OnBase Guide - Reporting Dashboards

Goal: To create dashboards and reports from OnBase

data

Complexity Level: Departmental Reporting Dashboard

Developers

5/12/2022

2 
 
Table of Contents 
Background & Terminology ....................................................................................... 3 
Prerequisites .............................................................................................................. 3 
Resources ................................................................................................................. 3 
User Groups/Access .................................................................................................. 4 
Configuring Data Providers ........................................................................................ 6 
Editing Data Providers ........................................................................................... 7 
Configuring Dashboards ............................................................................................ 8 
Dashboard Items/Elements .................................................................................... 8 
Filtering Dashboards ............................................................................................ 12 
Exclude Values from Dashboard Items (Pre-configured) .................................. 12 
Default Filtering Options (End User) ................................................................. 13 
Filter Values using Filter Elements (End User) ................................................. 13 
Drill Down (End User) ....................................................................................... 15 
Filter Dashboard Items based on other Dashboard Items (End-User) .............. 16 
Formatting ............................................................................................................ 17 
Value Formatting .............................................................................................. 17 
Names .............................................................................................................. 17 
Rules ................................................................................................................ 17 
Calculated Fields ................................................................................................. 18 
Dashboard Designer Tips .................................................................................... 19 
Configuring Reports ................................................................................................. 20 
Configuring Categories ............................................................................................ 22 
Display Actions ........................................................................................................ 22 
Migration .................................................................................................................. 23 
Scheduling ............................................................................................................... 23 
 
   

Background & Terminology

The Reporting Dashboards module in OnBase provides a point-and-click

configurable designer to create highly visual, interactive dashboards and user-

customized reports. This guide is intended to supplement the resources listed below,

please refer to the MRG for full details on configuration.

Within the module, you can configure:

• Dashboards - these are pre-configured and can include visual elements such

as charts, graphs, etc.

o Dashboards can be made available via URL if they do not include

personally identifiable information.

• Reports - these are a more traditional report format without visual elements.

Users with access to the report can choose the columns to include, so this is

better suited for power users who are willing and able to customize their

reports.

• Data Providers - this is the query that retrieves the information to use in a

dashboard and or report.

• Categories - these are groups of dashboards and reports to provide

organization

Make sure all your configuration aligns with the CU OnBase Naming Conventions.

It can be helpful to create dashboards, reports and data providers in DMOSTG to

have access to updated data that’s not always available in DMOTST.

Prerequisites

In order to configure anything in the Reporting Dashboards module, you will need to

use the Unity client and be in the appropriate user group for reporting configuration

privileges.

You’ll need to complete the trainings below to be given access to administrative

reporting dashboard privileges.

Resources

• Hyland’s premium subscription includes these trainings, which are great

starting points for learning about dashboards.

o A hands-on lab for Reporting Dashboards.

o Intro to Reporting Dashboards

o Reporting Dashboards Beyond the Basics (covers WorkView reporting)

• Improve OnBase with Reporting Dashboards, presentation from 2018

CommunityLive

• Reporting Dashboards MRG

• Reporting Dashboards product page

• Reporting Dashboards - Share by URL on the UIS OnBase Training page.

Please contact [email protected] for assistance as needed.

Administrative Dashboards

In addition to the dashboards and reports you create for your own department, a

variety are already available and shared with applicable user groups. Some are

available to all OnBase users while others are limited to the appropriate

administrative groups.

More information is available in the Certified Admin Handbook.

User Groups/Access

There are several layers to granting access to reporting items. In order to access

dashboards and/or reports, users will need to members of a group that is assigned

to the dashboard/report and all data providers used by the dashboard/report.

If the data provider is based on a WorkView module association, the user group will

also need to be assigned to the module association. Refer to our WorkView for Unity

Form Reporting guide for more information.

Assign to User Groups, not Users

While items can be assigned to individual user accounts, instead this should be

assigned by user groups for easier maintenance as users change or leave.

Assignments made directly to user accounts can only be seen or changed in the

Unity client, which requires identifying, locating and modifying each individual

dashboard, report and data provider.

When assigning using groups, this can be managed from any client where you can

assign groups (Unity client, web client, or Configuration) and fewer changes are

needed and access is more likely to be updated correctly for staffing changes.

“Reporting” User Groups

As described in the Expectations and Tips for Certified Admins guide, reporting

items should be assigned using “Reporting” user groups, not other types of groups.

In order to appear in the list of groups available for assignment to dashboards,

reports, and data providers, the group will need to have the “User Access” reporting

dashboards privilege.

