Configure Activities

The Configure Activities component of the Services - Group module's Group Schedule Setup feature is used to maintain group activities lists for agency programs, as well as to view read-only activity list reports.

Required Permissions 

Use of the Configure Activities feature requires the following permissions:

Program Chart Access
Display Any Chart Records Buttons
Display Chart Records Services - Group Button
Group Activities List

  NOTE: Permissions are assigned using the Permissions Maintenance feature.  If you do not have access to that feature and need the permission listed here, please contact your supervisor or your local Help Desk for assistance.

Click-by-Click Instructions 

Configuring Activities Lists

To configure a program's activities list, complete the following steps from any page in AWARDS:

1. Click Charts from the left-hand Global Navigation bar.
   
   
2. Select the correct Program for which the activities list is to be configured.
3. Click Services - Group.  The Group Services fly-out menu is displayed.
3. Click Group Schedule Setup.  The Group Schedule Setup fly-out menu is displayed.
4. Click Configure Activities.  The Activities Index page is displayed.

  TIP: When working on the index page, records are easily accessible using the following tools and navigation features:

"Show Records" display options - By default the index includes only activities currently designated as "Active."  To expand the display to include all activities instead, click All under "Show Records" in the left-hand menu.  To update the display to include only inactive activities, click Inactive.

Sorting options - By default records in the index are sorted alphabetically by activity name.  Click a column header in the data table to sort the index by a different type of data.  Click the heading again to reverse the sort order.

Navigation options - 10 records are displayed on the page by default.  To access records on subsequent pages of the index (when applicable), click the arrows in the bottom-right corner of the table.  To display 25 or 50 records at a time, click the Show drop-down to the left of the record count, also in the bottom-right corner, and make a selection.

Once you select records on the index, a count of how many total records are selected is displayed in the action bar. Selections are maintained while moving from one page of the index to the next; meaning, you can select records on the first page (showing records 1-10 by default) and move to the next page (displaying records 11-20) without losing the selections made on the first page. Links for Show all selected records and Uncheck All are available beneath the index table for easy navigation.

Search and filtering options - A Search field is available on the action bar along with a corresponding Filter by drop-down list.  To search the contents of the index (including those records not currently displayed on the page), enter a value in the Search field.  The index is automatically updated as you type.  To further narrow your search, use the Filter by selection to indicate whether the search should look at data in "All Columns" (the default) or a specific column.

ReporBuilder access - The Activities ReportBuilder link on the left-hand menu bar provides a shortcut to access the ReportBuilder for this feature.  For instructions see below.

5. At this time, complete one or more of the following tasks as needed:

   Add a new activity record - To do so, click the add new icon from the action bar above the activities table.  A new data entry page is displayed.  Continue with step 6.

   Update an existing activity record - To do so, click the record to be updated, or click the checkbox to the left of that record and then click the edit icon from the action bar above the activities table.  The data entry page is displayed.  Continue with step 6.

   View or print an existing activity record - To do so, click the checkbox to the left the record to be viewed/printed, and then click the view icon from the action bar above the activities table.  A read-only version of the record is displayed and can be printed as needed using your browser's print option.

   Delete an existing activity record - To do so, click the checkbox(es) to the left of the record(s) to be deleted, and then click the delete icon from the action bar above the activities table.  A confirmation message is displayed.  Click OK to proceed with the deletion.  The selected record(s) are deleted and the updated index is displayed.  The remaining steps do not apply.

  NOTE: The delete option is only available when group schedules have not been set up for the activity in question.

  TIP: To close out an activity record rather than delete it, update the record and set the Status to "Inactive."  Doing so indicates that the activity is no longer in effect, while preserving the history.

   Return to the Activities index - To do so, click the To Index icon from the action bar while working in an activity record to return to the index page.  You can also return to the index page at any time by clicking Activities from the breadcrumbs trail below the AWARDS navigation bar.

6. On the Activities data entry page, configure the activity by entering or updating values in the following fields/options:

  Activity - In this field, enter the name of the activity.

  Status - To activate or inactivate the activity, click this drop-down arrow and select "Active" or "Inactive," respectively.  When an activity is inactivated, it is no longer available for selection in activities lists, but any data previously entered for it remains in the system.

  Type - Click this drop-down arrow and select the type of activity being worked with.

  NOTE: Those types available for selection when adding a new activity are those set up for this program using the Configure Types component of the Group Schedule Setup feature.

  Group Capacity - Enter the limit on the number of group members to be included in the group, as an integer between 0 and 999.  The value entered here will not restrict more members from being documented in the group within AWARDS.

  Merge with Activity - To merge the information from the activity with that of another activity, click the Merge with Activity drop-down arrow and select the activity to be merged with.  Keep in mind that once merged, the merged activity is no longer available for selection in activities lists and all data entered for that activity will be accessible under the "Merge With Activity" you selected.

7. Click Save.  The activity record is saved and the updated Activities Index page is displayed.

The group activity configuration process is now complete.

Using the Group Activities List ReportBuilder

The Group Activities List ReportBuilder is used to generate customized reports of information contained in the group activity list.  To generate and save a Group Activities List ReportBuilder report that can be re-run in the future, to generate a single-use report, or to use and/or update an existing report format to generate a report, complete the following steps from the AWARDS Home screen:

  TIP: The following instructions detail accessing the Group Activities List ReportBuilder from directly within the Configure Activities feature.  This report is also available in the AWARDS Reports module, where it can be bookmarked for easy access.  For more information on using the Reports module, click here.

