Tutorial: Create and modify a report

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to create a report from a feature class in a file geodatabase, modify it to meet additional needs, and include a related report and supplemental page.

In this scenario, you have been asked to generate a report that contains city and state information. You have been given a regional map with an accompanying layout. The focus of this report is a basic listing of cities and states by region. You have been asked to provide a PDF format file of the final report to share with all interested parties.

Get the data

The data for this tutorial is available for download on ArcGIS Online.

1. Go to the item description web page of the Cities in the United States report tutorial project template on arcgis.com.
2. Click Download to save the template locally.
3. Start AllSource. If necessary, type your username and password on the ArcGIS Sign In screen and click Sign in.
4. Next to the Recent Templates heading, click Start with another template .

   The Create New Project From Template dialog box appears.

5. Browse to your locally saved file, select it, and click OK.

   The Create a New Project dialog box appears.

6. Provide values for Name and Location, and click OK.

   The new project, based on the downloaded template, opens.

Design the report

First, you need to create a report specific to this scenario. You will use the Create New Report pane to choose a template, configure the data, apply field grouping and sorting, and choose a styling theme prior to the creation of the report. To learn more about using this pane, see Add a new report to a project.

1. Start AllSource. If necessary, sign in to ArcGIS Online.
2. Open the Cities in the United States report tutorial project template you downloaded.
3. On the Insert tab, in the Project group, click New Report to open the Create New Report pane.
4. In the Create New Report pane, click the Use a default Esri template button then pick the Attribute List with Grouping template in the drop-down menu.
5. Click Next to continue to the Set the data source options, then change the Report Name field to US States Report. To learn more about the settings on this page of the pane, see Set the data source.
6. Under the Data source heading, click the drop-down menu to select the US States layer.
7. Click Next to continue to the Filter the data options. To learn more about the settings on this page of the pane, see Filter report data.
8. On the Filter the data page, uncheck the Select all option to deselect all fields.
9. Under the Fields heading, check the Abbreviation, State Name, Subregion, and Population 2000 fields to include them in the report.
10. Drag Abbreviation so that it is under State Name.
11. Click Next to continue to the Organize the data options. To learn more about the settings on this page of the pane, see Organize report data.
12. On the Organize the data page, under the Grouping and Sorting heading, in the Grouping column, open the (Add item) drop-down menu and select Subregion {SUB_REGION}. Group sorting is set to Ascending by default.
13. In the Sorting column, open the (Add item) drop-down menu and select State Name {STATE_NAME}. Sorting direction is similarly set to Ascending by default.
14. Click Next to continue to the Design the report options. To learn more about the settings on this page of the pane, see Design the report.
15. On the Design the report page, under the Display heading, click the Styling drop-down menu and choose the Cool Tones styling theme.
16. Click the Margins drop-down menu and choose Narrow.

    For reference, the measurements for the current margin are listed below the Margins menu. Margin areas are cropped in the report view but are visible when the report is exported.

17. Click Finish to generate the report using the current configuration.

The report is added to the project and opened.

Export the report as a PDF

The next step is to export and share the report. A report can be shared as either a PDF file, a report file, or a report template. In this scenario, a PDF file has been requested.

1. Ensure that the report view is active. On the Share tab, in the Output group, click Export Report .
2. In the Export Report pane, browse to the location to save the PDF file.
3. Update or accept the file name.
4. In the Fonts group, confirm Embed Fonts is checked to support proper display of the exported report. This way, if anyone reading the PDF does not have Esri fonts installed, the content will display correctly.
5. Click Export.

   When the export is finished, a green bar appears at the bottom of the pane stating that it has completed. Click View exported file to open the resulting PDF in your default PDF viewer. It can then be shared.

Modify the existing report in the report view

After sharing the PDF report with your colleagues, you receive feedback requesting additional information. You will now modify your report using the Report ribbon to include the following updates: add a summary statistic, add a dynamic picture, and include a chart.

1. If necessary, open the US States Report you created earlier.

   Reports, like other project items, are listed in the Catalog pane and in catalog views in the Reports folder.

2. In the Contents pane, click the Report Footer element to activate that subsection in the view.
3. On the Insert tab, in the Data group, click the Statistics drop-down gallery and select Mean to open the Insert Statistic dialog box.
4. Click the Field drop-down menu, select Population (2000), and click OK.
5. In the view, drag a box above the Count: {Count:SUB_REGION} element to outline the new statistic element location.
6. Right-click the new {MEAN: POP2000} element and click Properties to open the Element pane.
7. In the Element pane, ensure that Tag View is turned on for the Text box.
8. In the Text box, click the field-mean button to open the Update Statistic window.
9. On the Update Statistic dialog box, click the Number Format Properties button to the right of the Number Format drop-down menu.
10. Under Rounding, change the Decimal places value to zero.
11. Check the Show thousands separator option and click OK to save these formatting changes.
12. Click OK to close the Update Statistic dialog box and save the changes.
13. In the Text box, click to place the cursor before the field-mean button and type "Average population: ". Press the Tab key.

    The text value updates in the view as well. A red ellipsis may appear next to the text box to indicate that some text will be cut off in the final PDF. If necessary, drag the resize handles and expand the width to remove the ellipsis.