This is assigned in Configuration > Users & Groups > User Groups/Rights > select

group > Reporting Dashboards.

No other privileges should be assigned beyond “User Access”. This is monitored and

any additional privileges will be removed.

Functional User Groups

Users who have completed the appropriate training may be in either of the

Functional groups that provide administrative access to dashboard configuration.

Functional - Developer - Reporting Dashboards &

Functional - Admin - System (Certified Only):

• Allows creation of categories, dashboards, reports and data providers

(excluding SQL data providers or use of external data sources).

• This group allows modification of any items the user has “full control” access

to or items they create, and access to those items through Administration in

the Unity client.

• Users in this group can also delete the items they have “full control” access to

or have created themselves.

• Items assigned to them as read-only or execute-only cannot be modified or

deleted.

Access Levels for Dashboards/Reports

When assigning a “Reporting” group to a dashboard or report, the following access

levels can be applied to the group:

• Read Only: users in the group can view the dashboard/report but cannot

change or delete the dashboard/report.

• Modify: users in the group can view and modify the dashboard/report but

cannot delete.

• Full Control: users in the group can view, modify and delete the

dashboard/report. This is true even when the user is not in any functional

groups allowing reporting dashboard privileges!

Extra permissions can also be assigned for dashboards:

• Re-Share Dashboard/Report: users in the group can share the dashboard

or report with other users.

• Export Dashboard/Report Data: users in the group can export the data that

was used to create the dashboard or report.

• Add/Remove Data Providers: users in the group can change the data

providers used to retrieve data for the dashboard or report. This permission is

only available to change if the user has Modify access.

Access Levels for Data Providers

When assigning a “Reporting” group to a dashboard or report, the following access

levels can be applied to the group:

• Execute Only: users in the group can only use the data provider to view

results on a dashboard or report.

• Full Control: users in the group can modify or delete the data provider,

including assigning other user groups. This is true even when the user is not

in any functional groups allowing reporting dashboard privileges!

Configuring Data Providers

Most reporting needs can be met with one of the pre-defined data provider types. To

create a new data provider, go to the Unity client then Reporting Dashboards. Click

the Create New Data Provider button on the menu from Administration. Or, if you

select Create New Dashboard, the dashboard wizard will include creating a data

provider if it doesn’t already exist.

Data Providers should follow the standard OnBase naming conventions.

• Document Query - Used for reporting on keyword values for selected

document types.

o This is the most commonly used of the built-in data provider types.

o This can also include the current workflow queue and queue entry date

so is great for basic workflow reporting.

o Generally, document values you want to report on should be

configured as keywords.

• Workflow Activity - Used for reporting on ad hoc task execution and an

item’s transition through workflow queues

o This will include historical/previous workflow activity and additional

detail, beyond the current activity available in the Document Query

data provider.

o For ad hoc task execution, you’ll need to have “log execution” enabled

on the tasks. There is an option to enable this in the data provider

configuration, but that will only begin going forward, you won’t have the

historical data.

• Workflow Inbox - Used for reporting on items currently in the selected

workflow queues.

o As of June 2020, the “Assigned To” field does not work. (Workaround:

store the assigned to user value as a keyword value).

• Workflow Configuration - Used for reporting on configuration of a life

cycle/selected queues.

o This can provide information on load balancing configuration (there is

an administrative dashboard for this as well in the Configuration

category).

• Document Imaging Query - Time in Queue/Time to Process - Used to

report on activity in batch scanning and batch processing.

o These data provider types have been incompatible with our Oracle

database in some versions, so use with caution.

• WorkView - Used for reporting on attribute values for the selected

applications/classes

o This requires that a module association is configured for the filter that

returns the data you want to use on the dashboard/report.

Dashboards can use multiple data providers, and data providers can be used on

multiple dashboards/reports.

If needed, custom SQL data providers can be written to retrieve information from the

OnBase database or other external data sources. Please contact the UIS team for

creation of custom SQL data providers.

Editing Data Providers

From the dashboard designer, there is easy access to edit the current data provider

or add/remove data providers on the dashboard (including creating new data

providers).

Or you can go to Administration in Reporting Dashboards in the Unity client, then

choose Data Providers and find the data provider in the list.

Configuring Dashboards

To create a new dashboard, go to the Unity client then Reporting Dashboards. Click

the Create New Dashboard button on the menu, or you can copy from an existing

dashboard to save time if a similar one already exists. After completing the

dashboard creation wizard, you’ll be directed to the dashboard designer.

Dashboards and Reports should follow the standard OnBase naming conventions.

