Next Generation Reports Configuration

Only Company Admins can configure Next Generation Reporting settings on the global level. All procedures, described in this section, are performed on Company > Settings > Reports tab.

Enable Advanced Reporting

If Next Gen reporting is not enabled for your tenant automatically, you can enable it manually. To enable or disable Next Gen Reporting:

1. Navigate to Company > Settings > Reports tab

2. Set the Enable next generation Reports toggle into the desired position

When you enable / disable the toggle, evalink talos doesn't delete any of your settings or templates you have configured for either version of reporting. As both reporting versions are mutually exclusive, when one is enabled, settings for the other one are unavailable for viewing or editing.

Working with PDF Templates

Next Generation Reporting templates are Angular JS files that predefine the data that is included in your report, the formatting, and the layout.

There are four default preconfigured templates available on evalink talos, one for each report type. You can also create a custom template from scratch.

tip

Creating a new template requires sufficient Angular JS knowledge. In this documentation, we provide several common template customization examples.

For details about customization examples, see section Next Generation Report Configuration Examples.

The figure below shows the list of preconfigured PDF templates as they are seen on the Company > Settings > Reports > tab:

The following templates are available:

• WorkflowEventLog - corresponds with a Workflow Report

• AlarmListReport - corresponds with Alarms Report

• EventLogListReport - corresponds with Event Log Report

• SiteDocumentation - corresponds with Site Documentation Report

  The preconfigured templates can be viewed, but you can't edit them. Instead, you can create your own report template, using one of the preconfigured templates as a basis. In this case, the newly created template and a preconfigured template that you used share the same report type.

info

By default, the four preconfigured templates are set as default templates for report. This means that when an evalink talos user generates a report of a specific type, the default template is used unless the user manually selects another template.

When you have several templates of the same type created, you can select which of them is used as a default for the type by using the Global Usage toggle:

If there is only one template for a specific type, evalink talos automatically uses it as default.

tip

When configuring a Site Template, you can add various report templates to it. This way, when you create a new site using this Site Template, evalink talos adds the necessary report templates to it.

Viewing a preconfigured PDF Template

You can view the contents of all preconfigured PDF templates by clicking on View next to a corresponding template record.

Each template contains two tabs:

• Info tab - contains general information about the template
• Template Tab - contains the Angular JS contents of the template

Each template has the following view control elements:

• content_copy - duplicate template
• picture_as_pdf - switch preview to PDF mode
• swap_horiz - switch preview to live mode
• preview - hide preview and expand the code block

The Info and Template tabs for the preconfigured templates appear editable, but there is no Save button. All you can do is copy and paste the code if necessary.

Create a PDF Report Template Based on an Existing Preconfigured Template

Each template created based on an existing preconfigured template will have the same type as its base template. To create a new template:

1. On the Company > Settings > Reports tab, click add Add Template

2. From the dropdown list, select the type of report template you want to create

   A Create Report Template dialog opens.

3. In the Info tab of the Create Report Template dialog, fill the following:

   

   • In the Title field, add the report template title
   • (Optional) In the Description field, add the report template description
   • (Optional) In the Email Subject Template, specify the subject of an email which would be used when sending out reports made with this report template
   • (Optional) In the Email Body Template, write the text for the body of an email which would be used when sending out reports made with this report template

4. In the Template tab of the Create Report Template dialog, edit the contents as desired

   info

   When you use live preview, your content, layout and formatting changes are shown live.

5. Click Submit

Duplicate a PDF Report Template

You can duplicate any existing PDF report template: a preconfigured template, a template you have previously created, including custom templates.

Duplicating templates is a convenient way of creating multiple templates that require only minor differences, such as different logos.

To duplicate a template:

1. Do one of the following:

   • Next to an existing preconfigured template record, click content_copy
   • Open an existing preconfigured template record and click content_copy from the template view

   The newly duplicate template appears in the list of templates. Its name is similar to that of the source template with an addition of (Copy).

2. Click the Edit button next to a new template to continue configuring new templates you create by means of duplication.

Edit a PDF Report Template

You can edit any PDF report template that you create.

