Reports

The Reports tab provides users with the ability to query the BSI database. The Reports manager contains a table listing reports that have been saved and action buttons that allow users to edit and run reports. In addition, users can conduct quick specimen searches. Reporting is how users are able to access the BSI audit trail. A Reports editor is used to customize a pre-defined standard report or user defined report.

Any time zone aware fields (system date fields) displayed in a report will show the time zone as well as the date/time values. The date/time for time zone aware fields will be captured in the time zone of the user's computer. Date fields which are entered by the user are not time zone aware.

Users must have permission to access this module, though all users can run reports from any applicable table in BSI.

The Reports manager contains two panes with action buttons at the far right. In the left pane is a list of folders, organized in directories by institution. The home folder for the user logged in should be open by default. Selecting a folder will display the contents of that folder in the right pane.

The Contents pane (right pane) contains a table of reports and subfolders for the highlighted folder on the left. The following information is displayed in the Contents pane for each report:

• Name – The name of the report.
• Type – What kind of object it is. It is either a directory or a report in the Reports manager.
• User ID – The User ID of the report’s owner.
• Date Created –The date and time at which the report was created.
• Date Last Modified – The date and time at which the report was modified last.

Create a Report

When creating a new report, users can save its specifications. Saving the specifications of a report means that users can run a report with the same criteria and same display fields later on. Depending on what changes have been made to the database in the interim, the report may return different results.

After running a report, users can also save its output onto their local computers. This will save the exact information that was returned by running the report. Users will not need to connect to the server or run the report to access that information again. However, if changes are made to the database, the saved report output will become out of date.

  To create a report:

1. Click the New button on the right side of the Reports manager.
2. In the Select Report Type dialog, choose the type of report that you would like to create.
3. Users can choose from one of the many Standard Reports or choose to create a User Defined Report.
4. Click OK after selecting a report type.
5. A Report editor will appear containing two to four tabs, depending on the type of report a user creates. Follow the instructions for each tab, detailed in the sections below.

Run a Report

Since reports can be saved, there is no need to create a new report if someone has already defined one with the same or similar parameters.  

To use a report that is already saved:

1. In the left pane of the Reports manager, select the folder containing the report. A list of reports in that folder will load in the right pane.

2. In the right pane, click on the name of the report to highlight it.

3. Click the Edit button or double-click on the name of the report.

4. A Report editor window will open containing the specifications for this report. If desired, a user can edit the report and save the new version before running it.

5. Select Run Report from the File menu or click the Run Report button on the toolbar to run the report.

Edit a Report

To edit a saved report:

1. Select the report that you would like to edit from the Reports manager.
2. Press the Edit button or double-click on the name of the report. The Report editor will open containing the report specifications.

Delete a Report

If certain that a saved report is no longer needed, then a user may want to delete it.

To delete a report:

1. Click on the name of the report to highlight it.
2. Click the Delete button on the right side of the window. A Confirm dialog will be displayed.
3. Select Yes on the confirmation dialog to delete the report. Select No to exit the dialog and return to the Reports manager without deleting the report.

Print Labels from a Report

Labels can be printed from reports that have an Interactive Table format.

To print labels from an Interactive Table report:

1. Create a new report with Interactive Table as the Output Type.
2. In the Table Viewer dialog, highlight the rows to print labels from. To print labels from all rows, do not select any row.
3. Select Print Labels from the Tools menu or click the Print Labels icon. If no rows were selected, a confirmation asks if user wants to print labels from all rows. When Yes is selected, all the rows are highlighted. A Printing Labels dialog will appear. When No is selected, the user is directed to select specific rows. 
4. Follow Steps 4 through 6 from Print Labels. If any of the fields mapped in the label format are not in the Interactive Table, a Label Field Assignment dialog will open after the format is selected.