Report Builder

The Report Builder gives you the ability to build your own reports, including charts and graphs. You can select the columns to include, the group-by options, and metrics with a variety of calculations. You can save your reports, share them with others in your organization, and add them to the Report Scheduler.

The Report Builder is accessible from the Navigator. When you open it, you will see a list of saved reports. You can run one of the reports, make changes, or create a new report.

You can create reports based on data from the following modules:

Biographical
Gifts and Pledges
Membership
Campaign
Event
Volunteer
Grant
Guest

As you build a new report, you add columns of data from the tables associated with the report type you have selected. If you wish to add a metric, such as a count or total, you must first group your data by the column you wish to use as the metric. For example, if you wish to show the total amount of gifts for each Reason code, you would group by Reason and then apply a metric to the gift amount.

Once the report is built, you can create a chart or graph to display the data in the report. You can export the data to an Excel, CSV file a PDF.

To build a report using the Report Builder, follow these steps:

Select Report Builder from the Navigator.
A list of existing reports appears. You can filter this list using the options above the list, or you can sort the list by clicking on the column headers.
Click on the New Report button on the right side of the screen.
From the New Report screen, enter a title and description for your report.
Select the type of data that will be used in the report. For example, Bio Reports will allow you to select data related to households, organizations, individuals, couples, etc., including gift totals, but will not include details about individual gifts.
Click on Start Design.
1. The Report Design screen opens. The first time you open the Report Design screen, it may take a while to prepare the data. This is because it is building new tables to be used for these reports. Once these tables are built, the Report Design screen will open much more quickly.
  
  Note the blank report in the center of the screen. On the right are several buttons that apply to the report. Below the buttons is the Tool Box. The buttons are as follows:
  1. Save - to save the report
  2. Save As - to save a copy of the report with a different name. This is useful if you wish to modify a report without losing the original.
  3. Schedule Report - to add the report to the Report Scheduler. The Report Scheduler will generate and email the report automatically on a periodic basis.
  4. Permissions - to give other users permission to run and/or modify the report.
  5. Delete Report - to delete the report.
  6. Export As - to create an export file containing the data in the report. The export can be exported to Excel, saved as a CSV file, or generated as a PDF.
2. Below the buttons the Toolbox appears. This is where you will select the data for the report, add groupings, filters, sort orders, and change the column titles. The Toolbox includes the following elements:
  1. Add Column - this displays a list of all of the data fields that you can include in your report. The list includes all of the fields that are available for this type of report. If you are missing a particular field, it is possible that you need to select a different report type. Note that this list does not include User Defined Fields (UDFs) or tags. Those fields are available in the next drop down list called UDFs and Tags.
    
    You can search for a particular field by typing in the box at the top of the drop down list of fields.
    
    When you select a column to add, the column name appears in the Toolbox below the Add Column button. It also appears on the sample report. As you add additional columns, each is added to the list. To move a column to a different position on the report, drag the column name up or down in the toolbox list.
    To remove a column, click on the X on the column name.
    
    The sample report displays up to 500 records. You can select the number of records to display from the Show drop down in the upper left hand corner of the sample report. To see the full results, you need to export the report as described above.
    
    Each column name that you have selected in the toolbox includes a gear icon. Click on this icon to fine tune the column as follows:
    1. Sort - sort the report by this column. You can select ascending or descending. Note that if you use the gear to set a sort on a second column, this will keep the first sort and add a second subsort.
    2. Summary Row - include a total (for numeric fields) or a count for this column at the bottom of the report.
    3. Use Custom Label - relabel the column. Enter a different name for this column.
  2. UDFs and Tags - this allows you to add User Defined Fields and Tags to your report. These fields do not include a gear and cannot be sorted or totaled.
  3. Metric - this is used for grouping and calculating summary data to create statistical reports and graphs. Before you can add a metric, you need to determine what field you are going to group by for this metric. For example, to create a pie chart showing your gift totals by Campaign, you group by Campaign and then use the gift amount for the calculation for each group (Campaign, in this case).
    
    To add a metric, select the field you wish to calculate. If you have not yet selected the Group By field, you are prompted to make the selection. The Group By field must be one of the fields already in the report. The Group By field appears below the metric in the tool box.
    
    The newly added metric shows the count for the field selected. If you want a different calculation, or other modifications to the metric, click on the gear in the box in the toolbox showing the metric name. The gear allows you to set parameters for the metric as follows:
    1. Calculation - for numeric fields, you can select the type of calculation, for example, total or average.
    2. Comparison Calculation - for a percent of total calculation.
    3. Use Currency Format - to add commas and decimals to a numeric field.
    4. Summary Row - to include a total at the bottom of the report.
    5. Apply FIlter - to filter on the metric itself, to only include certain rows in the report depending on the value of the metric.
    6. Use Custom Label - to change the report label for the metric column.
  4. Filter - this allows you to create a filter for the data in the report. The filter sets the logic to be used when adding data to the report. As you create the filter, you select the field to filter on and the logic to use. If you add more than one field to the filter, you must indicate if a record must be true for both the fields being filtered (AND) or it can be true for one or the other (OR). For more information on building filters, see the Using Filters topic.
  5. UDFs and Tags Filter - these fields require a separate filter. If you include this filter, data must pass through both filters (AND) to be included in the report.
Once you have completed your report design, click on the Save button to save it.
1. At the top right of your sample report there are additional options:
  1. Add a chart - this allows you to turn your report into a graph. Charts are only available for reports that include at least one metric. After you click on this icon, make the following choices:
    1. Type of chart: Bar, Pie, Donut, or Line.
    2. Group to plot.
    3. Metric to use.
      The chart appears in the same window underneath the sample report. Use the gear on the chart window to add a title, change the font and colors, and change the legend.
  2. Clone This Table - this creates a second copy of the sample table. It appears in the same window as the original. This is useful if you wish to see all of the data in the table at the same time that you add metrics. For example, you can leave the data table without metrics, and do all of your calculations, including creating a chart, on the cloned table.
    
    If you have cloned your table and/or you have a chart, it can be confusing to know which window you are working on. Notice that when you select one of the windows, a green border appears around it. That is your signal that you are working on that item, whether the original report, a clone or a chart. When you click on the Save button, you are saving all of the windows that you have open.
  3. Refresh - this updates the table to reflect any changes that might have happened to the data since you started designing the report.
  4. Gear - this allows you to change certain settings for the report. For example, you can change the fonts and colors, and change the label for the total row, if you have included one.