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 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 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 files that read data from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM database, such as Microsoft Office files, Reporting Services reports, or or reports created with other ODBC-compliant reporting tools.
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 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.
- Write a new report using Reporting Services, Microsoft Office, or another ODBC-compliant reporting tool. Creating a new Reporting Services report requires a report development environment.
When you connect to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM database to write a report, you must use the filtered views to ensure data security. Filtered views exist for all record types. When a new record type is created, a new filtered view is automatically created.
Report development environment
The default reports in Microsoft Dynamics CRM are all Reporting Services reports. Default reports cannot be edited with the Report Wizard. To edit the default reports or create a new Reporting Services report, other than one created by using the Report Wizard, you need a report development environment.
How to set up a report development environment
Install the required components on your computer:
- Microsoft Visual Studio, or any product that uses the Visual Studio .NET integrated development environment (such as Microsoft Visual Basic .NET).
- SQL Reporting Services Report Designer 2005 can be installed from the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 CD, and requires Visual Studio .NET 2005.
- Make sure a security role assigned to your account includes the Publish Reports and Add Reporting Services Reports privileges.
In addition to the required components, the following documentation is helpful:
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 a default report. For example, if you customize Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you might need to modify labels or add or remove fields in default reports. Editing a default report requires a report development environment.
- Edit the default filter for a default report, a report created with the Report Wizard, or other Reporting Services reports.
- Create a one-time snapshot for a Reporting Services report or schedule a Reporting Services report to run at set intervals.
- Share a personal report with other users, or make it available to everyone in your organization.
- Publish a report so that it is available for use with external applications such as Microsoft SharePoint or custom programs.
Related Links
Part 8: Workflow
Using reports
