Managing the Database and Reporting › Arcserve Backup Logs and Reports › Create Custom Reports Using the Report Writer Utility

Create Custom Reports Using the Report Writer Utility

Report Writer is an Arcserve Backup utility that you can use to create custom reports. You can access Report Writer from the Quick Start, Monitor and Reports menu or the Monitor and Reports section on the Arcserve Backup home page.

Note: Reports created using Report Writer can be previewed, printed, or scheduled in Report Manager.

To create custom reports using the Report Writer utility

1. From the Quick Start menu select Monitor and Reports, and then click Report Writer.

   The Arcserve Backup Report Writer window opens.

2. Select the File menu and click Open to locate the report you want if you are generating a Predefined report. Otherwise, if you are generating a User-defined report, go to Step 3.
3. Enter a name for your report in the Report Title text box. Optionally, you can enter a description of your report in the Description text box.
4. In the Available Queries table, highlight the source from which you want to gather information for your report. When you highlight a source (such as Media or a Media Pool), the Available Columns table is populated with the types of data you can collect from the selected source. For example, if you select Job in the Available Queries table, you can collect information about the Job Type, the Job Owner, the Job Start Time, and several other items.

   To select an item to include in your report, highlight the item in the Available Columns table and click Add. The item then moves to the Report Columns table.

   Note: You can create reports made up of information collected from multiple sources. For example, you could create a report that reports on Job Type, Tape Name, and Source Host.

5. Click Next to go to the Report Criteria screen. From this screen, you can customize your report in the following ways:
   • Set the order of the records—The records (or rows) in the columns of your report can be sorted in either ascending or descending order. By default, the records are ordered in ascending order.
   • Set the order of the columns—The column at the top of the Report Columns list appears as the first (leftmost) column in your report. To change the position of a column, highlight it in the Report Columns table and click the up or down arrow.
   • Set filters—The records for your report can be filtered for specific criteria that you define. Use the Enter Value field, with the Operators and Condition drop-down menus, to specify the criteria for each type of record (each listing in the Report Columns table) in your report. After you specify a filter, click Add Criteria to add it to the Query Criteria table.

   For example, to report only on jobs with a Job ID from 150 through 250, follow these steps:

   1. Click Job, Job ID in the Report Columns table.
   2. Set the Operators drop-down menu to “>=”, type 150 in the Enter Value field, and set the Condition drop-down menu to “and.” Then click Add Criteria.
   3. Set the Operators drop-down menu to “<=” and type 250 in the Enter Value field. Click Add Criteria. The Query Criteria table then reflects your criteria.
6. To run your report, click Generate Report.

Note: If you are using Report Writer to generate predefined Disk Staging Reports, the Add and Remove buttons are not accessible.