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Configuring reporting settings

For each report that you want to be auto-generated by schedule, you need to create a reporting job. To start auto-generation reports, you have to configure reporting settings.

To configure reporting settings:

  1. From the Sidebar, go to the Services > Scheduled Reports > Reports section and click New. The Scheduled Report dialog box opens.

  2. Under Report, choose the desired report in the Report Name drop-down list.

  3. Choose the report output format in the Format drop-down list: PDF, HTML, Excel, etc.

  4. The majority of reports have parameters, which are static or dynamic values you must supply to the report, such as start and end dates, grouping and sorting options, etc. Assign values to those report parameters as follows:

    1. Click Build to bring up the Report Parameters dialog box.

    2. Choose a value for each report parameter. For details, see Report Parameters dialog box.

    3. Click OK.

    To access report parameters, you need Microsoft Report Viewer 2016 Runtime installed on your local computer. Typically, this component is installed together with Alloy Navigator Express. Note that this software requires the Microsoft System CLR Types for SQL Server 2016 component, which is also shipped with Alloy Navigator Express. For details, see Installation Guide: Reporting.

    Alloy Navigator Express automatically prompts you for parameters of Report Definition Language (RDL) reports (also called Microsoft Report Builder reports).

    In the Parameters field, type in all report parameters with their values as follows:

    /parameter_name=value

    Before you manually assign report parameters, you must find out what parameters the report has.

    NOTE: For more information on specifying command line report parameters, see the Additional command-line parameters.

    To specify several parameters, separate them with a space or type each parameter on a new line. If the parameter name or value contains spaces, enclose it in double quotes.

  5. Under Destination, choose one of the following options: Save report to file or Send report via e-mail and specify settings for a chosen option.

    • Save report to file:
      • Specify the name and location for the file to which the report must be saved. The file can be located either on a local or network computer. Note that the file path must be accessible from the computer hosting the Automation Server.

    • Send report via e-mail:
      1. In the To field, specify the e-mail address of a report recipient. You can specify several e-mail addresses separating them with commas.

      2. In the Subject field, type in the subject for an e-mail message to which the report will be attached.

      3. In the Message field, specify the text for a message.

      4. IMPORTANT: If you want auto-generated reports to be sent via e-mail, you have to make sure that outgoing e-mail notification settings are properly configured. For more information, see Configuring and Controlling Outgoing Notifications.

  6. By default, reports are auto-generated on the first day of every month. You can change this behavior. To do this, under Schedule, click Change and modify the schedule as needed. You can set the job occurrence (daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly), daily frequency, and duration (start and end date). For details, see Specifying the schedule.

  7. Click OK to save your settings. The reporting job now is ready for work.