Local Group Reports

1 The report list

Reports over all memberships granted to local groups through SoftwareCentral are made in the local group reports interface. Open it from the AD menu.

The list shows the name of each report. The search box above the list is a quick find by name, and each row has the links Edit, Delete and View Report. The Add new report button is above the search box.

Local group reports page with the Add new report button and a quick find box on the left, and an empty Name column with the message No local groups match your criteria. — This list is empty until you click **Add new report**. Each report then gets the links **Edit**, **Delete** and **View Report**, as in the next picture.

Local group reports list with one report row, its name masked, and the links Edit, Delete and View Report on the right. — **Earlier version.** The list with one report, showing the **Edit**, **Delete** and **View Report** links. The links are the same now. The report name is masked.

Which links you see depends on your role. Without the create, edit, delete or view rights, the matching button or links are hidden.

2 Add a new report

Click Add new report. The report window opens.

In this window, enter a name and a description of the report content. For specifying the data in the report, use the filters in the Report filter and result panel. The filters only show data from the local group jobs.

Add new report window. Report Information has the boxes AD report name and AD report description. The Report filter and result panel has, on the left, the check boxes Use all groups, Use all computers, All users and All job owners with drop-downs, and the check box Only show failed jobs. On the right is the empty result grid with the columns Computer name/Local group, Job owner, Username, Start time, Status start, End time and Status end. The buttons Show Results, Export To PDF, Export To Excel, Save report and Cancel are at the bottom. — The report window. Enter the name, choose the filters on the left, then click **Show Results**.

Field or filter	What it does
AD report name	The name of the report. It is required and must be unique.
AD report description	A description of the report content. It is shown above the results when you view or export the report.
Use all groups / Select groups	Leave it ticked to include every local group. Untick it, then tick the groups in the drop-down.
Use all computers / Select computers	Leave it ticked to include every computer. Untick it, then tick the computers in the drop-down.
All users / Select users	Leave it ticked to include every user who was added to a group. Untick it, then tick the users in the drop-down.
All job owners / Select job owners	Leave it ticked to include every job owner. Untick it, then tick the job owners in the drop-down.
Only show failed jobs	Shows only the jobs that failed.

3 Show results, export and save

Click Show Results to run the report with the filters you have chosen.

The result grid shows the columns Computer name/Local group, Job Owner, Username, Start Time, Status start, End Time and Status end. Times are shown in your own time zone.

Export To PDF, Export To Excel and Save report become available after Show Results has run with valid selections. Export saves the report in the format you choose. Save report keeps the report so you can view it again later.

Button	What it does
Show Results	Runs the report with the current filters and shows the result grid.
Export To PDF	Exports the result grid as a PDF file with a header showing SoftwareCentral, the report name and the description.
Export To Excel	Exports the result grid as an Excel file.
Save report	Saves a new report. The window closes and the list is refreshed. The button is called Update report when you edit a report.
Cancel	Closes the window without saving.

Check the filters before you save A filter with nothing selected stops the report: the result grid stays empty, a message appears under the filters, and the exports and Save report stay unavailable until every filter is valid.

4 Edit a report

To edit an existing report, go to the main interface and select the wanted report in the middle of the interface, then click Edit on its row.

This opens the report window with the saved name, description and filters. Change what you need, then click Update report.

5 Delete a report

To delete an existing report, click Delete on its row in the main interface.

A window opens with the report name in its title, and the buttons Delete and Cancel. Click Delete to delete the report. Cancel keeps it.

6 View a report

Click View Report on a row to open the report with its current data.

The window shows the report name, the description and the result grid. Use Export To PDF or Export To Excel to save the result, and Close Report to close the window.

7 Best practice

Give each right on its own. Create, edit, delete and view are separate roles. Give a user only the ones they need, so that a viewer cannot change or delete a report.
Give each report a clear, unique name. The name must be unique, and it is the only way to find the report in the list.
Use Only show failed jobs to check failures. It shows only the jobs that failed, which is the quickest way to see what did not work.
Treat exported files as confidential. The PDF and Excel files contain computer names and user names.

8 Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	What to do
"Missing name"	The AD report name box is empty when you save.	Enter a name and save again.
"Name already exist"	Another report already has that name. Names must be unique.	Choose a different name.
"Some selections is empty"	A filter is unticked (for example Use all groups), but no groups, computers, users or job owners are ticked.	Tick at least one item in that drop-down, or tick the matching Use all check box.
"No matches."	The filters match no local group jobs, or Only show failed jobs is ticked and no job failed.	Widen the filters, or untick Only show failed jobs, then click Show Results.
"No local groups match your criteria"	No report exists yet, or the quick find box filters all reports out.	Click Add new report, or clear the quick find box.
The Export To PDF, Export To Excel and Save report buttons are greyed out	Show Results has not run yet, or a filter is not valid.	Fix the filter message, then click Show Results.