Saving a report

After you create or modify a report, you must save the report so that you and others can execute it in the future. When you save a report, its name and its definition such as the template, report filtering criteria, and report formatting information are stored in the MicroStrategy metadata repository.

You can select options for prompted reports, such as whether to keep the report prompted. You can also save reports as filters or templates, as follows:

Saving a report as a filter allows you to use the saved report to filter a different report. For example, if you have a report that returns basic data such as revenue for the year 2021, you can save the report as a filter and then use the new filter on other reports; in this example, the filter would restrict data on other reports to revenue in the year 2021.
Saving the report as a template allows you to use the saved report as a base on which to build other reports. For example, if you have a report that returns basic data such as countries and revenue, you can save the report as a template on which you build several other reports, all of which contain country and revenue data but also contain additional data as appropriate for each report.

Saving a new report creates a predefined report. Other users can then execute that report to analyze the data it shows, and they can limit or reformat the data results according to their own analysis needs. To execute the report, double-click the report to retrieve and display the most recent data from your data source.

To save a report

This procedure assumes you have either finished creating a new report or modifying an existing report, and you have the report open in the Report Editor. For steps to create a report, see Creating a grid report.

From the Home menu, select one of the following:
- To save a report, select Save.
  
  If the report has already been saved and contains prompts, the report is automatically saved as a prompted report with the Filter and Template set as prompted, and the Set the current answers to be the default prompt answers check box selected. To select different prompt options, select Save As from the Home menu instead of Save, as described in the option below.
- To save a copy of an existing report using a different name or to specify prompt options for an existing report, select Save As.
Browse to the folder in which you want to save the report. You can create a new folder in which to save the report. To do so, click the Create New Folder icon. The Create Folder dialog box is displayed. To create a new folder:
1. In the Folder field, enter a name for the folder. You cannot create a folder with the same name as an existing folder.
2. In the Description field, enter a description for your folder.
3. Click Create Folder.
If you are saving a prompted report, you can choose whether or not to keep the report prompted when the report is executed again. Select the Keep report prompted check box. Expand the Advanced Options, then select one of the following:

To save the prompt answers you specified and automatically skip the prompt selection page when running the report, select the Save report as static option. The next time the report is run, the saved answers will automatically be used to answer the prompts and run the report. The prompt selection page will not be displayed to users.
To display the prompt selection page each time the report is run, select the Save report as prompted option, then perform the following steps:
1. You can determine which prompts will be presented to users when the report is run. You can choose to display prompts that are part of the report's filter, prompts that have been placed on the report's template, or both. Select one of the following:
- To present users only with prompts that have been added to the report's filter, select the Only filter will be prompted option. The next time the report is run, users will only be prompted to provide answers for filter definition prompts. Answers for prompts that have been placed on the report's template, such as objects that users have selected in an object prompt or levels selected in a level prompt, are saved with the report definition and do not need to be provided by the user.
- To present users only with prompts that have been added to the report's filter, select the Only filter will be prompted option. The next time the report is run, users will only be prompted to provide answers for filter definition prompts. Answers for prompts that have been placed on the report's template, such as objects that users have selected in an object prompt or levels selected in a level prompt, are saved with the report definition and do not need to be provided by the user.
- To present users only with prompts that are part of the report's template, select the Only template will be prompted option. The next time the report is run, users are only prompted to select objects for prompts that have been placed on the report's template. Answers for prompts that have been added to the report's filter are saved with the report definition and do not need to be provided by the user.
- To present users with all prompts, regardless of whether they have been added to the report's filter or the report's template, select the Filter and template will be prompted option. The report is saved so that object prompts, level prompts, and filter definition prompts all remain active.
1. You can choose to use the prompt answers you specified as default prompt answers to be used the next time the report is run. Do one of the following:
- To use the prompt answers as default prompt answers, select the Set the current prompt answers to be the default prompt answers check box.
- To save the report without default answers, clear the Set the current prompt answers to be the default prompt answers check box.

To save the report as a filter, perform the following steps:
1. Click the Filter tab.
2. Select the Keep filter prompted check box. Expand the Advanced Options and choose one of the following:
- To save the prompt answers that have been selected for the report and automatically use them as answers each time the user runs a report to which the report-as-filter has been added, select the Save filter as static option. The report-as-filter is not prompted when a report it has been added to is run.
- To present the prompt selection page to the user each time the user runs a report to which the report-as-filter has been added, select the Save filter as prompted option. The report-as-filter is prompted when the report it is added to is run.
To save the report as a template, perform the following steps:
1. Click the Template tab.
2. Select the Keep template prompted check box. Expand the Advanced Options and choose one of the following:
- To save the prompt answers that have been selected for the report and automatically use them as answers each time the user runs a report that is based on the report-as-template, select the Save template as static option. The report-as-template is not prompted when a report that is based on it is run.
- To present the prompt selection page to the user each time the user runs a report that is based on the report-as-template, select the Save template as prompted option. The report-as-template is prompted when a report that is based on it is run.
In the Name and Description fields, type a name and description for the report.
Click OK to save the report. If a report with the same name already exists in the folder, the Confirm Overwrite dialog box appears. Click Yes if you want to replace the existing report.

After you create and save a report, you can include additional functionality on the report for users, so they can explore report data more effectively and see related data. For details on additional options you can add to a report, see Adding features for users.