Report Templates: How to Manage Columns with Rows Adjustment and Formatting

Summary

A comprehensive guide to managing columns in custom report templates, including adding and removing columns, reordering, formatting data types, and applying conditional formatting rules.

Introduction

When creating custom report templates, the rows adjustment section gives you full control over which columns appear in your report and how they are displayed. You can select specific fields, reorder columns, apply data formatting (text, numbers, dates, percentages), and set conditional formatting rules that highlight important data based on cell values. This guide covers all column management features available when building report templates. For a complete overview of the Reports section, refer to Reports: An Overview of the Reports Section in LMS

Steps to Follow

Accessing Rows Adjustment

1. Navigate to Reports > New Report Template.

2. Select a Report type from the dropdown.

3. Scroll to the Rows adjustment section.

The rows adjustment section displays all currently selected columns for your report template. Each column appears as a row in this section.

How to Add Reports Column

To add new columns to your report:

1. Click the Add column button.

2. A dropdown list appears showing all available fields for the selected report type.

3. Select the desired field from the list.

4. The new column appears at the end of the rows adjustment list view.

How to Remove Reports Column

To remove a column from your report:

1. Locate the column you wish to remove in the rows adjustment section.

2. Click the Delete button within the column.

3. The column is immediately removed from the list.

How to Reorder Reports Columns

To change the order in which columns appear in your report:

1. Locate the column you wish to move.

2. Click and hold the Drag handle (⋮⋮) within the column.

3. Drag the column right or left to the desired position.

4. Release to place the column in its new position.

How to Edit Column Settings

Click the edit button within any column to open the column configuration popup. This popup contains three configuration areas:

1. Title

Specify a title for the column. By default, the field name is used. To override it, enter your preferred title in the field.

2. Format

Select how the column data should be displayed. The available conditional format rules depend on the type of format selected:

3. Title Format

Apply text styling to the title of the column using the formatting toolbar:

• Bold: Makes text heavier.

• Italic: Slants the text.

• Underline: Adds a line beneath text.

• Font size: Adjust text size (options from 10 to 16).

• Alignment: Left, center, or right align content.

• Text color: Choose a color for the text.

• Background color: Choose a color for the cell background.

4. Conditional Format Rules

Conditional formatting applies specific styling to cells that meet defined criteria. This helps highlight important data such as overdue assignments, low scores, or completed courses.

How Conditional Formatting Works:

1. Click Add condition to create a new rule.

2. Select the condition type based on your format selection.

3. Specify the value to compare against.

4. Apply styling to row values (bold, italic, underline, text color, background color).

5. Multiple conditions can be added to the same column.

Condition Types by Format Selection:

Saving Your Template

After completing all column adjustments:

1. Scroll to the bottom of the page.

2. Click Save template.

All column configurations, including order, formatting, and conditional rules, are saved with the template. The template appears in the Report Generation tab for generating report.

Conclusion

You have successfully learned how to manage columns in custom report templates. By adding, removing, and reordering columns, applying appropriate data formats, and setting conditional formatting rules, you can create professional, easy-to-read reports that highlight the information that matters most to your organization.