Reports & Data Grids

Create a New Report

When creating a new report, you must create the report container (instructions below), select an anchor, then create one or more data definitions. Note that reports created prior to Version 3.0 are configured to display archived data by default. Reports created after Version 3.0 are configured to exclude archived data by default. See the Data Analytics Export Report or Data Grid sections for information on creating an export report or data grid.

This article provides instructions for creating a report container. After you've completed these steps, you'll need to add one or more element (chart, table, heatmap, etc.) to display data in the report, then add the report to a view to make it available to end-users. See the Report Elements section and Create a Report View article for more information.

To create a new report:

  1. Ensure the data definitions you intend to use for the report focus and data series have been created from the Data Definitions settings in the administrative settings.
  2. Click theicon in the top bar > Data Visualizations in the Views section.
  3. Click Create Data Visualization.
  4. Enter the name of the report in the Name field.
  5. Optional: Enter a description of the report. This description will appear below the report’s name on the Data Visualization page.
  6. Select Report from the Type dropdown menu. If you're creating a data analytics export or data grid, see the Create a Data Analytics Export Report or Create a New Data Grid articles for more information.
  7. Select a report focus from the Focus dropdown menu. For example, if you wish to
    create a report that displays data on the risks and controls at each location in your company, you would select a report focus with the Location object type as your anchor and no other object types (leaves) selected.
    The Create Data Visualization page.
  8. Optional: Select additional, related report focus definitions from the Focus dropdown menu. Selecting another report focus will provide more data series options to choose from when adding a report element (table, chart, heat map, or repeatable form).
  9. Click Create to display the Edit Report page.The Admin: Edit Report page.

  10. Optional: To edit the report name or add a description, click theicon at the top-right of the first section on the page.
  11. Optional: To include or exclude archived data, click theicon, then select or deselect the Include archived data in report checkbox. When selected, the report elements will display data from objects that are currently in an archived state. See the Archived Data section for more details.View of Risks & Controls by Location.
  12. Optional: Click Add Another Report Focus to include another report focus definition. Depending on the data path, selecting another report focus will provide more data series options to choose from when adding a report element (table, chart, heat map, or repeatable form).

Once you’ve created the report and selected one or more report focus definitions, you can add charts, tables, heat maps, or repeatable forms, filters, parameters, or text. Reports can then be accessed in an activity by adding it to a report view.

Create a Data Analytics Export Report

To create a Data Analytics report:

  1. Ensure the data definition you wish to use for the data analytics report has been created from the Data Definitions settings in Administration.
  2. Click the icon in the top bar > Data Visualizations in the Views section.
  3. Click Create Data Visualization.
  4. Enter the name of the report in the Name field.
  5. Optional: Enter a description of the report. This description will appear below the report’s name on the Data Visualizations page.
  6. Select Data Analytics Export from the Type dropdown menu.
  7. Select a focus from the Data Visualization Focus dropdown menu. For example, if you wish to create a report that will allow users to export Location data, you would select a report focus with the Location object type as the anchor.The Create Data Visualization page.
  8. Click Create to display the Edit Report page. From here, you can edit the name of the report, however, if you wish to change the report focus, you'll need to delete the report and recreate it.
    The Edit Report page for a Data Analytics Export report.

Once the export report has been created, you can grant end users access to it by adding it to a view, action, or Export Data form action.

Create a New Data Grid

Note that the following features are not currently functional when configuring a data grid:

  • The Description field on the Create a Data Visualization and Edit Data Grid pages;
  • The Show SUM totals for all numeric columns checkbox in the Columns tab in the Edit Data Grid palette; and
  • The Configure Filters option in the Edit Data Grid page. 
You can create custom data grids for the currently logged in user (e.g. My Incidents or My Risks) by applying the Current User parameter to the data grid element. See step 24 below for more information.

