Form Dashboard and Reports

The Form Dashboard is the launching point to view data captured by forms. It can be an administrative tool allowing owners of the form to view a combination of the form metadata (Form ID, create date, modified date, status, etc) and the Field level data, or it can be a tool giving users in the business process data that they need to get their work done. It is recommended that the Form ID or Edit links be used as a way to navigate to the actual form. Users may also utilize the right click accessible context menu to navigate to the form.

A Form Dashboard is the mechanism used in VisualVault that allows users to display multiple records of form data and then allow them to view, update, or modify data for a selected Form ID Card or Form data instance. Multiple dashboards may exist for any given form template and its instances. Users may also be restricted to only viewing the data from Form Dashboards depending upon permissions and the columns displayed in the published dashboard.

When editing a dashboard the screen has the following elements:

• Menu:

  • Search: This button can be used to set filters for the data that will be published in the dashboard.

  • Print: Allows the user to print a subset of the displayed data.

  • Save: Save the current dashboard with the current name, or save the dashboard with a different name for modification.

  • Export: Export the currently displayed details. Refer to Export Form Data for more information.

  • Delete: Delete form data when the user has permissions to do so.

  • Query Filter: Develop a filter using SQL combinations.

  • Workflow Status: Allows filtering of the dashboard based on the status of a workflow for the form.
    
    

• Select Form Template: Used to select the form template that will be used in this dashboard. Only one can be selected per dashboard.

• Limit Results to Create By: This restricts the visibility of the form dashboard results to only items or forms a user has submitted.

• Lock Status: Only allowed to see a specific workflow sequence as configured by the status drop down at the top of the screen.

• Enable Delete: Creates a column of check boxes that allows for the owner of the form template to delete an instance or multiple instances of form data.

• Allow Workflow Approvals: Allow users to view the dashboard and approve items they have rights to complete in mass where a user stamp ID is inserted on the form template.

• Available Form Fields: Fields available for selection to display on the dashboard. Only named fields from the form template will be displayed. Fields with default names will not be displayed in this drop down.

• Select Report Columns: Fields selected to be the columns of the report.
  
  

• Column Properties: This section only becomes visible when the pencil icon (  ) is selected above Select Report Columns. See Controlling Column Properties below for more detailed information.
  
  

• Filter Rows: Filter used to narrow the results displayed on the published dashboard. Only Selected Report Columns will be visible in the filter. The exception to this rule is the Workflow Status column. Users may filter on this column even if it is not visible on the dashboard.
  
  

• Data Results: The name of the dashboard, and results are displayed in columns.
  

When viewing a dashboard, only the menu and Data Results will be available to the user.

As an Owner of a form, or a VaultAccess user, do the following:

1. Navigate to Form - Form Data from the top menu.

2. Select New Dashboard.
   
   

3. Select the Form Template from the drop down list.

4. Select columns and metadata from Available fields pane, then use the ( ) button to assign the fields as columns in the dashboard.

5. Move the fields up or down in the Selected Report Columns list to change the column location or remove the fields from the selected list with the ( ) button.

6. Modify the properties of each column to control the layout of the form by selecting the pencil icon ( ), then modify the appropriate properties.

7. Complete the configuration to control functionality for the dashboard. Refer to the following topics below on controlling functionality of a dashboard.

   • Control Visible Data

   • Limit Results to Create By

   • Lock Status

   • Enable Delete

   • Allow Workflow Approvals

8. Once the data is configured, select the Save button, key in a name, and click on the Save button in the new window.
   
   
   
   

9. Return to the Form Data Dashboard view.

10. If it is desired to publish this dashboard for others, select Modify Security and add users as needed.
    
    

To View the Form Dashboard:

1. From the top menu navigate to Forms - Form Data - View next to the dashboard to be viewed.

2. From the top menu navigate to Forms - Form Data - Edit to view and configure the dashboard (must have Editor or higher status).

To quickly sort the log, users can click on the heading to sort ascending or descending by a column. To narrow the scope, use the filter functionality by selecting the Search button. To view more specifics of the Form ID, such as the Change log, select the specific Form ID and select the Change Log tab.

Form Dashboard Sample View

Dashboard security can be modified to give certain users permission to view or edit the dashboard configuration. A user with Owner or VaultAccess status will be able to modify the security settings by following these steps:

1. Navigate to the Form Data Dashboards page and click the Modify Security link for the dashboard to be configured.
   
   

2. Click the Modify Security button.
   
   

3. Assign Users or Groups to the desired security levels.
   
   

For more information on how form security settings can affect user dashboard security, refer to the section Form Dashboard Security on the Form Security page.

A dashboard is published to users based upon the security the user is assigned to the dashboard. The user should have at least Viewer permissions to view a dashboard. Dashboards may also be published to a top level menu as well as a tab on a custom page. Security for each those items will determine who the item is published to in VisualVault.

