A report is used to display data in Slate in the aggregate.

Create a Report

To create a new report:

1. Click Queries / Reports in the top navigation bar.

2. Click on Reports in the top-right submenu.

3. Click New Report

4. Name the report.

5. If desired, add the report to a Realm.

6. If desired, add the report to an existing folder, subfolder, or to a new folder by selecting Other.

7. Select Portrait or Landscape for the orientation.

8. Optional: Customize the color palette that will be used in your report.

9. If desired, insert Parameters for the report. You can always come back to this if necessary.

10. Click Save.

After following these steps, you will be at the Edit Report Details layer of Report Builder, where parts can be added, and report construction continues.

To go back to the View Report layer, click on the breadcrumb link on the upper left area of the page, after "All Reports > ".

✨ Tip

Add a report to the Slate homepage by assigning it to a System / Homepage subfolder.

Edit Report Details

To navigate to the Edit Report Details layer of an existing report, click Edit Report on the upper right area in the View Report layer.

Under the Parts section, the parts that comprise the report are displayed. Click and drag a part to move and reorder its position within the report.

In the following example, the report is made up of one part labeled “Applications.” At a glance, one can see the data rows that belong in this part, as well as the columns.

Within the Edit Report Details layer, more settings for your report can be configured such as scheduling email delivery, or adding notes.

Click the Edit button on the upper right area to modify the settings used when first creating the report such as changing the name of the report, and to schedule the report as an automated email send. To do this, select a Frequency of Weekly or Monthly. Once selected, configure the following settings:

• Recipients: Enter the email address/es to which the report should be delivered. Note: email is not a secure method of communication and extra caution should be used when reporting individually identifiable or otherwise sensitive information.

• Start Date and End Date allow you to start and stop the scheduled email on specific dates.

• When Weekly is selected, you can determine the Interval (how many weeks should pass between email sends) and Weekdays (the day(s) of the week the report should be delivered). A minimum of one weekday must be selected.

• When Monthly is selected, choose the Day of Month you would like the report to be sent on

• Delivery Window: Select the delivery window times during which the report should be delivered. A minimum of one delivery window must be selected.

🔔 Important!

Email is not a secure method of communication. Technolutions provides the ability to email in the Reports tool, (unlike in the Query Builder), as reports are meant to display data in the aggregate, not personally identifiable information.

Add a New Report Part

To add a new part, click Data/Charts, Data Explorer, or Query from the palette on the right. This article primarily covers the Data/Charts part type, but the other types have other use cases:

• Data Explorer enhances the capabilities of Reports by including pivot tables for summarizing and reorganizing data and revealing underlying patterns.

• A Query part is used in very specific instances. For example, to report on aggregate event data as well as show a corresponding list of registrants, a separate Query Part for the registrants list would be used.

When adding a Data/Charts part, enter a name, and select a Base, and click Save. To edit an existing part, double click the Part and click Edit in the top-right corner.

Which query base should be used in a part?

The answer depends upon who and what you data points you want to identify. For example, the Person base supplies counts based on the number of students. In other instances, the Application base is appropriate: for example, to report on application-scoped fields, or if counts must be based on applications (especially when one person could have multiple applications).

📖 Query Bases

Edit Report Parts

The majority of report setup is executed within the Edit Report Parts layer.

After creating a new part (or when clicking Edit after double-clicking an existing part), part-level exports and filters can be added.

A part-level export becomes a query export when the report is sent to the Query Builder. In the example above, we have joined from Application to Person and added “Person Reference ID” as a part-level export.

The exports added on the part level do not display anywhere in the report. They are simply predefined exports used to export a report to the Query Builder.

However, after exporting to the Query Builder, "Person Reference ID" is added as a column with each row displaying the corresponding Reference ID value for a record. This is a helpful trick to add identifiers to a query list for troubleshooting later.

Add a filter to the part. This helps clearly define the population which is being reported on.  Who is the story about?
Additionally, adding filters may help reports run faster and more efficiently, as doing so minimizes the number of records that need to be evaluated and calculated. In the example above, we’ve joined to “Lookup Round” and filtered for only the active round(s).

📝 Note

Avoid complex filtering criteria, as this can cause the report to time-out.

Columns

Generally speaking, columns represent the populations which are being compared.

Columns apply to the entire part. If the metrics to be reported on need different columns in a certain portion of the report, or a different query base, multiple report parts must be used.

Column Settings

1. To add a new column, click Data Column.

2. Add a Name.

3. Select a Column Type.

4. Column Group: Group columns together. The groupings will display when viewing the report. Assign each column to a group by adding a column group name. Every column you want to display within a group must have a value in Column Group, and an identical group name must be used to group these columns together.
   

   In the example above, each of the Early Decision and Regular Decision columns are grouped into the 2023 and 2024 groups respectively.

5. Column Width: Adjust the column within the part. Use px (e.g. 150px) or percentages (e.g. 25%).

6. Variable Name: Assign a variable to the data column to be used in a formula. See Formulas in Reports.

7. For Population columns, Filters should almost always be added. The filters specify the population that belongs in this particular column.

   • If a column does not have any filters, it means that this particular column comprises records as defined by the population selected for the part, plus any the part-level filters added.

   • Note: The Estimated Rows count does not take into account the filters applied on a higher level across the entire part.

In the example above, each column has a join to Lookup Round, with a Round Key filter aligning with the column’s name (ED or RD), along with an Application Entry Term filter to align with the year (2023 or 2024).

✨ Tip

Use the “Save as Copy" function to quickly copy out a part, column, or data row.

