These are the basics for creating a custom report to be exported to Excel or PDF. There are 3 tabs to be completed for custom reports, and 4 decisions to be made along the way. The document linked at the bottom of this article contains details in a print-friendly format.
Decision 1: What information do you want on the report? The fields are located on the Columns tab. Select the ones you want, and arrange them in the order you need. If you need a line for each entry, be sure to include the Entry: Entry Number field. If you need a line for each exhibitor, be sure to include the Exhibitor: Exhibitor Number field. Those are unique fields and will guarantee that entries/exhibitors with the same information appear separately on the report. Save Columns before going on.
Note: See the on-screen help box below for information about Custom fields. To find/add those, first select the hierarchy (Change button) and then click on the Custom button at the top of Available columns.
Decision 2: What part of the hierarchy should be include on the report? Also on the Columns tab, there is a white "Change" button in the gray box above the list of columns. Click on that to select a portion of the hierarchy. After you have done that, again Save Columns before going on.
Decision 3: Do you need to limit the entries on the report by any other criteria than hierarchy? If you do, use the Filters tab to enter those conditions. For example, if you want only entries that have been checked in, you would use Entry: Will Show = True. Some fields have drop-down options, others are type-in. If you have to type in a condition, be sure to spell exactly right. Take note of "any" and "all"--"any" means that if you have two conditions listed, either one or both have to match; "all" means if you have two conditions listed, BOTH have to match. Click Save Filters before going on.
Decision 4: Do you need a specific sort order? If you are exporting to Excel, this tab may not be necessary, as you can sort easily in Excel. If you are exporting to PDF, you would want to set the appropriate sort order on the Sorting tab. Click Save Sorting before continuing to the download.
NOTE: If you use the Entry: Entry Barcode field in a custom report, it will not print correctly as a PDF. You need to export to Excel, then make sure that your computer has the barcode font installed so that you can format that field correctly. Custom Report Including Barcodes in Excel
When you have completed the steps, you are ready to download the report, either as PDF or Excel. Usually Excel is the best option for custom reports, but you can use the Download PDF option to get a quick view of the report before you download it, making sure it's set up the way you need it to be.
See Also: Quick Video: Custom Reports