Form Dashboard Columns are either form fields or metadata captured when a form is filled in. The Dashboard Columns can be organized in any way the Owner or Administrator wishes to organize them on the Dashboard. Only fields that have had their database names changed from the default name can be added into a dashboard. Refer to the topic Controlling Column Properties below for more details on configuring each column and its visual behavior.

When working with a Form Data Dashboard, users have the ability to control various properties and functions of each column. This allows control over how the dashboard looks, what columns are shown in the dashboard, which columns are printed when the dashboard is printed, which columns are exported when the user exports a dashboard, and how the data is sorted by default on the dashboard.

To edit a column properties, select the pencil icon (  ) above the Select Report Columns list after selecting an item.

Column Properties View

Once the pencil icon is selected the Column Properties window will appear. The properties have the following default options:

• Field Name - Name of the field assigned when designing the form template.

• Column Name - User friendly name that can be assigned to the column when displaying in the form dashboard.

• Alignment - Configures the column to be left, right, or center aligned.

• Width - Configures the width of the column in pixels.

• Padding - Configures the number of pixels that should appear after the current column and before the next column.

• Visible - Configures whether the column is visible on the dashboard or not. By default this option is selected to be visible.

• Prints - Configures whether the column is visible when the dashboard is printed or not. By default this option is selected to print.

• Exports - Configures whether the column can be exported. By default this option is selected to export the column.

Upon completion of the column properties, the following button options are available:

• Close - Cancels the current column property changes.

• Update - Updates any current changes and allows the user to continue configuration.

• Update and Close - Updates current changes and closes the current column properties.

One of the Update buttons should be selected when properties have changed for a specific column. If the Update button is not selected, the changes are not saved when the Update is selected later.

The dashboard should allow any number of columns on a dashboard. Scroll bars will become visible when the columns move off screen.

To setup the default sorting order for a column, sort by clicking on the column name, then save the dashboard. When the dashboard is saved, the new sorting order will be displayed by default when the dashboard is viewed by any user.

When designing a Form Dashboard, Owners or Administrators have the capability of controlling the scope of data that is displayed on the dashboard. The scope of the data can be determined based upon security, columns displayed on the form, as well as filtering to show pertinent data.

When using filters (by selecting the Search button on the dashboard configuration page), Owners and Administrators can control the dashboard to show only a subset of form data based upon a value or set of values for a column or sets of columns. Those values can be blank or any combination of valid characters.

Once the dashboard has been filtered and is saved (with the filter still showing), the filtered data will only be visible to the users who have permission to view the dashboard.

As an example. let's say that on a form there is a Status drop down list that determines if the form is Under Review or Resolved. We want to create a dashboard to display forms that are Under Review. In order to do this, when designing the form we would display the status column on the dashboard and setup a filter where Status is equal to or contains Under Review:



We will then save and publish the form through security to the right users or groups. Once the form is saved and published the dashboard will only show forms where the status is Under Review.

When working with Form Dashboards in VisualVault, users can configure a dashboard so that it only shows the Form data that only they have filled in for a particular Form Template. In order to give a form dashboard this type of functionality, select the Limit Results to Created By check box when configuring a Form Dashboard.

For example, a user fills in five different Purchase Requisition forms, and another user fills in another eight forms. When the first user goes to the dashboard configured with Limit Results to Created By, the user will only see the five forms they filled in.

The Enable Deleted Fields check box will allow once existing form fields that have been deleted to still be visible on the form dashboard.



If a form template is revised to not include a form field that some users in the past may have filled in, this option may be selected if having the information from the deleted form field is considered relevant.

When working with a Form Dashboard, the Lock Status option allows Owners and Administrators to configure the dashboard where only forms that are in a certain step of a workflow will be shown. The Workflow Status drop down list is found at the top of the dashboard next to the Query Filter button. This field by default will show the list of workflow steps configured for the form template that relates to the configured dashboard. The information displayed in the list will be from the Workflow Status field of each Task Sequence in the workflow.

In order to configure this capability an Administrator or Owner will select the desired workflow status that they want to show on the form. Next the Owner or Administrator will select the Lock Status check box. Once the form is saved and published to users, they will see only forms in the configured workflow step. Users will not be able to change the workflow status drop down list to see other workflow status categories unless they enter the edit mode on the form dashboard.

When designing a form dashboard, Owners and Administrators can configure the dashboard so that users have the ability to delete Form ID Cards. When enabling this functionality, we recommend that the form dashboard only be published to the group of users who should have the ability of deleting form data.



More detailed information on how to configure the Enable Delete option can be found in the How to Delete Form Data section on the Form Instances and Fill-In page.

