Dashboard Starter Kit

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Creating reports ​

Reports are compiled tabular datasets presented as CSV or Excel file formats. They can be generated on demand or automatically on a set schedule, and can also be emailed automatically to designated dashboard users.

Like indicators, reports can be organized into different pages. You can assign a report to appear on one or more pages via the edit form.

Creating Reports ​

There are two ways to create reports: a CLI command and a web form.

The first way is by running the php artisan chimera:make-report command and following the prompts. This works best on Linux/macOS/WSL environments.

The second way is by going to the Manage dashboard menu, selecting Reports, then pressing the CREATE NEW button and filling out the form as directed.

The report name must be in CamelCase (e.g., KenyaCensus/PartialCasesByEa). It becomes both the PHP class name and the file name, and will create subdirectories if you use forward slashes.

The creation form includes:

  • Data source — The data source this report will query (required).
  • Report name — The CamelCase class name (required).
  • Title — A reader-friendly title shown in the UI (required, multilingual).
  • Description — A short description (optional at creation, required when editing).

Implementing Reports ​

You need to implement the getData() method so that it returns a Collection. The keys of the collection items will become the column headers of the report spreadsheet, and the values will become the rows.

Publishing and Scheduling ​

After implementing the report, navigate to the report management page and click Edit. The edit form includes:

  • Name — Displayed but disabled (cannot be changed after creation).
  • Title and Description — Multilingual fields.
  • Page — Assign the report to one or more pages so it appears in the page's report list.
  • Rank — Controls the display order when multiple reports are listed.
  • Published — Toggle switch. When set to Yes, the report becomes visible on its assigned pages.
  • Enabled — Toggle switch. When set to Yes, the report can be generated on a schedule.
  • Run at — The hour when the report should first run (server time).
  • Run every — How frequently the report regenerates: every 3, 6, 12, or 24 hours.

From the report management index page, you can also click Run now to generate the report immediately without waiting for the scheduled time.