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Use report templates and send reports automatically

Create reports from templates, change the reference date, and have reports generated on a schedule and sent by email automatically.

Written by Niklas Beese

In this article, we'll show you:

  • How to create a report from a template and change the reference date

  • How to open, configure and save a template

  • How templates and reports differ

  • How to have reports generated and sent automatically

Video: Report templates and automatic reports

Timestamps
​0:00 – Introduction: the role of templates
​0:12 – Create a report from a template and change the reference date
​1:12 – Open and configure a template
​1:49 – Save a template: difference between template and report
​2:26 – Generate and send reports automatically
​3:31 – Save the schedule and check scheduled reports

Step-by-Step Guide

Create a report from a template

With templates, you don't have to configure a report from scratch every time. You can use your own saved templates as well as the templates suggested by specter.

  1. Open the Reports tab.

  2. Choose the option to create a report from a template and select a template.

  3. The report is generated based on today's date.

  4. If needed, change the reference date to show a different point in time.

  5. Save the report.

Your report is ready in just a few seconds.

Open and configure a template

You'll find the same templates in the templates section. When you open one there, a yellow banner at the top tells you that you are in the template and not in a report.

  1. Open one of your own templates or a template suggested by specter.

  2. Review the configuration behind the report.

  3. Show a preview of the report if needed.

You configure a template the same way as a report. The main difference: you use a template repeatedly to generate the same type of report at different points in time.

Save a template

The report preview is only a preview. When you save a template, only the configuration is saved.

  1. Enter a template name.

  2. Save the template. It appears in the overview of saved templates, just like saved reports appear in their overview.

When you open a report that was created from a template, its point in time is fixed to the date you saved it with. When you reopen the template, the preview is gone.

Generate and send reports automatically

With a template, you can have reports generated at fixed times and sent by email. To do this, create a schedule for scheduled reports. Here's how:

  1. Open the template the scheduled report should be based on.

  2. Create a schedule.

  3. Choose the language of the report.

  4. Set the frequency: daily, weekly or monthly.

  5. Specify the period in which the report should be generated, as well as the day and time.

  6. Enter the email addresses of the recipients, a subject and a message.

  7. Save the schedule.

  8. Then save the template.

For example, if you schedule the report weekly starting next week and send it to yourself, it is generated and sent every Monday.

Once you've saved a schedule, you can see it in the template. Here's how to check:

  1. Open the template and look for the scheduled reports at the top right.

  2. Open the entry to see the recipient.

At the scheduled time, the report is generated automatically and sent by email.

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