Creating reports from scratch - Step 3 - Select Columns

This guide is the fourth guide in a series of eight. The other guides in this series are:

• Creating reports from scratch - Introduction
• Creating reports from scratch - Step 1 - Titles and Topics
• Creating reports from scratch - Step 2 - Effective Date
• Creating reports from scratch - Step 3 - Select columns
• Creating reports from scratch - Steps 4 & 5 - Ordering and sorting columns
• Creating reports from scratch - Step 6 - Filters
• Creating reports from scratch - Step 7 - Groupings
• Creating reports from scratch - Step 8 - Collations and reviewing your report
   

Introduction

The third step to building a report from scratch is to choose your report columns. Selecting columns allows you to specify what data items to show in your report from the report's focus you chose in Step 1 (the report's dataset or library).

For example, if you set Students as your report focus in Step 1, adding a column for Last Name ensures that each row within your report (representing a single student per row) has a cell listing the student's surname.

If you think of your report focus as a library, selecting a specific column is like saying for all of the books you list in my report, please show me what each book's title, subtitle or first chapter is (or whatever other data items you might want to retrieve from every books contents).

• The left side of the page lists the columns available to add to your report.
• The right side of the page lists the columns that will be added to your report once you proceed to Step 4.

You can add multiple instances of the same column from the left to the right-hand side, allowing you to add multiple columns of the same type with different settings (like date ranges and formats).

Completing Step 3

Finding and adding report columns 

• Finding columns - On the left-hand side of the screen, you can search for column titles in the search box or scroll through the list and find the columns you need. Drag and drop these into the right-hand side, or double-click the column boxes to add them to the list on the right.
   
  • Using the search can help you narrow down the list if you are not sure which column to use. Just start typing keywords to shorten the list of available columns and delete text to broaden the list if you have narrowed it down too far.
  • Some columns may be listed under a different name than you are expecting or are used to using, so if you cannot find the column you need, try a synonym.
  • Columns are categorised within the broader areas they relate to. So, if you know your report needs a Summative Assessment column, but you are not sure which columns are available, search for the name of the category at the top (Summative) or scroll to the relevant section to see all of the columns that fit within the Summative category.
     
• Add the columns - Drag and drop columns into the right-hand side, or double-click the column boxes to add them to the list on the right. Columns listed on the right will be added to your report.
   

Editing column settings

A slide-over may appear after you have added a column, allowing you to set parameters for the column. If you have already added a column, you can also click the pencil icon next to a column to edit the column settings.

• Adding a Column Label changes the column heading and name you see at the top of your report. Customise this by typing into the column label box. If you decide you no longer want to use your custom label, remove all of the text from the box before and save the column settings to revert the name back to the system name for the column.
• If a Date Range dropdown shows on the slide-over, you can specify which dates the data in your columns relates to. The date ranges work in the same way as the relative and custom dates outlined in Step 2 - Set Effective Date, but are specific to the data shown in your columns and not the data set of the overall report.
  
  For example, if your Effective Dates from Step 2 are the current academic year and your report is about Students, the report shows data for a different student enrolled in the school on each row. Adding an FSM? column to the report with a date range Previous academic year will then show whether the students in your report (this year's students) were FSM students last year and not this year
  
  For these dates, you can select either:
   
  • Relative dates - a 'dynamic' rolling date range which will change automatically. For example, 'last week' will change the date range each week to look at the previous week.
  • Custom dates - custom date ranges with specific dates - these won't update automatically and would need to be adjusted

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• If a Format dropdown shows, using this allows you to choose the way your data displays within your report.
  
  For example, for a Date of Birth column, you can choose to display birthdays in 8 different formats, including British (dd/mm/yyyy), American (mm/dd/yy) and Hijiri.
   
   
• If a Summary Row Formula dropdown shows, you can choose what to display in the summary row at the bottom of the report column for which you set a summary row. 
   
  • Row Count can be used for all columns and shows the number of values in a column.
  • Average and Sum are only available for columns involving numerical values, such as attendance columns. 
     
    • Sum tallies all of the values in a row by adding them together and providing the total.

    • Average provides the mean value of the values in the column (the Sum of the values divided by the Row Count). 

       

      
       

• If a Hide field tickbox shows, ticking this tick box will hide the report column in your final report without fully removing the column. This allows you to customise what your report shows, without fully removing data you might later want to show and to hide columns you might not want to show in the report, but do wish to use in a calculated field like an advanced calculated formula or want to order your report by.
   
• You might see further settings unique to the column. If a small grey question mark icon shows, hover over this to see an explanation of what the setting does.
  
   

Manage and order your columns 

If you add a column and then decide you no longer want it in your report, the right-hand side of the screen has a small bin icon beside each column you add. Clicking on this will remove the column from your report. 

You can also edit the columns further after adding them to the list on the right by clicking the pencil icon.

Reorder the columns you have placed in the right-hand area of the screen by dragging and dropping them into the order you wish.


 

Bulk adding columns 

For reports about Students, you'll also see a Bulk Add Assessment Columns button at the bottom of the page. Use this to add assessment columns in bulk - just select the year, assessments and periods, and for Summatives choose which marks or targets to show.
 

Proceeding to the next step

Once you're happy with your column choices, click the green Preview columns and continue button in the bottom right corner of the page to continue to Step 4. 

If you are not 100% sure you have added all of the right columns, do not worry; you can always edit your report later to add or remove columns if something does not look right!