Question
How do I publish reports to users?
Answer
Background
You can give various users the security permissions to create their own reports. However, that creates two burdens on system administration: 1) you need to train them to create new reports and 2) you need to provide them end user support troubleshooting the creation of reports and maintaining those reports over time. A more efficient solution is to create and publish sets of reports for different groups of users. This article is about how to publish reports.
Creating reports
Pacific Timesheet allows system administrators and report writers to create and publish reports for users. Help Center has detailed articles on how to create a variety of reports in PTS.
Publishing approach
Getting useful reports in the hands of users is much easier when you publish reports. In publishing reports you are taking cues from the publishing industry: put your time and review into the creation of one work, then publish it to hundreds or thousands of users with a need for that information.
Publishing reports to security permission levels
PTS allows you to publish reports to specific security permission level names. This is a great feature for a few reasons:
- PTS reports align with security permission levels (aka system roles). Security permission levels extend and restrict access to all PTS system data using our security permission model. When you assign a report to a security permission level, you automatically leverage built in permissions and rights you took the time to calibrate. Very smart of you.
- PTS can make very specific security permission level assignments to system objects like pay codes, projects/jobs, phase codes, groups, divisions, cost centers, billing codes, expense types, asset types, and more. In turn, these assignments can be applied by extending and restricting access to reported data in the security permission level profile. The security of PTS's data reporting is extremely powerful.
Benefits of publishing reports
- By publishing reporting sets designed specifically for each security permission level, you establish and enforce the use of reporting best practices.
- You gain significant efficiencies, receiving feedback and maintaining these reports globally by security permission level.
- Due to these efficiencies, you ensure the highest quality in report creation and use.
- Report standardization simplifies end-user support by removing needless variations of the same reports.
Preformatted reports
When you create a PTS report, you can set generic properties that make it easy to publish and use:
- Name
- Description
- A preset date range (e.g., This Week, Previous Week, This Month, Last Month, Year to Date, etc.)
- Tip #1: Give the report a general functional name like "My Timesheet Hours"
- Tip #2: If the report has a preset date range, the name can be "My Timesheet Hours - This Week."
Now, when you put the report in users hands, with one click they can run a preformatted "My Timesheet Hours" report that displays data for "This Week. " Easy.
How to publish reports
To publish a report:
- While in edit mode, click on the checkbox next the Publish.
- Then, a box with two arrows will appear
- Click on the box and select the security permission(s) to which you want to publish the report.
- Click OK to save.
- The report will now appear ready to use in your My Reports section at the top of your main Reports page
- Security permission level users you selected will now see the report under the Published Reports section of their main Reports page.
- When users run the published report, they will see the data their security permission level assignments allow them to see.
Publishing a report to one user
You can "publish" a report to one user by making them the report owner.
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