Gain faster collaboration with a custom note report

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Training > Additional Resources > Training blog > Gain faster collaboration with a custom note report 

Tired of sifting through project updates and threads to find one you’re looking for? Sometimes that list is like an infinity scroll... it goes on...and on...and on... Here’s a handy report you can create to find what you’re looking for fast! 

Why you should create a note report

On a project landing page, you can click “Updates” and see all the notes and threads added by users collaborating on the project. You can also see all “system updates,” such as status and date changes, granting of access rights, document uploads, etc.

You can scroll through the list to find the update you want, but the list of updates can get very long and you may find yourself clicking on the Show More Updates button over and over. Plus, if the update you’re looking for is embedded in a thread, you’ll have to expand every thread individually to look for it. That can become very tedious, very fast.

So, you can build this nifty little report to search through all the updates on the project you’re in, even if they are in a thread. and use the prompts provided to narrow your search.

For example, you want to find an important update your boss made last month. You remember it contained the word “critical.” 

Instead of scrolling through all the updates, click the Note Search section in the left panel menu and set the prompts as shown below: 

• Audit Text – this is where system updates are kept. Leave it blank for this search 
• Note Text – these are the user updates. Choose “Contains” >> “critical” 
• Owner Name - choose “Equal” >> “your boss’s name” 
• Entry Date - choose “Last Month” 

You might be saying “I don’t have a Note Search section in my left panel menu.” You’re right! It’s a custom section that you need to add.

Create a Note report with prompts

Here’s how: 

• Select Reports from the Main Menu. 
• Click the New Report menu and select Note. 
• In Columns (View) set up your columns to include: 
  • Note > Note Text 
  • Note > Audit Text 
  • Note > Entry Date 
  • Owner > Name 
  • Task > Name 
  • Issue > Name 
• Select the Entry Date column and change the Sort to Descending. This will make the most recent updates appear at the top of the list. 

• Leave Groupings and Filters blank. 
• Open Report Settings and name the report “Note Search.” 
• In the Description field, put something like, “Search for System or User updates based on prompts. System updates appear in the Audit Text column and User updates appear in the Note Text column.” 

• Select Details Tab so that it displays when the report loads. 
• Set the report to show 200 items when the report is included on a dashboard. 
• Click Report Prompts and add: 

• Check the box for Show Prompts in Dashboards. 
• Save and Close your report. 

Now add your report to a new dashboard. 

• Click Report Actions and select Add to Dashboard > New Dashboard. 
• Drag the report “Note Search” to the Layout panel. 
• Notice that the name of the report becomes the name of the dashboard. 
• Click Save + Close. 

Now add the dashboard to a project page. 

• Go to any project. From the left panel menu, click the Add custom section icon. 
• In the Add a Dashboard field, type “Note Search” and select the dashboard from the list. 
• In the Custom section title field, type in “Note Search.” 

• Click Add new section. 
• From the left panel menu, find Note Search. 
• Click the dots to the left of the section name and drag it right below Updates. 

Now your Note Search dashboard will be in the left panel menu of every project landing page. 

Enjoy! 

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Best Next Action

If you’re interested in more ideas for reports, check out these links: 

• Adobe Workfront Customer Reporting Cookbook 
• Report creation activities booklet 
• Send us feedback for improvements: Adobe Workfront Community