Customizing and Organizing Reports

Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes default reports Reports that are included in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Default reports may have been customized or removed by your system administrator or system customizer. for many common business needs. However, most organizations customize the default reports and add custom reports for specific needs. To customize reports, you need to understand:

• Report ownership
• Report types
• Data security
• Options for creating new reports
• Options for modifying existing reports

Report Ownership

System reports are available to all users. Reports owned by individual users can be shared with specific colleagues or teams, or can be made available to the organization so that all users can use them.

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Report Types

Microsoft Dynamics CRM supports two types of Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report:

• SQL-based Reporting Services report. These use SQL queries and filtered views to retrieve report data. Filtered views restrict the data to what is available to the security role of the person running the report. All the default reports that are shipped with Microsoft Dynamics CRM are SQL-based reports.
• Fetch-based Reporting Services report. These reports use FetchXML queries that are proprietary to Microsoft Dynamics CRM instead of filtered views to retrieve data for reports. Reports that are created using the Report Wizard in Microsoft Dynamics CRM are Fetch-based reports.

The other reports can be:

• Links to Web pages
• Static A file that does not change when data changes in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. files
• Dynamic A file that refreshes data from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM database each time it is opened. Microsoft Office Excel files that read data from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM database

For each report, you can edit the following properties:

• File name or URL
• Display name
• Description
• Information about where the report displays in the user interface

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Data Security

All reports read Microsoft Dynamics CRM data from filtered views Data views to which a set of conditions have been applied to reduce the amount of data shown. Filtering can be changed to increase or decrease the amount shown. When viewing a filtered report or file, you only see the data that you have permission to view., which filter the data based on the user's security role A defined set of privileges. The security role assigned to a user determines which tasks the user can perform and which parts of the user interface the user can view. All users must be assigned at least one security role in order to access the system.. Reports only display data that the person running the report has permission to view.

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Options for Creating New Reports

To create a new report, users with appropriate permissions can:

• Add a file or a link to a Web page as a report.
• Run the Report Wizard A wizard that guides you through creating a report. Tasks include selecting data and deciding how data should be summarized and presented. to create a new Reporting Services report. The Report Wizard can create table and chart reports, including drill-through reports Reporting Services reports that include data that you can click to go directly to a Microsoft Dynamics CRM record. and top N reports Reports that display the top or bottom records in a category. N can be defined when the report is run. For example, the ten largest opportunities, or the five products that account for the most or least potential revenue..
• Write a new Fetch-based Reporting Services report. To author custom fetch-based reports, you must install Microsoft Dynamics CRM Report Authoring Extension. More information: Create a Custom Fetch-Based Reporting Services Report.

You can also use the following built-in reporting tools:

• Export Data to Excel
• Create Customer-Ready Documents and Messages

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Options for Modifying Existing Reports

For existing reports, users with appropriate permissions can:

• Organize reports into categories to control which views in the Reports area display each report.
• Determine where a report is visible in the user interface, and edit other properties of the report.
• Edit a report created with the Report Wizard.
• Edit a default report. For example, if you customize Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you might need to modify labels or add or remove fields in default reports. More information: Edit a Default Report or Create a Reporting Services Report, Writing Reporting Services Reports (Microsoft Dynamics CRM SDK)
• Edit the default filter Criteria used to limit data in Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services reports. Typically, the default filter restricts data to active records that have been modified within a certain time period. for a default report, a report created with the Report Wizard, or other Reporting Services reports.
• Create a one-time snapshot A static file that contains the results of a report that was run at a particular time. for a Reporting Services report or schedule a Reporting Services report to run at set intervals.
• Share a personal report with other users, or make it available to everyone in your organization.
• Publish a report so that it is available for use with external applications such as Microsoft SharePoint or custom programs.

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Reports in Solutions

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, reports are solution aware. Adding a report as a component to a solution makes it become a single unit of software that extends Microsoft Dynamics CRM functionality and the user interface. Only reports that are organization-owned Records that everyone in the organization needs to access, such as products or sales literature items. or visible to the organization can be added to solutions.

Note

To find if a report is viewable to the organization:

• In the Records group, click Edit. Then, on the Administration tab, see if Viewable By is set to Organization.

Snapshots of reports cannot be added, imported, or exported as part of a solution. In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, reports, sub reports, report category, report display area, and report-related record type are considered as components of a report set. When you import a solution update in a non-overwrite mode, any updates by the solution to a report will be ignored if any component of the report set has been customized.

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Related Topics Create and Work with Reports Report Permissions Running Reports and Analyzing Data