Did you know that PeopleTools offers a reporting console that serves to make reporting more efficient and creates a type of one-stop shop for many of your reporting needs? The reporting console can be found under Reporting Tools > Reporting Console. This is, of course, dependent on user access and security.
Users who have access to Reporting Console will initially need to set up preferences by clicking “Click here to setup display preferences”. The default setup can be seen below and shows the display order and link options of the folders, a timeframe for which report/process results should be available, as well as a limit on the last XX instances of processes/reports.
Process specifications can be defined under the Process Request Display Option menu. Distribution status defaults to Posted, which seems to be the logical choice! A user can also give others access to their favorites.
*User ID will be populated but was removed for publication of this blog.
Once preferences are set, the list of folders will appear on the page and preferences can still be modified and personalized by clicking the Preference link. Reports and processes run within the timeframe defined under Preferences, as well as future scheduled reports and processes, can be viewed when the My Reports and My Process Requests folders are expanded.
The user can add to their favorites by clicking to the right of My Favorites, then clicking Add. A new folder can be added from here. The folder will appear in the My Favorites folder and can be renamed or deleted.
Favorites can also be comprised of processes, queries (PS and Connected), BIPs, and nVision reports.
It is important to have a general knowledge of process names and to create query descriptions that make sense to the user, as those are what will be displayed in the favorites list. Using different search criteria, depending on the type of bookmark being added, the user can identify and select what to “bookmark” under their favorites.
Once favorites have been bookmarked, they can be accessed through the Reporting Console.
If the user has run one of the reports or processes within the timeframe defined under preferences, the run instance(s) can be accessed by clicking on the + and expanding to view details.
If the report generates files, such as a PDF, those can easily be accessed by clicking the Report Manager link at the to of the page. Also notice the Process Monitor link at the top of the page. A user may import bookmarks from another authorized user to pre-populate favorites, by clicking the Import Favorites link at the top of the page. This could be helpful if one user is taking over another’s responsibilities.
Users can create new reports and queries directly from the Reporting Console. A user may want to start a new PeopleSoft Query, for example, by selecting that option and clicking OK. This will bring the user directly into the query manager component in the Records page, just as if creating a query from Query Manager.
Users can also utilize the Quick Run option at the top of the Reporting Console to quickly access one of the processes, queries, or reports that are readily available through the console. However, not everything can be run from the Reporting Console, only those items with generic prompting enabled are accessible through the console. And it appears that only private queries can be added to My Favorites and run from Quick Run. While the Reporting Console may not be ideal for reporting super users, it can provide functional users with a concise set of personalized reports, processes, and queries all in one place, allowing those users an easier mechanism for finding just those queries and reports they need. Check it out here! PeopleBooks: Understanding Reporting Console