NOTE: For information on Tempo reports, see also: Tempo Reports and Tempo Report Design
Appian process reports typically pull data from the active processes of a process model, the tasks assigned to certain users or groups, or from specific process instances. Each process execution engine is paired with an analytics engine to gather the real-time report data contained in your active processes. Reports that you dispatch are divided between the available process analytics engines for calculations and data processing.
Process models can pull data from various sources, such as web services, Data Stores, or other relational databases.
Creating a report involves creating a new report in Appian Designer and configuring the Report Options Dialog Box, which is opened from the toolbar after opening the report. Each report created from scratch includes default columns that you might need to delete.
You might be able to save time when building your report by using an existing report as a template. This is the default option when creating a new process report.
The reports you create mainly rely on process data. If you've archived or deleted a process that the report is looking for, that data is not available for inclusion in your report.
If you create a long-running sub-process for reporting, you can retain important process data or metrics while allowing parent processes to be archived or deleted. What's more, you can perform necessary calculations within the sub-process (or in the parent process) to reduce your report generation times. See Using a Sub-Process to Tabulate Report Data
Keep in mind that complex reports can be resource intensive to generate. See Report Performance for guidance on how to keep reports from consuming too many resources.
New process reports are created in Appian Designer.
Report Type | Context Options | Comment |
---|---|---|
Process Model |
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Gather data from different process models. This report type is commonly used to view the status of all running processes. |
Process |
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Gather process data from all executed process models, from each execution of a single process model, or from each process executed by a single user. Select this report type if you are unsure which report type to choose. |
Task |
|
Gather task-related data. Select this report type if you need to report on task completion and status. Task reports list tasks that are
|
After opening the new report, click Edit in the toolbar at the top of the page to open the Report Options
dialog.
Report Type | Default Columns |
---|---|
Process model |
|
Process |
|
Task |
|
Add/Edit Data
dialog box. A new Aggregation
Field is displayed (on non-grouped data columns) with the following options.The following categories of existing reports are available for use as report templates.
Open a report and click Save a Copy on the toolbar. The Save Reports to My Reports
dialog box is displayed.
In this dialog box, specify the name of the report and the folder to save it in. Optionally add a brief description of the report. Click Save.
The My Reports
folder is available in the Objects View of Appian Designer.
If you want to share your report with other users, do not save it in the My Reports
folder in the My Private Knowledge Center
under the Personal and Teams
community (or other locations in My Private Knowledge Center
). Instead, use a folder that other users will have access to.
The text area provided for entering the report description is restricted to 1000 characters by default. This limit can be increased by an application administrator with access to the server.
Along with creating your own report, Appian includes predefined reports and report categories. but you can add data columns to any report. Expression functions and Custom Function Plug-ins are available for use in data columns, except for Scripting Functions and System_Functions.
The process report views feature has been deprecated and will be removed in a future release of Appian.
Use a!queryProcessAnalytics and SAIL Charts to display your process report data as a chart. For more information about Tempo reports, see Tempo Report Design.
For information about views, see the Appian 16.2 documentation.
To view a report, filter by Reports in the Objects View or in an application that contains the report. Select the report.
All standard reports are separated into categories, each of which is represented as a folder in the System Reports folder of the Default Community. Once a report is selected, the data rendered by the report is displayed in a table.
The following toolbar options are available when viewing a report.
Item | Description |
---|---|
Sort the report using data in the selected column.
|
|
Save the current report view. You must have administrator rights for this option to be displayed. | |
Save a copy of the report view, in order to create a customized version. | |
Print a report view. | |
Email the report view to a selected users or groups within the system. | |
Export the data displayed within the report view to Microsoft Excel. | |
Configure the report view. Click Edit to display the report View Options dialog box in a new window. This dialog box allows you to: The resources and objects needed for certain report changes are only available to users that hold the necessary user rights. |
|
Refresh the report view. | |
When a report contains more rows of data than the number of rows per page set by the report designer (which is 25 rows, by default) the report paging controls appear in the toolbar.
