Reports in a nutshell

You can use this topic to get familiar with the key tasks you can accomplish using the Reports app.

Reports components

The Reports app consists of a series of relationships between different components. Each component in Reports serves a specific purpose.

Component	Description	Detailed information
Roles	Roles specify the level of access each user has across the Reports app. There are three roles in Reports: Report Admin, Report Writer, and Report Reader.	Reports app permissions
Content folders	Content folders are used to organize and store content (reports, dashboards, and presentations), and define who can access content. You need to create at least one content folder and one content sub folder to provide Reports users with access to your organization’s content.	Creating content folders in Reports
Diligent One	Diligent One is the single data source that provides connectivity to the Diligent One data repository for your organization.
Views	Views are components that define the categories and fields from Diligent One that you can use to build a report. Fields are specific columns of data and categories are logical groupings of fields within a View.	Defining report data with Views
Reports	A report is a collection of fields presented in tabular format. The reports you can build depend on the data associated with a given Diligent One View. You visualize report data in multiple charts.	Creating reports
Templates	Diligent provides a series of templates that demonstrate the types of reports and dashboards you can create, and the data from the Diligent One apps you can include in your reports. You can copy these templates as a starting point for building out your reports and dashboards, and customize them as needed.	Copying reports and dashboards
Dashboards	A dashboard is a communication platform that allows you to display multiple reports and charts on a single page. Dashboards are normally organized by subject and type. A typical dashboard is designed with high level reports, with the ability to drill down to more detail, when required.	Showing reports on dashboards
Presentations	A presentation is a communication platform that displays multiple reports, charts, and rich content in a single presentation. Before creating a presentation, you must create at least one report or chart to include in the presentation.	Showing reports on presentations

Limitations and considerations

The Reports app works differently from other Diligent One apps. As a result, there are a variety of limitations and considerations to be aware of when using the app.

For more information, see Limitations and considerations in Reports.

Explore Views

A View is a component that defines the categories and fields from Diligent One that you can use to build a report. Views are pre-assembled by Diligent. You can gather information about each available View in the Reports app to verify that the View is generating the expected output, and see which reports have been built using certain Views.

1. Open the Reports app.

   The Browse page opens.

2. Select Create > Report.
3. Search, sort, or filter Views.
4. Hover your mouse over the appropriate View, and select More Details.
5. Select any of the following tabs to gather information about the selected View:
   • General provides summary information about the View and the option to download the information as a .doc or .pdf file
   • Fields lists all of the fields available in the View
   • SQL shows the View query in SQL
   • Reports lists all of the active reports that have been built using the selected View and allows you to navigate directly to these reports
6. Select to close the View Summary dialog box.

Copy templates

Diligent provides a series of templates that demonstrate the types of reports and dashboards you can create, and the data from the Diligent One apps you can include in your reports. You can copy these templates as a starting point for building out your reports and dashboards, and customize them as needed.

Copy a report

1. Open the Reports app.

   The Browse page opens.

2. Do one of the following:
   • To copy an existing report that you created, filter or search for the appropriate report.
   • To copy a template, under By Folder, navigate to the Diligent One Templates folder, and open the Report Templates sub folder.
3. Right-click the report and select Make a copy.

   The report is copied and the Data tab in Report Builder opens. You can now customize the report, as desired.

Copy a dashboard

1. Open the Reports app.

   The Browse page opens.

2. Do one of the following:
   • To copy an existing dashboard that you created, filter or search for the appropriate dashboard.
   • To copy a template, under By Folder, navigate to the Diligent One Templates folder, and open the Dashboard Templates sub folder.
3. Right-click the dashboard and select Make a copy.

   The dashboard is copied and opens in edit mode. You can now customize the dashboard, as desired.

   Note

   Dashboard templates contain multiple report templates. You must replace all of the existing report templates on the dashboard with the copied versions of the reports.

Visualize data

When you have finalized the data that you want to include in your report, you can begin adding charts to visualize data. The chart data correlates to the data defined in the table of the report.

1. Open the Reports app.

   The Browse page opens.

2. Open an existing draft report.
   Tip

   To view only the draft reports, select Reports in the Search Content box and select Draft under My Content.

3. In the Data tab, ensure you have some fields in column and rows. If not, drag and drop fields from the field list into the columns and rows.
4. Select the Charts tab.
5. Do one of the following:
   • To begin creating a chart, and allow Reports to automatically detect the chart type, leave Auto Chart selected.
   • To select a specific chart type, select in the upper-right corner, and select the appropriate chart you want to create from the Select Chart side panel.
6. Drag the fields you want to include in the chart to the content area.

   You can only select from the fields that have been included in the Data tab.

