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Report Folder
Contents
- Introduction
- Organising Your Reports in Folders
- Storing new Reports
- Working with Your Reports
- Sending Your Reports to Other Users
Introduction
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Please Note! Within this document, the HRT application is used as an example, however other AIS applications (e.g. CET) also support the Report Folder. While some features and images shown here may be specific to HRT, the basic principle of using the Report Folder remains the same for other AIS applications. |
What is the Report Folder?
The Report Folder is a mean of storing your most frequently used queries for AIS applications such as HRT and CET. Once you have used a form to build a query and have set your display preferences (like the list of columns of interest), you may save all of these settings for future use. Once you have saved a report, you may run it at any time. The data will always be selected and formatted in the way that you originally specified.
Storing a report also allows you to schedule a report for automatic execution. E.g. once scheduled, a report is executed in a certain interval (e.g. daily, weekly or monthly) and the results are sent by email to a list of recipients you are free to define. Please click here to learn more about scheduling reports.
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Keep it structured! Creating a structured filing system allows you to keep track of your saved reports more easily. For example, it is possible to create a folder for each category of report that you use (for instance one for reports concerning the people you might be responsible for and another one for data directly related to data you require for fulfilling your tasks/services). It is recommended that you create some folders as a basic storage system before you begin to create reports. All the folders you have created can be deleted, renamed or moved to another location at any time. All the reports created in one folder can also be moved to other folders. Thus, your report folder can evolve over time and be adapted to future changes. |
Where to Find it
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The Report Folder can be accessed from the HRT/CET desktop and from all the reports. On the desktops as well as in every report, a "Services" menu is accessible to you. This service menu provides you access to the most common services of the application. The report folder is part of these services. On the desktop, the services menu is opened by clicking the grey wheel in the button bar that is situated on the upper right part of the window, just below the version number. From the reports, the services menu is reachable via a textual link "Services" at the upper right part of the form.
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The Report Folder Interface
When you open the Report Folder, it presents itself as shown below:
The Report Folder screen consists of two parts. On the left-hand side, there is the folder tree. On the right-hand side, there is the list of reports that are attached to the currently selected folder. In the above screenshot, the currently selected folder is the root folder (which has a slash as its name '/').
Above each part of the screen (folders and reports), there is a toolbar. The icons are shown in black and white when no action is possible. As soon as a folder or a specific report is selected, the available icons are coloured and clickable. A small tooltip (popup note) indicates the purpose of each button.
Both parts, the folder tree view and the reports table also have a context menu (popup menu), which appears when right clicking on any folder or report. In the context menu, several options depending on the type of folder or report are available. For example it is possible to quickly rename a folder or a report. A report can also be executed, edited or scheduled via the context menu. For folders tree view, specific options like "Expand/Collapse All" are available.
Organising your Reports in Folders
All of your folders are arranged in a tree-like structure beneath a root folder. Folders may contain sub-folders and are used to classify stored reports. They may also be created, renamed, moved or deleted, although you cannot perform these actions on the root folder. Before any of these actions can be performed it is necessary to select a folder to work with.
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First time use. The first time you use the Report Folder, only one, unnamed folder is available. This is the root folder and it is selected by default. Many of the below examples assume that a more complex structure is already in place (you can quickly build one by following the given instructions). Most of the toolbar icons are grey the first time you open the Report Folder. In order to use them you first have to select a folder or a report to work with. |
Navigating in the Folder Tree
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Navigate between folders by using the "plus" and "minus" icons to expand or collapse parts of the folder tree structure. Clicking on the folder icons or the folder names also works.
When you have found the folder that you have been looking for you can select it to view which reports it contains. To do so, you can either double click it or move to a folder and choose "Select" from the context menu which is shown when a folder is right-clicked on. As soon as a folder is selected, the list of attached reports is updated on the right-hand side of the screen. In the example on the left-hand side, the currently selected folder is "Planning". In order to select the folder "Short Term", you can right-click it and then choose "Select" from the opening context menu. As mentioned earlier, the same is achieved by double-clicking the node. |
causes the folder next to it to open. 
icon causes the folder next to it to close. Creating a New Folder
You can create a new folder anywhere you like within the structure you have built. Only the "Inbox" folder is not allowed to have any child folders. After creating, a folder can be used straight away to attach your reports and/or other folders.
