Managing User Favorites and Previews

Favorites are shortcuts to reports or transactions within DEACOM that are accessible via the Favorites section on the Main Menu. Favorites with Previews are reports that display the first several rows of the results in the Previews section on the Main Menu. Each Favorite with Preview stores the advanced sort and/or advanced filter settings that were in place when the Favorite with Preview was created. Note that user-defined grid columns will populate to previews if the "Preview" flag is checked.

The "Favorites" option within Tools > Management Reporting allows system admins to control Favorites and Preview options setup by individual users within the system. The Deacom team recommends granting all users access to create DEACOM Favorites but DEACOM Previews should be monitored closely as they can potentially impact system performance if large grid reports are frequently executed in a Preview. Note that this section, Tools > Management Reporting, is meant to be used by system administrators and power users.

All users can save reports to their Favorites or create shortcuts in the Favorites section, but for a user to save a report as a Favorite with a Preview, they must have the security permission "Toolbar -- make favorite a preview" set to "Yes". Access to the Favorites feature is also controlled by the security setting "Tools -- Report Management". Users who have access to Report Mangement may use the Favorites tool to modify existing Favorites for all users across the Facility or company, depending on the User Restrictions.

Configuration

There are no configuration requirements for setting up a Favorite.

Process

Adding Favorites for a transaction

To create a Favorite for a transaction, navigate to the menu item in the Launcher. Click and drag the menu item to the Favorites section.

Adding Favorites and Favorites with Previews for a report

  1. After running a report, click on the "Publish Data" button on the toolbar.
  2. In the "Type" field, select "Favorite" or "Favorite with Preview" from the pick list, both of which appear in the list of Favorites.
  3. Enter a "Description", up to 30 characters long.
  4. Enter a "Start date type" and an "End date type". The "Start date type" and "End date type" control the time period of the report. For example, to create a report that displays active, current results, select a "Start date type" of "None" and an "End date type" of "Today".
  5. Click "Save" and "Exit".
  6. To see the Preview appear on the Main Menu, the user must wait for the system to update the Preview or click the "Refresh" button in the Previews section header.

Copying Favorites

This functionality can be used to send Favorites you have created directly to specific Users or User Groups.

  1. Navigate to System > Maintenance > Users/User Groups.
  2. Highlight the User or User Group to share the favorite with and click Modify.
  3. Click Copy Favorites.
  4. On the Select a User screen, search for the user whose Favorite(s) will be copied and double click.
  5. On the Select Favorites To Copy screen:
  6. Use the Mover Arrows or double click to move Favorite(s) from the left side to the right side.
  7. Click Continue to complete the copying.

Publishing query results to favorites

  1. Query results can also be published using the Query Tool.
  2. Navigate to System > Query Tool.
  3. Write a query and click "View" to see the results.
  4. From here users can publish data the same way you would do it from a normal grid layout.

Viewing Favorites and Favorites with Previews

Click on a Favorite to open it. Alternatively, users can set the Favorite or Favorite with Preview to automatically launch at login by checking the "Automatically Launch On Login" flag on the Edit Favorite form. Favorites with Previews are refreshed each time the user logs into DEACOM and periodically throughout the day. Users can manually refresh all Previews by clicking the "Refresh" button in the Previews section header. To manually refresh a single report, click on the "Refresh" button next to the Preview name.

Starting in version 16, Favorites and Favorites with Previews are now found under a new “Favorites” icon, the star on the top right side of the screen. “Most Recently Used” transactions are located here as well. Click on a Favorite or double-click in a Preview to open it. Favorites with Previews are also displayed right away when users log in and when there are no tabs open. They are now organized in tabs, with each Favorite with Preview having its own section. This keeps Previews more organized while giving end users more screen space to view their data at a glance.

Favorites with Previews are refreshed each time the user logs into DEACOM and periodically throughout the day, according to the refresh interval. This interval defaults to 5 minutes but can be increased if large grid reports are frequently executed in a Preview, which can potentially impact system performance.

Modifying Favorites and Favorites with Previews

  1. Hover over the favorite, without clicking.
  2. Click on the pencil icon, and the modify form will open.
  3. To change the assigned user, edit the User field.
  4. To change the name of the Favorite, edit the Caption field.
  5. To change the refresh interval of a Favorite with preview, enter a new number in the "Refresh minutes" field.
  6. To change a Favorite to a Favorite with a Preview, check the "Preview" checkbox (for reports only).
  7. To change a Favorite with a preview to just a Favorite, un-check the "Preview" checkbox.
  8. Click "Save" and "Exit".

