The Reporting tool provides a useful interface through which you can create reports detailing system activity. Use the reporting tool to select a wide variety of data to report on and to shape reports with through the use of filters and other parameters.
The data available to report on is contained in Datasets. Datasets are predefined categories of data; for example, Users or Org Units. Once you have chosen a dataset to report on, you can then select a Render Type, which is the format that the report displays in; for example, a bar graph or a table. You can then narrow down your report by adding custom filters. Filters constrain the information to only show you specified and relevant results as you require them.
It is important to note that the Reporting tool accesses the Data Warehouse and not the Production Database. The contents of the Production Database are migrated to the Data Warehouse at intervals previously defined for your site; for example, every 24 hours. The Reporting tool uses the Data Warehouse to generate its reports; thus, it does not affect the real time Production Database or system performance.
Note Reports generated for the current or previous day’s data will only be as current as the information stored in the Data Warehouse.
Use the Reporting tool to produce reports based on specified data, as well as to apply different filters, parameters, and output formats to the results.
For more detailed reports, or for specific reports that are not possible to define through the Reporting tool’s interface, you can choose to access the data warehouse directly to create custom reports.
While the Reporting tool’s interface uses predefined datasets and output formats, the data warehouse can be accessed by any external reporting tool, for example, Crystal Reports, to report on any dataset and produce the output in any format.
For information about the data warehouse's structure, refer to the Reporting Data Dictionary documentation, which you can access by contacting your Desire2Learn Account Manager.
Click Reporting from the 
Admin Tools menu on the minibar.