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The image next to this text illustrates how to create a new folder. There are two ways to start:
The new folder will be created inside of the selected folder. Once the "New Folder" button clicked or the context menu item "Add New Subfolder" selected, a small dialog pops up. There you should provide a the name for the new folder (3) before either confirming or cancelling the folder creation (4). In the case, you confirmed the folder creation, the new folder will appear in the folder tree below its parent. |
Renaming an Existing Folder
Renaming a folder works similarly to the creation of a new folder. You have two options to reach the renaming functionality. Either you select a folder and click on the rename icon in the toolbar above the tree or you choose "Rename" in the context menu of a folder. In both cases, a dialog similar to the one shown above for the creation of a new folder, will appear. It allows you to enter a new name and to confirm or cancel your change.
Moving an Existing Folder
To help keep your folder structure in a manageable state, it is possible to move folders around within the tree structure. If you move a folder, all of its sub-folders and any reports that it contains are moved along with it.
Moving folders works using drag and drop. In order to initiate a folder move, point the mouse to the folder you want to move, click it and keep the mouse button pressed down. The folder will become surrounded by a black border and gets a grey background. It can now be moved to another folder.
As soon as you move the folder over another folder and you are allowed to drop your folder there, the background and the border of your dragged folder changes to green. Now, if you release the pressed mouse button, the folder (together with all its sub-folders) will be moved to its new location. See the example in the below screenshot:
Deleting an Existing Folder
You may delete unwanted folders from your folder structure at any moment. Remember that any sub-folders or reports stored within the deleted folder will also be erased, so use this facility with care. There is no possibility to roll a deletion back in the case the deletion was accidental or unintentional!
If you are sure, you want to delete a folder, you can proceed by selecting the folder and then either choosing the delete button from the toolbar above the folder tree or the "Delete" entry from the folder's context menu. Once the button or the context menu item is clicked, you will be asked to confirm your intention before the deletion is actually carried out.
After a folder has been deleted, it will immediately disappear from the folder tree. It, as well as all its sub-folders and all reports attached to it, will be physically removed from the database.
Storing new Reports
It is not possible to create a report directly from the Report Folder application. These pages only provide a mean of browsing and loading existing reports. To create a report, you must first prepare a report in an AIS application such as HRT or CET. You can do this following these instructions:
Go to HRT or CET and open the report you wish to store. In this example, the HRT Personnel List will be used as an example. Open the Personnel List (see point 1 in below screenshot), enter some criteria (2), choose the columns and orderings you require and then click the "Store Report" (3) button.
Now, the HRT/CET Report Folder will be opened in a popup window. You recognise that the folder is in the "Store Report" mode because of the red message box directly below the page header. At first you should select a folder in which you want to place the report to be stored (4). The selection is done by either double-clicking the desired folder or by right-clicking it and selecting "Select" from the context menu.
When you have selected the right folder, you should click on the link "click here" (5) in the red message box. The a small dialog pops up and asks you to enter a name for the new report (6). Type a name (be careful when choosing the name as each name has to be unique within a specific folder) and confirm your selection using the "Ok" button. You can also cancel the process by clicking "Cancel".
If a report with the same name already exists in the selected folder, you are asked whether you want to overwrite the existing report.
If the save operation succeeds, a small message will appear. Then the report appears in the list of reports being attached to the currently selected folder.
Working with your Reports
Your reports should be organised within the structure you have defined using folders. Reports may be executed, edited, renamed, moved, scheduled or deleted from within the Report Folder. In order to perform the various actions on a report, a report must be selected and then the desired action can be performed by pressing one of the available toolbar buttons. Another possibility is to just right click any report and choose the desired action from the available context menu.
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The screenshot next to this text shows all the available report actions.
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Selecting a Report
To select a report, at first find and select the folder which contains it. When you have found the right folder, click on any part of the report (e.g. its name or description). However do not click on the ones mentioned below to select it.
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Do not click on the report's icon (
) as it
will lead to the immediate execution of a report. -
Do not click on the report's scheduling settings icon (
)
as it opens the scheduling settings editor.
A selected report is highlighted using a different colour.
Executing a Report
Once saved, reports may be executed without going to the application's desktop or the actual report before. That is to say that the data itself is retrieved once the report has loaded, without any intervening steps. There are three ways of executing your stored report:
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Editing a Report
You may edit existing reports in order to make changes, run a slightly different 'one off' version, or as a shortcut to create and save an entirely new report.
