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Organize reports

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After you have designed building blocks and generated reports, it is helpful to organize these objects so that they are easier for users to locate. This topic contains the following sections that explain how to organize existing reports, building blocks, and objects in Management Reporter.

  • Maintain report versions

  • Create and organize folders in the report library

  • Rename a folder, report or building block

  • Create and manage report groups

  • Delete report library items

Maintain report versions

The report that appears in the report library is always the most current version of the report. However, a report can have many different versions. Each time that a report is generated, Management Reporter puts the new version of the report in the report library.

Note

When you delete a version of a report, it cannot be recovered.

View a specific version of a report

  1. In Desktop Viewer, click Report Library in the navigation pane.

  2. Right-click a report, and then select Show Versions.

  3. In the Versions dialog box, select the report version to view, and then click Open.

Rename a version of a report

  1. In Desktop Viewer, click Report Library in the navigation pane.

  2. Right-click a report, and then select Show Versions.

  3. In the Versions dialog box, select the report version to rename, and then click Rename. The Name field becomes active.

  4. Type the new name, press Enter, and then click Close.

Delete a specific version of a report

  1. In Desktop Viewer, click Report Library in the navigation pane.

  2. Right-click a report, and then select Show Versions.

  3. In the report Versions dialog box, select the report version to delete, and then click Delete.

  4. Click Yes to permanently delete the report, and then click Close.

Create and organize folders in the report library

In Desktop Viewer, you can create folders to organize your reports in the report library.

Note

When you move a report from its original location in the report library, you are only moving a copy of that report, and the moved report is not listed in the version list of the original report. For more information about report versions, see Maintain report versions.

To permanently change the report library output location for a report, see the “Specify output locations” section in Output and Distribution tab settings.

Create a folder

  1. In Desktop Viewer, click Report Library in the navigation pane.

  2. In the navigation pane, select the existing folder that the new folder will be created under, and then complete one of the following actions:

    • Right-click the parent folder and select New Folder.

    • Select the parent folder, click File, and then select New Folder.

  3. When the new folder appears, type the name of the new folder, and then press Enter.

Move a folder or object in Report Designer

When you move a folder or building block that is used for a report, Management Reporter maintains the link to the moved object. As a result, you do not have to update the associations between building blocks and reports.

Move a folder or object in Report Designer

  1. In Report Designer, use the navigation pane to locate the folder or building block to move.

  2. Select the folder or item, and then drag it to a new location in the navigation pane. All contents of a folder are moved with the folder.

Move a folder or report in the report library

If you move a folder in the report library that is used as the output location for a report, the report library location in the associated report definition is updated.

However, if any of the reports in the moved folder have related report links, you must manually update the report links on the Output and Distribution tab of the report definition. For more information about related report links, see Generate a report.

When you move a report, you can move either the most recent version or all versions of the report. If you move a specific version, that version is no longer associated with the original report and will not be updated when the report is regenerated.

Move a folder or report in the report library

  1. In Desktop Viewer, click Report Library in the navigation pane.

  2. Select a folder or report, and then drag it to a different folder or to the report library. All contents of a folder are moved with the folder.

Rename a folder, report, or building block

You can rename folders, reports, building blocks, and other objects in Management Reporter to help organize your files. Depending on the type of object that you rename, you might have to update associations to that object.

Rename a folder or building block in Report Designer

In Report Designer, you can rename folders, report definitions, row definitions, column definitions, and reporting tree definitions.

Note

When you rename a building block, you must update any reporting definitions that use the building block, or a new report cannot be generated successfully.

Rename a folder or building block in Report Designer

  1. In Report Designer, use the navigation pane to locate the folder or object to rename.

  2. Right-click the folder or object, and then click Rename. The Name field in the navigation pane becomes active.

  3. Type a new name, and press Enter.

  4. If the item is a row definition, column definition, or reporting tree definition, you must update other building blocks that are associated with the item. Right-click the item that you renamed in step 3, select Associations, and then select an item in the list to update it.

  5. Repeat step 4 until all associated items are updated.

Rename a report or folder in the report library

In Desktop Viewer, you can rename folders, reports, report versions, and external documents in the report library.

