Reporter Basics
The basic steps to using Evergreen’s reporter are:
-
Create a template. See Creating Report Templates.
-
Alternatively, find a template and clone it into your folders if it was created by another user. See Cloning Report Templates.
-
-
Run the report, also referred to as creating a report definition.
-
View your output either through the staff client or via your email.
Running a Report
You can run one-off reports on demand or schedule recurring reports to run automatically. To run the report, you fill out the reports form which creates a report definition, which tells Evergreen how to run the report, what information to include, and what type of output to provide you with.
-
Navigate to Administration → Reports.
-
In the My Folders section select the arrow beside the Templates folder to see your template folders. Use the arrows to expand the folder tree until you find the folder containing the template you would like to use for your report.
-
Select a folder name to display the contents.
-
Check the box beside the template you wish to use.
-
Create a new report from selected template will be selected by default. Select Submit.
-
Enter a name for your report. Report names must be unique or the report cannot be saved.
Optionally, enter a description for your report.
-
The display columns included in the output are listed as Report columns.
Pivot Label Column and Pivot Data Column are optional. Pivot tables are a different way to view data. If you currently use pivot tables to manipulate report data in Microsoft Excel, it is better to select an Excel output and continue using pivot tables in Excel. Please note that pivot tables are only suitable for some types of result data.
-
Choose the Reports folder you would like to save the reports definition in.
-
Enter values for any filters. For more information on filter values, see Report Filters, below.
Instead of scrolling through the options in the filter lists, you can select one of the visible options and then on your keyboard press the letter the option you want starts with. This will jump you to that spot in the list.
You can also multi-select options using SHIFT + click to select contiguous list elements, or CTRL + click to select non-contiguous list elements.
-
Select the checkboxes to select the types of output you would like.
-
Select the Calculate grouping subtotals checkbox to add an unlabeled row or column with the subtotals for each grouping and an unlabeled grand total row or column. Please note, group subtotals and grand totals will only be useful with some reports.
-
Leave the recurring and run time options as is unless you are running a recurring report. See Recurring Reports, below.
-
Optionally, enter an email address to send the report completion notification to. By default this field will contain the email address saved in your staff account. Additional addresses can be added separated by a comma.
The email will contain a link to the password-protected report output. Only staff members with permissions to view reports or have full access to the reporter will be able to open the report output.
-
Choose the Output folder you would like to save the report output in and then select Save Report.
-
A pop-up appears confirming the report has been saved. Select OK.
-
Unless you have set a specific run time, the report will run right away. If your report has not completed after 15 minutes, you may need to contact your system administrator.
-
Once the report is complete, you can view your output. See Viewing Report Output, below.
Report Filters
The filters in a report template allow library staff to set the parameters on which the report runs. The ability to select values for certain filters when running a report means a single report template can be used multiple times to generate reports on slightly different data. For example, the same report template can be used to generate separate lists of items using particular circulation modifiers.
Hardcoded Filters
Hardcoded filters are set when the report template is created. These filters cannot be changed when running a report. Common hardcoded filters include:
| Column | Transform | Action | User Params | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bibliographic Record → Record ID |
Raw Data |
Not in list |
-1 |
Exclude all records where the bibliographic record ID is -1 which is all pre-cat records. |
Call Number/Volume → Call Number/Volume ID |
Raw Data |
Not in list |
-1 |
Exclude all records where the call number ID is -1 which is all pre-cat records. |
Circulation → Check In Date/Time |
Date |
Is NULL |
Include only items that have not been checked in. |
|
Circulation → Circulating Item → Copy Status → Name |
Raw Data |
Equals |
name of an item status |
Include only items that are in the specified item status. |
Circulation → Fine Stop Reason |
Raw Data |
Not in list |
LOST |
Exclude items that have stopped generating fines because they have been set to lost. |
Item → Is Deleted |
Raw Data |
Equals |
f |
Include only non-deleted items. |
ILS User → Is Deleted |
Raw Data |
Equals |
f |
Include only non-deleted patrons. |
Date Filters
Date filters are generally set up to be a specific date, a specific month, or a date range. Date filters may include tips about how the dates should be entered. For instance, in a date range, the earlier date should always be entered in the first date box.
If you’d like to include all possible data for your library in a report that specifies a time range, enter between "1900-01-01" and "today’s date".
