Understanding Report Activity Dates

Report Activity Date filters determine the start and end dates for all activity included in the report results. These filter types are located under the Activity Dates tab in the report template window. There are two versions of the Report Activity Date filters: the Activity Date Range filter, and the Activity Date As Of filter.

Activity Date Range

The Activity Date Range filter allows you to select what time span the results include. For example, you can report on all activity that occurred during the previous month, or you can report on all activity that occurred between two specific dates.

The Previous option allows you to select an interval of time that is relative to today, or the date the template is accessed. The dates are dynamic and update each time the template is accessed either manually or from a schedule. This option is useful when you want to create recurring schedules that generate results with the most current data. This option is explained in detail below.

The From/To option allows you to select specific start and end dates. If a value is entered for both the start and end date, the dates are static and do not update if the template is accessed in the future. Typically this option is useful when you want a one-time snapshot of data. This option is explained in detail below.

Note: When the Previous option is selected, the dates that correspond to the 'Previous [n] [Units]' will display in the From/To option and will refresh accordingly. This provides a valuable aid to help you understand the nature of the dates you are selecting.

Previous Option

The intervals for the Previous option include Days, Weeks, Months and Years and each is bound by specific start and end dates, as well as times. You can also select the number of intervals to include, for instance '3 Months' or '2 Weeks'. Each interval has a maximum limit as defined below:

• Years – 99
• Months – 999
• Weeks – 999
• Days – 9999

The Previous option also provides a To Date setting that allows you to include all activity up to the current date and time, regardless of the interval chosen.

• If To Date is unchecked, the end date is the last day of the previous interval. For instance, if today is December 31, the ‘Previous [n] Months’ ends on November 30 and the ‘Previous [n] Years’ ends on December 31 of the prior year.
• If To Date is checked, the end date is always the date the report is run, up to and including the most recent database refresh.

The start and end dates for each interval are defined below.

• Day intervals
  • Starts at 00:00:00 or 12 midnight, ends at 11:59:59.
  • Example: If today is any time on October 31, then the 'Previous 3 Days' starts on October 28 at 00:00:00 and ends on October 30 at 11:59:59.

  Note: All times are UTC.

  Note: For all intervals listed below, the start and end times are the same as those noted for Day intervals.

• Week intervals
  • Starts on Sunday, ends on Saturday.
  • Examples with To Date Unchecked
    • If today is Sunday October 31, then the ‘Previous 2 Weeks’ starts on Sunday October 17 and ends on Saturday October 30.
    • If today is Wednesday November 3, then the 'Previous 2 Weeks' starts on Sunday October 17 and ends on Saturday October 30.
  • Example with To Date Checked
    • If today is Wednesday November 3 then results for the 'Previous 2 Weeks' starts on Sunday October 17 and ends on Wednesday November 3.
• Month intervals
  • Starts on the first day of the month, ends on the last day of the month.
  • Examples with To Date Unchecked
    • If today is October 31, then the ‘Previous 3 Months’ starts on July 01 and ends on September 30.
    • If today is November 3, then the ‘Previous 3 Months’ starts on August 01 and ends on October 31.
  • Example with To Date Checked
    • If today is November 3 then the ‘Previous 3 Months’ starts on August 01 and ends on November 3.
• Year intervals
  • Starts on the first day of the year, ends on the last day of the year.
  • Examples with To Date Unchecked
    • If today is October 31, 2010, then the ‘Previous 2 Years’ starts on January 1, 2008 and ends on December 31, 2009.
    • If today is any day in 2010, then the ‘Previous 3 Years’ starts on January 1, 2007 and ends on December 31, 2009.
  • Example with To Date Checked
  • If today is November 3, 2010 then the 'Previous 2 years' starts on January 1, 2008 and ends on November 3, 2010.

Note: For all settings that have an end date of today, the results are dependent on the last successful automatic database refresh.

From/To Option

The From/To option allows you to set specific dates.

When using the From/To option you must adhere to the following guidelines:

• The To date can be left blank. The From date cannot be left blank.
• If the To date is blank, the end date is always the date the report is run, up to and including the most recent database refresh.
• The From date is always the beginning of the day and starts at 00:00:00 or 12 midnight UTC. The To date is always the end of the day and ends at 11:59:59 UTC.
• All dates must be entered in the format YYYY-MM-DD. For instance, 2010-01-01.
• The To date must be later in time than the From date.

  Note: If you are modifying chart activity dates, there is a limit to the length of time that can be included in the Previous or From/To options. For more information, see Modify Chart Activity Dates.

Example

To generate a monthly, year-to-date report, schedule a monthly report that runs on the first of each month. Set the From Date to Jan 1 and leave To Date blank.

Activity Date As Of

The Activity Date As Of filter allows you to select the end date for all report activity.

Selecting As of Today, sets the end date to the current date the template is accessed either manually or from a schedule. This option uses a dynamic date that automatically updates each time the report runs. This is useful if you want to capture a one-time snapshot of the current report activity, or if you want to schedule the report to run on a recurring basis.

Selecting As of allows you to choose a specific date either in the past or the future. This option uses a static date that will not change, even for scheduled reports that run in the future. This is useful if you want to capture a one-time snapshot of report activity as of a past date, or if you want to create a one-time schedule to run the report in the future.