Reports > Troubleshooting

This topic is intended to provide answers to the most common problems/questions surrounding reports.

If the answer isn't here, be sure to look at available Report Preferences.

Problem

Solution

Columns too Narrow

System Reports:

Column widths on system reports are set at the most common width. It isn't possible to support all possible data on a generic report. If you find a column is grossly off on all records, contact support and we'll see what we can do.

User Defined Reports:

Column widths default to a generic width, but you can set the width of any column using the Preview tab when maintaining the report. See Working with User Defined Reports for more information.

Duplicate Records

Typically, the criteria used, combined with the type of report causes certain records to be matched twice. For example, if a normal membership report such as the Contact List is run using dues criteria like "Dues Amount Posted = 10.00", it may show a member once for every 10.00 posting on the member's record.

The only solution is to add more criteria to restrict the search more tightly. For example, you may only want to see 10.00 postings in February, not for all time.

Label Not Available

If you need to use an label format that we don't have listed, contact support and we can add it to the system. We will need to be able to look up the label specifications somewhere.

Margins Incorrect

Use the Margins option to modify the margins. See Changing Margins for details.

Missing Records

Usually caused by one of the following:

The criteria used for the search is excluding them. i.e., a criteria like "City = Dallas" will exclude any member in any other city.

Also, criteria like, "City = Dallas AND City = Austin" will eliminate all members, because it is requiring a member be assigned to both cities at once! In this case, the correct criteria would be, "City = Dallas OR City = Austin" to see members from either city.

The "Include on Reports" or "Include in Mailings" switch is turned off on the member record(s) in question. Clearing these check boxes will automatically exclude a member from a report or mailing label, respectively, unless you explicitly use the Include on Reports or Include in Mailings field in your criteria.

i.e., if you have "Include in Mailings = Any" as a criteria on a label report, then it doesn't matter what the switch is set to on the member record.

Multi-Column Report Shows as One Column

Multi-Column layouts only display as multiple columns in Print Preview mode, but in normal mode it will just show the data as one long column.

Text Cut Off

The "preview" display sometimes shows the top or bottom edge of text slightly cut off, especially on reports where the number of lines per record varies (i.e., on a roster or mailing label). This normally has no effect on the actual printed output, and turning off Preview mode normally shows the text is all there.

Too Many Records

Usually caused by incorrect criteria, or not using any criteria.

The search criteria is what limits the records displayed on the report. By default, every report displays every possible record in the system. So a membership report will show all members that apply to the report. But criteria like, "Dues Balance > 100.00" will limit the report to members dues where the sum of all postings is greater than 100.00.

Database Error

This rarely happens, but when it does it normally means you have found a combination of criteria that the system didn't expect or didn't handle correctly, so it didn't write the internal query correctly. Contact support ad explain the search you used, and we will be able to correct the problem.