To create a data grid:

  1. Ensure the data definition you wish to use for data grid has been created from the Data Definitions settings in Administration.
  2. Click the icon in the top bar > Data Visualizations in the Views section.
  3. Click Create Data Visualizations.
  4. Enter the name for the data grid in the Name field.
  5. Select Data Grid from the Type dropdown menu.
  6. Select one or more focuses from the Data Visualization Focus dropdown menu. 
    The Create Data Visualization page.
  7. Click Create to display the Edit Data Grid page.
    The Edit Data Grid page.
  8. Optional: Click Add Another Data Grid Focus to include another report focus definition. Depending on the data path, selecting another focus will provide more data series options to choose from when adding a data grid.
  9. In the Elements section, click the icon beside Display.
    The Elements section.
  10. Drag and drop Data Grid from the Elements section to the Data Grid Canvas.
  11. Select a data series from the Select a data series dropdown menu, then click Done. The data definition selected here will determine the object data you can display in the grid.
    Selecting a data series in the Add Data Grid window.
  12. Choose the data types you'd like to display in the grid from the Data Type tab. Selecting LIBRARY DATA will include object type data, while selecting an Assessment Type will include the assessment name and workflow state. By default, all data types are selected. To make individual selections, deselect the Select All checkbox, then click the data type(s) you wish to include. Clicking a selected data type will deselect it.
    The Data Type tab.
  13. Click the Columns tab.
  14. Choose either the anchor or an object type in the data path from the Select a Relationship dropdown menu. The options in this dropdown menu will vary depending on the data series selected in the previous steps.
    Selecting which object types' data will appear in the grid.
  15. Select the properties, workflow states, fields, formulas, relationships, and/or roles you want to display in the grid as columns from the Select Data section. Use the Search field to search for a particular data type, if needed. Clicking a selected data type will deselect it and remove it from the grid.The Select Data section.
  16. Continue selecting object types from the Select a Relationship dropdown menu to include more data by repeating steps 14 and 15 above.
  17. Optional: To allow users to open an object in a palette while viewing the grid:
    1. Select the Object can be accessed in the palette from data grid checkbox in the Define Custom Forms section. Selecting this checkbox enables an icon that appears when end-users hover their cursor over the Name column in the grid. Clicking the icon displays the object in a palette.
    2. Select a form from the dropdown menu to choose which form is displayed when the user clicks the palette icon. This dropdown will be hidden unless the checkbox from the step above is selected.The Define Custom Forms section.
      Users will not be able to view objects in a palette if the Name property isn't displayed in the data grid. See step 15 above to ensure this property is selected.
  18. Optional: In the Sort Columns section, click theicon beside any data types to mark their columns as read-only and prevent users from editing their cells in the grid. To mark all columns as read-only, select the Mark all columns as read-only checkbox at the bottom of the section. To once again enable editing, click theicon beside individual columns or deselect the checkbox.Th Sort Columns section.
    If a user accessing the grid does not have the required workflow permissions to edit an object, the data will appear to that user as read-only, even if all data types are left editable in the settings.
  19. Optional: Click and drag the  icon next to the data types to rearrange the order of the columns in the grid.
  20. Optional: If needed, click the icon next to the data type to delete it from the grid.
  21. OptionalSelect the Display colored cells as ovals checkbox to show formula or select list cells text with colored circles. When this option is not selected, cells are displayed with text and a full background color, if any. End-users can enable or disable this option when viewing the data grid.
  22. Scroll to the top of the Edit Data Grid palette, then click the Parameters tab.
    The Parameters tab.
  23. Choose a relationship from the Select a Relationship dropdown menu. The relationship selected here will determine which parameters (filters) you can apply to the grid to refine the data that’s displayed. If needed, you can select a relationship that differs from the relationship selected in the Columns tab.
    You can add parameters from an object type in the data series even if that object type isn't configured to display any data in the grid.
  24. Below Define Parameters, select one or more parameters to filter the data displayed in the grid. Parameter options include:
    • Workflow states;
    • Select list options;
    • Formula ranges (e.g. High, Medium, Low);
    • By Current User. When one or more roles are selected in this parameter, only users within those roles can view the data in the grid. This feature is useful to create customized data grids for specific users. The available roles are determined by the object types in the table's data series; or
    • By Date & Time Field or Created On/Modified On properties. Selecting a range in the By [Date Field] dropdown menu will filter the data relative to the value selected in the Date & Time field on the objects. Selecting a range in the By Created On ([Object Type Name]) or By Modified On ([Object Type Name]) dropdown menus will filter the data relative to the date the objects were created or modified. All date-related options filter data in UTC time. It's recommended a date parameter is used to refine large data sets for improved report performance. Options include: 
      • Today: Show data from today's date only. 
      • Last [X] Days: Show data within the last 30, 60, 90, or 180 days, relative to today's date.
      • Custom: Shows data within the dates selected in the From and To fields. The table will include objects up to the end of that date.
  25. Repeat steps 23 and 24 above to add more parameters from additional object types.
  26. To remove a select list, formula, or role parameter, click the x icon beside parameter. To delete a date parameter, click the field, then press the Backspace or Delete key on your keyboard.
  27. Click Done to close the Edit Data Grid palette. If additional grids are required, a new report must be created by following the steps above.