When you rename a folder that is used as the output location for a report, the link to the renamed folder is used as the output location for all future versions of that report.

When you rename a report in the report library, you are renaming a specific version of the report. The next time that the report is generated, the original report name is used, but your renamed version still appears in the version list.

Rename a report or folder in the report library

  1. In Desktop Viewer, click Report library in the navigation pane.

  2. Right-click an item, and then click Rename.

  3. Type a new name, and then press Enter.

Create and manage report groups

You can group report definitions to generate multiple reports at the same time.

To create, modify, delete, and generate report groups, you must have the role of designer or administrator. Users with the role of generator can generate and view report groups and can also modify the user report definitions setting for report groups.

Create a report group

  1. In Report Designer, click Report Groups in the navigation pane.

  2. On the File menu, select New, and then select Report Group Definition, or click Report Group in the toolbar to open a new report group in the viewer window.

  3. Click the Report Group tab. To override the information on the individual report definitions for the generation of this report, select the Override company, detail, and date settings from individual report definitions check box. The company name, detail level, provisional, and date information is populated automatically but you can still make updates. For a description of these fields, see Report Group tab descriptions.

  4. Select the Include all reporting currencies check box if you want multiple reports generated displaying those currencies. Multiple views will then be available by clicking the Currency button on the Web Viewer when you view the report.

  5. In the Reports in group field, click Add to select the reports to include in the Report group. To select multiple reports in the Add dialog box, hold down the Ctrl key while you select reports. Click OK.

  6. On the Group Distribution tab, you can select the location for the single report group link. Type the name for the report and select the View report group when generated check box for the report to open in the Web Viewer after it is generated.

  7. Select and specify single or multiple library and link locations. For more information about these fields, see Group Distribution tab descriptions.

  8. On the Report Distribution tab, you can select the location for the individual reports in the group. Select the Override report locations check box to use the locations specified on this tab for this generation of the report. By default, Use report group locations is selected and generates the reports to the library and link locations specified in the individual Report Definitions.

  9. Select and specify single or multiple library and link locations for this report. For more information about these fields, see Report Distribution tab descriptions.

  10. On the File menu, click Save, or click Save in the toolbar to save the new report group.

View a report group

  1. In Report Designer, click Report Groups in the navigation pane.

  2. Double-click a report group to open the group. The reports that are included in that group are displayed in the Reports in group field.

Modify a report group

  1. In Report Designer, click Report Groups in the navigation pane.

  2. Double-click the report group to modify.

  3. Click the Report Group tab, and make the changes that you want. For a description of these fields, see Report Group tab descriptions.

  4. To modify options for generating a report for the report group, click the Group Distribution and Report Distribution tabs. For a description of these fields, see Group Distribution tab descriptions and Report Distribution tab descriptions.

  5. On the File menu, click Save, or click Save in the toolbar to save the modified report group.

Note

If you have scheduled reports to be generated at set intervals, you can override those settings and generate a report immediately.

Generate a report group report

  1. In Report Designer, click Report Groups in the navigation pane.

  2. Open the report group to generate.

  3. Click Generate Report to generate reports. If you selected View report group when generated on the Group Distribution tab, the Web Viewer opens and displays links to the generated reports.

Delete a report group

  1. In Report Designer, click Report Groups in the navigation pane.

  2. In the navigation pane, right-click the report group, and then select Delete.

  3. When a deletion verification window appears, click Yes.

Report Group tab descriptions

The following table provides descriptions of the fields on the Report Group tab.

Item

Description

Override company, detail, and date settings from individual report definitions

Select this check box to override individual report definitions of the reports in this report group for the generation of these reports only.

Company name

Select the company to use for the reports.

Detail level

  • Financial− A high-level summary report. You cannot drill down to accounts and dimensions, except for those added through a reporting tree.

  • Financial & Account− A report that contains a high-level summary and account details.

  • Financial, Account, & Transaction− A report that contains a high-level summary and transaction details.

Provisional

  • Posted activity only− Includes only the transactions and balances that are posted in your financial data.

