Scheduling a report
To schedule a report, follow these steps:
1. Click on the Default Reports or Custom Reports panel button.
2. Right-click on the report you want to schedule and then click Scheduled report to display the Schedule Report Wizard.
Screenshot 18 - Schedule Report Wizard
3. Click Next to continue.
Screenshot 19 - Report name and description for a scheduled report
4. In the Name and Description page, provide a descriptive report name and description in the Report name and Report description boxes, and then click Next to continue.
Screenshot 20 - Scheduled report time schedule
5. In the Time Schedule page, select whether you want to generate the report once or periodically.
If you want to generate once on a particular date, click Generate this report (once) on the following day/time, then select the date and time from the calendar.
If you want to generate this report periodically starting from a particular date, click Generate this report every. Specify an interval amount, and then select a value from the Interval list. From the Start date/time calendar, select on which day you want to start generating this scheduled report.
Click Next to continue to the Advanced Settings page, where you can configure report distribution and storage options.
Screenshot 21 - Scheduled report storage and distribution options
6. If you want to save the generated scheduled report on disk, select the Export to file check box. The report will be saved in the format and to the location on disk specified in the Default Scheduling Options dialog box. For further information, refer to the `Configuring default scheduling options' section further on in the manual.
If you want to specify custom export to file settings for this scheduled report, click Settings under the Export to file area, to display the Report Storage Options dialog box. In the Report Destination box, specify the location on disk where you want this scheduled report to be saved and then select an export format from the Report format list. Click OK to close the Report Storage Options dialog box.
Screenshot 22 - Custom scheduled report storage options
7. If you want to send the generated scheduled report by email, select the Send by mail check box. The report will be sent to the recipients using the SMTP server specified in the Default Scheduling Options dialog box. For further information, refer to the `Configuring default scheduling options' section further on in the manual.
If you want to specify custom send by email settings for this scheduled report, click Settings under the Send by mail area, to display the Email Alerts Options dialog box.
Specify the following parameters:
- To/CC: Specify the email address(es) where you want to send the scheduled report.
- From: Specify the email account that will be used to send the report.
- Server: Specify the machine name or IP address of your SMTP (outbound) email server. If the specified server requires authentication, select the SMTP Server requires login check box and specify the logon credentials in the User name and Password boxes.
- Report format: Reports are sent via email as attachments. Select the file format in which you want to send the scheduled report from the list.
Click OK to close the Email Alerts Options dialog box.
Screenshot 23 - Custom scheduled email distribution options
8. Click Next to continue.
9. If you are scheduling a custom report, go to point 10 below. If you are scheduling a default report, the Date Filters page is displayed so that you can specify a date range for the report. In the Date Filters page, you need to specify what period of data you want to include in the scheduled report. You can either specify a fixed date range, so that the report always includes the same data, or else you can specify a variable date range, for example, for the last 6 months. When you select a variable date range, the data included in the scheduled report will vary depending on when the report is generated. Click Next to continue.
10. In the Schedule Report Wizard finish page, click Finish to complete the wizard.
