Cross Workspace Reporting Plugin

Contents

• Overview
• Using the Cross Workspace Reporting Plugin
  • Prerequisites
  • Limitations & Considerations
• Setting up a Configuration
• Generating a Cross Workspace Report
• Troubleshooting/Incorrect Configurations

Overview

The Cross Workspace Reporting Plugin enables administrators to create a report that contains data from forms located in different workspaces. A configuration can be set up that will combine selected data records from different forms, regardless of which workspaces those forms belong to, and export that data as a single CSV (comma-separated values) file. This plugin is ideal for when an organization is managing different programs, each in different workspaces, with at least one step or form that is identical or strongly similar. 

This article will describe how to use the Cross Workspace Reporting Plugin; configure the workspaces, forms, and data views that will be used to generate a report; execute a cross workspace report successfully; and identify potential problems with a configuration that may result in an unsuccessful report. 

Using the Cross Workspace Reporting Plugin

The Cross Workspace Reporting Plugin can be installed in one or more workspaces by a member of the WizeHive Support Team or other WizeHive representative. The plugin must be installed in each workspace containing data that will be used in the resulting report. Each form that contains data must also have a saved data view that will define the fields and records that will be included. (For more information on using data views, see the articles Working with Columns and Views and Filtering.)

Once installed, an administrator can create a configuration in any of these workspaces and designate the different workspaces, forms, and data views that will be involved. A report containing the desired data can then be generated from the configuration screen. The report must be manually generated, but once this process is initiated, the plugin will collate the fields and records in each form’s specified data view.

Please note that this collation is done indiscriminately: the designated data view from one form/workspace is essentially stacked below that from another form/workspace, with no consideration as to whether the fields match up or not. As a result, the fields selected in the designated data view for each form that is included should be identical (or directly comparable) and should appear in the same order; otherwise, the data that is collated will not line up in each column (see the section Troubleshooting/Incorrect Configurations below). 

The image below shows an example of a successfully configured and generated report:

In this image, the applicant information from two different workspaces (identified in the left-most column) was collated into the same CSV file. Because each workspace contains an identical form with matching saved data views, the data records in this image are directly comparable and can function as a single table. 

• A - The column names are drawn from the field names in the data view from the first form listed in the configuration (in this case, the records from “Tom’s Testing Workspace”). 
• B - Records included in the first data view, form, and workspace (Tom’s Testing Workspace) set up in the plugin configuration.
• C - Records included in the second data view, form, and workspace (Training/Testing) set up in the plugin configuration

Prerequisites

Prior to creating a Cross Workspace Configuration, the following prerequisites must be met:

1. Only workspaces with the Cross Workspace Reporting plugin installed can be selected when setting up a configuration. As a result, all workspaces to be included must have this plugin installed. 
   • To have this plugin installed, please contact the WizeHive Support Team or another WizeHive representative.
2. In each workspace to be included in the resulting CSV report, the forms containing the data records that will be collated together should be identical or strongly similar. While the field names can differ, the data in each field should be directly comparable.
3. Similarly, a saved data view that contains directly comparable fields, appearing in the same order, should be present on each form to be used in the configuration. 
4. Administrators must be a member of all workspaces that will be involved, and they must have the role of Administrator or Owner of at least one of those workspaces to access the Settings & Tools page (see the section Setting Up a Configuration below).
   • For more information about user roles and permissions, see the article Permissions.

Limitations & Considerations

When determining whether the Cross Workspace Reporting Plugin is appropriate for a desired purpose, or when setting up a configuration, please keep the following in mind:

• The CSV file format is the only supported format for reports using this plugin. CSV files are most easily opened and managed in a spreadsheet software, such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.
• The data records in the resulting report will be displayed under the column headings provided by the field names present in the first form/data view listed in the configuration. Field names for additional forms/data views included in a configuration will not be displayed under any circumstances.
  • For more context and details, see the sections Generating a Cross Workspace Report and Troubleshooting/Incorrect Configurations below.
• Although any forms and data views in workspaces that meet the conditions listed above can be chosen, the records in these data views will be added to the CSV file in order in which the workspaces are listed in the configuration with no consideration of whether the data views contain fields that match or align. If the forms are dissimilar or contain non-comparable data, the data views contain different fields, and/or the fields in these data views are in different orders, the data in the resulting CSV report will be mixed up and not easily intelligible.
  • There are no notifications or error messages that appear if the forms and/or data views in the different workspaces in a configuration are not comparable.

