Build a report

A report is a set of pages with visuals, built on one semantic model. Use this page to create a report, work in the editor, save and restore versions, and make a copy, move, export or import the report itself. To read a report someone shared with you, see Read a report.

Create a report

1. On the DataPrism home page, click New report in the header. You can also click New > New report in the workspaces panel, or right-click a folder and choose New report here.
2. Enter a Name.
3. Under Semantic model, choose the model the report reads from. The field reads "Charts pull tables and measures from this model".
4. Choose the Workspace and, if you want, a folder.
5. Click Create report. The report opens in edit mode.

A new report starts as a draft. If no semantic model is available to you, the dialog says "No semantic models yet. Create one first to build a report." See Semantic models and BI tables. Creating a report needs the Add DataPrism Report permission; see Who can do what in DataPrism.

Edit mode and view mode

A report opens full width, without the workspaces panel. While it loads it shows Loading report; a link with a missing or unknown report returns you to the DataPrism home page. Click Edit in the header to change the report; the button appears only if you can edit it, and Exit leaves edit mode again.

In edit mode the right dock shows the report's panels: Visualizations, Filters and BI tables. Fold a panel away with its header, and click a folded rail to bring it back. In view mode the dock is hidden; the BI tables panel appears only when the model has BI tables.

An empty page says Build a visualization. Pick a visual type in Visualizations: a draft, marked Draft, appears on the canvas. Drag columns and measures from BI tables into its field zones. Once the draft has the fields it needs, it becomes part of the report; saving replaces the draft in place. To remove a draft, use its Discard draft visual button. For every visual type and its settings, see Visuals; for editing a visual's fields, menu and settings, see Edit a report.

Work with visuals on the canvas

In edit mode, open a visual's menu for these items:

Deleting asks for confirmation first. One selected visual asks Delete visual?, several ask Delete visuals?, and a slicer that runs on several pages asks Delete global slicer?. A global slicer offers two ways out: Delete from all pages removes every copy of it, and Delete from this page, shown while other copies remain, removes this page's copy and leaves the rest behind as page slicers. Every variant warns that the action cannot be undone.

The canvas footer carries the page strip and the controls for the view: Filters opens the filter canvas; the zoom controls and the Align tools adjust the view; and Reset, whose tooltip reads Reset to the author's saved view, drops your own sorts, filters, drills and zoom and returns the report to the view the author saved. On a narrow canvas the footer folds to icon-only controls, and the company logo is the only element that disappears. For selecting, arranging and zooming the canvas, see The report canvas and pages.

Add and organise pages

1. In edit mode, click Add page in the page strip at the bottom of the canvas. The new page becomes the current one and carries copies of the report's global slicers.
2. Right-click a page tab to choose Rename page, Duplicate page, Hide page or Show page, and Delete page; drag a tab to reorder the pages. Delete page asks you to confirm in Delete page?.

Readers see only the pages that are not hidden. In edit mode you see every page, and a hidden tab is marked (hidden). A report always keeps at least one visible page, so the last visible page cannot be hidden or deleted. Duplicate page adds a copy of the page and its visuals. For page management in full, see Report pages; for the canvas, see The report canvas and pages.

While you edit, the header shows Page title and Question this page answers, and both appear to readers above the page. To add notes for readers, choose Documentation in the report header. The editor placeholder reads "Document this page - sources, definitions, caveats".

Save your work

Every save writes a new version of the report.

1. Press Ctrl+S, click Save in the editor header, or open the save panel and click Save now. The panel holds the status summary, the actions that resolve a blocked save, and the Autosave setting.
2. To save on a timer, choose an interval under Autosave in the same panel.

Autosave is Never by default; you can choose Every minute, Every 5 minutes or Every 10 minutes. The choice applies to all your reports in this browser. Undo with Ctrl+Z and redo with Ctrl+Shift+Z; undo keeps up to 100 steps.

If you click Exit with unsaved edits, a confirmation asks "Exit edit mode without saving?" with Save and exit, Discard and exit and Keep editing. If you navigate away from the report with unsaved edits, it asks "Leave without saving?" with Save and leave, Leave without saving and Stay here.

The full save flow, state by state, is on Save a report, resolve conflicts and restore versions.

When someone else saves first

If someone else saves the report while you are editing it, saving pauses, the status reads Newer version exists, and a message says "This report changed elsewhere". Two choices resolve it:

• Overwrite keeps your edits and writes them as the newest version; the version saved elsewhere stays in history.
• Revert discards your edits and loads the version saved elsewhere. It asks again in "Revert and lose your changes?", where Revert and discard mine goes ahead and Keep editing stays.

