Reports (build, automated, recap) _ Integration Options
  • 13 Minutes to read
  • Dark
    Light
  • PDF

Reports (build, automated, recap) _ Integration Options

  • Dark
    Light
  • PDF

Article Summary

The Basics

The MainEvent Report Builder allows you to construct a comprehensive amalgam of your event data. Reports allow you to view the progress of your program in real time, to see what’s working, what isn’t and where to go next.

Getting Started

To start the reporting process, click on the navigation tab Reports and select Custom Reports List.

This will open the reports index. Here all previously created reports that you are able to access will be listed with their name, report owner name, and last date modified. To create a new report, click New Report.

You will now enter the report building interface. Step one is to add the identifying details for the report. Here you will add the Report Name, select the reports table you wish to display (what type of data you wish to use for the report), and an optional description. The options for Primary Table are: Events (most common), Venues, Markets, Expenses, Staffing Users, Dyn Report Schedules.

Once you have made your selections, click Next. This will take you to Step 2 - Add Columns. You don’t actually add columns here. All you do is click Next. 

You will now be viewing the reports interface. This is where you really start to get into building. The first step on this page is to click to enter Advanced Edit Mode.

This change will allow you to update the table and add columns and filters to your report. If you want, you can also select Automatically Refresh Results to automatically update the report to reflect any changes or additions you make.

Now let’s get to building. A report needs the table to be built out first, and then you may add specific columns. The table is the foundation for your report while the column is specific data fields. To start building out the table click Edit Tables.

This will open the table popup. In this example, we are building an Events report so it is the events table that is displaying. Click on the + next to the table name to expand the table options.

Click the checkbox next to each section that you may wish to include columns from in your report. Each table section will include specific data related to your events. The most commonly used fields are: Events Venues (location based data), Events Statuses, Events Staffing Day Positions (staff user information for a specific shift), Events Checkins (check in information if using Check-in features on staffing sites), and Recap Responses (recap questions and received responses by event). Once you have made your selections, click Send.

Now that the table is built, it is time to start selecting which columns you want to add to your report. Click Add Column. This will open the column popup, first displaying all the table selections you made.

Certain tables will require additional expansion of the tree structure. Recap Responses, for example, requires this expansion. Click the button next to the table you wish to expand.

This will open a new selection of options within the Recap Responses table to select.

Click the checkbox next to any of the options you wish to use. If you are creating a report that will rely on recap response data (the most common reporting use), make sure you select any type of recap form that you will be selecting responses from. If your recaps only use Simple Forms, you may only wish to select Recap Response Data (Simple Forms). If your recaps make use of Product Forms or Survey Forms as well, make sure you select those options as well so they can be included in the report.

Once you have made all your selections, click Send.

To add columns, click the + next to any of the tables to expand. We’ll start with Events. Clicking the will display all fields available for selection. You will have the option of selecting all or selecting none of these fields with the buttons on the left side of the window. You may also select fields individually by clicking the checkbox field next to each. The most commonly used fields for the Events table: ID (event ID), Name (Event Name), Start Timestamp (start date and time), End Timestamp (end date and time). Make your selections and click Save.

Your selections will now display on your report.

At this point, you are able to continue adding additional fields or edit and configure those you added to meet your reporting needs. Click on the pencil icon to edit the field.

Change the header name, add notes, hide and delete the column from this interface. Click Apply Changes to save. Drag and drop any column within the report to move it to a new location. Reorder by clicking the up or down arrow buttons.

To add additional columns, click Add Column again. You will follow the same process for each of the tables you added to the Events table tree.

For tables that you expanded (such as Recap Responses), you will follow the same process. Click next to Recap Response Data (Simple Forms). This will open up the column options for recap data tied only to the simple forms on your recaps.

This interface offers the option of selecting all fields in a recap, all fields on a page, or all fields on a form. You may also click Select None to deselect all choices. From this page, you will have access to all recap fields on all simple fields from the client. Once you have made all your selections, click Save.

As with the previous columns, recap fields can be edited or moved as needed. All headers for recap fields will include the recap name, form name, page name, and question name by default.

Adding filters

Once you have completed the report itself, you may wish to add filters. Filters allow you to display data that fits within set parameters within your report, such as a date range, a specific response on a recap field, or event ID. This allows you to limit the size and scope of a report as needed.