Drilling down into subsequent pages of a report can be slower than viewing the first page, as the report is regenerated each time.
|
|
Click Columns to display the list of data columns included in your report.
|
|
Click the Views button to display (and apply) chart options for your report. See: Display as a Chart . | |
Click the Filters button to display the filter options for your report. See: Adding Filters to Reports. | |
Click to view the Report Performance Details page. | |
Display dynamic filters. | |
Hide dynamic filters. | |
A count of the total number of rows in the report is displayed when rows are not combined by grouping. |
Report data can be formatted and displayed in various ways using Columns, Chart Views, and Filters. You can also define drilldown paths for report data.
Reports that contain properly-formatted data can be charted by selecting one of the available chart formats from the View list on the report toolbar.
By default, all data is displayed in a table. Pie charts can only display information about one metric at a time. Only the first numerically formatted data column is displayed.
Report filters allow you to restrict the data that appears within a report. When editing a report, new filters can be added on the Filters tab of the Report Options dialog box.
You can also create a set of Quick Filters that allow users to toggle between different views of the data from the Report toolbar. See Quick Filters.
The report toolbar displays dynamic filters for certain report data formats. Dynamic filters allow users to filter report rows based on values they type.
All reports (and any views that are based on reports) display a toolbar that provides the dynamic filtering options for report data.
Button | Description |
---|---|
Clicking this button displays filter options above report columns that contain data in the following formats:
The following buttons are also displayed on the toolbar when this button is clicked. When the dynamic filter options are displayed, press this button to hide them again (or press <Esc> if a dynamic filter field is selected). |
|
Press this button to hide the secondary toolbar from the report or view. |
The dynamic filter options that are displayed at the top of your report (or view) columns vary according to the format of the data in each column.
Data Format | Filter Instructions |
---|---|
Normal Text | Type your desired text match. Click or press <Enter>. |
Number | Select the operation to use (equals, less than or greater than, less than, less than or equal to, greater than, greater than or equal to). Type the comparison number in the field provided. |
Date | A Date text box is displayed when this option is selected. The following comparisons also appear in a dropdown list:
Select a comparison from the list. If |
Time | A Time Text Box is displayed. The following comparisons also appear in a dropdown list:
Type a time (or a date and time). Select a comparison from the list. If Between is selected, an additional text box appears for entering the end time for your range of values. Click or press <Enter>. |
User Name, User or Group Name | A text box with autocomplete allows you to select the user or group you want to use as a filter. Only one user or group can be selected. Wildcards are not supported in this text box. Select the desired user or group from the list that appears as you type. Click or press <Enter>. |
If your report (or view) contains data in other formats, you must create Quick Filter. Dynamic filters are not available.
If you have the right to save your report after applying a dynamic filter, and do so without changing the name of the report, the report definition is changed so that the filter is applied for all other users. This is also true when you apply Quick Filters.
To restore a dynamically filtered report (or view) to the way it appeared before applying the filter:
When designing a report that displays a table of report data, you can summarize or calculate results from multiple rows by grouping and aggregating your data.
The System Reports folder of the Default Community allows users to select one of the out-of-the-box reports. Each of these reports is explained in further detail below.
See also: Creating a Report
Report Name | Description |
---|---|
All Process Models | Each process model is listed, showing its name, description, creator, and when it was created.
|
Process Details per Process Model | This report requires that you select a process model. Once a process model is selected, statistics are displayed for all instances of the selected process model. |
Process Model Versions | This report first requires you to select a process model (the report context). Once a Process Model is selected, the different versions of the process model are displayed, along with statistics – such as the number of completed processes – and running processes for each version of the process model. |
Running Processes | This report requires you to select a process model (the report context). Once a Process Model is selected, all running processes of the selected process model are displayed, along with statistics for each process instance (each activated process). |
Report Name | Description |
---|---|
Default Process Model Optimization Metrics | Select a process model (the report context). The average lag time and average completion time of the tasks from each process are displayed. |
Default Process Optimization Metrics | Select a process instance as the report context. The actual lag time and actual completion time of the tasks in the selected process are displayed. These report columns are also displayed as metrics within the process modeler when editing a running process and the View > Display node statistics option is selected. |
Report Name | Description |
---|---|
Active Processes | Active processes that you can view are displayed on this report. |
All Processes | Processes that have been started are displayed. Processes that are active, processes that have been completed, and canceled processes are listed. |
Cancelled Processes | Processes that have been canceled are displayed. |
Completed Processes | Processes that have completed execution are displayed within this report. |
Starred Processes | Processes that have been marked as a favorite by the currently logged in user, are displayed in this report. |
Paused Processes | Processes that have been paused are displayed within this report. |
Processes Started by Me | Processes started by the currently logged in user are listed. |
Processes with Problems | Processes that have been started by the currently logged in user are displayed. |
Sub-processes per Process | This report first asks you to select a process (the report context). All sub-processes that have been triggered by the given process are displayed. |
Report Name | Description |
---|---|
Favorite Process Models | Process models that you have selected as favorites are listed, including their descriptions, who created them, and when they were created. |
Most Active Process Models | The most-frequently used process models are listed based on the number of times each process model is launched.
