Prepare: Building a Custom Report

SchoolMint's new Report Builder tool provides access to create and customize reports on demand.

Admins can create a report in one of three types:

• A report in type "application" means that the report will contain one row of data for every application. 
• A report in type "student" means that the report will contain one row of data for each student, regardless of how many application entries that student may have.
• A report in type "re-enrollment" means that the report will contain one row of data for every re-enrollment record.

How To

The Report Builder tool lives under Reports > Custom Reports. Note: the top-right enrollment year (2020-2021) dictates which set of data will be pulled into the reports. Click on the middle-right green button "Create New Report" to build a unique report.

Step 1: Name the report and set the report type.

• Report Name: This is a required item to create a report. This name is only admin-facing. This name can be edited after a report is created.
• Description: This text is only admin-facing. The content of this field will live within the hover of the "i" icon. 
• Report Type: This is a required item to create a report. This field specifies what type of records (rows of report data) will be generated by this report
  •  Note: once the custom report is created, the report type may not be modified. One would need to create a new report to change the type.
• Who should have access to view this report? The field will display all of the SchoolMint roles within your organization.
  • Report access, as well as other role-based access, can also be managed from Settings > Add and Manage Users > Configure Roles. Note that school-specific admins will only see report data for their schools.

Step 2: Select the forms from which you would like to export data.

• This table is a list of all of the custom forms within the top-right given enrollment year.
• The header of the table displays:
  • the name of the form;
  • the form type;
  • which packets currently contain that form.
• Use the left-side checkbox to select which forms to include in the custom report.
• Use the top-right text box to filter the page results.

Step 3: Please specify the SchoolMint field source and column name for each column. Please note that multiple SchoolMint fields can be listed in a column.

• Use the left-hand side dial to view all custom form fields or core data fields that can be pulled into the report.
  • Forms contain all fields within custom forms.
    • Use the color-coding visual at the left side to learn where this field resides within the SchoolMint site:
      • Red Custom fields are the fields that were manually created to be used in forms.
      • Green Standard fields are pointing to database fields, that auto-populate when utilized in forms. 
      • Blue SIS Fields create a 1:1 connection between data in SchoolMint and in your SIS. Currently, SIS Fields are only available for SIS types Aeries and Chalkable.
    • Click into the form title or click on the down arrow to open up to see what fields were included in that form.
  • Core Data contains fields from the following database tables:
    • Accounts
    • Addresses
    • Applications
    • Emergency Contacts
    • Guardians
    • Re-enrollments
    • Siblings
    • Students
    • Use this Help Center article to learn more about what data each database table field holds.
• Title the column header in the "Untitled" text field.
• From the fields on the left side, drag the desired field into the dotted-outline field "Drop your Fields Here."

• Clicking on the "Add Field" button will allow more than one field's data to be included in one singular column.
  • With a column with more than one field, you may choose to include a condition for that column:
    • Concatenate
    • Space Only
    • Comma Only
    • Comma Space
    • Or
    • Hyphen
• Use the top-right button "Save Progress" to maintain your momentum as you continue to add to the report.
• After clicking "Save Progress", a blue "Preview" button will take its place. Click on that button to generate a .csv file with 5 random records to preview what the report would look like.
• Click on "Add New Column" to continue to grow the report.
• To change the order of the report columns, there are a few options:
  • Use the up or down arrow to move the current column;
  • Click the three horizontal lines to drag and drop the column.
• Use the far-right trash can icon to remove the column from the report.
• Click on the top-right green button "Continue" to finalize the report.

Step 4: Apply Transformations, if you'd like (optional step).

Transformations are a way to reformat the data in your CSV before generating it. SchoolMint provides a set of default transformations that can be applied to both the entire column or individual fields within a column (should you have more than one field within a column).

• Default Transformation Options
  
  • Proper Case (ie: john doe would be transformed to John Doe)
  • Upper Case (ie: JOHN DOE)
  • Date Formats:
    • MM/DD/YY (ie: 12/15/80)
    • MM/DD/YYYY (ie: 12/15/1980)
    • YYYY/MM/DD (ie: 1980/12/15)
  • Phone Formats:
    • XXX-XXX-XXXX (ie: 555-666-7890)
    • XXXXXXXXXX (ie: 5556667890)
    • (XXX) XXX-XXXX (ie: [phone])
  • Yes/No Formats:
    • Y/N
    • 1/0
  • Trim (removes leading/trailing white space)
  • Squish (removes all white space)
  • Male/Female Format (ie: M for Male, F for Female)
  • Transliterate (ie: José sent as Jose)

To Apply transformations to a column and/or field, first locate the column you wish to reformat. 

• Click on the "Add Transformations" button; a modal will appear
• Select your transformation from the left side panel; drag and drop the transformation to the specific field(s)
• Re-arrange multiple transformations using the hamburger icon (three horizontal bars next to the applied transformation); clicking on the "x" icon will remove the applied transformation
  
  • Note: When applying multiple transformations to one field or column, the order of application will be respected. For example, Upper Case is applied to a field first, followed by Proper Case. The Custom Report Tool will apply those transformations in order resulting in the field having a Proper Case transformation applied
• Once you have added, re-arranged or removed transformations, click Apply. 
  • Note: Be sure to save changes by clicking on the Save Progress or Save and Continue buttons on the main page

For more information and details on applying transformations, please see this Help Article

To view your applied transformations, be sure to click on the Show Transformations checkbox. Any applied transformations will appear underneath with the specified order.

Step 5: Filter your reports, if you'd like (optional step).

• Depending on the report type, one can choose to optionally filter the report.
  • Report type "application":
    • Select the schools you want in this report;
    • Select the application statuses you want in this report;
  • Report type "student":
    • Select the schools you want in this report;

Once published, click on the blue "Generate Report" button to produce a version of the report that will have the most updated data. Once generated, a green "Download" button will be available.

Best Practice

Editing published reports with the far-right pencil icon:

• For SchoolMint's default reports, only Access Permissions may be edited.
  • Report access, as well as other role-based access, can also be managed from Settings > Add and Manage Users > Configure Roles. Note that school-specific admins will only see reports data for their schools.
• For custom reports you have created, editing the output of the report will remove the option to download the most recent generated report. After saving changes, one will need to generate a new report to download it.
  • Note: once the custom report is created, the report type may not be modified. One would need to create a new report to change the type.

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