A failed save reads Save failed, Overwrite failed or Revert failed with the reason. If this tab runs an older version of the app than the one that last saved the report, saving stops with "Reload to save - this report uses a newer visual type"; click Reload to continue. Edits made since the last save cannot be kept. See Troubleshooting.

View and restore an earlier version

1. In edit mode, choose Version history in the report header (the action is described as Every saved version of this report). The dialog lists every saved version with its number, who saved it, when and its label; the newest one carries Current.
2. Select a version. Switch between Preview and Changes. In Changes, compare vs previous or vs current, and show Only diff or Full.
3. To restore a version, click its restore button, labelled Restore version with the version number. The current version has no restore button.

Restoring saves the old version again as the newest one. The message reads "Version restored" with "Saved as version N. Nothing in the history was overwritten." The newest 100 versions are kept.

Report header actions

The view-mode bar reads Refresh, Export, Subscribe, Share, Present and Documentation; the edit-mode bar reads Version history, Refresh, View as and Documentation. On a narrow window, actions fold into More actions. Each action appears only if you hold the permission it needs, and the lifecycle actions need edit reach on this report.

Make a copy, move or delete a report

These actions live in More actions in the report header, and on the report's menu in the workspaces panel and the home feed.

• Make a copy opens the Make a copy dialog, described as "A new report based on "{name}"." The name is filled in as "{name} (copy)". Choose the destination and click Make a copy. The copy is a new report with the same charts and filters, and it has no saved versions until you save it.
• Move opens the Move report dialog, described as "Choose where "{name}" should live." Choose a destination and click Move here. A destination that cannot take the report stays visible, greyed out, with its reason; a report blocked from a personal workspace offers Make a copy instead. See Move and copy items.
• Delete opens "Delete report?": "{name}" will be permanently deleted, and anyone it was shared with loses access. To delete several items at once, use Batch select in the workspaces panel. See Delete reports, models and folders.

Export and import a report file

A .dataprism file holds a report's pages and visuals, so you can rebuild the report on another semantic model.

1. To export, choose Export > Export as .dataprism in the report header, or Export on the report's menu. The file carries the report as it currently stands, including edits you have not saved yet if the report is open.
2. To import, open New report, click Upload a .dataprism file (optional) under Import from file and choose the file.
3. Choose the Semantic model. "Table and measure references are matched by name on the semantic model you pick below."
4. Click Import report.

If some names are not found on the model, the import finishes with a message such as Imported with N unresolved references, listing up to five details and "+N more". A detail reads like "chart 'Orders': table 'Orders' not found in the target model"; the affected charts still import. Add the missing tables or measures to the model, or import against a model that has them.

A report without a semantic model cannot be exported: "This report has no semantic model, so its references cannot be exported." A file that is not a valid .dataprism file is refused with "Not a valid .dataprism file."; a file written by a format version this build does not read is refused as unsupported.

Reports also keep opening as visual types change: a retired visual type stays as it was, and a tile written by a newer version opens read-only.

Permissions

A report shared with you as Can view opens without Edit. Reports in another user's personal workspace open read-only. For every permission, see Who can do what in DataPrism.

Questions, answered

Why did my changes disappear after I closed the browser?

Edits are kept only when you save. Autosave is Never unless you change it, so press Ctrl+S, click Save or Save now, or choose an interval under Autosave.

Does autosave apply only to this report?

No. Your Autosave choice applies to all your reports in this browser.

What happens if two people edit the same report?

When two people edit, the first save wins and the next save pauses with "This report changed elsewhere": Overwrite keeps your edits as the newest version, and Revert loads the one saved elsewhere and discards yours. See Troubleshooting.

How many versions are kept?

The newest 100 versions of each report.

Does restoring a version delete newer ones?

No. Restoring saves the old version again as a new version. Nothing in the history is overwritten.

What does "Delete from all pages" do?

It removes every copy of a slicer that runs on several pages, and the confirmation warns that this cannot be undone. The other choice, Delete from this page, shown while other copies remain, removes only this page's copy and leaves the rest behind as page slicers.

What are unresolved references in an imported report?

Tables and measures from the file are matched by name on the model you pick. Names that are not found are listed in the import message, such as "Imported with N unresolved references", and the affected charts still import. Add the missing tables or measures to the model, or import against a model that has them.

Can I see the SQL behind a chart?

Yes. In edit mode, open the visual's menu and choose View SQL. The dialog is titled Chart SQL, or Chart error when the chart failed; Open in Query Editor opens it in the Query Editor, and Copy SQL copies it. A chart that runs also carries a collapsible Count query (pagination total) section.

Why is there no Edit button for me?

You cannot edit this report. It was shared with you as Can view, it is in another user's personal workspace, or your role lacks Edit DataPrism Report. See Who can do what in DataPrism.

How do I re-run all charts?

Click Refresh in the report header. It re-runs every chart on the report.