Create and Configure 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 user role must have unrestricted access to the Report Wizard feature in System Roles (Manage Features > Report Categories).

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. Enter a unique ID for the report.
  4. Enter the report name.
  5. Select the report type from the drop-down list. The type of data returned by the selected report type is shown below the drop-down.
  6. Click Save.

Step 2: Select Report Columns

The columns you can include depend on the report type you selected in the Properties step. The available columns are organized into groups of related data (for example, user properties, competency). You can 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. You can hover the pointer over the column for a brief description.
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add columns from other groups.
  5. 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. The columns 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. There are two possible values, which you can choose between if you edit this filter:

  • Users and Organizations filtered based on User executing the report (default value)
  • Users and Organizations filtered based on Report Owner
  1. Click Filters. Any existing column filters columns are listed in the table.
  2. Select a column from the Filter drop-down list. The column is added to the bottom of the table of filters.
  3. Select the operator from the drop-down list. The choice of operators varies depending on the data type of the filter column. 
  4. Enter the value to compare the report data with. 
  5. 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).
  6. Click Add. The filter is added to the list.
  7. Repeat steps 2 to 6 to add more filters.
  8. Optionally, click Delete and Edit to delete and edit individual filters, respectively.
  9. 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. The report summary is shown.
  2. Select the output format for the report.
  3. Select the check boxes for the additional output options, as required.
  4. Optionally, click Permissions to update the access permissions for the report.
  5. Optionally, click Advanced to enable the advanced options for the report.
  6. Click Save.

Advanced Options

The Report Wizard provides advanced options for selecting tables, identifying sort columns and creating custom report SQL selection criteria.  Please see Custom Report Advanced Options for additional information.