How do I build a Composite report?

To build a Composite report

The Composite report builder allows you to create a sophisticated report composed of one or more sub-reports. You can even include other composite reports within a composite report to attain your desired result.

To build a Composite report:

1. In the Main Menu, click Reports. This will open the Reports page.
2. Click Report Builder in the bottom left of the browser. This will open the Report Builder page.
3. Click Composite report. This will open the Report Builder - Composite Report page. There are four sections to building a Composite report:

1. Report options:

1. Enter a name for the report in the Name field.
2. Enter a title for the report in the Report title field.
3. Enter a title to be displayed on the chart in the Chart title field.
4. Click Report Options + for further options:
   1. Enter a URL for your report in the Report URL field. Every report is assigend a default URL when it is created. If you enter a new URL for an existing report, then a copy of that existing URL is made. Note, any new URL you enter must be unique - if you enter a URL that is already assigned to a report, then that existing report will be overwritten.
   2. Keep the Navigation Framework box checked if you want to include the navigation framework available for reports generated in HTML. The navigation framework allows users to scroll through reports, return to the reports listing, and generate the report in another format.
   3. Keep the Charts Legend box checked if you want to include the chart to have an accompanying legend.
   4. Keep the Row Count box checked if you want to include the report to have an accompanying row count in the header.
   5. Specify the page width of the HTML report in the Page Width field. By default, this is 612 pixels.
   6. Specify the margin widths in the Margins fields. The defaults are Left 30px, Right 18px, Top20px, Bottom 20px.
5. Check the Include Standard Header box to select the standard components to include in the report's header:
   • Report Period.
   • Prime Time.
   • Print Time.
   • Logo.
   • Description.
6. Specify the default time frame for the chart in the Primary time frame fields. This represents the overall reporting period that the report covers.
7. Select and specify the secondary time frame for the chart when comparing metrics over different time frames in the Secondary time frame fields.
8. Specify the time within the overall reporting period for which the report is applicable in the Prime Timefields, e.g. between 09:00 and 17:00 each day.

2. Hidden Property Fields:

This section only becomes visible when you click the Show Advanced Options box in the top right of the browser. This function specifies how the identity of the component(s) to be included in the report are passed to it using a hidden parameter. If there are no hidden properties listed, you can add one as follows:

1. In the Value column, select None. This opens the Static Attribute Selection window.
2. Click Find Attributes to open the Find Attributes window.
3. Expand Types, Device and Attributes, and select StormWorks ID.
4. Click OK to save, otherwise click Cancel.

To define your own attribute:

1. In the Static Attribute Selection window, click Define Attribute.
2. This opens the Define Attribute window. Enter a name for the attribute in the Description field, and enter a StormWorks expression in the Expression field.
3. Click OK to save, otherwise click Cancel.

To pass an attribute to a sub-report, click the value in the Parameters section of the Sub-Reports section below to select an attribute. Please see step 7. in the below Sub-Reports section.

3. Sub-Reports:

1. Click Add Sub-Reports to add a row. In the Sub-Report column, click 'None' to open the Sub-Report Chooser window.
2. Click reports in the Available sub-reports in directory field at the top of the window to open the list of available reports. Drill down into the category containing your desired report and then select the report. Click OK to add the report as a sub-report, otherwise click Cancel. You can add as many sub-reports as you want to the report. Any custom reports that you have created will be in the directory /reports/UserDefined.
3. Click Repeat in the Repetition column if you want the sub-report to be repeated once for each component in the report, or Single if you want the sub-report to be generated just once for the whole report.
4. In the Alignment column, specify the Vertical or Horizontal arrangement of sub-reports in the Composite report.
5. In the Position column, specify the group that you want the sub-report to be placed in, either Top, Middle, or Bottom.
6. Specify the minimum height for the sub-report in the Height column.
7. Parameters is an Advanced Option, accessible by checking the Show Advanced Options box at the top of the browser. This column allows you to control what parameters are passed to a sub-report. Click the option to open the Sub-Report Parameters window, where you can add, remove or modify the parameter values. Please see the section above Hidden Property Fields for further information on this.
8. Filter is an Advanced Option, accessible by checking the Show Advanced Options box at the top of the browser. This column allows you to specify a condition which must be true for the sub-report to be included to the composite report. If filtered, the filter is usually defined using a StormWorks expression. Click the option to open the Row Filter window, where you can specify the filter.

 4. Select a device to run the report against:

1. Specify the maximum number of rows to run the report against in the Maximum number of rows field.
2. Drag in the managed object you want to run the report against in the Use Selection field.
3. Alternatively, you can uncheck Use Selection and instead check Ignore selection, and use objects from view and then specify the filter of objects you want to use, via the View, server and object type.
4. Click Preview to preview the report or Publish to publish the report to the User Defined Reports folder. If you tick the Show Advanced Options box in the top right of the page, you will also have the option to Copy Report URL to your clipboard.

5. Share report with users in the user groups to which you belong:

By default, this section is hidden and set to 'Default', which refers to your global permissioning default. However, you can specify whether other users in your user groups can have access.

IMPORTANT NOTE: users must be very careful when granting report access to other users. Please read this section before sharing reports.

1. Click Sharing Options+ (below Show Advanced Options in the top right of the page) to expand the Group Access window.
2. This window lists the user groups to which you belong. For each user group, specify the level of access the users in that group have to this report. By default, the report is visible only to you.
3. Select from one of the following options:
   • Default - global permissioning default.
   • No Access - users in this user group have no access to this report (unless they are members of another user group with permission).
   • View - members of the user group can view generated reports.
   • View and Run - members of the user group can run and view generated reports.
   • View, Run and Schedule - members of the user group can schedule, run and view generated reports.
   • View, Run, Schedule and Edit - members of the user group can schedule, run, view and edit generated reports.