Configuration management
| The content of this website is last updated to F2 version 11. cBrain are working hard on supplying you with the newest documentation of F2. |
Users with the "F2 Analytics administrator" privilege can maintain the organisation’s report configurations using the administration window. When you open the window, you will see an overview of all existing configurations. If you click New report configuration or Edit in the ribbon, the window’s content and layout will change: Instead of the overview of the organisation’s configurations, you can now work with the new or selected configuration in the window.
The window layout
Whether you are creating a new report configuration or editing an existing one, the window’s content and workflow are the same. At the top of the window is a ribbon (1) with functions relevant to your configuration work. Below the ribbon are a number of tabs (2), where you can work on different parts of the configuration. When you select a tab, its content is displayed in the workspace (3).
The ribbon adapts to the tab you are working on. This means that it only shows the functions that are currently relevant to your work with the configuration. However, the following menu items are available on all tabs:
| Menu item | Description |
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Save the configuration and return to the report configuration overview. |
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Open the "Save as" dialogue to save the configuration as a new configuration. In this dialogue, you can enter a new title and set an access restriction. Click Save as to save the new configuration and return to the report configuration overview. |
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Return to the report configuration overview without saving your changes. If you were working on a new configuration and didn’t save it, it will not be created. |
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Draw a report based on the selected configuration and show it in the preview pane directly in the window. Read more about drawing reports. |
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Draw a report based on the selected configuration and download it as an Excel file. Read more about drawing reports. |
Report configuration tabs
Different parts of the report configuration are managed on different tabs. Each tab supports your work with one or more of the parameters that make up the configuration. The parameters are as follows:
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Report type, which you select when creating the configuration.
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Columns, which specify the scope of the data extraction.
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Delimitations to the data extraction in the form of filters and fields to fill in.
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Properties, if any, such as access restriction and description.
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The maximum extent of what is extracted due to performance reasons.
The following sections describe the tabs and how to work with their parameters.
Colum setup
The Column setup tab is where you create the basic report configuration. Here you can define which data columns to include in reports with this configuration and in what order. The order of columns determines the automatic alphanumeric sorting of data when drawing the report. All columns are discussed in detail in the column reference.
At the top you can set up merging with an Excel template (1). Choose one of the available templates from the drop-down menu, and optionally check Show as pivot table if available on the template.
The columns are set up at the bottom of the workspace, which is divided into two areas:
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Under "Available columns" (2) you can view and search for the columns which are available for this report type, but not included in the current setup.
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"Selected columns" (3) shows the columns included in the current setup, and the order in which they appear.
You can move columns between the two areas by selecting them and clicking on the right and left arrows located between the two column lists (4). You can also double-click on a column. When using the arrow buttons, you can select multiple columns with Ctrl-click and Shift-click to move several at once.
| The Reset column setup menu item is available in the ribbon when you have selected the Column setup tab. Use this function to move all columns to the "Available columns" list. |
Use the up and down arrows (5) to the right of "Selected columns" to change the column order.
Example: You want to create an overview of current progress codes and how long has passed since they were assigned. For this purpose you can set up a report of the "Progress codes" type and use the columns Progress code ID and Progress code as well as the calculation columns Avg. duration and Total duration. Progress codes are generally sorted alphanumerically in F2’s user interface, and you can replicate this sorting by placing the Progress code column at the top of the "Selected columns" list.
Filter and fields to fill in
You have two options for delimiting data when drawing reports: Filters and fields to fill in. You can add one or both types to a report configuration, and you can add as many of each as needed. This lets you reduce the amount of data in your reports, so you only extract relevant information.
Filters and fields to fill in differ in their application. Filters are fixed and always delimit data the same way when the report is drawn. They are used to exclude data that is never relevant to a given report. Fields, on the other hand, are filled in each time the report is drawn. They are used to define columns that are relevant for delimitation, but where the specific data varies. For example, it may always be relevant to delimit data extraction to a specific time period, but the time period depends on when the report is drawn.
| Pay close attention when using calculation columns for delimitation. |
Set up filters and field to fill in
The process of setting up each of the two types of delimitations is virtually identical. To create a filter, open the Filter tab and click the Add filter menu item in the ribbon (1). Similarly, use Add field on the Fields to fill in tab to create a new field. For each delimitation, you should select which column to delimit by (2) and a relevant operator (3). When setting up a filter, you must also specify which value (4) to filter by.
You can remove a delimitation by clicking the X (5) on the right-hand side. You can remove all delimitations of a specific type by clicking the Remove all filters (6) or Remove all fields, respectively.
Example: You want to create an overview of current progress codes and how long has passed since they were assigned. It is therefore necessary to delimit data extraction, so data on previously used progress codes is not included. You can do this by setting up a filter with the column "Progress code is current", the operator "Equals", and the value "Yes".
Properties
The Properties tab shows basic information about the report configuration. Here you can update its title (1) and see its report type (2). Additionally, you can add a description of the configuration (3) to inform other users of its purpose and help them fill in its fields, if any.
This tab also lets you control the configuration’s access restriction (4). By default, all report configurations are restricted to users with the "F2 Analytics administrator" privilege. You can include more users in the access restriction by switching to Specific users, units, security groups, or teams and searching for the relevant participants. It is also possible to make the configuration available to all the organisation’s users by setting the access restriction to None.
Advanced
You have two advanced configuration options. Both are related to the scope of data extraction, which means they affect the performance of the report configuration.
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"Timeout in seconds (max 30)" lets you specify in seconds how long F2 may use to extract data before the system times out.
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"Number of rows (max 10000)" lets you specify the maximum number of rows of data extracted by F2 when drawing the report.
| Changing these values may impact the performance of the entire organisation’s F2. |
Use of calculation columns
Several report types include columns that perform calculations on rows in the extracted data - these are called calculation columns. In report configurations, calculation columns can be used as columns, delimitations, or a combination thereof. For example, all report types include the "Count" column that accumulates results. This column is useful in instances where the extraction is used for statistics on the total number of identical data in the database. Therefore it is not appropriate to combine the "Count" column with columns that are expected to extract unique data, such as columns with dates that include the time in minutes and seconds.
| Some report types include columns for specialised calculations, such as average case processing time. Your deliberations when using the "Count" column are also relevant for the other calculation columns. |
An example of how to use the "Count" calculation column: Holly the HR manager wants statistics on who has handled recruitment cases in her department in the past calendar year. Therefore a report configuration of the "All case fields" report type is created.
The following columns are included in the configuration as they are relevant to Holly:
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Responsible
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Status
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Count
The "Count" column will show Holly how many ongoing and completed cases each responsible participant has. However, the data extracted will have a very wide range, so Holly adds the following filters:
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Responsible unit = HR
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Keyword = Recruitment
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Created date between 01/01/2023 and 31/12/2023
With these delimitations only the relevant cases are included.
For example, the data extracted will now show that Holly’s employee, Hector, at the time of extraction had 12 ongoing and 19 completed recruitment cases in 2023.
If Holly wants to further delimit the data extraction to only show employees who excel at completing cases, she can add the filter Count > 15.