  • Posted and unposted activity− Includes all of the transactions and balances that are entered and posted in your financial data.

  • Unposted activity only− Includes only the transactions that are entered, but not yet posted, in your financial data.

Include all reporting currencies

If additional reporting currencies are configured in your Microsoft Dynamics ERP system, they will be listed here. Select to have additional reports generated in the indicated currencies. They can then be viewed in the Web Viewer by clicking the Currency button and selecting a currency. For more information about multicurrency translation, see Translate report currency.

Date information not saved with report definition

  • Base period

  • Base year

  • Period covered

Only Default Base Period settings are saved with the report definition. For more information about these fields, see the “Specify report periods and dates” section in Report tab settings.

Date information saved with report definition

  • Report date

  • Default base period

For more information about these fields, see the “Specify report periods and dates” section in Report tab settings.

Reports in group

Add, remove, and re-order reports in the report group.

  • To add report definitions to the report group, double-click the report group to open it, and then click Add. Select the reports to include in the report group, and then click OK.

  • To remove a report from the report group, select it, and then click Remove.

  • To modify the order in which the reports are generated, select a report in the list, and then click Move up or Move down.

Group Distribution tab descriptions

For more information about the advantages of using the Microsoft SharePoint or network link location for your reports, see the “Advantages of using a link location” section in Generate a report.

Item

Description

Output name

Type a name for the report.

View report group when generated

Select this check box to have Web Viewer open after the reports are generated.

Generate to a single report library and link location

Select to save the reports to one location.

Click Browse to browse and select a location in the report library and then add a SharePoint or network link location. You can browse to a link location or type an address.

Generate to multiple report library locations

Select to have the reports saved to multiple library locations.

In the Repository Location field, click Select to choose the report library location. Click Add to type the path in the field. To remove a library location, select it, and then click Remove.

In the Related Report Link Location field, click Browse to locate and select a SharePoint or network location or type an address. Click Add to type the path in the field. To remove a link location, select it, and then click Remove.

Report Distribution tab descriptions

For more information about the advantages of using the Microsoft SharePoint or network link location for your reports, see the “Advantages of using a link location” section in Generate a report.

Item

Description

Override report locations

Select this check box to override the report location specified in the report definitions. To have reports go to the report group locations, select Use report group locations. If you specify one or more report library and link locations, select Generate to a single report library and link location or Generate to multiple report library and link locations.

Use report group locations

Select to have reports go to the location specified in the report group location.

Generate to a single report library and link location

Select to specify a single report library and link location for all of the reports in the report group.

Click Browse to browse and select a location in the report library and then add a SharePoint or network link location.

These settings are saved for the report group.

Generate to multiple report library locations

Select to specify multiple library locations for the all of the reports in the report group.

Click Select to choose the report library location. Click Add to type the path in the field. To remove a library location, select it, and then click Remove.

Click Browse to locate, and select a SharePoint or network location. Click Add to type the path in the field. To remove a link location, select it, and then click Remove.

Delete report library items

If you have Delete permissions, you can delete reports, folders, and external files in the report library. However, Delete, Edit, and Create permissions can be specific to a report or folder. For example, you might have Delete permissions for a specific report or folder in the report library, but not for other reports or folders.

Deleting works differently for different report library items. The following information describes how the Delete function works with each item:

  • Report – A report can have many versions. When you delete a report, you are prompted to delete the current version or all versions. To select the version from a list, select the report, and then click Show Versions on the View menu.

  • External File – When you delete an external file, you are prompted to confirm the deletion. External files do not have versions.

  • Folder – When you delete a folder, you are prompted to confirm the deletion. If you click Yes, the folder and all its reports and external files are deleted.

Delete report library items

  1. In Desktop Viewer, click Report Library in the navigation pane.

  2. Select an item, and then press Delete. To select multiple items, press and hold the Ctrl key.

  3. If you have selected one or more reports to delete, you are prompted to delete all versions or the most recent version. If you are deleting reports, in addition to folders or external files, you are prompted to delete all versions or the most recent version; however, this message pertains only to reports.

See Also

Web Viewer