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Reports allow you to transform your records into visual charts, making it easier to identify trends, compare values, and analyze your data. Because reports are built directly from your existing records, they automatically update as your data changes.
Whether you're tracking contacts created over time, opportunities by company, sales totals, or any other object in ValStorm, the Report Builder gives you complete control over what data is included and how it is displayed.
Unlike a simple charting tool, reports allow you to control both what data is returned and how that data is visualized, giving you a flexible way to analyze information across your organization.
Reports are created just like any other record in ValStorm.
Begin by opening the Reports object and clicking Create.
Every report requires two pieces of information before it can begin displaying data:
For this example, select Contact as the object.
As soon as an object is selected, the report automatically queries your database and displays an initial chart using the available Contact data. This provides an immediate preview while you continue configuring the report.
After a report has been created, there are several ways to view the information it contains.
Below the display toggles are three view tabs.
The Chart tab is the default view and displays your queried data using the currently selected chart type.
This is the primary visualization used while building and analyzing reports.
The Table tab displays every record returned by your report query.
Rather than summarizing information into a chart, this view allows you to inspect the individual records that make up the visualization. This is useful when validating report results or reviewing the underlying data.
The Details tab displays the report record itself.
This page functions like the standard record details page found throughout ValStorm and contains the report's record information.
If you return to an existing report, most report settings can be modified immediately without entering edit mode.
Changes made to filters, chart settings, fields, grouping, labels, and other report options can be updated directly. Simply remember to Save your changes so they persist.
The Edit button in the page header is only required when changing the report's original:
Changing the selected object replaces the dataset used by the report, allowing the report to be repurposed for a different object if needed.
Above every chart are several display toggles that control how the visualization is presented. These options only affect the appearance of the report—they never change the underlying data.
The Legend acts as the master switch for all legend-related display options.
Activating this switch will allow use of all legend-related options, deactivation quickly removes them all from the view.
The Bar Values switch is only available when viewing Bar Charts.
When enabled, the numerical value for each bar is displayed directly on the chart, making it easy to read exact values without estimating from the axis.
The Bar Colors switch simplifies the appearance of the chart by hiding the legend key.
This does not remove colors from the chart itself. Each data series continues to display using its assigned color; only the legend containing the color labels is hidden to reduce visual clutter.
The Labels switch controls the visibility of the report title and axis labels.
This switch remains disabled until a Title, X Label, or Y Label has been configured in the Titles & Labels section.
When enabled, the configured labels are displayed on the chart.
Displays horizontal grid lines across the chart, making it easier to compare values along the Y-axis.
Displays vertical grid lines across the chart to improve readability along the X-axis.
Initially, a report displays all records for the selected object.
To customize which records are included, click the Settings button and open the Filters tab.
The Filters tab uses the same Query Builder found throughout ValStorm, allowing you to precisely define which records should be returned.
From here you can:
For example, you could:
The chart updates using whatever records are returned by your query.
Once your query returns the desired dataset, return to the Settings tab to customize how those records are displayed.
The Chart Type section determines how your data is visualized.
Different chart types emphasize different relationships within your data, making it easy to choose the visualization that best communicates the information you want to present.
Experimenting with different chart types is often the quickest way to discover trends or comparisons that may not be immediately obvious in another visualization.
The Titles & Labels accordion allows you to add descriptive text to your report.
This section contains three fields:
For example:
These labels provide context for readers and make reports significantly easier to understand when shared with others.
Once one or more labels have been added, the Labels display switch becomes available above the chart.
The Fields accordion determines which values are displayed within the chart.
Selecting multiple fields creates multiple data series, each represented by its own color.
Each selected field includes additional configuration options.
Click the Edit (pencil) button beside a field to choose how that field should be calculated within the report.
The available calculation options depend on the type of field selected.
Every field supports the Count calculation.
Each matching record contributes a value of 1.
This is ideal for answering questions such as:
All field types also support the Cumulative option.
Enabling Cumulative displays a running total over time.
Rather than displaying each value independently, the report continuously adds each value to the previous total, making it easy to visualize long-term growth and trends.
If the selected field stores numeric values, additional calculation methods become available.
Adds together all values within the selected group.
For example, selecting a Revenue field using Sum displays the total revenue for each grouping rather than simply counting the number of records.
Calculates the average value of all records within each group.
This is useful for questions such as:
Displays the smallest value found within each group.
This is useful when identifying the lowest score, smallest purchase amount, shortest duration, or other minimum values.
Displays the largest value found within each group.
This is commonly used to identify peak sales, highest scores, largest purchases, or other maximum values.
The X Range and Y Range accordions provide sliders that allow you to focus on the most relevant portion of your report.
The X-axis controls how much of your returned dataset is displayed.
Reducing the range displays fewer records, making it useful when focusing on a specific period or narrowing the visualization to a subset of the returned data.
The Y-axis controls the range of values displayed vertically.
Reducing the range allows you to zoom into smaller value differences, making subtle trends easier to identify when large values would otherwise dominate the chart.
These controls affect only the visualization and never modify your stored data.
The Group By section determines how returned records are organized before they are displayed.
Only one field can be used for grouping at a time.
Examples include:
Date fields provide additional grouping options.
Click the Edit (pencil) button beside a date field to choose the level of grouping.
Available intervals include:
For example, grouping contacts by Created Date → Month displays monthly totals instead of daily totals.
Grouping by a company field, on the other hand, combines all contacts belonging to the same company into a single grouped result.