Deleted Items Reports

Deleted Items reports allow you to create a list of items that were deleted from any primary table. All items that were deleted from the primary table within the specified date range are returned in the report. After running a Deleted Items report, you can view change history for items listed in the report.

Restriction: You must have privileges to access Manager-level reports to use this report type.

Users with Global Administration privilege can use the Deleted Items report to view a list of report changes that were made in a given time period. To view change history for reports, select Reports as the Report Item Type instead of a table name in the report definition.

Content Options

The following options are available in the Content area for Deleted Items reports.

  • Report Item Type

    Contains the primary table for the selected application and any auxiliary tables for which you have privileges. Select the table that contains the information for the report.

    To view reports that users have deleted, select Reports instead of a table name in the report definition. Note that the Reports option only appears in the Report Item Type drop-down list if you have Global Administration privilege.

  • Report Project

    For reports based on primary tables, the project you select when creating a report determines which items are returned in your report. The project selection also determines where the report is stored and which users can access the report. For example, if you select Project A, only users who have privileges to run reports in Project A can run the report.

    For details, refer to Selecting a Report Project.

  • Select Columns to Display

    Select fields to display in your report results. The available fields are Action Type, Prior Owner, Prior State, Timestamp of Change, and User Making Change. You can also rearrange the order in which these fields appear in the report.

  • Set Custom Field Widths

    By default, the width of field columns is set automatically based on the size of your browser window and the number of fields displayed on the report. You can force the column for a selected field to be larger or smaller by specifying an absolute width in pixels.

    To change the display width of a field, select a field in the left pane, and then click the Set Custom Field Widths link to specify a display with in pixels for the field. You can then move the field to the right pane.

  • Time Period

    Specify a time period for the report. You can either specify a fixed period using a date range or a time period based on a number of days, weeks, or months that have passed prior to running the report.

    • Fixed Period
      • Start Date

        This field is required; however, the time of day is optional. Click the calendar icon to select a date, enter a date specification using the format indicated below the input field, or click Date/Time Keywords to use date values that are recalculated instead of a fixed date when the report is executed. You can also type custom values, such as Minus 5 or Plus 5 (with a different number, if desired) to use custom plus and minus values.

        Select the Query At Runtime check box to require users to enter the Start Date when the report is executed.

      • End Date

        This field is optional. If you do not specify an end date, the report uses the current date. Click Date/Time Keywords to use date values that are recalculated instead of a fixed date when the report is executed.

        Select the Query At Runtime check box to require users to enter the End Date when the report is executed. You can also type custom values, such as Minus 5 or Plus 5 (with a different number, if desired) to use custom plus and minus values.

    • Relative Period
      • Last

        Enter a number of preceding days, weeks, or months to limit report results.

Only items that were deleted between the start date and the end date are returned in the report.

Sorting Options

Sort options enable you to sort search results based on values in selected fields. For example, you can sort items user who deleted items. To sort by this criteria, select User Making Change from one of the drop-down lists.

Tip: The fields you select for sorting are independent of the fields you select to display. For best results, you may want to display the fields you choose for sorting. For details, refer to Content Options.

The following sorting options are available:

  • Sort by/Then by – From the drop-down lists, select the fields for which you want to sort report results based on field values. Fields available for sorting are Action Type, Prior Owner, Prior State, Timestamp of Change, and User Making Change.

  • Ascending / Descending – Select one of these options for each field to specify its sort order.

Additional Options

The following options are available in the Additional Options area of the Deleted Items report form. These options can be considered "advanced" report options.

  • Footer
    Optionally, supply a footer for your report.
    Note: The footer renders some common HTML tags such as <i>, <b>, and <font>. However, this means that character entity references such as >, <, ", and & are not encoded in the footer. Therefore, in order to display <Some Text> in the footer, you must send the following encoded sequence: &lt;Some Text&gt;.
  • Optional HTML Template
    This drop-down list contains HTML templates for customizing the look of your report. Provided templates include excellist.htm, which improves the display of Listing report results when they are exported (by right-clicking the report output and then selecting Export to Microsoft Excel), and massselectlist.htm, which provides buttons at the top of the page, enabling you to select or clear the check boxes for all items in the results list. Your administrator can customize report templates, and the templates in the list may or may not apply to the type of report you are creating. Select the template from the drop-down list.
    Note: This option is available for applicable report types in the SBM User Workspace and for Listing reports in SBM Work Center.
    If you change the HTML template in a report that is pinned to a menu or on a dashboard in Work Center, the change is not reflected in the affected report. You must re-pin or re-add the updated report after you save the template change.

Results

Deleted Items report results appear in two panes: the list of items within the specified date range are listed in the Item List pane; detailed information about each deleted item is listed in the Item Details pane.

Deleted Items Report List Display

The list of deleted items displays the fields you selected on the report form. If you did not select specific fields, the User Making Change, Action Type, and Timestamp of Change fields appear in the report. If you are creating a report for deleted reports, User Making Change, Action Type, and Timestamp of Change fields display.

When you run the report for deleted items, the first field selected to appear in the report form shows as a link. For example, if the User Making Change field is selected first, then the user name appears as a link. Click the link to display detailed information about the item.

The following fields are available for display in the Deleted Items report:

Field Description
Action Type The last action for items in a Deleted Items report is always "Deleted."
Prior Owner Displays the owner of the item when it was deleted.
Prior State Displays the state the item resided in when it was deleted.
Timestamp of Change Displays the time the item or report was deleted.
User Making Change Displays the name of the user who deleted the item or report.

The Item Details pane for a Deleted Items report displays change history information for the deleted item selected in the Item List pane.