Reporting Data Sources

When creating a custom report using either the VisualVault Report Designer or the Analytics Dashboard in VisualVault, the first step is to select the data that will be used on the report.

VisualVault has many data sources built in to store data about everything from form data to documents to the way users interact with the system. Every time a document or form is opened, viewed, or modified, the system records the action and maintains an audit trail of actions taken.

When you build a custom report in VisualVault, you will be prompted to select the data source, choosing from:

1. VisualVault Customer Data
2. VisualVault Data Warehouse

VisualVault utilizes SQL Databases to store the data collected in each customer's unique business solution. Each of these data sources is stored as either a SQL data table or SQL view. Through the user-friendly interface of the Analytics Dashboard or Report Designer, prior knowledge of programming languages is not required to build robust reports directly in VisualVault.

VisualVault Customer Data

VisualVault Customer Data is the first data source available for building custom reports. Each customer's data is stored in two databases: 

1. VisualVault Forms Database
2. VisualVault Database

VisualVault Forms Database

The VisualVault Forms database contains data from submitted Form Records. Each time a form record is created, modified, or deleted, the data table corresponding to the form template is updated to reflect this new information.

Selecting Form Data as a Data Source

1.  When creating a new report or editing the data source, select the data source type. Select Database.
2. Choose a data connection. Select VisualVault Forms.
3. Run the query builder. To do this in the Analytics Dashboard select the text "Run Query Builder...". In the Report Designer, hover over the plus sign next to Queries, then select Run Query Builder.
4. Follow the instructions in the Query Builder article to select the appropriate tables.
5. Once the query has been built, select Finish.

When selecting Form Data as a data source, you can select one or many form templates as the data source. By checking the box next to the form template name, you will pull data from all form fields and metadata as the columns of your data table. If you would like to narrow down the data being pulled into the report, you can click the arrow to expand the list of available columns and select only the relevant columns.

When selecting individual columns to bring into a report, it is recommended to always select the DhDocID in addition to other needed columns. This unique identifier is synonymous with the Form ID and is often used to relate one form data table to another. It also provides a distinct field that can provide an accurate count of the form records in your table.

VisualVault Database

The VisualVault Database contains views for information stored about any process other than form data in VisualVault.

The views you have access to in the VisualVault database are created from the data tables that store information for everything except form data. Out of the box, VisualVault provides views about documents, projects or training data to be used on reports. Additional views can also be created when needed.

Selecting VisualVault Views as a Data Source

1. When creating a new report or editing the data source, select the data source type. Select Database.
2. Choose a data connection. Select VisualVault.
3. Run the query builder. To do this in the Analytics Dashboard select the text “Run Query Builder…”. In the Report Designer, hover over the plus sign next to Queries, then select Run Query Builder. 
4. Follow the instructions in the Query Builder article to select the appropriate views. 
5. Once the query has been built, select Finish.

VisualVault Data Warehouse

A VisualVault Data Warehouse is created within the Process Design Studio. Data tables can be created within the Data Warehouse based on information collected from Events or by uploading a CSV file directly.

Selecting Data Warehouse as a Data Source

1. When creating a new report or editing the data source, select the data source type. Select JSON.
2. Select Data Warehouse as the data connection.
3. Select data warehouse to be used on the report then select Finish.