function. 
   3. Beneath the Operator field, enter the Filter Value. 
   4. Select Apply to add this filter to the report. 
   5. If no other users should have access to modify the filter, select the Locked checkbox and then select Apply again. This will lock the filter and only allow the report creator to edit or unlock this filter. 

Adding and Removing Columns 

1. Select the Outline header on the sidebar located on the left-hand side. 
2. To add a column:
   1. Use the Add Column... search bar to search for the field name you want to add to the report. 
   2. Select the field name from the drop-down list to add as a column in the report. 
   3. If looking to see all fields available, select the Fields section on the left-hand side of Outline. This opens a section hidden by default and displays all fields separated by the Salesforce object. Double-click or drag fields from this list to add them to the report as a column. 
3. To remove a column: 
   1. On the Columns list in the sidebar, locate the field name of the column you would like to remove. 
   2. Select the X located next to the field name. This will remove it from the columns list. 
   3. Fields can also be removed by locating the column within the report body and selecting the caret icon next to the field name in the column header. Then select Remove Column from the drop-down options.

Saving and Editing Reports

1. Once the report preview displays as intended, select the Save button. This will generate a pop-up to designate the properties of the report. 
2. In the Report Name field, enter the name of the report. 
3. Click on the Report Unique Name field. This value will auto-generate from the information entered into the Report Name field.
   • Please note: Each report must have a unique value in this field. If two reports have the same report name, you may need to edit this auto-generated value to prevent duplication. 
4. In the Report Description field, enter a short description of the report and its purpose to help your team easily identify the report. While this information is not required, it is highly recommended.
5. Press Save to finalize the creation of this report. 

6. Once a report has been saved, it can continually be changed by selecting the Edit button, which allows users to review the settings built for the reports, determine whether filters should be added or replaced and potentially change the fields displayed within the report. Once changes are completed, select Save to overwrite the current settings or select Save As to save it as a new report.

Grouping

Grouping is used when you want to add criteria to separate the data into sections based on a specific field. To add grouping:

1. Navigate to the Outline section in the report builder. 
2. In the Groups section, use the Add Group... search bar under Group Rows or Group Columns to search for the field name you want to group by. 
3. Select the field name from the drop-down options. 
4. Groupings can also be added by locating the column for the grouping field and selecting the caret icon beside the field name in the column header. Then select Group Rows by This Field or Group Columns by This Field from the drop-down options.

Adding Charts

Please note: The report must have at least one grouping to support the addition of charts. 

1. Select the Add Chart button next to the Save and Run button in the Report Builder. 
2. Select the cog icon on the right-hand side within the chart to open the chart properties. 
3. Set the Display As section to the report view you would like displayed. Chart types available are as follows:
   • Bar
   • Column
   • Stacked Bar
   • Stacked Column
   • Line
   • Donut
   • Funnel
   • Scatter Plot
     • Please note: Depending on your grouping settings, certain chart type options may be grayed out and unable to be selected. 
4. Under Chart Attributes, set the Title for the chart as you would like it to display within the report. This field is not mandatory and can be left blank if a title is not desired. 
5. Set the Y-Axis, X-Axis or Sliced By fields to the field names you would like the chart's information to be based upon. 
6. Reselect the cog icon to have the chart properties options disappear. Once the chart is completed, select Save and Run to finalize the addition of the chart. 

Subscribing Team Members 

1. After running the report, select the caret button next to Edit.
2. Select Subscribe from the drop-down options. This will open the Edit Subscription window to build all the relevant settings.
3. Set the Frequency to either daily, weekly or monthly. This selection determines how often the subscriber will receive a report subscription email. 
4. Select the Days options to designate which days the email should be sent. When selected, the value will be highlighted. If you would like to remove a day from the selection, click on the day again to remove its selection. Multiple day options can be selected for one subscription.
5. Set the Time field to the time the email subscription should arrive. This will be based on the individual user's time settings, not your organization's locale settings.
6. Select Attach File to choose how the report is sent to your user. Under the Attach File option, select either a Formatted Report (.XLSX) or a Details Only (.CSV) file option. If attaching a details-only (.CSV) file, optionally choose an encoding. Typically, users select the Formatted Report option to send through subscriptions. Once the option is chosen, select Save to finalize this choice.
7. Select the Edit Recipients button and then search for users. Select Add to add the user to the list of recipients. They will now be displayed under the Subscribers section. To remove a subscriber, select the X button to the right of their name. 
   • Please note: The report must be saved in a public folder to add other users as subscribers.
8. Run Report As determines who the report’s default user should be. Normally, the best practice would be to keep as your user unless you are building the report with another team member in mind (i.e., You are the assistant to an Advisor and want to ensure the report is focused on his user).
9. Select the Add conditions to this report checkbox if you want to add criteria to determine when this report is pulled outside the standard date settings. Adding conditions allows you to skip the report email update if there is no new data or data to review. 
10. Press Save to finalize this subscription. 
    • Please note: Users can set up subscriptions for up to five reports. Subscription recipients are not listed on the report subscription emails.

Exporting

1. In the run report, select the caret button on the right-hand side. 
2. Select Export from the drop-down options.
3. Choose an Export View, either formatted report or details only. 
   1. Formatted Report exports the report as it appears in Salesforce, with the report header, groupings and filter details. Because formatting is retained, you can not select encoding, and the only supported formatted export file type is .xlsx.
   2. Details Only exports each detail row without formatting and is useful for doing further calculations in a spreadsheet.
4. If exporting as Details Only, select Excel Format .xlsx, Excel Format .xls, or Comma Delimited .csv as the format. For .xls and .csv, select the encoding option appropriate for your language and locale. The encoding option likely will not need to be modified as it will default to your user settings. 
5. Select Export, and if prompted by a browser dialog, select a location and save the file.