Once a grid is successfully created and configured, it must be added to a view in an activity. See the Create a Data Grid View article for more information.

View a Report

Before a report can be viewed, an administrator must first create it and add it to a view in an application. The data you can view in a report depends on your role's permissions and the report's configurations in the administrative settings. 

Some report filters rely on the current user's time zone. As such, some users from different time zones may see different data in the same report. See the Time Zone Conversions on Reports article for more information. 

For information on viewing a data grid or data export report, see the View a Data Grid and Export Object Data from a Data Analytics Report articles. For information on exporting a report, see the Export a Report article.

Instructions

To view a report:

  1. Navigate to the application and activity where the report is saved.
  2. Click an anchor (root) object in the view to open the report.
    Clicking on an anchor object to open a report.
  3. If a filter has been marked as required by an administrator:
    1. Apply all required filters by clicking them and selecting an option. If the filter is a search field, begin typing keywords to display a list of available options, then click to select the appropriate value.
    2. Apply additional optional filters as required.
    3. Click Run Report.
      Filters are displayed before a report is loaded if an administrator has marked a filter as required.
      If configured by an administrator, filters can also be applied after the report is loaded. See the Filters section below for more information.
  4. If the report includes a bar, column, or pie chart, hover your cursor over the chart for more information about the data. Clicking on a section of a pie chart will separate it from the rest of the chart for emphasis.
    Hovering your cursor over bar, column, or bar chart will display additional information.
  5. If the report includes a heat map, hover your cursor over the objects on the heat map (represented by circles and identified by their unique IDs) to display the object's description. Click the object view and/or edit it in a palette.
    Hovering your cursor over an object in a heat map will display the object's description while clicking the object will open it in a palette.
  6. If the report includes a table: 
    1. Click a cell to open the associated object in a palette.
    2. Click a column to sort the data in the table. 
    3. Click Next or Previous at the bottom of the table to scroll through any additional pages.
    4. Enter search terms in the Search Table... field to narrow down which data is displayed. Note that up to 20 objects are returned in the results.
      Clicking on a cell in a table will display the associated object in a palette, while clicking on a column header will sort the data in the table.
  7. To refresh the data displayed in the report, click theicon. See the Loading & Caching Report Data article for more information on refreshing and reloading.
  8. If the report includes a repeatable form, you can view read-only, printer-friendly versions of object data as it was entered onto a configurable form.
    Printing a repeatable form.
    Any repeatable forms with unsupported elements will not display any object data, resulting in an error message. See the Add Repeatable Forms to a Report for a list of unsupported elements or contact your administrator.

Starred Reports

To star a report (create a tab for the report in the nav bar):

  1. Click the icon at the top-right corner of the report to open the Add Report To Home window.
  2. If needed, enter a custom name for the tab in the Label report field. The report's name, as saved by an administrator, appears in this field by default.
    The Add Report To Home window.
  3. Select the Make this report your landing page checkbox if you want this report to replace the My Tasks tab or another report tab as the home page. To revert back the home page back to My Tasks, deselect the checkbox.
  4. Click Add To Home to finish. 
  5. To delete the tab from the nav bar, click theicon, then click Remove From Home.
    For more information on reports added to tabs, see the Starred Reports article.