When running recurring reports it’s very important to use Relative Dates in your filters. This will allow Evergreen to calculate the time period to report on each time it runs the report. A relative date of 1 month ago will generate a new report each month on the previous month’s data; a real date of November 2022 will generate the same report each month with the data from November 2022.
|
You can set up recurring monthly reports to show comparative data from one year ago. To do this, select relative dates of 1 month ago and 13 months ago. |
Use the drop-down menu to switch from Real Date to Relative Date. For a report filtering on month, you will be able to indicate how many months ago the report should look at.
Library Filters
All report templates used by libraries should include a library filter. This filter can look at the library specified in a variety of fields in the data including the checkout library, circulation library, owning library, patron’s home library, and organizational unit.
This filter is important as it allows staff to restrict the data in the report output to only data relevant to their library.
Multi-branch libraries can add specific branches or all of their branches to the list to get a report including data from the select branches.
Other Filters
While many filters will require staff to select values from a given list, some filters will require staff to type a value into the filter User Params field. In those cases field hints or column documentation can be used to indicate how the text should be entered so that Evergreen can use the value and generate usable report output.
Some report templates will have just hardcoded filters and a single library filter that requires staff to enter a value while other reports will have multiple filters where staff need to enter values for the library, dates, and patron or item data.
Recurring Reports
Save time by scheduling recurring reports to run your regular reports automatically. Monthly circulation and patron registration statistics are good candidates for recurring reports.
Staff with access to the reporter can set up recurring reports to email a link to the password-protected report output to another staff member.
To set up a recurring report, follow the procedure in Running a Report, above, until you reach step 11 and then follow the steps below.
-
Select the box for Recurring Report.
-
Select your desired Recurrence Interval. Reports can run on a daily, weekly, or monthly interval.
The recurrence interval should correspond to the date filter. For example, if the template filters on a date instead of month, a recurring report running with a monthly interval may miss a day or capture an extra day’s data. See Date Filters for more information on working with date filters on a recurring report.
-
Check the box beside the date and set the date of the first run of the report.
Best practice is to always set recurring reports to run in the early hours of the morning (1:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. server time).
Monthly recurring reports MUST be set to run on the 1st of the next month in order to capture all monthly data.
-
Enter an email address to send the report completion notification to. By default this field will contain the email address saved in your staff account. Additional addresses can be added separated by a comma.
The email will contain a link to the password-protected report output. Only staff members with permissions to view reports or full access to the reporter will be able to open the report output.
-
Choose the Output folder you would like to save the report output in and then select Save Report.
-
A pop-up appears confirming the report has been saved. Select OK.
-
Unless you have set a specific run time the report will run right away. If your report has not completed after 15 minutes, please contact your Evergreen administrator.
-
Once the report is complete you can view your output. See Viewing Report Output, below.
Viewing Report Output
Once a report is finished, the output is stored in the specified Output folder and will remain there until deleted. Your system administrator may have a script that automatically deletes report output after a certain period of time.
If an email address was included in the report definition, Evergreen will send an email containing a link to the password-protected report output. Only staff members with permissions to view reports or full access to the reporter will be able to open the report output in either the staff client or via the email link.
Unless you have set a specific run time, reports generally take a few minutes to complete depending on the size of the report. If your report still shows as pending in your output folder after 15 minutes, you may need to contact your system administrator.
Viewing Output via the Reports Interface
-
Navigate to Administration → Reports.
-
In the My Folders section select the arrow beside the Output folder to see your output folders. Use the arrows to expand the folder tree until you find the folder containing the output you’d like to view.
-
Select the folder name to display the contents.
-
Output will display either under Pending Items or Completed Items. Select the folder name again to refresh if your output hasn’t completed yet.
-
Check the box beside the output you would like to view.
-
View report output will be selected by default. Select Submit.
-
The report output will open in a new browser window.
The report name and description will display as well as links to the output options selected when running the report. The URL can be shared with other library staff who have reporter permissions.
If Bar Charts and/or Line Charts were selected in the output options and the data can be shown in those forms, the bar and/or line chart will display.
-
Select Excel Output or CSV Output to download the output as a file that can be opened in a spreadsheet program. You will be prompted to open or save the output file.
-
Select Tabular Output to view the output in the browser.
The tabular output will display and can be sorted by selecting a column heading.
Viewing Output via the Email Link
-
In your email program open the email with the subject Report finished: <Your report name - template used>".
-
The body of the email will include the run time, the name of the report, the name of the template used for the report, the URL for accessing the report, and in some cases a URL for documentation related to the report template.
Select the report URL.
-
A pop-up will appear asking for your Evergreen staff username and password. Enter your credentials and select Sign In.
Opening subsequent report URLs will not prompt for an additional sign-in until the browser is closed.
