About Reports

Overview

A Report is a Designer Element that can collect, filter, organize, and display data. Reports use a column/row layout where the column contains the Data Field being reported on and the row contains the corresponding data. Each row that contains data in a Report is typically referred to as a line item. Actions for maintaining the data are available by selecting a line item from the Report.

Applying a Report to a Page or Dashboard is the most common use case. An example of this can be seen by simply clicking into some of the Folders within the Folder Tree. All of the views that show data inside of a Folder (list, column, tiles, etc) are sourced by Reports or are Reports themselves. Data that lives inside of Folders are represented and actionable because Reports are used to make them present. 

Since data from business operations differ based on the organization, Decisions offers several ways to view the data that is present in a Report. Report data can be shown in a table, a matrix, a summary, a chart, and much more. Reports have several built-in column features that assist with grouping and filtering Reports, on both the front and back ends. Some of the display options for Report data are only available when a Report is referenced within a Page.

Elements of a Report

The four main elements of a Report are the Data Source, Filter, Data Field, and View. Filters are optional, but the other fields are typically required to comprise a Report. The configurations made to these elements in a Report will directly affect what the Report is comprised of. Each element is detailed below the screenshot and reference links are included for additional information or usability options on each.

Data Sources

The Data Source is typically a reference to the object that will be reported on. Since objects are used to contain and compile the data in Decisions, Reports function to conveniently show created items of the corresponding object. Data Sources can also be sourced by Rule Sets and Flows, which are covered in the reference articles below. In the screenshot above, the Account object is used as the Data Source and all of the items created as an Account are shown. At least one Data Source must be present in a Report. 

Using a Flow to Source a Report
Reporting on Statistics
Custom Reporting Data Sources

Filters

A Filter is a configuration used to constrict certain data from being shown. For example, a Data Range Filter is applied to the screenshot above which is easily configured so that only the Account items created for the current year are shown. The Administrator View Only Filter can restrict the data in a Report to only Administrator Accounts if applicable. The Filter options range in functionality and several can be used in a Report, but they are not required for a Report to function.

Adding Filters to a Report
Rule Filter on Reports
Setting Report Filter with a Flow
Custom Reporting Data Filters

Data Fields

The Data Fields represent the properties of the object being referenced as the Data Source (or the properties of input data when sourcing from a Flow or Rule Set). Properties of the Account object, for example, would include an email address, date created, first/last name, etc. The Report would then only pull data from the items for those particular properties. As Data Fields are selected in the Report, the columns will update with the property and the rows will update with the data that corresponds in real-time. Several Data Fields can be added, but this could cause interface clutter for the end-user.

Views

Views are custom configured visual representations of the data. There are several Views available by default for Reports, but the View function can extend to custom Tiles on Pages as well. This means that when a Simple Tile is used on a Page, for example, the Report will work in tandem with the Tile as a source to create the desired View. Grouping can be configured so that all of the data is grouped based on the Data Field selected. Grouping items by Data Field allows for additional View options to be selected.

Configuring Report View Modes
Report Viewer in Calendar Mode
Report Viewer in Tile Mode
Report in Columns View
Hierarchy View