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After having edited the report, you have several options of following up. You may run the report in the usual way, e.g. click the 'Retrieve' button on the form and gather the data. If you wish to save the changes you have made, you should store the modified report using the 'Store Report' button on the form. There you have two options:
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Create an entirely new stored report - to achieve this give the report a new name; or
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Update an existing report - to achieve this place the report in the same folder as the existing original. You should also assign an identical name to the new report. The application asks for confirmation whether you really want to overwrite the existing report. If you choose to do so, the new input parameters of the report are stored in the existing object. This operation does not erase the scheduling settings defined.
Renaming a Report
You may change the names of reports saved in the Report Folder.
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To rename a report, either right click it and select "Rename" from the context menu or select it and click the "Rename" button from the toolbar. Then you should see a small editor which pops up directly inside of the report list. The current name is preselected. Change the name according to your needs and confirm your changes. To cancel the name change, just use the corresponding second button. |
Moving a Report
Once you have saved a report, it is possible to change the folder that it is stored in. In order to achieve this, a report needs to be moved to a different folder by using drag and drop.
At first, before you can start dragging a report, you need to select it by clicking for example at its name (1). Then you click it again but this time you keep the mouse button pressed. You can now move the report around. As long as it is not above a potential target folder, the report is represented by a grey box (2). This box changes its colour to green as soon as you are allowed to move it to that folder (3).
When you are above the right folder, just release the mouse button. The report will be moved to the new folder. A short confirmation message appears and the report disappears from the list of reports as the current folder remains the selected (the report is available in the folder it was dropped at). If you change to the target folder, you will see the moved report there.
Scheduling a Report
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When you require a certain report to be executed with the same search criteria more than once or twice, the possibility to schedule reports for an automatic unattended execution may be of interest for you. HRT and CET both offer the possibility to define a report and to have it executed automatically in self-defined regular intervals. To use this feature:
Reports for which scheduling settings already exist are quickly identified by the small "Clock" icon in the second column of the report list. Clicking that icon allows you to quickly access these existing settings. For more details about setting the scheduling execution parameters, please refer to the Report Scheduling section. |
Deleting a Report
You may remove unwanted reports from the Report Folder by deleting them.
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In order to delete a report, right-click it and choose the "Delete" entry from the context menu or select it and click the red cross button from the toolbar. Before the report is actually deleted, you are asked a last time if you are really sure that you want to delete the report. You have the choice to confirm your intention with "OK" or to interrupt the action by hitting "Cancel". Be aware that deleting a report is definitive. There is no possibility for us to recover any deleted report! |
Sending Your Reports to Other Users
The Report Folder has a functionality that allows you to receive reports sent to you by other users and to send your saved reports to them. A dedicated folder called 'Inbox' allows you receiving reports from your colleagues.
Your Inbox
The first time someone sends you a report, an Inbox folder appears in your folder tree. The Inbox works like other folders described above. The only restrictions are that it is not possible to create subfolders nor to move in other folders or reports.
Reports sent by other users of AIS applications appear in your Inbox with an annotation about the sender in the description. Note that you do not receive notification of a new report arriving. Preferably ask the person sending a report to you for an alert.
To check the contents of your Inbox simply select it as you would do with a normal folder. Remember, that you may not have the Inbox icon in the folder list, it appears the first time when someone sends you a report.
Sending of a Report
Sending a report to another user is as simple as all the other functions you can perform with the Report Folder. Note that the recipient does not receive notification of a new report arriving, though the report holds an annotation about the sender. Therefore some prior communication with any persons to whom you are sending reports is useful.
To send a report, select it and choose the "Letter" button from the toolbar or the "Send" entry from its context menu (1). A new dialog will be opened. You can now enter the names of the intended recipients or the names of organic units into the text fields that have appeared (2). Once a report has been sent you are informed about it by a small alert window (3).
Note that you can enter names of several recipients separating them with commas. Sending to an organic unit (which can also be a virtual unit) is equivalent to sending to all of its members. A standard search facility is provided to enable you to choose the right person or organic unit.
Consideration of Application Access
Although it is possible to send any report to another user of an AIS application, it is worth remembering that other people might have different levels of access to the application data. For example, in HRT access is determined by your organic or PPA unit and any roles that you are holding. Although you can send a report to any other user the results that they get back might not be the same since it is their application access which is applied to the query and not yours.
Similarly, transmitting a report to a user with a "lower" level of access does not circumvent the access mechanisms in place. The receiving user simply sees the report's results with his or her own access levels applied (i.e. possibly he/she sees no, fewer or more rows than you).