Allow Workflow Approvals is a configurable item used when creating a Form Dashboard. This feature extends the usability of the dashboard so that it becomes more than just a reporting tool. When this feature is enabled, the dashboard can become an area where users complete their daily work and complete workflow tasks assigned to them in VisualVault.

There are two conditions that must be met in order for this option to take effect. First, the form template assigned to the dashboard must have a workflow configured for it. Second, a Signature Stamp form field must be present on the form and associated with a task sequence in the workflow. Once these conditions are met, the Allow Workflow Approvals option becomes valid.

When this feature is enabled on a dashboard the following actions become available:

1. A check box is inserted on the dashboard allowing a user to sign off their task from within the dashboard.

2. An Approve button becomes visible in the menus.

3. A select all check box becomes available at the top of the column.
   
   
   
   

After enabling this feature, the Signature Stamp associated with specific steps in the workflow must be inserted as a column on the dashboard. If multiple Signature Stamps are inserted into the dashboard, users will only be allowed to check the Signature Stamp column where their User is associated in the workflow. If a user selects a Signature Stamp that is not assigned to them, the Form Dashboard will display an error when the Approval button is selected.

To sign off their tasks, users view the Form Dashboard, check off the Signature Stamp in the column associated with their task, and then select the Approve button. Users can select multiple Signature Stamps on the dashboard and approve them at the same time.

The Enable Automatic Refresh option allows users to select a time interval in minutes to refresh the dashboard display automatically.

Any report generated from the form data can be exported to the following formats:

• Excel

• Word

• XML

Users can export data from a report either at the time of creating the report, or when viewing or editing the report.

To accomplish this, navigate to Forms - Form Data. Once a dashboard has been selected, view or edit the dashboard, then click the Export button in the top menu. Select the type of export desired at this time.

When configuring the layout of a Form dashboard, there are special columns that can be selected to facilitate easier access to form data. They are as follows:

• Edit - This column is inserted into a dashboard to allow Editors and Owners the ability to edit a Form ID. Leaving this out will hinder editing of form data.

• Close - This column allows for Owners to open and close a Form ID.

• Lock - When a user edits a Form ID it is locked from other users editing the same data. If the user moves to a different screen without first returning to the dashboard the Form ID may remain locked to editing. Selecting Un-Lock on this column will free up the Form ID for editing.

• Percent Complete - When a workflow is in progress, a percent complete is calculated at the end of each step based upon the weight.

• Workflow Status - Updates with the message entered for each sequence of the workflow. Does not need to be visible when users want to filter on this status.

• Status - Displays whether the form is an open or closed state.

• Custom Link - This allows a web page that can be launched from the dashboard. This may be a custom link that will be passed certain query strings based upon the form data. By passing this information, smart links that assist moving data from one process to another can be created. Users can utilize tokens to populate query string information from the current form by inserting tokens. Tokens are any field name on the form as well as information about the location of the user logged in, the current user information, or the current site information.
  
  

The following fields are represented in the Custom Link Information, accessed by selecting the pencil icon (  ) above the Select Report Column while Custom Link is selected:

• Column Header - Determines the text that will be displayed as the column header for this column on the dashboard.

• Link Text - The words that are displayed in the dashboard prompting the user to select the link.

• URL - The URL that will be used when the link is selected. The URL can be formulated as the Format example in the image.

• Open in new window - Launch the linked page in a new window. If this is not checked the launched page will likely launch in the current window.

The Query Filter is another way of filtering data for specific information using SQL notation. When filtering there are several rules that need to be followed:

1. Use the name of the column or field as it exists on the form template or use the Field Name as shown below.

2. Enclose column or field names that have multiple words in square brackets. (i.e. [Shipping Address])

3. Use comparison operators. (=, <>, >, <, like)

4. Enclose the string being searched for in single quotes. If it is a numeric value single quotes are not necessary.

5. Use SQL wild cards within the string being searched.

6. OR, AND, and parentheses are allowed to create complex filters.

Examples:

Looking for a specific Customer ID:

Key the following in the SQL Filter. Notice the Column Name is Customer ID, but the database name if we edited Customer ID is DhDocID.

DhDocID = 'CUST-0002'.

We want customers with similar ID:

DhDocID like 'CUST-01%'

Field name uses multiple words:

In this example we have a column in the Column Properties above that we nave named Customer Name for readability. The field name may be Cust Name. Let's say we want to search for Customers whose names contain the word soft. Complete this SQL Filter in the following manner:

[Cust Name] like '%soft%'

How to create a complex filter:

(DhDocID = 'CUST-0002' OR DhDocID like 'CUST-01%') AND [Cust Name] like '%soft%'

The above filter says "Show me all forms where Form ID = CUST-0002 or Form ID like CUST-01". For any of the forms that meet this previous criteria, the name of the customer must have the word "soft" in it.