Staff accounts without permissions to use the reporter or view report output will not be able to sign in.
-
The report output will open in a new browser window.
The report name and description will display as well as links to the output options selected when running the report. The URL can be shared with other library staff who have reporter permissions.
If Bar Charts and/or Line Charts were selected in the output options and the data can be shown in those forms, the bar and/or line chart will display.
-
Select Excel Output or CSV Output to download the output as a file that can be opened in a spreadsheet program. You will be prompted to open or save the output file.
-
Select Tabular Output to view the output in the browser.
The tabular output will display and can be sorted by selecting a column heading.
Maintaining Reports Data
Saved report templates will stay in the database forever unless deleted by the template owner. Check with your system administrator to determine whether report definitions and output are deleted on a scheduled basis.
When a template or report definition is deleted, all the linked definitions and output files are also deleted. If you have shared your template and/or created a recurring report using your template, you will not be able to delete your template. This is why it is important for all users to clone templates into their own folders before running reports.
It is recommended that you download output you need to keep as CSV or Excel output and save it locally on your computer hard drive or a shared drive.
Maintaining Your Report Templates
As Evergreen evolves from version to version, the database tables sometimes change and report templates should be periodically reviewed to ensure that they are running correctly and efficiently. It is especially recommended to review templates following an upgrade. You can check the create time of a template in the template folder grid.
If you are modifying existing templates or creating your own templates, it is recommended that you delete interim versions of the template created while working on the template. This makes it easier to be sure you are using the correct version of the template.
|
System Administrators should periodically review the scheduled and common reports and shared templates to ensure consistent usage. And example of a report to show templates in use can be seen on the Evergreen Reports Wiki. |
Deleting a Report Template
|
Deleting a template will delete all report definitions and outputs linked to the template. Make sure any data you need to keep is downloaded and saved locally before deleting. |
-
Navigate to Administration → Reports
-
In the My Folders section select the arrow beside the Templates folder to see your template folders. Continue to use the arrows to expand the folder tree until you find the folder containing the template(s) you would like to delete.
-
Select the folder name to display the contents.
-
Select the box beside the template(s) you wish to delete.
-
From the drop down menu select Delete selected templates(s). Select Submit.
-
A pop up will appear warning you that deleting the template will delete your attached reports and output. Select OK.
-
A pop up appears to confirm the deletion. Select OK.
|
If you have shared your template and/or created a recurring report from your template, you will not be able to delete your template. This is why it is important for all users to clone templates into their own folders before running reports. |
Viewing a Report Definition
You can view the report definitions for the reports you’ve run. This can be helpful if you need to check what values you entered in for the filters.
-
Navigate to Administration → Reports
-
In the My Folders section, select the arrow beside the Reports folder to see your reports folders. Continue to use the arrows to expand the folder tree until you find the folder containing the report you would like to view.
-
Select the folder name to display the contents.
-
Select the View link beside the report definition you would like to view.
-
The report definition will display and you can view the information that was entered. The fields are grayed out as they cannot be edited from this screen.
-
Report definitions can also be viewed through the applicable output folder by selecting the report output’s name and then Selecting View.
Editing a Report Definition
You can edit the report definitions for reports you’ve run. This can be helpful if you want to run a new report with a slight change.
-
Navigate to Administration → Reports
-
In the My Folders section select the arrow beside the Reports folder to see your reports folders. Continue to use the arrows to expand the folder tree until you find the folder containing the report you would like to view.
-
Select the folder name to display the contents.
-
Select the Edit link beside the report definition you would like to edit.
-
The report definition will display and you can edit the values entered as desired. You must give the report a new unique name or it will not save.
-
Select Save As New to run a new report with the new values.
-
A pop-up appears confirming the report has been saved. Select OK.
Deleting Report Definitions and Output
Report definitions and output that you no longer need can be deleted from within the appropriate reports or output folder.
|
Before deleting, ensure that any needed report output has been downloaded and saved locally. Reports that capture a historic snapshot or moment in time, such as a count of items in each shelving location, or a count of patrons on a past date, cannot be re-created. |
-
In the appropriate Reports or Output folder, select the box for the definition or output you wish to delete.
-
From the dropdown menu select Delete selected report(s) or Delete selected output(s) depending on which folder type you are working in.
-
Select Submit
-
A pop-up will appear asking you to confirm that you wish to delete your selection. When deleting report definitions, you will also be warned that the attached output will also be deleted. Select OK.
-
A pop-up appears confirming the report definition or output has been deleted. Select OK.
Recurring reports can be stopped by deleting the relevant report definition or the pending output.