Historical Data (Point in Time Reporting)

To view historical report data:

  1. Click the icon on the top-right of the report. If Point in Time Reporting has not been enabled for this report, this icon will not be visible.
  2. Click the Report Date field, then select a date from the calendar. The dates are based on the current user's time zone.
  3. Click Apply to reload the report with historical data.
    The Point In Time Reporting option.
  4. To view data from a different date, click the  icon, select a date, then click Apply to reload the report. When historical data is displayed on a report, this icon is displayed in blue.
    The Point In Time Reporting icon.
  5. To return to present-day data, click the  icon, then click Clear.

Filters

To apply filters to a report (if configured by an administrator):

  1. Click the  icon at the top-right corner of the report to open the Filters palette.  When a report's data is filtered, the filter icon is displayed in a solid blue ().
  2. Apply the following filter types as needed. Note that some or all of these sections may be blank if these filter types have not been added to the report by an administrator:
    • State: Filters the report data by the objects' current workflow state(s).
    • Role: Filters report data by users or user groups in explicit roles that have explicit that have been granted direct access to objects from the report's data definition.
    • Date & Time: Filters the report data using date ranges from a Date & Time field. If the field is configured to collect both the date and time, the report is filtered based on the current user's time zone. See the Time Zone Conversions on Reports article for more information.
    • Select List: Filters the report data by select list fields.
    • Formula: Filters the report data by formula label(s).
    • Relationship: Displays report data from one or more selected relationship object types and any related reference object types. For example, selecting the Risk 1 object type in this filter will also display all the Control objects that Risk 1 appears on through a relationship.
    • Object Type: Displays report data from one or more selected object types.
      The Filters palette.
  3. Click Apply Filter to close the palette and reload the report.
  4. To remove a filter, click the icon at the top-right of the report, click the beside the filter you wish to remove. If the filter is a date-based filter, select then delete the dates from the fields. Click Apply Filter to close the palette and reload the report.

View a Data Grid

A data grid allows users to view, edit, and analyze object data in a spreadsheet-style format. Users with permission to view a data grid can interact with it by:

  • Resizing, sorting, and showing or hiding columns;
  • Editing an object's properties (Name and Description) or fields (Text, Numeric, Date & Time, and Select List) within individual cells (if Edit permissions have been enabled on your role and in the data grid settings);
  • Viewing an object's details in a palette (if enabled);
  • Filtering data by state, role, relationship, reference, or single select list;
  • Wrapping or unwrapping cell contents; and
  • Moving forward or back through the grid's pages or adjusting the number of rows displayed on a single page.
Refreshing your browser or navigating away from a data grid will reset any custom display settings (show/hide columns, column width, sorting, etc.) to its default configurations.

This article provides information and instructions on accessing, viewing, and editing data in a data grid from a view. For information on creating a data grid, see the Create a New Data Grid article.

A data grid as it appears to end-users in a view.

To view a data grid:

  1. Navigate to the application and activity where the data grid is saved.
  2. Click an anchor (root) object in the view to display the data grid.Clicking on an anchor object to view a data grid.
  3. To open a grid object in a palette, hover your cursor over a cell in the Name column, then click theicon. This icon will only appear if the palette option was enabled by an administrator and if the Name column is displayed on the grid.The palette icon in the Name column.
  4. To edit property (Name or Description) or field data (Plain Text, Numeric, Date & Time, or Select List) in a column that has not been marked as read-only, click the cell, then type your changes or make a selection from the available options. Changes made to cells are applied to the associated object and are saved automatically. Clicking a cell to edit it. If the cell has been marked as read-only or your role does not have permission to edit the associated object, the cell cannot be edited.
  5. To edit a text field with rich text formatting enabled, click the cell to open the RTF editor, type your changes, then click the icon to save. If you don't have permission to edit the RTF field, clicking it will display the fields' contents in focused mode. Click to close the RTF editor or window and return to the data grid.
  6. To adjust a column's width, hover your cursor over the top of the column to show the  icon, then click and drag the column to resize it.
  7. To sort the grid by column, click the column name at the top of the grid to sort the data alphabetically in ascending order. Click the column name again to sort in descending order. Clicking the column name a third time will remove any sorting.Sorting the columns in a grid.
  8. To display a specific grid page, click the or icons to move forward or back, click the textbox and type the page number you wish to view, or click the arrows, then click away from the text box to reload the grid. To adjust the number of rows displayed, select an option from the row dropdown menu.Changing the grid page.
  9. To configure the grid's display, click the  icon in the top-right corner of the page. To show or hide columns, select or deselect the column checkboxes. Select the Wrap Cells or Overflow Cells options to wrap or unwrap the data. Select the Display colored cells as ovals checkbox to show formula or select list cells as text with colored circles instead of a full background color. This option does not apply to workflow states.The grid's display options.
  10. To filter the data displayed in a column by single select list, date, workflow state, formula range, relationship/reference, or role, click the  icon to the far right of the page to enable filters below the column headers, then begin typing keywords or select an option. Click the  icon again to disable/reset any filters.Filtering the data displayed in the grid.
  11. To reset any custom display settings, including filters, column widths, hidden columns, page numbers, or rows, refresh your browser.

