Report customizations
Part 7 of "11 things to know about customization"
Customization and reporting are linked. The purpose of adding custom entities or attributes is to store information – the purpose of storing information is generally to report on it. Be sure to consider how you will report on the data stored in customizations you add before you create the customizations.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online includes default reports for many common business needs. However, most organizations customize the default reports and add custom reports for specific needs.
Report ownership
Reports can be owned by the system or by individual users. System reports are available to all users. Reports owned by individual users can be shared with colleagues or teams, or can be made available to the organization so that all colleagues can use them.
Report types
All default Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online reports and all reports created using the Report Wizard are Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services reports.
In addition, reports can also be:
- Web links
- Static files
- Dynamic Microsoft Office Excel files that refresh data from Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.
You can edit report properties, including:
- Report type
- File name or URL
- Display name
- Description
- Information about where the report appears in the user interface.
Data security
All reports read Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online data from filtered views, which filter the data based on the user's security role. Reports only display data that the person running the report has permission to view.
Options for creating new reports
To create a new report, users with the needed permissions can:
- Add a file or a link to a Web page as a report.
- Run the Report Wizard to create a new Reporting Services report. The Report Wizard can create table and chart reports, including drill-through reports and top-N reports.
- "Drill-through" reports allow you to click a section of the report to view a sub-report.
- "Top-N reports" refers to reports that show only a limited number of records that meet a certain criteria.
Report Wizard
The Report Wizard guides you through creating a report. Tasks include selecting data and deciding how data should be summarized and presented.
Access the Report Wizard to create, edit, or copy a report
- In the Navigation Pane, click Workplace, and then under My Work, click Reports.
- To add a new report, click New, and then click Report Wizard.
- OR -
To edit an existing Report Wizard report, select a report created using the Report Wizard, on the Actions toolbar, click Edit Report, and then click Report Wizard.
Note
You can only use the Report Wizard to edit reports that were created with the wizard.
- To create a new report, select Start a new report.
-OR-
To start from a copy of an existing report, select Start from an existing report, select the report, and also clear the Overwrite existing report check box.
-OR-
To edit an existing report, select Start from an existing report, select the report, and select the Overwrite existing report check box.
- For more information, see "Create, edit, or copy a report using the Report Wizard" in the Help topic, "Create and Work with Reports".
Options for modifying existing reports
For existing reports, users with the correct permissions can:
- Organize reports into categories to control which views in the Reports area display each report.
- Determine where a report is visible in the user interface, and edit other properties of the report.
- Edit a report created with the Report Wizard.
- Edit the default filter for a default report, a report created with the Report Wizard.
- Share a personal report with other users, or make it available to everyone in your organization.
Related Links
Part 8: Workflow
Using reports
