Report Builder - Controlling Content and Access

Sometimes we go into the report builder with great intentions of producing a report for our managers, users, or whoever it may be - and end up with less than satisfactory results. Let's learn how to make the report builder work for us, and not the other way around:

Before We Get Started:

We always suggest thinking about these questions before generating a report, to come in with a clearer minf about your outcome:

• Who is this report meant for?: All users? Managers only? System managers only?
• What is the purpose of this report? : Is it present to the user his own data? Is it to show managers data about their direct employees? Or is it to present data to a high up manager so that he is aware of what's happening in the ranks below him?

Now onto doing:

Controlling Content in Your Report:

Step 1: Create a new report based on the desired report template or edit an existing report. You're welcome to view our other articles in the Knowledge base about report creation and report templates.

Step 2: Set the columns in the report under the 'Columns' tab, and the filters users will be able to use inside the report under the 'Filters' tab. See our other articles to learn more about these topics.

Step 3: Click on the 'Content' tab. Here, you'll be able to decide what data will be displayed to each user viewing the report. It makes the Report Builder do a sort of "preliminary sift" through the data displayed to a certain user.

Step 4: If you would like the report to display all available data from its specific source, under 'Content Control' select 'Show All Records'. If you have chosen this option, you're done in the content tab and may move on to the 'Access' tab.

Step 5: If you would like the report to only display certain data fields from the relevant source, select either 'Show Records Matching Any of the Selected Criteria Below' or 'Show Records Matching All of the Selected Criteria Below'. Usually, we'll select the second option.

Step 6: You now need to select your content restrictions, like :

• If you would like a user to be able to see his own data (in my course grade report, for example) - under 'Show by the User', select 'A User's Own Records'.
• If you would like to show a manager the data of the employees reporting directly to him (a report of program completion to the head of the marketing team- for example) - under 'Show by the User' select 'Records for User's Direct Reports' 
• If you would like to show someone in a higher up manager position the data of his indirect reports (a report of the marketing units' certifications, for example) - under 'Show by User' select 'Records for User's Indirect Reports'
• In some of the reports (depending on their type and purpose), you may set other content restrictions such as old or new content (to use for face-to-face instruction, for example), and more.

Step 7: Click 'Save Changes'.

Setting Access Restrictions to Your Report:

Step 1: Go into your 'Access' tab. This tab dictates who can see your report. Users who don't have permission to view the report will not see it in their 'My Reports' tab, and will get an error message when trying to open it through a direct link.

Step 2: If you would like your report to be accessible to all users, mark the 'All Users Can View this Report' option. In this case, there's nothing more for you to mark on this page and you may save and exit to view your report.

Step 3: If you would like to limit access to your report, select the 'Only Certain Users Can View this Report (see below)' option.

Step 4: Then, select the options below according to your needs:

• Under 'Context', select 'Users May Have in any Context'.
• Now you can mark all the roles in the system that will have access to your report. For example - select 'Staff Manager'  if you would like the report to be accessible to  any manager with at least one employee reporting to them' or select 'Site Manager' if you would like the report to be accessible to site managers only.

Step 7: Click 'Save Changes' when you are finished.

FAQ's:

Q: I created a report with some content restrictions - and I can't see these columns/report myself either. Why?

A: When you create a report with content restrictions, those restrictions apply to you as a viewer as well. If then, for example, you'd like to view a report about signup rates for courses in team members, and you do not have any team members or employees who report to you directly; you won't be able to view the report. To see the report, you'll have to sign in as another user and view it through their profile.

Q: How can I give access to the report to users not by their system roles?

A: In the current version of LearningZone, we can only grant access to reports by roles in the system. If you encounter this problem, you can create new roles in your system (without any special access), and then create an audience that includes those persons that gives the users the roles they need. For example,you can create an audience for all HR Managers, create a role "viewer of HR reports" and specify that this role can view the reports of your choosing, and that the audience members automatically receive that role when they join the audience.