Creating a Report or Graph

In this section:

How to:

A Reporting Object is the basis for every report or graph you create. Reporting Objects contain the fields that you select in a reporting tool to build your report or graph. After you select fields for your report or graph, you can manipulate and style the data to suit your needs. The fields you select determine the data displayed in the output of your report or graph. A Reporting Object may also contain a template, created by your Administrator, that defines the formatting styles for your report or graph.

Note: Custom Reports are not created with Reporting Objects. For more information, see How to Create a Custom Report.

When creating a report or graph:

  1. Choose the Reporting Object.

    When you create a new report or graph, you must choose a data source to build your report. Data in Managed Reporting is stored in Reporting Objects and organized within group folders or subgroup folders. The Reporting Object group folders and the Reporting Objects they contain are designed by a developer or your Administrator. Reporting Objects are the information sources that you report from.

  2. Choose a reporting tool.

    After you select the data source, you must choose a reporting tool:

    1. Choose Report Assistant to create basic reports quickly and easily. You must specify a minimum of one field in order for Report Assistant to save the report.
    2. Choose Graph Assistant to create graphs and charts in a wide range of colors and styles. You must choose a field for both the X- and Y-axis in order for Graph Assistant to save the report.
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Procedure: How to Choose a Reporting Object
  • From the Reporting Objects tab, select a Reporting Object from the list window.

    or

  • From the My Reports tab, click New and select a Reporting Object from the list window.
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Procedure: How to Choose Your Reporting Tool
  • To open Report Assistant, click Report Assistant.
  • To open Graph Assistant, click Graph Assistant.

    The chosen tool opens, and you are ready to create a report or graph. For more information on using Report Assistant, click Help or see the Creating Reports With Report Assistant manual.
Example: Using a Reporting Object

The following example assumes you create a report with Report Assistant. You can also select Graph Assistant to create a graph. For more information on using Graph Assistant, see the Creating Charts With Graph Tools manual.

  1. Open the Regional Sales Domain.
  2. Select the Reporting Objects tab.

    WebFOCUS displays a list of group folders.

  3. Expand the Product Sales group folder.
  4. Select Regional Product Sales.
  5. Click Report Assistant to open the reporting tool.
  6. Select the data and options you want to apply to your report.
  7. To save your report, click Save in the Report Assistant window.

    Your report will be saved to the My Reports tab under the Product Sales group folder.

  8. To return to Managed Reporting, click Quit in the Report Assistant window.
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Procedure: How to Create a Custom Report
  1. Right-click the Custom Reports folder and select New.

    The following image shows the My Reports window displaying the pop-up menus that appear when you right-click the Custom Reports folder and choose New.

    Custom Report folder

  2. Select the tool for creating your report or graph.

    The Master File dialog box appears. If you choose New Folder, you can specify a subfolder name and then create a Custom Report using Report Assistant, Graph Assistant, or the Editor.

    The following image shows the Masters List window containing a list of available database descriptions.

    Master List window

    Note: The list of Master Files is determined by the profile settings of the Default Reporting Server, or the Server and Application Path settings on the Domain if applicable. You do not have the ability to set the Server and Application Path at the Custom Report level at this time.

  3. Select your Master File and click OK to open the tool of your choice.

    Note: You can scroll through the Master File list quickly by typing the first letter of a data source. For example, if you type 'T' the list will advance to the Training data source.

  4. Design your Custom Report.
  5. Click Save As to open the Save My Reports window, as shown in the following image.

    Save my Reports image

  6. Enter a name for your report and select the options of your choice. For example, select the Share report check box to share your report with other users.
  7. Click OK to save your report as a Custom Report.
  8. You can access your Custom Report under the Custom Reports folder in the My Reports tab, as shown in the following image.

    My Reports tab

  9. If you share your Custom Reports, they will be available to other users in the Shared Reports tab, as shown in the following image.

    Shared Reports tab

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Duration of Custom Reports and My Reports Folders

Users with the Advanced privilege can create Custom Reports, and will always have a Custom Reports folder under the My Reports tab, even if the Custom Reports folder is empty. When a user with the Advanced privilege logs on to Managed Reporting for the first time, a Custom Reports folder is created and remains for the duration of all sessions.

The folders that appear under the My Reports tab are based on existing Reporting Objects folders, and are only added when you create a My Report from a Reporting Object. When the last My Report for a Reporting Object is deleted, the corresponding folder is automatically removed. The Custom Reports folder cannot be removed because it only exists under My Reports for that particular user.

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