|
Statistics Across Processes | Executed processes are listed, regardless of the current state. Statistics for each process are also included. |
Report Name | Description |
---|---|
Active Tasks | All active tasks assigned to the currently logged in user appear within the report. |
All Tasks | All tasks that have been assigned to you (completed, canceled, or active) appear within this report. |
Completed Tasks | All tasks that you have completed appear on this report. |
Current Tasks for Process | This report displays active tasks for a selected process (the report context). |
Starred Tasks | Tasks that have been selected as a favorite by the currently logged in user are displayed. |
High Priority Tasks | All tasks issued by a process can have one of three priority levels: Low, Medium, or High. If no priority level is set, this field remains blank. Task priority must be configured in the Process Modeler, through the Configure <ACTIVITY NAME> dialog box, or as a default for all tasks in a process in the Process Model properties dialog box. This report displays all active tasks, assigned to the currently logged in user, that have been designated as high priority. |
Overdue Tasks | Lists all active tasks that have exceeded the deadline date. |
Tasks Due Today | Lists all tasks that have their deadline date set to today. |
Task for Group | Using a picker, select a group in which you are a member of. You can be a group member or an administrator. All tasks that have been assigned to the group are displayed on the report. |
Tasks for Group Members | This report requires you to first select a group. This report displays all tasks assigned to the group, but not yet accepted by anyone and all tasks accepted by any group member (regardless of original assignment). |
Tasks per Process Model | This report requires you to first select a process model. Using a picker, you can select one or more process models. Upon selecting a process model, all tasks issued by processes of the given process model(s) are displayed within the report. |
All of the reports listed above can be used as report templates to generate a custom report. When viewing the report, click the save as button. Once you've saved a new copy of the report, click the Edit button on the toolbar to configure your report options.
Certain process model and task reports are included in standard views in the /designer interface, and are translated into all supported languages. We do not recommend editing these reports within the Appian page where they appear, as only the language strings for the Administrator's preferred language are saved, yet the changes are displayed for all users. Instead, save a copy of the report in a different location before customizing it.
All reports saved under the My Reports folder, which resides in the My Private Knowledge Center under the Personal and Teams community, are listed. By default, any report generated by Appian is dynamic, therefore saving a report, and re-opening the same report at a later time, results in the report being regenerated, and thus the report includes any new data associated with the report.
Once a report has been created, it can be sent as an email to users and groups within the system.
To email a report:
Click the Emailbutton on the reports toolbar.
Specify the recipients of the report. Type a username in the recipient field, or click Directoryto select the groups or users you want to receive the report.
Optionally, type a message to be included in the body of the email.
When sending a report as an email, only the first five pages are printed.
Once a report has been created, it can be exported to Microsoft Excel (before or after it is saved).
If the report is configured to use a process model context, the process model's unique ID is not exported with the report.
NOTE: All rows and columns are evaluated, serialized, and returned when the report is exported. This includes more calculation than simply viewing the report and may cause a report that normally renders with no issue in Appian to time out.
When exporting a report, up to 5000 rows are exported (by default).
See also: Printing or Exporting Reports to Excel.
Select a process view or report. Click the Print button on the toolbar. Two new windows are displayed, one a preview of the process view that will be printed, and the other a Print dialog from which you must select the printer. When printing a report, the print output is limited to the first 5000 rows (by default). See Post-Install Configurations.
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