Updated as of Version 26.02.
Ready to upgrade? Contact PeopleFluent Support.

Custom Reports

If you have report specifications that are not met by the standard reports, you can create custom reports related to specific areas of the LMS.  Custom reports are created in the Report Wizard, which breaks the process into several stages: Properties, Columns, Grouping, Order, Filters and Summary.

To create custom reports in the Report Wizard, your role must have unrestricted access to the Report Wizard feature.

Create and Configure a Custom Report

Step 1: Create the Report and Set the Main Properties

  1. Go to Manage Center > Reports > Report Generators > Report Wizard.
  2. Click + Create Report. The Create a new report page opens at the Properties step.
  3. In the Report ID: field, enter a unique id for the report.
  4. In the Report Name: field, a report name.
  5. In the Report Type: field, choose the type from the drop-down options.

When you make a selection, a description of the type is shown.  Review the description to ensure you have chosen the appropriate type for the goal of your report.

  1. Click Save.

Step 2: Select Report Columns

The columns you can include depend on the report type you selected in step 1. The available columns are organized into groups of related data (for example, user properties, competency). You can select and include columns from multiple groups.

  1. Click Columns.
  2. Click a column group heading to expand the group and show the available columns. Alternatively, click Expand All to show all the columns from all groups.
  3. Select the check boxes of the columns you want to include in the report. Hover over a column name for a brief description.
  4. When you have added all columns, click Save.

Step 3: Select Report Grouping Information

Select the summary information to include. This can be useful for numerical data, where you can retrieve totals and the minimum, maximum and average values, for example.

  1. Click Grouping and the columns you selected in step 3 are listed.
  2. Select the check boxes for the summary information you want to include.
  3. Click Save.

Step 4: Select Report Column Order

Select the order in which the columns are shown in the report output. By default columns are shown in the order presented in the Columns step of the Report Wizard.

  1. Click Order. The columns selected for the report are listed in their default order.
  2. Click and drag a column to a new position in the list.
  3. Click Save.

Step 5: Select Report Column Filters

Select the criteria used to filter the records returned in the report. You can add multiple filters, and the filters available depend on the report type (specified in the Properties step of the Report Wizard).

The Business Unit Details - User and Organization Visibility filter is always applied and its value determines which users can be included in the report results. By default, it will be set to filter users and organizations based on the user executing the report.  This can be changes to filter users and organizations based on the report owner.

  1. Click Filters.
  2. In the Filter field, select a column. It is added to the table of filters.
  3. Configure the filter:
  1. Select an operator from the drop-down list. The choice of operators varies depending on the data type of the filter column.
  2. Enter the value to compare the report data with.
  3. Select any other options specific to the filter column's data type (for example, whether text is case-sensitive, or for dates, whether a date is relative to the report execution date instead of a fixed date).
  4. Click Add. The filter is added to the list.
  1. Repeat these steps to add more filters.
  2. Click Save.

Step 6: Select Custom Report Output Options and Access Permissions

The Summary step shows the report properties, columns, and column grouping and filtering, if applied. You can select the output format and configure the report's access permissions. Only users with unrestricted access permission can edit the report in the wizard. Users with read-only or unrestricted access can run the report. After saving the report, you can also run it or schedule it.

  1. Click Summary.
  2. In the Output section, click the appropriate output option.
  3. Select additional output options by clicking the appropriate checkboxes.
  4. Click the Permissions button to set access permissions for the report.  Read-only allows the user to access and view the report.  Unrestricted additionally allows the user to edit the report.
  5. Click Save.

Step 7: Configure Advanced Options

The Report Wizard provides advanced options for selecting tables, identifying sort columns and creating custom report SQL selection criteria. 

  1. Click the Advanced button.
  2. Configure the options as described below:
  • Select Optional Tables for Custom Reports - You have the option to choose additional tables. If an optional table is missing data for any records in the report, its selected columns will display empty values. For instance, if you select "Direct Appraiser - User ID" as a column in a report listing learners, and wish to include those without a direct appraiser, mark the "Direct Appraiser" table as optional.
  1. Click Ext. tables. The tables you can select as optional are listed.
  2. Select a table's check box to include rows in the report output that do not have a record in the table. Alternatively, clear its check box to exclude results where the table contains no data.
  3. Click Save.
  • Select Sort Columns - You can determine how your results are arranged. They can be sorted based on one or multiple columns, regardless of the order chosen, but they will always be sorted in ascending order. To configure the sorting of a report, choose the columns to sort by and specify their sequence. For instance, you could sort by "Module ID" first and then by "User ID" to organize the results by course and, within each course, by participant. You can sort the columns in reports output to CSV files directly in a spreadsheet application.
  1. Click Sorting. The tables you can sort are listed.
  2. Select the check boxes of the tables you want to sort on.
  3. Enter the order in which the columns are used to sort the results. Enter 1 for the highest priority, 2 for the next highest and so on.
  4. Click Save.
  • Edit Custom Report SQL Selection Criteria -  You have the option to add extra filter conditions to the SQL WHERE clause for ad hoc filtering. Additionally, you can modify the WHERE clause itself, reflecting the filters chosen on the Filters page of the Report Wizard. The SQL statement provides a view of the tables available for your filtering requirements.
  1. Click Edit SQL. The SQL SELECT statement for the report is shown, along with the SQL for the filter.
  2. Enter your additional filter criteria in the bottom, editable text box. Start with AND.
  3. Optionally, select the check box to edit the original filter criteria (the WHERE clause).
  4. Click Save.

Run or Schedule the Report

On the Summary tab, select a run option:

  • Click Run now in browser to run the report immediately and view it in your browser.
  • Click Run now in batch reports to run the report immediately and make it accessible in Batch Reports. When the report has completed running, a link to Batch Reports is available.  Click on the link to access the Batch Reports area and view the report.
  • Click Schedule to schedule the report to run in a future time or on a regular basis. Enter the scheduling parameters and click Set Schedule.
To create a schedule to run the report automatically, your role must have unrestricted access to the Report Scheduler feature.

Are you a PeopleFluent administrator?
Check out our Help Center or Contact Support.

Was this article helpful?

0 out of 0 found this helpful