BCA - Saving Reports
About
This article and video tutorial (below) cover saving reports in BLUEcloud Analytics (BCA) and differentiate between exporting a report and saving a personal view. You can bookmark the BCA login page for easy access later. If you don't know your BCA login, please open a help desk ticket.
Saving Reports
There are multiple ways to save a report in BCA. The surest way is to export a report, which is the same as downloading it to your computer.
Other ways are to create a personal view of the report or print it.
The schedule delivery to history list feature is not recommended or supported because it isn’t fully functional for prompted reports.
Exporting vs Personal View
It’s important to understand the difference between exporting and creating a personal view, because the two save different things.
When you export a report, you’re downloading the report data from BCA. You’ll be prompted to select your preferred format – Excel, CSV, HTML, plain text or PDF – then you can save the download to your computer.
Always download report data that you need to save for use on a later date, or when you want to interact with the data; for example, you can reorganize and delete columns in Excel.
When you create a personal view, you’re saving the report template within BCA, in the My Subscriptions folder.
The data will change from day to day, but the way the data displays – the prompts, view and sorting choices you’ve made – will remain the same.
Exporting a Report
After Running a Report
Let’s practice exporting. Keep in mind that you can export before or after running a report. Let’s run the report first.
Run a report -- for example, Collection Value – Items with Null or $0 Price. Notice that this report has the page-by axis of item type, which means you can view a list of unpriced materials one item type at a time.
To learn more about running reports and utilizing the page-by axis feature, see Single-Prompt Reports and Page-By Axis and Multi-Prompting Reports and Re-Prompting.
To export the data as a PDF, click the PDF icon (C), or, from the Report Home drop-down (A), select Export then PDF.
To export the data in another format, click the Export icon (B), or, from the Report Home drop-down (A), select Export then your preferred format. A new tab will open with formatting options.
You will almost always want to export the whole report (D) as opposed to only the portion of data displayed on your screen.
Next, choose your preferred format (E) if not already selected. This article and the video tutorial compare examples of Excel with plain text and Excel with formatting.
Keep Export Report Title (F) checked so that you can easily identify the report later.
Checking Export filter details (G) will export the prompts you entered. They’ll appear beneath the report title, right before the results. You can use this feature to double-check that you created the report correctly.
Page-by reports come with additional export options. Make sure that Export Page-By Information (H) is selected.
Checking Expand all page-by fields (I) will put all the item type groupings in one Excel sheet. Leave this box unchecked if you only want to export the current page-by grouping, which in this example would be the item type on display when you chose to export.
If you choose the Excel with formatting option, you may also want to check Place each page on a separate sheet (J), which, in this example, means each item type grouping will appear on its own Excel sheet in the workbook.
Click Export when you’re finished making your selections. The data will start downloading. If you don’t see the file once it’s downloaded, check your Downloads folder.
Below are examples of the two Excel options displaying the same results.
Here is a report exported as Excel with plain text, which doesn’t include colors or shading. Because expand all page-by fields was checked, the page-by subsets, or item types, are all listed on the same sheet.
Here is a report exported as Excel with formatting, which includes colors and shading. Because Place each page on a separate sheet was checked, you’ll notice that the each sheet is labeled according to item type and contains the corresponding items.
Both reports display a title, followed by a string of report filters.
Before Running a Report
To export a report without opening it in BCA, hover over it then select the Export or PDF quicklink. Doing so will open the prompt screen then, after you select your library, etc., a new tab will open with the formatting options you saw earlier in After Running a Report.
Notice the Subscriptions quicklink, which is one way to access your personal views. You'll learn another way shortly.
Printing a Report
To print the report, click the Print icon (L) or, from the Report Home drop-down (K), select Print. A new tab will open with formatting options. Once you’ve made your selections, click Show Printable Version to see a print preview.
You may find it easier to export the report instead so that you can adjust or delete columns before printing it.
Creating a Personal View
Let’s practice creating a personal view.
Run a report -- for example, LIBRARY Top Adult Holds. Adjust the way the report looks.
To learn more about adjusting the look of a report, see BCA - Navigating Reports.
To save this report template, click the Create Personal View icon (M) or, from the Report Home drop-down (K), select Create Personal View.
The personal view will automatically be labeled with the report name and the date and time you created it.
Click OK.
To access your personal view, return to the BCA home screen and click the My Subscriptions folder.
Click on a view to run the report with the saved formatting.
If you want to change a report’s prompts, click the Personalize icon (N). Make your adjustments and click OK. You could also run the report, re-prompt it, then save a new personal view and delete the old one.
To learn more about re-prompting reports, see Multi-Prompt Reports and Re-Prompting.
These personal views don’t expire. If you want to delete a personal view, check the corresponding box (O) on the far right and click Unsubscribe.
Video Tutorial
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