To add a filter, click Filters in the configuration menu.

This will expand the Filters section.

Click the Add Filter dropdown. This will display all the filter options (which will be your report columns). Select what you would like to filter your report by. For this example, we will use Start Timestamp.

This will expand to display the new filter selection and the additional settings to set your specific filter.

Click on the first dropdown menu (here labelled Is In the Date Range) to see the filter conditions.

The dropdown next to it contains limits for the conditions.

The Viewer Filter and Advanced checkboxes let you decide who can access the filter (not the report). Viewer Filter allows all viewers of the report to use the filter. Advanced only allows specific roles to view the filter. Default will always be to Viewer Filter.

You may also rename the filter if you wish. It will default to being named after the column you are filtering by. To save your filter, click Save Changes. Add as many filters as needed.

Click Attributes to edit the report name, add user roles to view the report, and adjust viewable data.

Once you’ve made the assignments and click Apply.

When all your changes have been made, click Save Changes. The report will now display on the Reports index.

Automated Reports

MainEvent allows you to set up scheduled deliveries for your reports. To begin, you must first build a report (please see Reports: the basics). Once that big step is out of the way, you can set up the automated delivery.

To find the automated reporting section, click Reports in the navigation menu then select Automated Report Schedules.

This will open the Report Delivery Schedules Index page. This index will display any previously scheduled report deliveries. To add a new Delivery, click Add New Report Schedule Delivery.

You are now on the Report Delivery Scheduler page. First, select the name of the delivery you wish to send. Please note, this does not have to be the report name (you will choose the report further down), it can be whatever you wish to call the delivery.

Next, select the report you wish to have included from the Report Name drop down.

Then select if you want the delivery active (will send) or inactive (will not send). The choice is the file format. This will determine what file type you send the report in. The options are: Minimal Spreadsheet (.xlsx)(default and recommended), Excel 2007 (.xlsx), Legacy Excel (.xls), OpenOffice Spreadsheet (.ods), Comma-Delimited (.csv), HTML Document (.html), and JSON (.json)

Then, choose your delivery method. The options are: Email (default and recommended), FTP, and API.

By Email

If you select email as your delivery method, your first step will be entering the recipient email addresses. Enter any and all addresses in a comma separated list.

Then enter the subject of the email. And finally the full message.

Next, you can choose whether you would like to include a link to the report. This option is great for users who have access to the site, but if the recipient doesn’t, it’s not recommended. The default for this is unselected.

Finally, select the frequency you want the report delivery sent. Your options are: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly.

Daily

If you select Daily delivery, you will need to select a Delivery Time (default 12 AM), and a Time Zone (default Central).

Weekly

If you select Weekly delivery, you will need to select a Day of Week, Delivery Time (12 AM default), and a Time Zone (default Central).

Monthly

If you select Monthly delivery, you will need to choose Day of Month (default 1st), Delivery Time (12 AM default), and a Time Zone (default Central).

Quarterly

If you select Quarterly delivery, you will need to choose the Deliver Time (12 AM default) and Time Zone (default Central).

Once you have set up the delivery frequency, click Save Delivery. The delivery will now display on the Report Delivery Schedules Index. From there, click through to view the Delivery History.


Program/Recap Reports

If you’re looking for recap data in report form and don’t want the hassle of building a custom report, look no further than the Program/Recap Reports feature on MainEvent. This feature allows you to immediately access the spreadsheet or schedule an automated delivery right from the index page.

Program/Recap Reports Index

To find the Program/Recap Reports Index, click Reports in the navigation menu then select Standard Recap/Program Reports. This will load the index page.

The index will be pre-populated with all iterations of a recap definition by Program and a compiled option with all Programs per recap definition. Find the recap (either by Program or by All Programs) that you want to select.

Viewing the Recap Report

To view the Recap Report, click the View icon at the right side of the page. The View icon is shaped like an eye.

This will automatically generate the report. The default columns in this report will be: Program Name, Event ID, Event Name, Event Type, Event Date, Event Start Time, Event End Time, Event Status, Location Name, Location Address, Location City, Location State/Province, Location Zip/Postal Code, Region, Market, Staff Last Name, Staff First Name, All Recap Fields.