Dashboard Items/Elements

While others are available, the most commonly-used data provider items are:

• Grid - this item appears like a spreadsheet of columns and rows.

o On the design tab, enabling banded rows makes it easier to read

across lines of data.

o You can add totals (count, sum, etc.) for columns by clicking the

column heading in the dashboard designer.

• Pie Chart

o On the Design tab, the Data Labels option lets you set whether to

show the argument name, value, and/or percentage.

o Also on the Design tab, you can enable or disable the Show Pie

Captions option. Usually this is redundant or unnecessary so it can be

hidden. It’s still a good idea to set a logical caption so that if the item is

exported to an image (where it may be shown despite disabling

captions) it will not be confusing.

• Chart - Includes bar charts, line graphs, etc.

o After adding a chart, you can change the type of chart from the Design

tab or with the option button next to the value in the Data Item list.

o Another useful option there is on the Point Label Options tab. Checking

Show point labels adds the values to each point on the chart.

o There are also options in the X-Axis Settings and Y-Axis Settings.

For example, enable zooming on the x-axis allows users to scroll when

hovering over a chart to zoom in for more details.

• Pivot Table - Columns and rows with summarized/aggregated values.

o You can choose whether columns and rows are expanded or collapsed

by default and which totals to include.

• Gauge - Shows actual value vs. a target value

o You can use a calculated field to set a target value

o You can specify in the settings next to your values whether above the

target or below the target is the goal.

o You can also change the layout of the gauge and enable/disable

captions on the Design tab.

• Images - Images can be added to the dashboard or within the Title

configuration.

o Load Image: Add an image to the dashboard by reference. If the path

to an image added by reference cannot be resolved when the

dashboard is accessed, the image is not displayed.

o Import Image: Add an image to the dashboard by importing it to the

system. Images added in this way are always available when the

dashboard is accessed.

▪ NOTE: Images imported this way are stored to the SYS System

Bitmaps document type, which are then are available as icon

selections.

Dashboard items can also be placed into groups on the dashboard. This can help

organize and label information but also affects filtering using filter elements.

Filtering Dashboards

There are a variety of ways that you can filter data on your dashboard, whether

that’s within the design of the dashboard so certain values will not appear, or

configured as options for users of the dashboard to filter as they are viewing the

dashboard.

Most of the “end user” filtering options described here require additional

configuration in the dashboard designer but will make the dashboard easier to use

and provide more valuable information.

Exclude Values from Dashboard Items (Pre-configured)

To exclude certain values from appearing on a dashboard element, right click the

item and choose Edit Filter. The value for the filter must be assigned to the

dashboard item. If you don’t want the value you are using for filtering to be visible,

add it as a Dimension in Hidden Data Items.

Default Filtering Options (End User)

Without any additional configuration, dashboard items like grids can be filtered using

the column headers.

Filter Values using Filter Elements (End User)

A variety of filters can be added to the dashboard layout so that users can more

easily filter the results as they like. Insert these from the Home tab of the designer.

• Range Filter

o Provides a slider that can be adjusted to narrow or expand the results

o Good for filtering by date or a numeric value

o A distinct count (ex. Using Document Handle to get a count of

documents) is a good option for the Value.

o Your Argument can then be the value (ex. Date) you want to filter on.

• List Box

o Provides a list of checkboxes for each value so they can be

included/excluded

o Good for a short list of values

• Tree View

o Same as List Box but allows for nesting of values.

o For example, could be used to filter by document type

groups/document types, where document types will be nested within

their groups.

• Combo Box

o Same as List Box but displays checkboxes in a drop-down list

Drill Down (End User)

Enabling the Drill Down option on the Data tab will summarize your

numeric/aggregate values based on the first column. Then as you click on a row,

you “drill down” into the results for that row.

When you want to move back up a level, click the arrow in the corner.

Filter Dashboard Items based on other Dashboard Items (End-User)

Dashboard data can also be filtered based on selection of a value on another

dashboard item like a grid or a chart.

Select the item you want to use as the source of the filter and then go to the Data

tab. Enable the Single Master Filter or Multiple Master Filter option depending on

whether more than one item should be selected as the filter value.

If any items should not be affected by the filter, select them then enable the Ignore

Master Filter option on the Data tab.

By default, master filters will only affect other dashboard items based on the same

data provider. But it is possible to filter between items using different data providers.

To do so, each item involved will need to have a common value with the same

column/field name in both data providers. Then each item will need to have that

value included in its visible or hidden data items. Once that is done, select the item

that will be the source of the filter, then enable Cross-Data-Source Filtering on the

Data tab.

