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This article will help Technicians to build custom reports using applications such as Tickets, Portfolio Planning, Assets, etc.. The user must have the access to TDNext as well as access to the application where the custom report will be created.
Overview
When you want more specific results than what the standard reports provide, custom reports provide a way to modify, configure, and set criteria for granular data specific to your institutional or organizational needs.
Custom reports can be created and customized from the following applications:
The data from each application constitutes a separate report source. Custom reports can also be created from the Analysis application.
When creating a new custom report, each column added will pull data from the chosen report source. The columns and filters available will vary, depending on the source. Reports can only show data from a single report source. For more information on the columns, values, and filters available in each report, click the Help button in the toolbar.
By following these steps, you will be able to create custom reports that track critical data relevant to your organization’s scope and needs.
Where to Find This
Custom reports appear in the TDNext, TDAdmin and TDClient interfaces.
TDNext is where most reports are setup and viewed, TDAdmin provides access to a few standard reports, and TDClient provides report access to certain licensed customers. Reports with sensitive content will only ever be found in the TDNext > Analysis application.
Navigate to custom reports following these paths:
- TDNext > [Application] > Reports
- TDNext > Analysis
- TDClient > Reports
Using Custom Reports
We will use the custom reports in the Analysis application as an example in the following instructions. Fields and filters will vary depending on the application and report source.
Creating a New Custom Report
- After logging in to TDNext, click the applications menu icon.
- On the applications menu select Analysis.
- Click the + New link, then select Report from the drop-down menu.
- On the What type of report would you like to create? page, select one of the listed report sources based on what application you’d like to see information for.
- Enter a meaningful name for your report in the Name field.
- Scroll to the Select the columns you would like to see section and select the values you want to include in your report from the Field dropdown, and remove any unwanted defaults.
The fields that will be available will vary depending on the type of report you are running. The standard fields, custom attributes for your organization. Within any Tickets report, key performance indicator (KPI) calculations are available. For selected report columns, you can optionally select a way to aggregate the data at the bottom of the report. Available options are average, minimum, maximum, and sum.
- Use the hamburger icon in the Sort column to reorder fields by drag and drop.
- To have the report open with the same filters applied every time, scroll to the Add filtering to your report section and configure values.
The values available in the Column dropdown fields include all standard TeamDynamix fields as well as any custom attributes for your organization, key performance indicator (KPI) calculations. In addition to what appears in the Column dropdown, there are other filtering options: Operators (such as “equals” or “greater than or equal to”, and Values. These can be accessed in the same row as the prospective column value being filtered. Operator and Value choices will change depending on the Column in question.
Additionally, with regards to report filters:
- Not all Column options will be available for every type of report. The Operator and Value(s) column will populate when a Column value is selected so the available options are appropriate for the data type. This is where you refine the report results matching specific criteria.
- The Prompt checkbox on the right side of each filter row allows for on-the-fly editing of the filter at the top of the report.
- You can choose multiple filters and use the advanced filtering options to set Boolean AND or OR filters. These numbers can be found under the # column in your filter rows.
For example, a ticketing report with "(1 OR 2) AND 3" would generate a report with tickets that includes criteria 1 OR 2, so long as either 1 OR 2 also includes filter #3 (AND 3). Another way of writing this report could be (1 AND 3) OR (2 AND 3).
- To change the default for how results will be ordered when the report is run, scroll down to the Order your report section and configure the options.
Select the report column to sort by, and whether the results should be in ascending or descending order. Only Columns that have been added above will be available in the drop-down menu for sorting. You can add multiple Order by values, which will sort the report first by the first attribute, then by the second, and so on.
- If you want the report to return fewer than the default 500 rows, under Set the maximum number of rows to retrieve, change the value. The largest number the system can support is 50,000 results.
- To specify where the report should appear, under Choose a report folder, select an existing folder from the Folder dropdown, or click the + to create a new one.
If you did not put it in a folder, it will live in the left navigation folder named after the source (e.g., ticket reports will live in the Tickets Reports folder).
- If you want the owner of the report to be another user or a User Group, set the Owner accordingly.
- To change the default choice for who should be able to see this report, make a selection under Set the visibility of this report. If you choose to share this report with others, it will appear under the Reports section of the respective application.
Selecting the checkbox Do not show this report in the navigator (desktop module only) means it won’t appear in the left navigation. You can navigate to it by clicking on the appropriate Reports folder title. (e.g., a Ticket report in the Tickets application will appear under the application’s Ticket Reports menu in TDNext.
- To include a chart in your report, scroll down to Add a chart. Make a selection from the Type dropdown and configure the chart options.
- If you’d like the report to appear as a chart instead of a grid (table of columns), scroll down to Desktop delivery and select Chart.
The chart option appears even if there was no chart configured. This is an either-or choice; it is not possible to show the grid and the chart in a single report. This can only be configured when editing the report.
- If you’d automatically like someone to receive a copy of this report by email at regular intervals, scroll down to Email Delivery and click the Add button.
In the Add Delivery Schedule modal, setup a schedule, format and recipient.
Click Save.
Emailed report delivery is managed by a server-side process job which runs at 15 minute intervals. A report delivery could take between 15-30 minutes depending on when the delivery configuration is created and the timing of the last processor job.
Any user with access to TDNext or to a ticketing application in TDNext can receive reports via email delivery.
- With all the report options configured, click the Save or Save and Run button at the top of the page.
Once the report is saved, it will appear in the left navigation folder named after the source (e.g., ticket reports will live in the Tickets Reports folder).
Running a Custom Report
- From the TDNext > Analysis application, click the report name in the left navigation.
- Click the Run Report button to see your report.
Editing a Custom Report
- From the TDNext > Analysis application, click the report name in the left navigation.
- Click the Actions button and select Edit from the dropdown.
- The same page you used to create the report will open. Make the desired adjustments and click the Save or Save and Run button to see your report.
Deleting a Custom Report
- From the TDNext > Analysis application, click the report name in the left navigation.
- Click the Actions button and select Delete from the dropdown.
- Confirm that you want to delete this report by clicking Yes on the modal.
- When you refresh the page, the report will have disappeared from the left navigation.
Gotchas & Pitfalls
- When creating a report, start out with some general criteria and then fine-tune your results as needed. By starting out with complex, detailed criteria, it is possible to overlook simple operational errors and end up with a report that generates no results. Start broad, then narrow it down.
- If your report does return zero results, try removing one or more criteria at a time to broaden your search. Start with the most complex filter. Once the report is populating results again, return to fine-tuning the report criteria. This can be an effective way of troubleshooting finicky report criteria to get good granular data.
- Not all columns can make use of all aggregate options. If the column you selected does not populate its aggregate correctly, it could be because of the data being aggregated, not the aggregation feature itself.
- Users must have access to the application that a report was created in to be able to add it to their desktop. For instance, to add a report created in Analysis to your desktop, you need to have permission to the Analysis application.
Examples
For some great reporting examples, you may want to sample the following: