Report Module
- 1 Demo
- 2 Introduction
- 3 Getting Started
- 3.1 Creating a Report
- 3.2 Creating Widgets
- 3.2.1 Table Visualisation
- 3.2.2 Timeseries Visualisation
- 3.2.3 Value Visualisation
- 3.2.4 Horizontal Bar Visualisation
- 3.2.5 Multi Column Visualisation
- 3.2.6 Correlation Table Visualisation
- 3.2.7 Visualisation Breakdown
- 4 Key Features
- 4.1 Explore
- 4.2 Hovering Insights
- 5 Things To Watch Out For
- 5.1 Date Range
- 5.2 Organisation
- 6 FAQs
Demo
Introduction
Reports is the module that allows users to build multiple data visualisations that can be saved to one dashboard and accessed at any time. Reports are fully customisable and exportable.
Getting Started
Creating a Report
Reports is accessed through the Reports tab on the Navigation Bar at the left of screen. To create a report, select the Add Report button on the top right hand corner of the screen. [Note: if you’re creating your first ever report you can also click ‘Create your first report’ at the bottom of the preview screen as shown below]
When creating a report, you can use one of the preassembled Watching That templates or start from a blank slate.
For your first report, we recommend using one of the preassembled templates as they have been configured by our product experts based on customer feedback. Not only will they likely be useful to you straight away, they are helpful for inspiration and seeing what is possible with the Reports module. The widgets in the premade reports are all editable too, so if there is something not quite right for your business, you can simply adjust it or remove it.
Creating Widgets
To add a new widget, select the Add Widget icon in the top right hand corner of the screen. [Note: if you’re creating your first ever widget you can also select one of the options as shown in the preview screen below]
Like with the reports, our product experts have created a library of preassembled Blueprints that you can use right away. Alternatively, you can create your own from scratch.
When creating a widget, it’s worth going through the following checklist to make sure your visualisation is as effective as possible:
What date range do I need this data to display? Does it need to have a specific range or can it use the report default?
What metrics and dimensions do I need?
What filters do I need?
How do I want this data to be displayed?
If more than one data source is selected, should this visualisation combine the results or split them per data source?
Multiple visualisations can be added to one widget, each with their own configuration of filters, dimensions and metrics but all using the same date range settings.
If more than one data source is selected, each visualisation also has its own setting for how to handle multiple sources. The Combine results / Split per data source toggle at the top of the visualisation settings controls this. Combine rolls all selected data sources into a single result. Split returns one result per data source, side by side. For example, a table gains a Data Source column with one row per source.
Table Visualisation
The table visualisation is the most basic visualisation available. This creates your dataset as a table. When setting your Columns, this is where you will select your metrics and the time interval. You can also add a calculated field here. Rows is where you set your dimensions or time intervals. When selecting dimensions, you have the option of selecting particular values, or dimensions based on the metrics returned
Timeseries Visualisation
This visualisation is used when plotting one or multiple metrics over a period of time. Users are able to set the metric plots as lines, areas or bars, and can utilise both Y-axes for dimensions that have significantly different ranges. Users are also able to use calculated fields for this visualisation. There are two ways to use this visualisation, the first (shown below) is multiple metrics for a given dimensional filter (this filter is optional).
The second option for timesseries visualisations is a single metric across multiple dimensions, shown below.
Value Visualisation
This simple visualisation is useful for tracking a single value of a metric. Think of this visualisation as headline statistics.
Horizontal Bar Visualisation
Horizontal bar visualisation is useful for showing how one metric performs across multiple values of a given dimension, or how multiple metrics perform across one dimension. Below are examples of each.
Multi Column Visualisation
This visualisation format allows users to look at multiple metrics for a given dimension and their relative difference between them. Users are limited to 4 metrics but are not limited in the breakdown of the dimension. Like other visualisations, users are able to apply filters and leverage calculated fields. They are also able to sort the dimension column alphabetically or by a metric’s value.
Correlation Table Visualisation
This visualisation works a bit like a pivot table. This is used for when trying to compare the relationship between a single metric and two dimensions (or one dimension and a time series).
Visualisation Breakdown
Visualisation Type | Dimensions / Metrics Capability | Use Cases |
|---|---|---|
Table | Multiple metrics | Large datasets with several variables |
Timeseries | Multiple metrics with filter dimensions only, or | Visualising how metrics have performed over a time period and anlysing a relationship between them |
Value | Single metric | Displaying a headline statistic in your report such as Impressions or Revenue |
Horizontal Bar | Multiple metrics with filter dimensions only, or | Visualising multiple metrics and their relationship for a given dimension, or comparing multiple dimensions for single dimension |
Multi Column | Multiple metrics (up to 4) | Comparing how multiple dimensions perform against each other for up to four metrics |
Correlation Table | 1 metric | Comparing the relationship of two dimensions for a given metric |
Key Features
There a few useful features across the Reports module that are worth being aware of to supercharge your experience of the tool.
Explore
Each widget in your report has a useful link that allows you to open that visualisation as an exploration in the Analysis module for further insight. To access it, simply click the eplisis icon in the top right hand corner of the widget, and then click explore.
Hovering Insights
For the timeseries visualisations, users are able to hover their mouse over the data and see what the exact figures are for each time point.
Things To Watch Out For
Date Range
The date range set in the top right hand corner of the report module applies to all widgets that do not have a date range override. Keep this in mind when analysing your data as well as when building your reports - some widgets you may want to always show the same data (for example YTD/MTD revenue visualisations).
Organisation
Sometimes referred to as the data source or profile, if your business has multiple Organisations in their Watching That profile, you will want to make sure you have the correct when selected in the top right hand corner when viewing your report. The Organisations selected here will apply to all widgets except for ones with the data source overridden in the widget settings (see below).
FAQs
Q: Why isn’t my widget showing the correct date range?
A: Check whether a date range override is set in the widget. If not, it will default to the report’s main date range (top right of the screen).
Q: Can I filter one widget differently from others in the same report?
A: Yes. Each widget has its own settings where you can apply unique filters, including dimensions, metrics, and data source overrides.
Q: What happens if I have multiple organisations in my account?
A: By default, your selected organisation in the top-right corner of the report applies to all widgets. You can override this per widget in that widget's settings, so each visualisation can pull from a different organisation if needed.
Useful formatting features:
Highlight important information in a panel like this one. To edit this panel's color or style, select one of the options in the menu.