To edit a PDF report template:

1. In the list of available PDF report templates, click Edit next to a template you want to edit

2. Edit the Info and Template tab contents as desired

3. Click Submit

Delete a PDF Report Template

You can delete any PDF report template that you create.

To delete a PDF report template:

1. In the list of available PDF report templates, click Delete next to a template you want to delete

2. Type the delete confirmation

3. CLick Confirm Delete

Working with a Custom Report Template

When you create a Custom Report template, you create it from scratch. You need to know Angular JS to be able to create one or to heavily customize existing templates.

There are three fields in all report templates that define its contents, formatting, and layout:

• Context field

  In the Context field, you can add object variables and their values that your report uses. Below is the list of the most common objects that are supported in the Context field:

  • deviceId - stands for a site.

  • deviceGroupID - stands for a Site Group

  • language - defines which language your report uses.

  • reportStart - defines the starting date of the report period.

  • reportEnd - defines the ending date of the report period

  • workflowID - defines a particular workflow used

    info

    For details on how to locate object IDs in evalink talos, see section Advanced Features in evalink talos > Finding Object IDs.

    The following languages are currently supported in reports: English, German, French, Polish, Spanish, Dutch.

    For reportStart and reportEnd objects, use the timestamp format, for example:

    "reportEnd": 1688471058756

  For example, this code can be used in Context for a Workflow Report template:
  {"language": "en", "workflowId": "8a81e41b88b973550188de9ce4b1027c"}

  The figure below shows what this code looks like in an actual report template:

  

warning

You need to use relevant objects in the Context field for report templates to be shown for selection when generating a report.

For example, if you want your report template to be available for selection for a site or a Site Group, you have to use deviceId and deviceGroupId objects.

• Object Data field

  In the Object Data field, evalink talos displays the parameters of the variables that you add to the Context field. Once you add an object variable and a correct value for it, the data in Object Data loads automatically.

• Template field

  The Template Field contains the code that loads your data, its formatting and layout into your report.

  The data that can be included into your report depends on the Data Sources. For more details about Data Sources, see section Working with Data Sources below.

Working with Data Sources

Data Sources are SQL queries that return certain data from evalink talos database.

On top of the available preset Data Sources, you can also add your own. To be able to create Data Sources, you need to have SQL knowledge and basic experience working with databases.

Using certain SQL syntax, you can not only return requested data, but also sort and filter it.

info

You have access to Data Sources only if you are subscribed to evalink analytics.

The figure below shows preset Data Sources, available in evalink talos and used in preconfigured report templates:

Each Data Source record has a name, a list of used variable objects and available controls. View is available for preset Data Sources, Edit and Delete for Data Sources you create.

You can't delete or edit the preset Data Sources.

For an example of an SQL query for your own Data Source, see section Creating an SQL Statement for Alarms Sorted by Types.

Create a Custom Data Source

To create your own Data Source:

1. Navigate to Company > Settings > Reports tab and scroll to the Data Sources area

2. Click add Add Data Source

   The Add Data Source dialog opens:

   

3. In the Name field, specify the new Data Source name

4. In the SQL Statement field, add the SQL code that will return required data

5. Click Submit

For an SQL example that returns a list of all alarms, sorted and counted by Alarm Type, see section Creating an SQL Statement for Alarms Sorted by Types.

Adding a Data Source to a Template

When you edit a template, you add a Data Source as an Angular JS object.

The figure below shows an example of the CONTACT_LIST preset Data Source, added to a preconfigured Site Documentation Report template:

For an example of adding your own Data Source to a report, see section Adding a Custom Data Source to a Report Template.

Edit a Data Source

You can only edit the Data Sources you have created.

To edit a Data Source:

1. In the list of available Data Sources, locate the one you want to edit

2. Click the Edit button next to the Data Source record

3. Edit the Data Source contents as desired

4. Click Submit

Delete a Data Source

You can only delete the Data Sources you have created.

To delete a Data Source:

1. In the list of available Data Sources, locate the one you want to edit

2. Click the Delete button next to the Data Source record

3. Type the deletion confirmation

4. Click Confirm Delete

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evalink talos doesn't stop you from deleting a Data Source that is used in an existing report template. In this case, if you delete a Data Source, the code in the template remains intact, but the data will not be displayed in the report.