Create and publish reports using Polaris Simply Reports - pug 2014
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This document provides an overview of how to create and publish reports using Simply Reports. It discusses selecting columns and filters, saving reports, scheduling automatic delivery, and publishing reports for access on the Polaris toolbar. The objectives are to help participants understand Simply Reports, know how to save and schedule a report, and find saved reports. An afternoon session will cover modifying existing reports using Report Builder to add parameters.
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Create and publish reports using Polaris Simply Reports - pug 2014
- 1. CREATE AND PUBLISH REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER PRESENTED BY NADIA MUSLEH AND CHRIS CULP ALACHUA COUNTY LIBRARY DISTRICT GAINESVILLE, FL
- 2. OBJECTIVES? How to use Simply Reports to create and publish reports, manually run them from the Polaris toolbar, or schedule them for automatic delivery. Participants will: • Walk away with a general overview of Simply Reports • Be able to save and schedule a report • Know where to find the saved report CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 2
- 3. WHAT IS IT? / WHY DO I NEED IT? • Reporting tool to pull information from Polaris without SQL knowledge • Allows you to build and share reports CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 3
- 4. WHAT DO I NEED? • Requirements • License • Contact your sales rep • SQL knowledge not required for SimplyReports CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 4
- 5. WHERE IS IT? • In the Browser – Use Internet Explorer • http://servername/simplyreports CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 5
- 6. STRUCTURE • Main Tabs and Sub Tabs – categories; list vs. count vs. statistical • Columns - these are the fields on your report • Sorting - none selected sorts by the order in selected output box. • Filter options • General Filters library/branch, record set, patron/material code, … • Date – relative vs static CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 6 * use relative dates so you can re-use it
- 7. SIMPLYREPORTS TOOLBAR • Main Tabs are your Report Categories – Patrons, Patron Account, Holds, Items, Bibs, Authorities, Serials, Funds, Invoices, Orders • Sub-Tabs are the type of reports that can be generated for each - List Reports, Count Reports or Statistical Reports. CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 7
- 8. CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 8
- 9. SUB TABS Patron List – a list of data according to what is selected in your filters. Patron Count – a count of records according to criteria Patron Statistical – returns statistical information from the transactional database – actions CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 9
- 10. SELECT YOUR OUTPUT COLUMNS • Barcode • Last Activity Date • Email Address • Patron branch name -registered branch • Etc… CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 10
- 11. SORTING Sorts by order of columns added to the output list Or you can specify what sorting order by adding to “Columns selected for sort” CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 11
- 12. FILTERS Filters help us limit our list by adding specific parameters and remove unwanted data. Patron General Filters Patron Relative Date Miscellaneous Block and Note User Defined Fields Patron ID CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 12
- 13. FILTERS Reduce your list to a more specific criteria Ex: Expired in the future (Not expired) Ex: Last Activity date more than 6 months ago (No activity in the past 6 months) CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 13
- 14. RESULTING LIST CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 14
- 15. FILTERS EMAIL ADDRESS: Present (remove blank fields) Not Present Incorrectly Formatted CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 15
- 16. FINAL RESULT SET • Fewer results: 26,771 vs 27,293 CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 16
- 17. RECAP • Different Tabs and Sub Tabs – Categories, list vs. count vs. statistical • Columns - these are the fields on your report • Sorting - none selected sorts by the order in selected output box. • Filter options • General Filters library/branch, record set, patron/material code, etc • Date – relative vs static * use r CREATE, PUBLISH AND MOeDIlFaY tRiEvPOeR TdS FaOtRe TsHE sNOoV ICyEo UuSE Rcan re-use it 10/9/2014 17
- 18. SAVING REPORTS Download report Output - excel file. Can be found in My Reports Tab. Save report for later use – Saves the report “template” in MyReports Tab in order to schedule, run or publish Create patron record set – Let’s you manipulate the records in polaris. CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 18
- 19. MYREPORTS TAB CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 19
- 20. MYREPORTS TAB • Edit/Delete • Schedule Reports • Run Reports • Publish Report • Advance Publish CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 20
- 21. SCHEDULE REPORT CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 21
- 22. MY REPORTS > SCHEDULED JOBS CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 22
- 23. MYREPORTS SUB TAB > FILE MAINTENANCE • Scheduled reports files • Saved report files • Ad-Hoc reports files (downloaded files) CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 23