Setting Up a Configuration

The first step to generate a Cross Workspace Report is to create a configuration. Once the conditions above (see Prerequisites) have been met:

1. Logged in as an administrator to any Zengine workspace involved in the report, navigate to Settings & Tools by selecting the “gear” icon in the upper right corner of any screen.

2. Select the Cross Workspace Reporting plugin tile under Plugin Settings.

3. Select +Create Configuration to start a new configuration. You can also duplicate a configuration or edit an existing configuration from this screen (the image displayed contains no existing configuration tiles). 

4. This will open the configuration options. 

• A - The first field will request a name for the configuration. 
• B - Upon entering a name, a new field will appear prompting the administrator to designate the number of forms. The number entered into this field represents how many forms contain data that will be included in the cross-workspace CSV report that will be generated from this configuration. For example, if records from three different forms should be included (generally, these will be in different workspaces, but do not need to be), enter 3. 

5. Once the desired number of forms is entered, three new fields will appear, one set for each of the  number of forms entered in Step 4 above:
   • C - Pick a Workspace: select which workspace includes the form/view to be added to the cross-workspace report. Only workspaces that the user is a member of, and which have the Cross Workspace Reporting plugin installed, will appear as options.
   • D - Pick a Form: select which form from the workspace designated in the previous field contains the data that should be added to the report.
   • E - Pick a View: finally, select the saved data view on the form chosen in the previous field that will be collated in the report. 

The workspace, form, and view fields for only one of the three forms is shown in this image, but two other sets of fields - totaling three, one for each indicated in the “Number of Forms” field - also appear in this configuration.

6. Complete all three fields for each form/workspace that will be included in the report.
7. Once all fields have been filled in, select the blue Save configuration button in the lower right corner to save any changes, or the gray Cancel button to return to the previous screen without saving changes.

Generating a Cross Workspace Report

Once a new configuration has been saved, a new button will appear at the top of the configuration labeled Generate Report.

1. Select the Generate Report button to start creating the cross workspace report. A message will appear below this button indicating when the report began generating, and the user who initiated it.

2. The report may take several minutes to generate, depending on how many forms, records, and fields are involved; once it has finished, this message will update to show that the report has completed, and a new button labeled Download will appear. 

3. Select the Download button to download the report as a CSV file.

The resulting report will show all selected data collated together in the same file, with the workspace name in the first column; otherwise, the values will represent the fields and order of the exported data views. The column headings will be drawn from the fields of the data view that is listed first in the configuration. Field names/column headings from other data views in this report will not be shown, regardless of whether they match or not.

Any configured reports can be generated again (with new and/or updated data records) by returning to a configuration and repeating Steps 1-3 above. 

Report configurations can be edited at any time by returning to the Cross Workspace Reporting settings, selecting a desired configuration, and adjusting the settings.  

Finally, new reports using other forms and data views can be generated by creating additional configurations beyond the first (see the section Setting Up a Configuration above). 

 

Troubleshooting/Incorrect Configurations

What happens if I choose forms/data views from different workspaces for my configuration that do not align?

The plugin will collate the records and fields from the designated data views regardless, and list them in the CSV file in the order they were specified in configuration. If the fields do not match, they are out of order, or the data is not directly comparable, the plugin will act no differently. Below is an example of a cross-workspace CSV report that contained data from two different forms/workspaces that are not comparable:

In the above image, Rows 2-5 come from “Tom’s Testing Workspace” (red), whereas rows 7-14 come from “Training/Testing” workspace (orange). The data views do not contain the same information, and thus the resulting report is not easily read or understood. Note that the column headings in this CSV report come from “Tom’s Testing Workspace,” as that is the first one listed in the configuration that created this report. The column headings for any other workspaces do not appear in the report.

Why does the workspace name that I’m looking for not appear as an option in the Pick a Workspace configuration field?

If you cannot find a desired workspace as an option in the Pick a Workspace field when setting up a configuration, the most likely reason is that the Cross Workspace Reporting plugin is not installed in that workspace. Remember, although a report can be configured and generated from any workspace with the plugin installed, only workspaces with the plugin installed will be selectable as options in the Pick a Workspace field.

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