You create reports by placing MicroStrategy objects on the report. These objects include such things as attributes, metrics, filters, prompts, custom groups, and consolidations. The attributes and metrics you have created thus far are sufficient to create basic reports.
Region, State, City, Product Category, Subcategory, Item, and so on. Attributes provide context for the calculated data displayed on the report. By default, attributes are stored in the Schema Objects/Attributes folder of a MicroStrategy project.
• Metrics are the business calculations you want to analyze. Examples of metrics include Revenue, Profit, Cost, Percentage of Sales, Number of Items Sold, and so on. Metrics are commonly stored in the
Public Objects/Metrics folder of a MicroStrategy project.
For detailed information and examples about other MicroStrategy reporting objects, see the MicroStrategy Basic Reporting Guide.
The steps below show you how to build a simple grid report. Reports are useful on their own, and can also be used as a prerequisite to building streamlined and highly interactive Mobile reports, dashboards, and applications.
Prerequisite
• MicroStrategy Web must be configured. For steps to configure MicroStrategy Web, see Configuring MicroStrategy Web, page 30.
To create a report
1 Open MicroStrategy Web. To do this, from the Start menu, point to
Programs, then MicroStrategy Products, then click Web.
2 Log in to the project source that you created in Chapter 2, Creating a MicroStrategy Project with Your Data.
Use your MicroStrategy login and password. If you did not create one, use the default MicroStrategy administrator account, by typing Administrator as the User Name. The default account does not use a password, so leave the Password field blank.3 Click the Create Report icon to access the Create Report page.
4 Click Blank Report and ensure that the View report in Design Mode option, at the top, is selected. The Report Design Mode page is displayed as shown in the image below.
The Report Editor has several main areas:
• Displayed at the left, and accessible from the bottom left:
Report Objects: On the left, the Report Objects pane lists all objects currently on the report. Display this pane using the tabs at the bottom left.
All Objects: On the left, All Objects is where you navigate to and select objects to use on the report. Display this pane using the tabs at the bottom left.
Notes: On the left, the Notes pane enables collaboration between users who review the data on this report. Display this pane using the tabs at the bottom left.
Related Reports: On the left, the Related Reports pane displays reports that are available in the same folder location as this report. Display this pane using the tabs at the bottom left.
• Report Filter and View Filter: Above the report template, you can use these panes to define filtering conditions that restrict or refine the data displayed on the report.
• Page By: Above the report template, use this pane to place subsets of your report results to be displayed as separate pages of the executed report. It is useful to group report data into subsets if the report will return a large amount of data.
• Template: The large grid on the right is the report’s template. The template area displays the layout of the report, and is where you place objects from the Report Objects and All Objects panes.
For more information on these concepts, including filters, page-by, and templates, see the Basic Reporting Guide.
5 Start by adding an attribute or metric to the report content and layout in the report’s Template pane. To add an attribute or metric, select All
Objects at the bottom left and navigate to each of the objects to include on the report. Right-click an object, and select Add to Grid.
A common practice is to place attributes on the rows and metrics on the columns.If you plan to use this report on an iPhone, iPad, or Android later, make sure that you place objects on the report according to the following requirements:
• To create a report that can be used as an Interactive Grid widget (for an example, see Displaying a report as an Interactive Grid widget on a mobile device, page 93):
Place at least one attribute on the grid’s rows. The elements of this attribute will be displayed in the first column of the widget.
Place at least one metric on the grid’s columns. The metric values will be displayed in additional columns in the widget.
• To create a report that can be used as a Time Series widget (for an example, see Displaying a report as a Time Series widget on a mobile device, page 95):
Place at least one attribute on the report’s rows. The attribute provides the values along the horizontal axis of the widget and should be time-based. The last (right-most) attribute on the rows determines the granularity, or level, at which users can view data in the widget. For example, if the granularity is set to the Day level, users can view data in the widget for each individual day.
Place at least one metric on the report’s columns. The values of this metric are graphed in the widget.
To view data for multiple series, place at least one attribute on the report’s columns. The elements of this attribute are each graphed on the widget’s axis.
6 To save your report, click Save As. Type a name for the report and click
OK.
By default, the folder where the report is saved is the My Reports folder, where objects are only visible to you. You can save the report in the Shared Reports folder so it is visible to all users.7 You can click Run Report to see the display of your new report.
For detailed tips on design techniques specific for reports and dashboards that will be used on Mobile devices, see:
• Defining a report for display on a mobile device, page 91.
• The Designing Reports and Documents for Mobile Devices chapter in the
MicroStrategy Mobile Design and Administration Guide.
• The Designing Reports and Documents for Mobile Devices chapter on the MicroStrategy Mobile Design and Administration Guide.