Export a Report

Report data can be exported into downloadable PDF, Word document, and spreadsheet files. However, there are some restrictions, depending on the file format and element type. All links and file attachments are disabled in exported report files.

Exported report data is cached based on the last time the report was loaded. To ensure the files reflect the most recent data, click the refresh icon on the report or refresh your browser before exporting.
Data grids cannot be exported.

PDFs

Tables, charts, heat maps, repeatable forms, and free form text can be exported into a PDF file. The PDF file will reflect any page breaks or PDF headers added to the report canvas by an administrator. 

A heat map and table exported into a PDF file.

Word Documents or Spreadsheets

Only table reports can be exported into a document or spreadsheet. If the report contains other report elements, only the table data will be exported.

Point in time reporting is not currently supported. Exporting a report with historical data currently displayed will generate a file showing present-day data only.

A table exported into a Word document.

A table exported into a spreadsheet.

Timestamps & Caching

Reports display the time and date the report was last updated/loaded based on the current user's local timezone. This timestamp appears on exported files and is updated when the report is reloaded or refreshed. To ensure your exported report files reflect the most recent data, click theicon on the report or refresh your browser before exporting. See the Loading & Caching Report Data article for more information.

Instructions

To export report data:

  1. Navigate to the report you wish to export.
  2. Click the  icon to reload the report and refresh the data, if required.
    The refresh and export icons at the top-right of a report.
  3. Click one of the following icons:
    • Click theto export all report data into a PDF file.
    • Click theicon to export a report table into a Word document.
    • Click theicon to export a table report into a spreadsheet.An ellipsis is displayed in place of the icon while the export file is generated. Once clicked, the selected icon will be replaced with an ellipsis while the export file is generated. Depending on the amount of data displayed in the report, there may be a delay before the download is initiated and completed. Navigating away from the report page while the file is being generated will cancel the export.
  4. Click the file at the bottom of your browser to open the file and save it.

Configure Export Attachments

Attachments are the data series, fields, and relationships of a report that users can export. To ensure that only the most relevant information is exported, administrators can determine which elements of the report can become attachments.

To configure a report's export attachments:

  1. Click the icon in the top bar > Data Visualizations in the Views section.

  2. Click the report you wish to configure the exports for or enter its name in the Search field, then click it to open the Edit Report page.The Admin: Edit Report page.

  3. Click Configure Attachments under Export Attachments to open the Add Attachment Export palette.The Add Attachment Export palette.

  4. Select the data series the exports will be coming from in the Select a data series field.

  5. Click Done.

  6. Click Configure Attachments again to open the Edit Attachment Export palette.

  7. In the Data Type tab, select the type of data you wish to include in the export. All data types are selected by default.The Data Type tab.

  8. In the Configuration tab:

    1. Choose the relationship from the Select a Relationship select list.

    2. Begin typing the name of the field you wish to add to the export in the Select Fields field and select it to add it to the export. More than one field can be added.The Configuration tab.

  9. In the Parameters tab, select how the information in the export will be filtered with any of the select lists in the Define Parameters section. The Parameters tab.

  10. Click Done.