3.4. Creating a Simple Report

Setting up a Report: Display Fields

The Display Fields tab lets you select the fields/columns in your reports and their display order (column order). Depending on which report type you select, a specified set of fields will be available to add to the report.

On the left of the Simple Reports Interface is an accordion menu that groups types of fields. This list will change depending on the type of report you've selected in the first field. All report types have menu options for Common Fields and All Fields, as well as groups of fields relevant to each report type. 

1. Select an option from the left-hand menu to expand its list of fields.
2. Click the checkbox next to each field that you want to display as a column in your report. 
   
3. As you select fields from the left, they will appear on the right under Field Display Order.
   
4. You can remove a field by clicking the minus button on the left of this area. You can also remove a field by unchecking it from the accordion menu on the far left.
5. You can adjust the display name of a field by clicking in the Name box and typing in a new name. The original field name will show below the Name box.
6. You can adjust the way certain data will display by using the Transform dropdown. Transform options will vary depending on the fields you have selected, and in some cases will default to a specific recommended transform value (e.g., fields that total payments will default to a transform of “Sum”). Many fields are constructed to avoid needing to use a transform, in particular date-related fields.
7. You can use the arrows on the right to move fields up and down the list. In tabular outputs, the list order top to bottom will determine the order of column display from left to right.

Determining Output Order

The order of the columns in your final report can be set in the Display Fields tab or in the Output Order tab. In addition to setting the Field Display Order, the Output Order tab also has options for changing the sort order. This allows you to determine both the order of the sorting (ascending or descending), and the priority order in which this sorting happens. For example, if a report will have three columns (Circulation Start Date/Time, Checkout Library Name, and Item Barcode), there are three different sorting/order options you can manipulate:

• First, which column will be on the left, which will be in the middle, and which will be on the right. This is the Field Display order.
• Next, the direction the data in each column will be sorted in the output for each column. The Circulation Start Date/Time could be sorted in ascending order, from oldest date/time to newest, while the Checkout Library Name could be sorted in descending order alphabetically, and barcodes of the books sorted in descending order numerically.
• Finally, you can determine which columns to prioritize. Do you want all dates in order, with library names sorted within each date and barcodes sorted within each library? 

To set up your Output Order:

1. Once you have selected your display fields, click on the Output Order tab. This tab allows you to assign individual column sort orders.
   
2. On the left side of the screen you can rename columns, adjust transforms, and reorder your columns in this tab in the same way you can in the Field Display Order tab.
3. On the right side of the screen, select the Direction dropdown for each column. Choose Ascending or Descending for each column. Sort order will typically default to Ascending.
   
4. Determine which column should sort first, second, third, etc. The sorting is independent of the column display order, which is an important difference from the standard Evergreen Reports interface. Use the up and down arrows to put the columns into their sort order.

Setting Filters

Once you have established your sort orders, select the Filters tab. This tab allows you to apply filters to your report. Note that some fields are hidden from display but available for filtering, and vice-versa. For some types of data, such as library names, there may be multiple display fields (i.e. various names, shortnames, etc.) but only one field for filtering.

As in the Display Fields tab, the Filters tab has an accordion menu on the left which groups types of fields. Note that Suggested Filters are those suggested for the report type generally, not the specific columns you selected. On the right, the columns you have selected for display in your report will show under Fields Selected for Display. As you select filters, they will show under Filter Fields and Values with options for changing the Transform, Operator, and Value. 

To set your filters: 

1. Select an option from the left-hand menu to expand its list of fields, and select the checkbox next to each field that you want to use as a filter.
   
2. You can remove a filter field by clicking the minus button on the left of this area. You can also remove a field by unchecking it from the accordion menu on the far left.
3. You can adjust the way certain data will filter by using the Transform dropdown. An example of using a filter transform is using the “Age” transform on a Date field. Using this filter transform will give you a widget to enter a number and select a time interval.
4. You can choose a filter operator using the Operator dropdown.

Operator Values

Operator values can vary for different filter fields, but common operators include:

In the example above, there are three filters on the report:

Some other notes on filters in Simple Reports:

Once you click Save and Schedule Report, your report will be saved and either run immediately or scheduled to be run, and you will be taken back to the main Simple Reports interface.

If you choose Run Report Now, your report output will be available in the My Outputs tab once the report is completed. Scheduled report output will be available in the My Outputs tab.