1. Choose a Report TypeThe report type you choose determines which records and fields appear in your report. For example, the Opportunities report type gives you access to Opportunity records and fields like Amount, Stage, and Type.
2. Choose a Report FormatA report can use the tabular, summary, matrix, or joined format. Choose a format that’s complex enough to capture the data you want to show, but simple enough to communicate it effectively.
3. Group Your Report DataGroup data in columns or rows in summary, matrix, and joined reports to display meaningful information. For example, group opportunities by Close Date to see closed opportunities or group cases by product to see the number of cases for each product. You can have groupings inside groupings.
4. Keep Working While Your Report Preview LoadsFor most actions, you can continue working on your report while the preview loads. For example, when editing a report you can drag multiple fields into the report, then create a grouping while those columns load.
5. Customizing Reports Report builder is a visual editor for reports. The report builder screen lets you work with report fields and filters, and shows you a preview of your report with just some of the data.
6. Report FieldsThe Fields pane displays fields from theselected report type, organized by folder. It also lists custom summary formulas, which you can create, edit, and delete.
7. Summarize Your Report DataA summary field contains numeric values for which you want to know the sum, the average, or the highest or lowest. Summary fields show at all grouping levels. In summary and matrix reports, they also appear at the grand total level.
8. Subtotal Report ResultsSubtotaling your reports gives you a tool to analyze trends in the data. You can group sets of information, sort the groupings, and compare subtotals for each set against the overall total. In summary and joined reports, you can also subtotal by multiple fields to give you cascading sets of information.
9. Smart Totaling in Reports“Smart” totaling means that duplicate data is counted only once in any subtotal or total. Salesforce uses “smart” totaling when you run reports that include duplicate data in any of the columns chosen for summing or averaging.
10. Save Your ReportClick Save to update an existing report with recent changes, or Save As to clone the original report without changing it. In Lightning Experience, click Clone to clone the report.
11. Show Report Data GraphicallyTo help readers understand your data quickly and easily, show the data in chart form. Charts appear just above the report table. They can help users get a feel for the data before they delve into the details. Use line charts to track changes over time, or a bar or pie chart to compare values at a point in time. Charts can also appear in dashboard components.
12. Show Report Data in TablesTo help readers scan for data easily, try hiding details and ranges, limiting the number of results shown, and highlighting with color. You can also show your table in a dashboard component.