The report will also display with default date filters and an event status filter.

If you’re satisfied with what the system generated, you can click Export to Minimal Spreadsheet (recommended format), or select from the Additional Output Formats dropdown. Additional options are: Excel 2007, Legacy Excel, OpenOffice Spreadsheet, Comma-Delimited, PDF Document, and HTML Document.

If you need to make any changes to the report, you can click Edit Report and edit as you would a custom report.

Scheduling Auto Delivery


If you want to receive the recap report on a regular basis, click Schedule Automated Report Delivery (the icon looks like a calendar).

You are now on the Report Delivery Scheduler page. First, select the name of the delivery you wish to send. Please note, this does not have to be the report name (you will choose the report further down), it can be whatever you wish to call the delivery.

The Report Name will be automatically selected for you.

Then select if you want the delivery active (will send) or inactive (will not send). The choice is the file format. This will determine what file type you send the report in. The options are: Minimal Spreadsheet (.xlsx)(default and recommended), Excel 2007 (.xlsx), Legacy Excel (.xls), OpenOffice Spreadsheet (.ods), Comma-Delimited (.csv), HTML Document (.html), and JSON (.json)

Then, choose your delivery method. The options are: Email (default and recommended), FTP, and API.

By Email

If you select email as your delivery method, your first step will be entering the recipient email addresses. Enter any and all addresses in a comma separated list.

Then enter the subject of the email. And finally the full message.

Next, you can choose whether you would like to include a link to the report. This option is great for users who have access to the site, but if the recipient doesn’t, it’s not recommended. The default for this is unselected.

Finally, select the frequency you want the report delivery sent. Your options are: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly.

Daily

If you select Daily delivery, you will need to select a Delivery Time (default 12 AM), and a Time Zone (default Central).

Weekly

If you select Weekly delivery, you will need to select a Day of Week, Delivery Time (12 AM default), and a Time Zone (default Central).

Monthly

If you select Monthly delivery, you will need to choose Day of Month (default 1st), Delivery Time (12 AM default), and a Time Zone (default Central).

Quarterly

If you select Quarterly delivery, you will need to choose the Deliver Time (12 AM default) and Time Zone (default Central).

Once you have set up the delivery frequency, click Save Delivery. The delivery will now display on the Report Delivery Schedules Index. From there, click through to view the Delivery History.

By FTP

If you select FTP as your delivery method, MainEvent will deliver your report directly to your server. In order to configure this, you will need to provide the following information: Server, Port (default 21), Login, Password, and Path.

Finally, select the frequency you want the report delivery sent. Your options are: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly.

Daily

If you select Daily delivery, you will need to select a Delivery Time (default 12 AM), and a Time Zone (default Central).

Weekly

If you select Weekly delivery, you will need to select a Day of Week, Delivery Time (12 AM default), and a Time Zone (default Central).

Monthly

If you select Monthly delivery, you will need to choose Day of Month (default 1st), Delivery Time (12 AM default), and a Time Zone (default Central).

Quarterly

If you select Quarterly delivery, you will need to choose the Deliver Time (12 AM default) and Time Zone (default Central).

Once you have set up the delivery frequency, click Save Delivery. The delivery will now display on the Report Delivery Schedules Index. From there, click through to view the Delivery History.

By API

If you select API as your delivery method, you will need to provide the URL to which your report should be delivered.

Finally, select the frequency you want the report delivery sent. Your options are: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly.

Daily

If you select Daily delivery, you will need to select a Delivery Time (default 12 AM), and a Time Zone (default Central).

Weekly

If you select Weekly delivery, you will need to select a Day of Week, Delivery Time (12 AM default), and a Time Zone (default Central).

Monthly

If you select Monthly delivery, you will need to choose Day of Month (default 1st), Delivery Time (12 AM default), and a Time Zone (default Central).

Quarterly

If you select Quarterly delivery, you will need to choose the Deliver Time (12 AM default) and Time Zone (default Central).

Once you have set up the delivery frequency, click Save Delivery. The delivery will now display on the Report Delivery Schedules Index. From there, click through to view the Delivery History.

Straight Download

Trust the system to provide? You can just download a recap report without even having to look at it! To just download the recap report, click the Download icon.

The report will automatically download in the minimal spreadsheet format.