14. In the Contents pane, select the Details subsection to activate it in the view.
15. On the Details tab, in the Size group, change the Height value to 1.25.
16. On the Insert tab, in the Data group, click the Dynamic Picture button to open the Insert Dynamic Picture dialog box.
17. In the Field drop-down menu, choose State Seal and click OK.
18. In the view, drag a box to the right of the {POP2000} element to insert the dynamic picture element.
19. If necessary, open and activate the USA map. In the Contents pane, note that the US States layer has one chart: Total Population by Subregion. Return to the US States Report.
20. In the Contents pane, click the Group Footer: SUB_REGION subsection to activate it in the view.
21. In the view, using the resize handle centered at the bottom of the subsection, drag down to resize the subsection to approximately twice its current size.
22. On the Insert tab, in the Data group, click the Chart Frame drop-down menu to select the Total Population by Subregion chart.
23. Drag a box at the bottom of the active subsection to place the chart.

    The Chart Frame element references the chart in the USA map. If the chart is modified or deleted, those changes will be reflected in the report. You may need to resize the Chart Frame element to view the whole chart.

24. With the report view active, on the Share tab, in the Output group, click Export Report to create a PDF that reflects the updates.
25. In the Export Report pane, browse to the location to save the PDF file.
26. Update or accept the file name and ensure the Embed Fonts option is checked.
27. Click Export.

    You will be prompted to confirm whether you are overwriting the existing PDF file. Open PDF files cannot be overwritten.

The updated report can now be shared.

Include related data

The PDF report has been sent back to you again with an additional request. You will now modify your report using the Report ribbon to include related data.

1. If necessary, open the US States Report you created earlier. Reports, like other project items, are listed in the Catalog pane and Catalog view in the Reports folder.
2. In the Contents pane, right-click the Details subsection and click New Related Report to open the Create New Related Report pane.
3. In the Create New Related Report pane, pick the Attribute List template in the drop-down menu and click Next.
4. Set the Related report name parameter to US Cities Report. In the Relate or relationship class drop-down menu, select the US Cities relationship class and click Next.
5. On the Filter the data page, uncheck the Select all option to deselect all fields.
6. Under the Fields heading, check the City Name, City FIPS, and Elevation fields to include them in the related report.
7. Click Next to continue to the Organize the data options. The properties on the Organize the data page can be modified after creating the report.
8. Click Next to continue to the Design the related report options.
9. On the Design the related report page, click the Styling drop-down menu and choose the Cool Tones styling theme to match the primary report. Click Finish.
10. In the Contents pane, expand the US Cities Report: Related Report section to view the related report subsections.
11. Right-click the US Cities Report: Related Report section and click Properties to open the Related Report Properties dialog box.
12. On the General tab, change the Name value to Cities in the USA.
13. On the Grouping and Sorting tab, under the Sorting column, open the (Add item) drop-down menu and select City Name {CITY_NAME}. Sorting direction is similarly set to Ascending by default.
14. Click OK to save these changes.
15. In the Contents pane, select US Cities Report: Page Header.
16. On the Page Header tab, in the Appearance group, use the color palette to set the Background Color value to Gray 30%.
17. In the Contents pane, select US Cities Report: Details.
18. On the Details tab, in the Appearance group, use the color palette to set the Background Color value to Gray 10%.
19. Check the Alternate row color option and use the color palette to set the color to Gray 30%.
20. With the report view active, on the Share tab, in the Output group, click Export Report to create a PDF that reflects the updates.
21. In the Export Report pane, browse to the location to save the PDF file.
22. Update or accept the file name and ensure the Embed Fonts option is checked.
23. Click Export.

    You are prompted to confirm whether you are overwriting the existing PDF file. Open PDF files cannot be overwritten.

The updated report can again be shared.

Include a supplemental page

Next, you decide to add a cover page to the report. You will now modify your report using the Report ribbon to include a layout as a supplemental page.

1. If necessary, open the US States Report you created earlier. Reports, like other project items, are listed in the Catalog pane and Catalog view in the Reports folder.
2. In the Contents pane, turn off the report header subsection, since the supplemental page will be used in its place.
3. In the Contents pane, right-click the US States section, expand the Add Above group , and click Add Supplemental Page Above .

   The Supplemental Page dialog box appears.

4. Browse to the Layouts project folder and select the Overview layout. Click OK.

   The report document view is opened and the supplemental page is listed above the US States report.

5. In the report document view, right-click the Supplemental Page section and select Open and Edit Layout .
6. In the Layout view, double-click the text box at the bottom of the page to edit the text. Add an additional line of text with your name under ArcGIS Pro Tutorial and close the Layout view.
7. With the report view active, on the Share tab, in the Output group, click Export Report to create a PDF that reflects the updates.
8. In the Export Report pane, browse to the location to save the PDF file.
9. Update or accept the file name and check Embed Fonts.
10. Click Export.

    You will be prompted to confirm whether you are overwriting the existing PDF file. Open PDF files cannot be overwritten.

Summary

In this tutorial, you created a report from a feature layer using the Create New Report pane. This included defining grouping, sorting, summary statistics, selecting a template and styling theme, and setting up the exported page. You updated the properties of elements in an existing report, including text font and color as well as grouping and sorting, and added a new field. A dynamic image, a related report, and a supplemental page were also included. Finally, you exported a report as a new PDF and overwrote an existing PDF.