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Pulling "topic group" into a report

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Level 2
Hello. I am setting up a request queue that has 2 topic groups with the same named "queue topics" in each topic group. For example, the topic groups are Strategy and Media. Within the Strategy topic group we have Client 1, Client 2, Client 3, etc. as queue topics, and we have those same queue topics of Client 1, Client 2, Client 3, etc. within the Digital Media topic group. I'm setting up a report to show submissions to the request queue and really need to show both the Topic Group and the Queue Topic to differentiate between the 2 types of requests. However, I can't seem to get the Topic Group to pull into the report, even though this article >https://experience.workfront.com/s/article/Understanding-Objects-300220110 says you can report on the "topic group" object when using the report builder in the Workfront web application. I don't mind pulling it in using text mode but have not been able to get that to work either when I tried to use some older suggestions, such as queueTopic:parentTopicGroup:name. Nothing displays when I try that. Does anyone know how to get the Topic Group into an issue report? Thank you! Rani Rani Paul One & All
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Level 10
Hi Rani, I'd like you to have a look at the "https://wf-pro.com/textmode/api/">WFPro Text Mode catalog, where you'll find various examples that will give you an idea of the syntax for different views. In your case, you'll want to use the following in your column to jump up one level and grab the topic group name: valuefield=queueTopic:parentTopicGroup:name valueformat=HTML displayname=Parent Topic Group Regards, Narayan

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Level 2
That did it, thank you so much, Narayan! I really appreciate the super quick response. I'll take a look at the catalog you provided as well. That should be very helpful. Thanks again, Rani Rani Paul One &All

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Level 2

Hello again, Narayan. I have one more question. I'm trying to create a prompt for my report that will allow users to search by Topic Group. I've tried everything I can think of but nothing is working! I currently have it set up as follows: When I try using the version in the Strategy prompt above, I don't get any results, just a pink error box that says something went wrong and contact Workfront about it. When I use the _Mod version like in the Digital Media section, the report works but it loads all issues, not just the Digital Media issues. What am I doing wrong?? I got the Groupings to work and group by Topic Group (very proud of that, lol), but these prompts are driving me crazy, I just can't seem to get it. Any suggestions you have would be most appreciated. Thanks so much! Rani Rani Paul One &All0690z000007Zhc5AAC.png

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Level 10
Hi Rani, While I expected the following in the prompt to work, it didn't and I can't sort out why. queueTopic:parentTopicGroup:name=Strategy&queueTopic:parentTopicGroup:name_Mod=cicontains Instead, you might want to add the following calculated field to a "standard" issue custom form that you attach to all of your issues: Name : Request Topic Group Name Format : Text Calculation : IF(ISBLANK(Request Topic Group Name), Queue Topic.Parent Topic Group.Name, Request Topic Group Name) This will store the topic group name and, should the topic group ever get deleted, will retain the old value. From here, you then gain the ability to group, filter, etc. on this value. In fact, I've done the same with the Queue Topic Name because these get deleted sometimes. Let us know how it turns out! Narayan

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Level 2
Thank you so much, @Narayan Raum ! This worked great! I now have the topic group as a prompt, yay. So cool. There was one strange thing that happened. I couldn't get the suggested calculated field to work at first; WF kept telling me that it was an invalid expression. So after trying all manner of combinations unsuccessfully I tried putting just IF(Queue Topic.Parent Topic Group.Name=="Strategy","Strategy","Digital Media") instead. That worked and allowed me to save the form. I went to the request form and submitted a few entries and it worked fine, but I was a little concerned about what you had mentioned, if we ever add more topic groups this wouldn't be an ideal construction. So just a few minutes ago I went back and pasted your recommendation in: IF(ISBLANK(Request Topic Group Name), Queue Topic.Parent Topic Group.Name, Request Topic Group Name) . And this time WF accepted the calculation, allowed me to save the custom form, and when I tested it on the form and report prompt it worked perfectly! I don't know if it was just that WF didn't recognize the new "Request Topic Group Name" field name until it had a few entries in it or what, but just thought I would mention that here in case anyone has a similar issue at first. So in summary, your solution works perfectly. I really, really appreciate your help!! Best, Rani Rani Paul One &All

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Community Advisor
Hi Rani, I suspect you've hit a common but subtle gotcha: when you create a new calculated custom parameter (e.g. Request Topic Group Name) and add it to a form, before attempting to refer to that new custom parameter itself in the formula (as in Narayan's solution on this one) you need to save the form first so that Workfront is aware that the new parameter exists, and then -- once it's "real" -- you can use it in the formula. Fortunately, it's only for these types of self-referencing formulas, and is easy to avoid once you know about it. Regards, Doug Doug Den Hoed - AtAppStore Got Skills? Lend a hand! https://community.workfront.com/participate/unanswered-threads

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Level 10
Rani, don't feel bad. This gotcha tripped me up again today. I'm glad it worked out! Thanks for the assist, Doug. Narayan

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Level 7
Hey all, Something fun to note, when referring to filters and prompts , ID and Name will reference the same area in the database, regardless of if you enter the GUID or the name of the object you're referencing. In other words, for the prompt to work, just reference parentTopicGroupID next time, and just make sure to set the label as "Topic Group Name" (or whatever you'd like.) This is not the case with views and groupings, ID will reference the GUID in those scenarios. Thanks! Dustin Martin Assigned Support Engineer Workfront

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Level 10
Hi Dustin, Just what we needed to sort this one out. Thank you! Narayan

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Level 2
Hi, @Dustin Martin , thanks for piping in! Would you happen to have an example of what you mean? I tried altering @Narayan Raum 's custom prompt code suggestion, but couldn't get it to work. Here's what he said he thought should work but it didn't: queueTopic:parentTopicGroup:name=Strategy&queueTopic:parentTopicGroup:name_Mod=cicontains I tried changing that to this: queueTopic:parentTopicGroupID=Strategy&queueTopic:parentTopicGroupID_Mod=cicontains But I get no results when I use that prompt. If you have any suggestions for how I can try your recommendation I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much! Rani Rani Paul One &All

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Level 7
Hi Rani, I just ran through some testing, and I was wrong about prompts. Filters allow name and ID to interchange, but views, groupings, and prompts do not. So to get this to work, you'll want to add the queue topic group ID to a report, then you can grab the ID, and use that in your prompt, and you'll only have to set the Label of the value (the choice) instead. It should look something like this: Account | queueTopic:parentTopicGroupID=5b5f3c1101f318cc70c1b5b2b8951055&queueTopic:parentTopicGroupID_Mod=cicontains I hope this info helps! Thanks, Dustin Martin Assigned Support Engineer Workfront

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Level 2
Thanks for the response, @Dustin Martin ! I haven't gotten a chance to try your suggestion yet, but I will eventually. Good to know my options for the future. :-) Thanks, Rani Rani Paul One &All