Rows and Row Groups

While columns typically represent the populations to compare, rows can be thought of as the questions that the column values should answer. A single element can generate multiple rows, so each element can be thought of as a row group.

To add a row group to your report part, click Data Table or Chart from the palette on the right hand side.

• Data Table: Display numerical data in a table.

• Chart: Represent aggregate data graphically.

Row groups are displayed below a Metric header row. The Metric column displays the row labels, and cannot be removed nor edited. The Metric column width will automatically be the result of the leftover space from the data columns that have been added.

Configuring Data Tables

1. Give the table a Heading.

2. Select a Row Type:
   

   Group By

   Description	Additional Options
   The most common row type. Most appropriate for reporting data driven by a defined prompt list (e.g. major, campus, entry term). Useful for cross-tab reporting.	Null Values: By default, data cells that have no data will be blank in the report. Select this option, and set Number Format to 0 to force display a 0 for null cells. Series Total: Adds a “Total” row to the table.

   Aggregate

   Description	Additional Options
   Returns a table row of values based on the Function selected.	Function: Standard mathematical functions are available in the Reports tool: Average Median Maximum Minimum Count Sum Standard Deviation Standard Deviation for the Population Variance Variance for the Population Variable Name: Assign a unique variable to the row group for use in a formula.

   Distribution

   Description	Additional Options
   Group and display the distribution of data values based on defined intervals.	Function: Select the Continuous options for continuous data (e.g. length of time), and Discrete for discrete data (e.g. test scores). Continuous Ascending Continuous Descending Discrete Ascending Discrete Descending Intervals: Define the interval by which the data values should be split. If the values should be displayed according to deciles, enter 10; quartiles, 4, etc.

   Formula

   Description
   Display data based on a formula. See Formulas in Reports.

3. Number Format: Display values in a particular format. For more details see:

   • docs.microsoft.com - Custom Numeric Format Strings

   • the Number Format section in Formulas in Reports

4. Group By Export: Available for Group By and Aggregate row types only. Add an export field to create table rows based on the values in this field/metric.
   Drilldown tables can also be created by adding more than one export to this section.
   Double click the export to access additional settings. The following settings are unique to the report tool:

   • Sort: Metric sorts alphabetically by the export’s value. Choosing a column will sort the rows by the values in the selected column.

   • Sort Order: Choose Ascending or Descending.

   • Limit: Limit a row group to a specified number of rows.

5. Value: Available for the Aggregate and Distribution row types only. Add the export field that should be used in the calculation. This works best with fields that store numerical data.

   🔔 Important!

   Although the user interface currently allows for multiple exports to be added under Value, only the first export will be utilized by the row.

6. Filters: Specify the records that can be included in the row group.

Example of a Data Table with a Group By Row Type and Drill Down Rows:

In this example, a report is being built to identify the numerical breakdown by sex for applicants in 2023 and 2024.

• Row Group Type: Data Table

• Heading: Sex

• Row Type: Group By

• Null Values: Show null/missing values

• Series Total: Show series total

• Number Format: #

In the Group By section, we’ve joined to Person and added two exports: "Person Sex" and "Application Status." No filters are added, since the part-level filters combined with the column filters are enough to produce rows with meaningful data.

In the resulting table, the cell for row “F” and column “2023 – Early Decision” counts 103 applications that have a round key of ED, an entry term of Fall 2023, and marked “F” as their sex.

To view the drilldown, select the report name in the breadcrumbs to return to the View Report layer. Clicking a table row reveals the numbers sliced according to "Application Status."

Configuring charts

1. Give the chart a Heading.

2. Select a Row Type (Group By, Aggregate, Distribution). Group By is most frequently appropriate for graphical charts. The Formula row type is not available for charts.

   • The Additional Options for the various data table row types are applicable here as well.

3. Select a Chart Type.

   Chart Type	Description and Additional Options
   Pie Chart	Illustrate the numerical proportion of data with a circular graphic.
   Donut chart	Similar to the pie chart, with the center cut out.
   Bar Chart	Represent data with rectangular bars of lengths proportional to the values represented.
   Column Chart	Represent data with rectangular bars of heights proportional to the values represented.
   Line Chart	Display a series of data points connected by straight line segments.
   Timeline Chart	Visualize dates on a timeline. Function: Day Day (Cumulative) Month Month (Cumulative) Fiscal Day of Year (July 1 to June 30) Fiscal Day of Year (Cumulative)
   Geo Map (US State)	Display a heat map for the United States.
   Geo Map (Canada Province)	Display a heat map for Canada.
   Geo Map (World)	Display a world heat map.
   Geo Map (Markers)	Display markers on a map.
   Scatter Chart	Plot data against vertical and horizontal axes.

4. Trendlines: Superimpose trendlines on a graphical chart.

   • Linear

   • Exponential

   • Polynomial

📝 Note

Columns based on formulas are not rendered in a chart row group.

Example of a Geo Map Chart:

In this example, we are reporting on the geographical distribution of applicants in the United States.

• Row Group Type: Chart

• Heading: Active US Region

• Row Type: Group By

• Chart Type: Geo Map (US State)

In the Group By section, we’ve joined to Person and then to Address by Rank Overall, then added the Region export. Because the Chart Type only displays data for the United States, we don’t need to add any filters.

In the resulting chart, the Total column displays a map that indicates Illinois and California as the states having the highest number of applicants in the country. The gradient bar on the lower left of the map displays the color gradation used, with the left end indicating the lowest number, and the right end displaying the highest number.