APTARE StorageConsole offers over 200 different out-of-the-box report templates plus periodic releases of cloud report templates. Reports are created using pre-built templates that a user can customize to provide relevant, current data. A user can also create their own templates using either the Dynamic Template Designer or the SQL Template Designer. The Dynamic Template Designer is a tool that does not require Structured Query Language (SQL) knowledge to create custom report templates. Users can easily assemble a simple report template by dragging and dropping fields into the template. The SQL Template Designer is considered to be an advanced feature, requiring experience in SQL (Structured Query Language) query development. Using the SQL Template Designer and your knowledge of SQL, you can build advanced reporting solutions to support efficient storage resource management.

Reports, dashboards and templates function similarly, but the functions available to each object type varies. For example, if a report or dashboard is saved, you can share it, delete it and create shortcuts to it within your StorageConsole folder structure. Some of these options are not available for an unsaved ad hoc report. It is important to note, when you save a report, you are saving the definition and parameters, not the report output.

Reports always have a template associated with them. You can quickly see this connection on the Explorer tab. This allows you to map back to the original template if you’d like to make changes. To help you organize templates and reports, you can create shortcuts to multiple templates and reports within your My Reports folder.

APTARE periodically publishes new report templates and makes them available through the Cloud section in the Explorer. This provides instant access to new and improved reports without waiting for a formal StorageConsole release. You can run these reports directly from the Cloud, preview the data and if you like it, save the report locally. (The template is automatically saved locally when you save the report.)

Once saved, Cloud templates work exactly like out-of-the-box templates, except they are linked to the Cloud, so when APTARE introduces improvements, the Cloud section is automatically refreshed and your local Cloud-linked templates can also be updated if you choose to do so. However, if you saved a Cloud template with a different name or made a copy, that saved template is detached from the Cloud template and will not automatically inherit the updates.

Cloud templates are available if you have the privilege enabled. See About User Privileges. Proxy connections are supported.