- 24. MYREPORTS > PUBLISH CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 24
- 25. EDIT REPORT CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 25
- 26. PUBLISHING BASIC VS. ADVANCED • Use relative parameters so that the report can be used later. • Basic Publishing > Sends to the Polaris Toolbar • Advanced Publishing > Sends to the Polaris Toolbar, but opens in Report Builder for Editing. CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 26
- 27. BASIC PUBLISH VS ADVANCED PUBLISH CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 27
- 28. BASIC PUBLISH > ACCESS VIA THE POLARIS TOOLBAR CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 28
- 29. RUN REPORT FROM THE POLARIS TOOLBAR CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 29
- 30. THE END > QUESTIONS ? How to use Simply Reports to create and publish reports, manually run them from the Polaris toolbar, or schedule them for automatic delivery. Participants will: • Walk away with a general overview of Simply Reports • Be able to save and schedule a report • Know where to find the saved report CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 30
- 31. AFTERNOON SESSION 3:30-4:30 MODIFYING REPORTS FOR INTERMEDIATE USERS • Modify saved Simply Report reports, using Microsoft Report Builder tools to expose parameters for the end user. Learning Objectives: Participants will: • Walk away knowing how to access and move around in Report Builder. • Be able to add date parameter fields to prompt the user to pick a custom date range for lists. CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 31
- 32. PUBLISH > REPORTS SERVER HTTP://SERVERNAME/REPORTS CREATE, PUBLISH AND MODIFY REPORTS FOR THE NOVICE USER 10/9/2014 32
Editor's Notes
- My name is Chris Culp, I am the Public Services Division Director at the Alachua County Library. Two years ago we migrated from Sirsi to Polaris and I was the project leader. Nadia Musleh, is the applications and support supervisor at the Alachua County Library. She takes care the polaris system from the back end which means the database server, the web server, integration and reports and was a key player on the the migration team of our System from SirsiDynx to Polaris in May of 2012. Since then our library has found Simply Reports to be a valuable tool and we’re going to demonstrate its use.
- So when you walk away from this class, you should feel comfortable moving around in SimplyReports. Be able to save and schedule a report and know where to find a saved report To meet these goals we’ll go through an example from beginning to end. If you have seen simply reports before this may be too simple for you and you may be interested in the second session later this afternoon, on how to modify the reports you create by adding parameters and be able change them with a drop-down.
- Simply Reports is a visual tool/interface to pull data from the database without knowing SQL. It also allows you to publish and share that data, in the polaris toolbar.
- To use SimplyReports you will need a license since it is an add-on module to polaris. Knowing SQL is not a requirement.
- To get to SimplyReports all you need is the browser. It’s important to use Internet Explorer, because some features do not work properly in other browsers. So navigate to http:// server name /simplyreports. If you have a test or training server you can use that instead. That’s always the best way to do play around and create what you really want and then copy the final configuration. You won’t be returning large amount of data on a training server in the process of setting up the report.
- 1st the main tabs are the different categories within the Polaris toolbar—patrons, holds, funds, etc. Each category can generate 3 what kinds of reports: list, a count of something or more intricate statistical report. Then you have to set up your fields for that report. These are the columns, which make up your reports, and you can sort it whichever way you want. Last are filters to limit the data that gets returned. Filters are important because if you retrieve too much information it can crash your server.
- When you first log in you see the different report categories in the main tabs as in the first screenshot, and different report types in the sub tabs in the second screenshot. The first set of tabs I’m pointing to are the Report Categories that mimic the different major data categories in Polaris. – Patrons, Patron Account, Holds, Items, Bibs, and so on… Not everyone will have access to the all the main tabs you see here, it depends on if your permission status. If you only have permission to work on Acquisitions functions, you won’t see holds. It is customized per user from the Admin Tab. The MyReports tab is where your saved reports will be.
- When you first log in, it defaults to the Patrons list Reports Tab It gives a selection box to move fields into your output box and a sorting box. [point to the three boxes] Below you are given different filtering options.
- Depending on what type of report you need you would chose the best option for you. (click) For example a list of patrons with a range of expiration dates. (click) A count of patrons with a specific range of expiration dates. (click) And the Patron Statistical reports return counts from the transactional database. – Which are the actions that happen to the collection. What we’re going to do today is focus on one type of report and build on it. We’re going to build a list of patron email addresses and add a few columns to show on our report.