Deleting Favorites and Favorites with Previews

  1. Hover over the favorite, without clicking.
  2. Click on the X icon
  3. A confirmation to delete prompt will appear, click yes.

Automatically Export PDF Report Layouts

Favorites can be set to run on a timer, where the favorite will execute, and then generate a report layout to pdf, to a defined file location. The security “System – Edit Automatic Exports” limits what users can configure automatic exports.

  1. Hover over the favorite, without clicking.
  2. Click on the pencil icon, and the modify form will open.
  3. Click the "Automatic" tab.
  4. Click the "Add" button to display the Auto Export form. See the link in the previous sentence for details regarding this form.
  5. Enter appropriate values in this form. The "Report Layouts" and "Destination Path" fields are required for the automatic export process.
  6. Once all the information has been entered, click the "Save" and "Exit" button to complete the process.
  7. The system will automatically export the selected Report Layout to the destination location on the specified interval.
    1. Note: This feature is also available for Combined Reports. Users cannot select a Combined Report from the Favorites section and add Report Layouts. Users, with the appropriate security, must follow the process below to modify Combined Reports for this feature.
  8. Navigate to System > Maintenance > Users.
  9. Double click on the appropriate user and click the "Published Data" button.
  10. Assign the Combined Report to the user.
  11. Log out and back in to the DEACOM application. The Combined Report will now appear in the BI area of the main DEACOM form.
  12. Users may now add "Reports Layouts" to the "Automatic" tab by clicking the "Modify" button on the Combined Report.

Automatically Email Report Layouts

Favorites can be set to run on a timer, where the favorite will execute, and then generate an email containing a report layout to the defined email recipients. The security “System – Edit Automatic Exports” limits what users can configure automatic exports. Users will need to ensure the trigger email information is set up correctly in System > Options > Users tab prior to using this feature.

  1. Hover over the favorite, without clicking.
  2. Click on the pencil icon, and the modify form will open.
  3. Click the "Auto Export" tab.
  4. Click the "Add" button to display the Auto Export form.
  5. Enter the appropriate values in this form. The "Report Layout" and "Export Destination" fields are required for the automatic email process. Email addresses are entered in the "Export Destination" field. When sending to multiple email addresses, the email addresses need to be separated by semicolons.
  6. Once all the information has been entered, click the "Save" and "Exit" button to complete the process.
  7. The system will automatically email the selected Report Layout to the email recipient(s) on the specified interval.
    1. Note: This feature is also available for Combined Reports. To use this feature with combined reports follow the steps below.
  8. Navigate to Tools > Management Reporting.
  9. Select a report Type of "Combined Reports" and select the appropriate Combined Report from the list.
  10. Click the "View" button to display the Combined Report.
  11. Click the "Modify" button to display the Edit Combined Report form.
  12. Click "new" on the Automatic tab to display the Auto Export form.
  13. Fill in the appropriate fields and click "Save" and "Exit" when done. Refer to the link in previous step for additional information on all the fields available to this form. Note that when sending to multiple email addresses, the email addresses need to be separated by semicolons.

FAQ & Diagnostic Tips

My system performance has not been as good as usual lately. Some users have experienced latency. What can be done to improve our performance?

One thing to examine is the previews setup by users throughout the system. Previews run their queries on the interval established in the favorite setup. If users are running large reports frequently via previews this will take up a significant amount of system resources. Follow the steps below to rectify the problem:

  1. Review and modify previews setup for each user. This can be done through Tools > Management Reporting. You will notice the report column “Preview” indicates which favorites are marked to be a preview report meaning that they run on a regularly scheduled interval. These are the reports that will want to be reviewed. If you think the report is too large to be utilized you can unselect the “Preview” flag on the record or reduce the “Refresh Minutes” on the report. This can all be done through the system admins account so you don’t need to log in as the individual user.
  2. Disable certain users or user groups from enabling previews in the future. The “Tools -- Make favorites a preview" security option can be setup for user groups or individual users. For user groups, use the System > Maintenance > User Group Master Security option to toggle the security on/off for certain user groups.
  3. One of my previews is not working and I am receiving a message – “Invalid grid layout ID in F_DASHBOARD for <name of the preview>"
  4. The grid that was used when the preview was created has been deleted or modified. You will need to recreate the preview.

What do I do if I receive a system prompt that says "The date is outside your established financial periods" during the login process that does not let me get into DEACOM?

This prompt indicates that a Preview is setup that is outside the range of available periods. To get into the system, have a user that does not have a Preview that depends on the available financial period login to set up the financial periods or delete the Preview that is causing the prompt.