Counting number of times an item within a field is referenced.

[KatherineCh]

Hello! We have a field that has a list of names - not the assignments field, and not the same list of people - that we want to count how many times a person's name is used across the system. I need it to populate everyone's name (not just the names that have been selected), then list how many times its used, and we want to be able to see where its been used. It is a multi-select field. Any idea on how to do this? Thanks! Katherine Chatham

[LD_Sean]

Hi Katherine, You can create a report (Project/Task/Issue - which ever this field is attached to), add a filter with your field and choose 'not blank' as the condition. Then add a grouping with your field. This will list all times it's used and give you a count for each value (person). You'll probably find it best to consume the report as a bar chart. Sean

[KatherineCh]

Thanks for your suggestion! Since this is a multi select field I can only use the calculated field for the grouping. Using the calculated field as a grouping isn't pulling in the entire list of users. Any other suggestions? Katherine Chatham

[LD_Sean]

Ah, sorry, missed the multi-select part. That certainly makes it trickier! I don't know of an elegant way to do it (without bypassing Workfront and using the api). If the list of people isn't long, you could make a report with a prompt for one of the values in your multi-select (and run the report for each name), that doesn't sound like a super fun way to accomplish this though. Perhaps someone more experienced will have a more elegant solution. Sean