1. Click Charts from the left-hand menu, and then click Services - Group.  The Group Services fly-out menu is displayed.
2. Click Group Schedule Setup.  The Group Schedule Setup fly-out menu is displayed.
3. Click Configure Activities.  The Activities Index page is displayed.
4. Click Group Activities List ReportBuilder from the left-hand menu.  The Group Activities List ReportBuilder Settings page is displayed.
5. Click the Program drop-down arrow and select the individual program for which the report is to be run, or select a group of programs using one of the available "All" or "Custom Grouping" selections.
6. Leave the Provide ExportBuilder Options checkbox unchecked.  It is NOT relevant to report generation.

  NOTE: This option is used to provide access to an ExportBuilder corresponding to the ReportBuilder with which you are working.  AWARDS ExportBuilders - which are designed for use by individuals who are familiar with export files and formats, their design, and setup - harness the power of ReportBuilder functionality and take it a step further to meet a variety of outside reporting needs.  With ExportBuilders, users can create customized data reports as they would with the ReportBuilder itself, and from those reports generate export files of a number of different types - CSV, TXT, XLS, or XML.  Exported files can be saved to your computer, then uploaded into other data collection systems and/or worked with in other applications as needed.  Additionally, as can be done with ReportBuilders, ExportBuilder formats can be saved and shared for future use.

The instructions provided here detail use of the Group Activities List ReportBuilder only, not the corresponding ExportBuilder.  For more information on using ExportBuilders, click here.

7. If you would like the report (both its content and an Excel file version) to be sent to your AWARDS Messages module upon its completion, click the Send in AWARDS Message checkbox.  When this option is selected, you need not wait for the report to generate, and can navigate away from the ReportBuilder after finishing the configuration process - this can be a time-saver, especially when working with reports containing large amounts of data that might otherwise take a while to display in AWARDS.

  NOTE: When using this option the report will remain in your messages for one month, after which time it will be deleted.  (The exact date of deletion will be displayed in red at the top of the report message for your reference.)  If you know you will need the report content after that time, be sure to download the Excel file (Excel File.zip) or HTML content (Report Content.html) attached to the report message.  If you don't download one of these attachments before the message is deleted, you will need to manually re-generate the report if you need access to it in the future.

8. Use the Select a saved report format drop-down options at the bottom of the page to specify whether you will be generating the report from scratch or using a previously saved format.  Available choices are to:

  Use a previously saved report format - To generate the report using a previously created and saved format, select that format from this drop-down.  When using this method, you can immediately generate the report without changing any settings.  Alternately, you can first review and modify the settings of the format by checking off the available Provide option to modify settings of saved report format checkbox.

  Start from scratch, without using a previously saved report format - To create your own report format for single-time use or for saving and later re-use, leave the saved report format drop-down blank.

  NOTE: If you (or another user) have previously saved a default report format for this ReportBuilder and program, that format is pre-selected here.  Make changes to the selection as needed, or leave it at its default value.

9. Click CONTINUE. 

If you are using an existing report format and have NOT chosen to view/modify the settings of that format, you are now taken directly to the report page.  Continue with step 17.

  NOTE: If you chose to send the report to yourself via the Messages module (in step 7), a notice is first displayed on the page to let you know that report generation is in process and that the report will be sent to your Messages module upon completion.  You can then navigate away from the page, or wait for the report to complete and then proceed with step 17.   If you did NOT set that option, you can do so now by clicking Send to AWARDS Messages.   

In all other instances, the Group Activities List ReportBuilder Options page is displayed.  Continue with step 10.

10. This page contains a list of activity variables.  Click the checkbox next to each characteristic for which data is to be included in the report, and/or use the available Check All option.
11. Click CONTINUE.  The Options - Continued page is displayed.
12. Configure the options in the "Filter Options" portion of the page as necessary to adjust the scope of the report contents.  Set the "Show Individual Detail" and/or "Summary Tables" options to adjust the way in which the contents are displayed.

  TIP: Individual detail report options and/or summary table selections must be set before the report can be generated. 

13. To save the report settings so that this report can easily be re-run in the future, click SAVE REPORT FORMAT.  The Save Report Format dialog box is displayed.

  TIP: If it is not necessary to save the report format and you wish only to view the report contents, please skip to step 16. 

14. Configure the fields and options on this dialog box to indicate the specifics of how the format should be saved.

  TIP: For more information on using the save report format options, please click here. 

15. Click Save Report Format.  The report format is saved and the Report Options - Continued page is re-displayed.
16. Click DISPLAY REPORT.  The report is generated and displayed on the ReportBuilder page.

  NOTE: If you chose to send the report to yourself via the Messages module (in step 7), a notice is displayed on the page to let you know that report generation is in process and that the report will be sent to your Messages module upon completion.  You can then navigate away from the page, or wait for the report to complete, and then proceed with step 19. If you did NOT set that option, you can do so now by clicking Send to AWARDS Messages.   

17. At this time individual detail and/or summary table content can be hidden or sorted as needed.  The report can also be printed or exported to Microsoft Excel.  For more information on working with ReportBuilder report contents, please click here. 

  NOTE: When working with report data, please keep in mind that when a report is long enough to require you to scroll down the page to view all of its content, the header row of the data table (individual detail and/or summary) "freezes" at the top of the page.  Similarly, when printing a report that covers more than one page, the header row of any tables split between pages is shown at the top of each page. 

The process of generating a Group Activities List ReportBuilder report is now complete.