Customizations and Bookmarks Job Aid

This job aid shows you how to create and use customizations so you can generate frequently used reports quickly and consistently. Then it shows you how to create bookmarks so you can share your customizations with colleagues.

Customizations

Customizations allow you to save changes you have made to a report. Changes can include filters you have applied and changes you have made to the report such as including, excluding, or re-arranging columns. Learn to:

Save a customization

Create more customizations

Apply a customization

Return to default settings

Edit saved customizations

Change default customization

Change customization name

Delete a customization

Save a Customization

  1. Once you have made all of the changes to a report that you would like to save as a customization, click the Page Options button in the upper-right corner and select Save Current Customization.

Page Options menu with Save Current Customization highlighted

2. Enter a name for the customization in the text box.

3. If you would like this customization to be the default whenever you open this specific report, check the Make this my default for this page box.

4. Select OK

Create More Customizations

You can create as many customizations for a report as you need. Simply set the filters and arrange the columns as desired and then go to the Page Options menu and select Save Current Customization.

Customizations with Finance dashboards: In general, saved customizations apply only to the report in which they were created. Within the Finance dashboards, there is one exception. The General Ledger Reporting and Financial Management Reporting dashboards were created with the same database so customizations are shared between these dashboards. To avoid confusion, include the dashboard name in the name of your saved customization, e.g. Biology (GLR), Biology (FMR), etc.

Apply a Customization

When you have multiple customizations, open the Page Options menu and select Apply Saved Customization. Then select the customization you want and it will be applied. 

Return to Default Settings

You can wipe the slate clean and revert to the report's default settings. Click the Page Options button and select Clear My Customization from the menu.

Edit Saved Customizations

If you have saved customizations for a report, you can modify them. Click the Page Options button and select Edit Saved Customizations to:

  • Make a customization a default
  • Change the name of a customization
  • Delete a customization you no longer need 

Change Default Customization

Select the radio button for the customization you would like to use as the default to be applied whenever you open the report.

Edit Saved Customization dialog box with English in Name field

Change Customization Name

When I saved the customization, I used the department name HENGL. That was not very descriptive so I changed it to English.

Edit Saved Customization dialog box with English in Name field and Default selected

Delete a Customization

If you have a customization that you no longer need, select the customization and then click the X above the list of saved customizations. Note: the X will be grayed out until a customization is selected.

Edit Saved Customization dialog box with Delete button highlighted

Note: Customizations cannot be shared. You can create multiple customizations for your own use. Although you cannot share customizations with another Cal Answers user, you can create a bookmark to share the code of your customized report, which your colleague can then save as their own customization.

Bookmarks

Once you have a page set the way you want, you can create a URL to easily return to that report and settings.

This is different from a customization because it opens the report page and applies the custom prompts and report adjustments you have made whereas the customization only applies settings once you have opened the report. (If the report is your default and you have a default customization, then the bookmark and report customization would yield the same results.)

Another advantage of bookmarks is that you can share them with others who have access to the Cal Answers dashboard so that they can generate the report for themselves to get the most current data.

Create a bookmark

Use and share bookmarks

Bookmarks expire after 365 days

Create a Bookmark

To create a bookmark, click the Page Options button in the upper-right corner and select Create Bookmark Link. The bookmark will include all of the prompts you have selected as well as any changes you have made to the report result set.

Page Options menu with Create Bookmark Link outlined

Use and Share Bookmarks

Once you have created a bookmark link, copy the URL from your browser's address bar. You can save this for your own future use or you can share it with another Cal Answers user who has access to the dashboard so they can generate the same report with current data.

Bookmark link circled in browser address bar

Note: The values in the Fiscal Yr and Accounting Period fields are not saved in customizations or bookmarks. These fields may need to be updated when you generate a report.

Bookmarks Expire After 365 Days

Note: Bookmarks expire 365 days after their last use. If you create a bookmark and don't use it for a year, it will no longer work. To avoid this loss, we recommend that you use your bookmarks regularly, even if you don't need to go to the report.

Additional Resources

Video: Customizations and Bookmarks (4 minutes)