How to create and edit Visual Reports

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Brief summary of this article:

The Visual Reports Editor features a comfortable drag-n-drop interface, a powerful formulas editor for custom calculations, the ability to aggregate fields, add annotations and milestones, compare and explore data, and dig down for low level details. So, let’s dive in.

To get started, create a new report.

There are two required fields you’ll need to fill out to get started: projects-teams selection, and data source. Decide which projects and teams you want to view information from, and select what kind of entities you want to use as data sources for the report.

You can create reports from one of our templates, or choose to to create one from scratch. Use text search to look through the available templates. The templates will automatically filter when you select a data source (e.g. select Bugs to see templates such as ‘Bugs by Feature’).

Now you are able to create reports from links right inside Targetprocess. You just need to select 'Chart from link' option and paste the link that leads to CSV or JSON data.

You may also use secured links to create a report, but please note that we don’t recommend entering your query-based credentials to URL. It would be safer to create account for your link. To create new account just click on 'Switch account' and press the 'Add account' button.

Follow this link for more details. You can also find some additional use cases for the link app here.

When you enter the charts editor, a new panel will appear with commonly used fields. There are more fields available; just go to “add field or formula” to find these hidden fields. Any fields you select will then appear in your list of commonly used fields. You can also remove fields from your personal list to reduce clutter.

Drag-n-drop these fields to horizontal or vertical axes to begin building the report. Or, just double click on a field, and the Visual Editor will automatically select the best suitable axis. If you drop two fields with the same nature of data to the same axis, the Visual Editor will automatically create categories for these fields (i.e., both fields will be displayed on one chart; you can can use this ability to compare data).

Many of these fields will have their own popup, where you can choose to sort (ascending or descending), compact (yes or no), aggregate (none, sum, avg, min, max), and group (none or by intervals of weeks, months, years, etc.).

Custom Fields are available among other ones. Supported field types are Text, Drop Down List, Multiple Selection List, Number, Money, Date, Check Box, Calculated.

More information: How to add fields or custom formulas to charts.

Adding annotations and filters

You can also add annotations and filters from many fields' popup menus.

Annotations

Use annotations to highlight important thresholds and milestones. For example: if you're looking at number of bugs per release, you can create a colored line on your chart that marks the point at which you will have an unacceptable amount of bugs. Annotations can be added to both the vertical and horizontal axes.

More information: Add milestones and threshold lines in Visual Reports.

Filters

Filters, on the other hand, can be used to ignore data from certain sources, such as a particular User Story. For example: let's say you want your report to reflect all User Stories except for ones in the 'To-do' state. Just click on the Filters in the field's popup and fill out the necessary conditions to filter out these entities.

You can also add filters from the "Browse and Filter" button on the right-hand side of the screen.

Drilling down into data

When you hover over any graphical element, a tooltip popup will appear. Press the "data" button to reveal a list of all data related to the graphic.

More information: Drilling Down into Data.

Custom calculations in the formulas editor

You can add custom calculations using the formula popup. To find this popup, go to "Add field or formula" in the fields panel, and select the formula tab.

The formula popup will autocomplete as you type to help you easily create complex formulas. We have many formula templates available. You can also add custom field values by using formula editor: Four types of custom fields are currently supported: Text, Number, Date and Multi-Text values.

Learn more: How to add custom calculations to charts in the Visual Reports Editor.

Sharing Reports

Just like with views, you can share reports externally (i.e. with non-Targetprocess users). To share a report, go to Actions --> Share Report to generate a link to your report. These shared reports are interactive and will reflect any updates made to the report in real-time.

Additional information

Every report has a static selection of projects and teams by default (just like views). This means that every user will see the same report, unless they specifically alter the selection of projects and teams.
Data in Visual Reports is updated every 1 hour by default now. Users can always click the Update now link to get fresh data. More information: How often does a Visual Report refresh the data displayed?
There are 6 kinds of charts that you can switch between.
Report sharing: When a report is made public, every user has access to it, regardless of their team/project.
You can export data via CSV, JSON, PNG, and print it.

Outdated reports

Reports are created using the Vizydrop editor. All of your old reports based on "Custom Graphic" engine and "Tabular engine" are still available.