The Advanced Report Wizard is an interactive tool which will walk through the process of creating a new report. All of the selections made in the Advanced Report Wizard can be modified in the Report Designer after the report is created.

To navigate the wizard, either click the desired tab or use the buttons at the bottom.

The Report Wizard has five tabs. The Name and Categories tabs must be completed while the other tabs are optional.

Name Tab

In the Name Tab, enter a report name and click on the Folder where the report will be saved.

The report name can be up to 255 characters. Avoid special characters such as ? : / \ * “ < >.

The report’s description appears at the bottom of the Main Menu when it is selected. The description text is also used when searching for a report.

Note

You cannot create a report inside a folder that is read-only ().

Categories Tab

In the Categories Tab, select the Data Categories that you would like to have access to on the report. It is important to understand two terms: Data Category and Data Field.

Data Category

A Data Category is a data object that has several attributes. E.g, Students is a category; each student has an ID, a major, an adviser etc.

Data Field

A Data Field is a single attribute within a category. E.g., Students.ID is the numeric value that identifies a specific student.

• To add a Data Category, either drag and drop it to the ‘Category Name’ Column, use the  button, or double-click the field.
• To search for a specific Data Category or folder, type its name into the Search box.
• To see what Data Fields are in a Data Category click the Information icon.
• Check the ‘Suppress Duplicates’ box to prevent duplicate information from appearing on the report.
• To remove a Data Category click the Delete icon.

Sorts Tab

In the Sorts Tab, specify which Data Fields will be used to determine the order of data on the report.

• To sort by a Data Field, either drag and drop it to the ‘Sort By’ Column, use the  button, or double-click the field.
• You can sort each Data Field in ascending (A- Z, 0-9) or descending (Z-A, 9-0) order.
• Use the Move Item Up and Move Item Down icons to change the sort priority.
• To remove a sort click the Delete icon.

Filters Tab

In the Filters Tab, create statements that will be used to filter the data when you execute the report.

There is no limit to the number of filters that can be defined. Filters can be numeric (up to eight decimal places) or alphanumeric.

• To filter a data Field, either:
  • drag and drop it to the ‘Filter By’ column,
  • click the Add Field arrow icon,
  • double-click the field
• Use the Move Item Up and Move Item Down icons to change the filter priority.
• To remove a filter, click the Delete icon.
• Set the operator (equal to, less than, one of, etc.) by selecting it from the operator drop-down.
• Set the filter value by either entering it manually or selecting a value from the drop-down. If the Data Field is a date, the calendar and function buttons can be used to select a value.
• Select ‘AND With Next Filter’ to require that the selected filter and the one below both evaluate to true. Choose ‘OR With Next Filter’ to require that either be true.
• Check ‘Group With Next Filter’ to specify the precedence of the filters. Filters can be nested indefinitely by using the following keyboard shortcuts while a filter is selected:
• Ctrl + [ adds an open-parenthesis before the selected filter.
• Ctrl + ] adds a close-parenthesis after the selected filter.
• Ctrl + Shift + [ removes an open-parenthesis from before the selected filter.
• Ctrl + Shift + ] removes a close-parenthesis from after the selected filter.
• Check ‘Prompt for Value’ to allow the filter to be modified at the time the report is executed.

Layout Tab

In the Layout Tab, select the Data Fields that will appear on the report. For each Data Field chosen, the report will automatically create a column header and place the Data Field in the detail section. Additionally, subtotals, grand totals, and a page header/footer can be created.

Display Data

• To place a Data Field on the report, either
  • drag and drop it to the ‘Data Field’ column,
  • click the Add Field arrow icon,
  • double-click the field
• Use the Move Item Up and Move Item Down ) icons to change the order the Data Fields should appear on the report. The Data Field at the top will appear on the report as the leftmost column.
• The Summary Function column is used to make subtotals and grand totals. 
• To remove a Data Field, click the Delete icon.

Using the ‘Summarize By’ box, you can display subtotals, grand totals, or headers for each unique value of a Data Field.

Sub-Totals and Grand Totals

• To display subtotals, check the box of the category you want subtotals for in the Summarize By box. Then for each Data Field you want totaled, select a Summary Function (see below).
• To display grand totals, check the Grand Total box. Then for each Data Field you want totaled select a Summary Function (see below).

Summary Functions:

• Sum: Totals the all of the data in the Data Field.
• Count: Returns the number of rows in the Data Field.
• Average: Takes the mean of the data in the Data Field.
• Minimum: Displays the lowest value in the Data Field.
• Maximum: Displays the highest value in the Data Field.

Data Headers

A check box will appear in the Summarize By box for each Data Category in the Sorts Tab. To display a header for each value of a Data Field, click on the associated Data Category in the Summarize By box. Click the Data Category name next to the checkbox, and the Header Menu will appear.

• To include a Header, check the box ‘Include Header at the beginning’. In order to select the text that will appear as the header value, use the Header drop-down to select a Data Field or use the Formula Editor Button () to create a formula.
• Use the ‘Summarize by each unique’ dropdown to specify if the header should repeat based on a specific field or fields within a Category.
• Check the box ‘Include Total at the end’ to have a subtotal created for this Category.

Page Header

To display information on the top of each page, click ‘Page Header’ below the ‘Summarize By’ box. A Page Header Menu will appear.

• Check the box ‘Include Title at the top of every page’ to display the name of the report on each page. If an image is also included, use the position dropdown to set where the title should appear and the number of columns it should span.

• Use the ‘Change Image’ button to upload an image to display at the top of each page. If a title is also included, use the position drop-down to set where the image should appear and the number of columns it should span.

Footers

To display information on the bottom of each page, check the ‘Page Footer’ box below the ‘Summarize By’ box. Click on 'Page Footer' next to the box, and the Page Footer Menu will appear.

• Check the box ‘Include page number at the bottom of every page’ to display the page number on each page. If an image is also included, use the position dropdown to set where the page number should appear and the number of columns it should span.
• Use the Change Image button to upload an image to display at the bottom of each page. If the page number is also included, use the position dropdown to set where the image should appear and the number of columns it should span.

Preview

At the bottom of the Layout Tab, a preview will display how the report will appear based on the fields that have been added.  You can increase the size of the preview or hide it all together by dragging or clicking the re-size button ().