7. Format the chart, as required, and select Design to review the display of the chart.
   Tip

   Use the formatting toolbar in the top menu to format the chart

8. Save the report:
   1. Select Publish
   2. Enter a name and description for the report.
   3. Specify the content folder and subfolder to define where the report will be saved.
   4. Specify the report access and distribution settings.
   5. Select Save > Activate.

      Result The report is now available to users with the appropriate access.

Broadcast reports via email

Broadcasting a report is an effective way to share data with other people on a recurring basis. You can set up multiple broadcast schedules for a single report, which allows you to target different audiences, if required.

1. Open the Reports app.

   The Browse page opens.

2. Open the report you want to broadcast. Note that you can broadcast only the active reports, i.e., reports that have been published.
3. Select Broadcast .

   The Broadcast dialog box opens. If the report does not have broadcast settings enabled, you must turn on Broadcast and select Save to proceed.

4. Select Create New > Broadcast.

5. In the Recipients field, enter the email recipients:

   • Basic specifies users, users groups, and email addresses that will receive the broadcasted report.

     To specify an email address, enter the email address in the Recipients field, and hit Enter.

   • Advanced displays existing reports that contain a list of email addresses that can be used to broadcast the report

     The email addresses do not have to belong to users. Other columns in the report can be linked to a master report as filters, which results in a uniquely filtered report sent to each email address. The column in the report that contains the list of email addresses must be formatted as Email

   Note

   Diligent One Platform does not support email addresses with accents or non-Latin characters.

6. In the Email Subject field, enter a subject for the email.
7. Specify the format of the report in the email by selecting one of the following options:

   

8. Optional. In the Email Body field, enter an additional message to accompany the report.
9. Optional. If your report contains filters, specify which filters to apply to the broadcast report.
10. Define delivery rules:
    • Continuous the report will be delivered based on the defined schedule
    • Alert the report will be delivered based on the defined schedule if the results match the alert rules
11. Under Frequency, define how often and when the report should be broadcasted, and optionally limit the broadcast schedule to run only within a set period of time.
    Note

    Under Advanced settings, the Failure Notification option is not supported.

12. Select Submit.

    Result The broadcast schedule is set.

Displaying reports

Create Dashboards

Dashboards allow you to display multiple tables and / or charts on a single page, and use tabs to organize reports by subject and type. A typical dashboard is designed with high level reports, with the ability to drill down to more detail, when required.

1. Open the Reports app.

   The Browse page opens.

2. Select Create > Dashboard to present relationships between multiple reports and charts.

   The Create New Dashboard dialog box appears.

3. In the Dashboard Name field, enter a name for the dashboard.
4. Optional. Select a layout from Choose Layout.
5. Select Create and you are directed to the newly created dashboard.
   Tip

   Use the Dashboard Properties panel to configure the dashboard.

6. Select Reports.
7. Search or filter for reports you want to add to the dashboard, and drag and drop reports to the content area.
   Tip

   Use the Report Properties panel to configure the report.

8. Optional. To add other elements such as text, graphics, and widgets to the dashboard, use the options in the left sidebar.
9. Optional. To create a sub tab, select + Create Sub Tab in the upper left .
10. Optional. To preview the dashboard before publishing, select Preview Mode in the upper right.
11. Save the dashboard:
    1. Select Publish, enter a name and description for the dashboard, and specify the appropriate content folder and sub-folder to define where the dashboard will be saved.
    2. Define the dashboard access.
    3. Select Save.

       Result The dashboard is now available to users with the appropriate access.

Create Presentations

Presentations display tables, charts, and rich content, including images and videos, in a series of slides. You can create presentations to summarize data findings, trends, or patterns, and present the information to key stakeholders.

1. Open the Reports app.

   The Browse page opens.

2. Select Create > Present.

   The Create New Presentation dialog box appears.

3. Enter a name for the presentation, and select Create. You are directed to the newly created presentation.
   Tip

   Use the Present Properties panel to configure the presentation.

4. Select Reports.
5. Search or filter for reports you want to add to the presentation, and drag and drop reports to the content area.
   Tip

   Use the Report Properties panel to configure the report.

6. Optional. To add other elements such as text, graphics, and widgets to the presentation, use the options in the left sidebar.

7. Optional. To add more slides to the presentation, select Slides > > New, enter a title and select Create.
8. Optional. To preview the presentation before publishing, select Preview Mode in the upper right.
9. Save the presentation:
   1. Select Publish, make sure to give a name and description for the presentation, and specify the appropriate content folder and sub-folder to define where the presentation will be saved.
   2. Define the presentation access.
   3. Turn on Theme if you want to save this presentation as a theme.
   4. Select Save.

      Result The presentation is now available to users with the appropriate access.