- So first we need to select the fields we’d like to see in our report columns. (click) Select the fields one by one, or use the CTRL key to select multiple fields at the same time. And click the arrow to move them to the selected output box. (click)
- By Default, polaris will sort the list in the order you added the fields to the columns selected for output box. (click) If you want another display of data, the last box on the page allows you to sort your data.
- Next, we move down to the filters section. Filters help us limit our list by adding specific parameters and remove unwanted data. If you don’t use filters, you may return far too much data.
- We’re going to take a look at two different ways to set date ranges. Patron date filters gives you an option to use a specific date range to filter by Patron relative date filters selects a time period that is relative to the date that this report is running. For re-occurring reports, you need to use relative dates. (click) Example, here we are limiting the list to patrons who have not yet expired. (click) And Whose Last Activity date has been more than 6 months ago. So once we’re done with our selections and filters, we will click on submit, to preview the results.
- Once you click on submit, (click) you see that it returns a default amount of 1000 rows of data to preview. And that that there were 27,293 total results. [[[Our maximum record retrieval for Simply reports is 30,000, controlled under the Admin tab ]]] (click) On the top, we are given three options to save the report. (click) But before we look at those options, let’s clean this list up a bit, and get rid of the records with no email addresses. So we will use another filter to limit the list further. Your original window will be open
- Each of the reports have a filter to hold miscellaneous fields in each their categories. That’s where we’ll find the email address filter. We can filter for records with an email address present, not present or incorrectly formatted. [[[ For those who want to cleanup their databases, you can limit by patron who have email as a notification method, and incorrectly formatted email. ]]]
- So once we click submit again we can see that the rows with the blank email address are gone.
- So to recap, each report category (patron, patron account, holds, items, etc… has sub tabs for lists,, counts, and statistics We have columns, which make up your list, and you can sort it whichever way you want. And we have filters to limit the data that gets returned. Before we get into saving the report and publishing it, do we have any questions so far?
- So on our results page, we were given 3 options to save the report . You can download an excel file right then Or you can save the report template for re-use later in the MyReports tab Or you can create a patron record set – so that you can pull up the records that the report pulled in polaris and do something to them there. So as in this example, we’ve saved our list and called it Sample Patron List. To find it, go to MyReports Tab
- Under the MyReports, you will see a selection box for each of the tabbed reports. So select where it was you ran the report and you will see a list of the reports you saved. [this was a patron list report] These are templates that SimplyReports has saved in a format that you can schedule, run the report or publish the report to the polaris toolbar. There’s also an option to Edit the report which we’ll look at last.
- Edit/Delete Schedule Reports Run Reports Publish Report Advance Publish
- This is what it looks like if you want to schedule the report to run on the 1st of every month We recommend running reports during closed hours when the servers are not being used much.
- You can always go back and edit the schedule under the Scheduled Jobs sub tab.
- Once you scheduled a report you can find the excel file in File Maintenance sub Tab Simplyreports saves all the reports generated by the schedule under File Maintenance sub tab. It also includes reports that were downloaded when previewing your report when you first created it.
- So now we’ll look at editing and publishing reports.
- This is what it looks like when you Edit a report. Notice you can add columns, change the sorting, or change what branch you are running it for. You can’t change the filter settings. The other report types are similarly restrictive. So essentially you have to re-create the report to change the filter options.
- Publishing a report sends it to the polaris toolbar so everyone with access to notices and reports has access to run it.
- Both publishing methods look almost exactly the same. They both send the report to the Polaris Toolbar under the custom reports folder. The only difference is that Advanced Publishing opens up the report in Report Builder which is the focus of the second session this afternoon.
- The personal folder is within the Custom folder in Reports and Notices. Remember that if you’ve created it on a training server—you’ll need to replicate those parameters on the production server before it will appear in the reports file
- And this (click) Is what it looks like when you run it from the polaris toolbar. The end)
- Questions? I have a few slides to introduce the next session on SSRS and Report Builder.
- Reports and notices sits on top of what is called SSRS – SQL Server Reporting Services which can be accessed via a web browser. So in the browser, this is what the report server looks like. It has all the folders that you see in the toolbar reports. And because it sits on SSRS the tech savvy can use report builder to modify the reports. And people with some programming knowledge can use Visual Studio