Reporting: BusinessObjects - How to Set Prompts For Running a Report

This guide provides general guidelines and GIF-based demonstrations of each type of prompt used in BusinessObjects.

Provider Selection Prompts

Generally, each report has several prompts at the top that are used to choose the projects that should be included in the report results. These are all optional prompts and, with the exception of "Project Type", operate independently of each other. This means that if you select items in more than one of these prompts, the report will return results for providers that fall into any of the selections. If the "Project Type" prompt is available, it works in conjunction with the other provider selection prompts and a project will only be returned if it is in both the project type and the alternate prompt used.

Select Provider(s)

Most reports will contain a prompt that asks the user to select providers. Providers is the term used to identify a single project. This is where the project(s) that are to be included in the report are selected. This prompt may allow one or multiple projects to be selected, depending upon the report.

Select Organization(s)

Most reports will contain a prompt that asks the user to select organizations. This will return results for all projects in that organization (or agency). This prompt may allow one or multiple projects to be selected, depending upon the report.

Select Local CoC(s)

Some reports will contain a prompt that asks the user to select a Local CoC or Local Coalition. A local coalition is a regional or local planning body that coordinates housing and services funding for homeless families and individuals in that community. This will return results for all projects in that community. This prompt allows multiple coalitions to be selected.

Select CoC Code(s)

Most reports will contain a prompt that asks the user to select a CoC Code. This will return results for all projects in that Continuum of Care. This prompt allows multiple CoCs to be selected.

Select Project Type(s)

Some reports contain an option to limit to one or more HUD defined project types. This prompt can work independently or in conjunction with the Organization, CoC, and Local CoC, prompts. If selections have been made in those prompts only projects of the selected project type will return results. If specific providers are selected in the provider prompt, they will return regardless of the project type prompt.

EDA Provider

The EDA Provider should be left as "Default Provider" unless you've been specifically instructed by ICA to change it.
The EDA Provider determines the visibility level of the client results included in the report, it does not apply to the projects that are included in the report.

Date Prompts

Most BusinessObjects reports will have anywhere from one to four date prompts. The most common prompts are shown below.

Report Start Date

When entering the start date for the report, just enter the first day of the reporting period that includes the month, day and year in month/day/year format. For example, if the start of the reporting period is January 1, 2022, the user would enter "01/01/2022," "1/1/22," or something along those lines. The user can always use the date picker available in BusinessObjects, if they prefer to use that instead of entering the date via the keyboard.

Report End Date (PLUS 1 Day)

When entering the end date for the report, the user must enter the day after the reporting period ends. This is why the end date prompt usually refers to or "PLUS 1 Day". Much like the start date, the month, day and year are entered in the month/day/year format. If the end of the reporting period is May 31, 2022, enter "04/01/2022," "4/1/22," or something along those lines.

Important! If a report does not say "PLUS 1 Day" for the End Date, the user must still add one day to the end of the report period.

Enter Effective Date

Many BusinessObjects reports have a prompt that says, "Enter effective date." If the report utilizes a start and end date, then the effective date entered must match the date entered into the end date prompt. If, however, the report does not have a date range, the effective date will typically be the date on which the report is run.

Important! If a report has both an End Date PLUS 1 Day prompt and an Effective Date prompt, they must always match in order for the report to generate properly. If they do not match, the report may show a significant amount of data as missing even though the data may have been properly entered.

Demonstration: Enter Start Date Prompt

Picklist Prompts

Picklist prompts are prompts where the user is offered a list of options from which to make a selection other than the provider, organization, or CoC code. The most common picklist prompt is a yes/no prompt, where the user selects either "yes" or "no" based upon the prompt question.

Demonstration: Picklist Prompt

Text & Number Prompts

Number and text prompts are the least common form of prompt in BusinessObjects reports, but they do exist. These are fields where the user will enter a number or some free text, depending upon the field. The most common number and text prompts are prompts which ask the user to enter the capacity of the project (number prompt) or to enter a grant ID (text prompt), though there are other number and text prompts.