Formatting

Value Formatting

By default, dashboards will apply certain formatting based on the data type. To

change the format of a value, click to open the menu for the column on the desired

dashboard item.

Names

You can change the name on items by right clicking and choosing Edit Names

(there’s also a button on the menu).

Rules

You can apply rules to add formatting (highlight, bold/italic, icons, bars, etc.) to

dashboard items based on the value (similar to conditional formatting in Excel).

Configure your item then right click and choose Edit Rules. You’ll need to choose

which value to base the rule on, then configure the rule depending on the data type.

To apply rules based on fields that are not visible on the dashboard, add the field as

a Measure in the Hidden Data Items section.

Make sure not to rely on only color differentiation (ex. Use yellow highlight with bold

font and orange highlight with italic font) when configuring rules so that users who

cannot perceive the color difference are able to get the same information as users

who can.

Calculated Fields

Calculated fields allow you to adjust any values in your data provider to display a

different value, to combine/concatenate values, group like items, or perform more

common calculations (addition, subtraction, etc.).

Calculated fields are configured per dashboard, the do not carry over to other

dashboards/reports using the same data provider so you’ll need to recreate the field

and copy and paste the expression (vote to change that here).

To create a calculated field, right click on the list of available data fields and choose

Add Calculated Field.

This will open an expression editor with lists of your existing columns/fields and the

functions you can use. This expression editor offers slightly different functions and

requires different syntax than the workflow expression editor.

Once you save the field, right click to rename it. You can also modify the expression

by right clicking.

Dashboard Designer Tips

• If you have multiple data providers assigned to a dashboard, choose between

them using the drop-down above the field list.

• By default, the field list is grouped by data type, then sorted alphabetically.

You can turn this grouping off by clicking the button with two blue boxes.

• To save time, you can duplicate dashboard items and then make small

adjustments. Duplicating items will retain any filters or rules you have

configured. To duplicate, right click on an item or select it and choose

Duplicate from the menu.

• Another way to save time is by converting items to another type (ex. From

pivot table to a pie chart). You can duplicate an item then convert it to test out

an idea or to avoid reconfiguring the item. Either right click or use the menu

option.

Configuring Reports

Reports use the same data providers as dashboards. Instead of configuring a pre-

defined visual display of the information, reports will prompt users to define the

columns, layout and aggregation when the first view the report.

To create a report, go to the Unity client then navigate to Reporting Dashboards >

Administration. Choose Reports, then click Create New Report. Or you can right

click in the Gallery and choose Create Report.

You’ll be prompted to enter a name, choose/create a data provider, and assign user

groups. At that point, the report can be accessed by users.

If the report has not been viewed by the current user, they’ll need to add columns as

desired. This does not carry over from user to user. If the Column Chooser is not

shown by default, you can open it from the menu. Then drag the columns into the

desired order.

You can filter data by using the Filter Editor.

Right click below a column to add a total or a count.

Configuring Categories

Categories can be used to group your dashboards and reports so they are more

organized and easy to find. You will need to share the category with user groups (in

addition to the individual reports and dashboards) for other users to see them.

To create a category, go to the Unity client then navigate to Reporting Dashboards >

Administration. Choose Categories, then click Create New Category. Or you can

right click in the Gallery and choose Create Category.

You’ll be prompted to enter a name, assign user groups, and assign items. Later on,

you can make changes by right clicking the category in the Gallery and going to

Properties.

Display Actions

If they have the required permissions, users can open documents, folders, workflow

queues, or WorkView objects from dashboards/reports using display actions.

To configure a display action, the relevant unique identifier will need to be included

on the element that will be clicked. For example, to open documents, you’d need to

include the Document ID (document handle). If you don’t want the value to be visible

on the dashboard, add it to the item as a Dimension in the Hidden Data Items

section.

Once you’ve saved the dashboard, go to Properties for the dashboard/report and

choose Display Actions. Add an action and choose the appropriate dashboard item,

what type of item to display, and the unique ID for that item type.

Migration

Migration of reporting dashboard configuration is done in the Unity client. Refer to

our Exporting and Importing Configuration guide for more details.

Scheduling

In Unity Management Console, you can schedule reports or data provider exports.

The generated report/data can be stored to a network location that is accessible by

the scheduler server or stored as an OnBase document.

To have a report/data provider export delivered by email, save it as an OnBase

document and route it through workflow to be sent as a notification attachment.

More information about scheduling reports is available in the Unity Scheduler MRG.