Running Reports

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
  • Edit an existing Table Report
  • Manage an existing Table Report

Table Report Actions

Table Report actions are accessible from the Action icon in the Report Center. The actions available to you depend on whether you are the report creator or viewer. You can also run the report by choosing the name of the table report in the name column.

Report creators (permission create report) may perform the following actions on reports they own / create:

  • Run Report
  • Edit
  • Share
  • Rename
  • Delete
  • Export report definition
  • Duplicate
  • Label

Administrative permissions exist to allow the following actions:

  • Manage all table report
  • Change Author
  • Restore Deleted Report

Report consumers (permission run report) may:

Run Report

User permissions exist to allow for the following:

Scheduling reports to run offline

Edit an Existing Table Report

This option opens the report definition and allows you to access any of the steps and settings you set up previously. When finished editing, save your report before returning to the Report List.

Note

Editing a report that you have shared with others will update the shared version immediately.

Table Report Guardrails

SAP SuccessFactors has implemented guardrails to allow for an optimal experience when running table reports. Guardrails are system checks built into application features to ensure they are being used without causing outages and timeouts. You will be guided with messages that recommend the best way to use the application. SAP SuccessFactors introduced the guardrails to ensure fair usage of the Table Reporting capability and to optimize user experience with SAP SuccessFactors.

System CheckMessage Displayed

Number of cells returned for all table reports:

  • Less than 1 million - execute using online or offline mode
  • Greater than 1 million cells - execute off- line mode only
A message will be presented onscreen in- forming the user that the cell count is above the allotted threshold

Run Table Reports

Report Viewers and Creators have the same options available when running a report. Reports may be generated in two ways:

1. Online

Running on-demand produces your file immediately, but may take up to several minutes depending on the size of the file. While the report generates, you may not navigate to other areas of the software.

  • Run Online - This option runs the report and generates it onscreen
  • Download (CSV) - This option creates a downloadable .csv file
  • Export - This option allows you to generate a downloadable file in PDF, Excel, or PPT format

Note

There are no formatting options available with these report types aside from what you can do in the resident application of the file type you select.

Note

Any report that takes longer than 15 minutes to run due to the data volume or complexity should be run offline.

Note

When exporting a Table Report, there is no row limit for CSV. The XLS has row limit of 65536 and XLSX has row limit of 1,048,576.

2. Offline

Running offline gives you the flexibility to attend other activities while the report processes in the background.

Run Offline - This option allows you to create a named, downloadable file in any of the above formats. The report runs in the background while you are free to do other things. You will be notified through email upon the completion of the report. It may be accessed by navigation to Report Center → View Schedules → My Jobs.

Run Table Reports Examples

ExerciseStart Exercise

Report Sharing

The Share action enables a report creator share the report with other users. Sharing is covered in the Report Center Unit.

Report Duplication

The Duplicate action enables a report creator to copy the report definition of an existing Table Report. This is useful when you wish to create a similar report with different filter criteria or if you wish to create similar reports with different Scopes of User Data. A new report is created in Report Center with the name Original Report Name Copy. The user who duplicated the report will be the Author of the new report.

Note

Copying a report that you have shared with others does not automatically share the new copy of the report. You must set up each shared report separately.

Deletion

The Delete option allows you to delete a report definition.

Report Definition

The Export action will save a copy of the definition of the table report. It creates an SFR file to download. The field does NOT contain any data, only the definition of the table report queries.

Sometimes you may want to export your report definition, either for version controlling, sharing the definition offline with a colleague, or moving the report from a test site to the production site.

Hint

When you are saving versions, you may wish to indicate time, date, and other identifying information so you know which version is which in the future.

Version Control

As you edit and update your report definition, you overwrite the report each time you save a change. By using Export report definition, you can download copies of the report definition and upload later to revert to a previous version.

Offline Sharing

Sharing reports creates a link between the report creator's report and the shared version. The person with whom the report has been shared cannot modify the report definition. If a colleague would like to create their own report similar to yours, you could export the report definition and e-mail the file. Your colleague can take that file and upload it into their report list. The format of the file will be shown by the extension "sfr" and the file will only be readable within the system; it will not be something that can be viewed and changed offline.

Report Definition

If you have a downloaded a report definition, you may upload it using the Import button in Report Center. The import is available to any users who have permission to create reports.

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