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Engine Works

Under the hood of Alteryx: tips, tricks and how-tos.

A Guide to Magic Reports in Alteryx Auto Insights

pmartinez00
Alteryx
Alteryx
a month ago

 

Introduction to Magic Reports

 

Magic Reports is a new feature within Alteryx Auto Insights, designed to offer flexible, AI-powered reporting for both analysts and business users. Whether you're an experienced Alteryx Designer user or someone new to reporting, Magic Reports simplifies the process of building, customizing, and sharing reports.

 

This guide will walk you through the essential steps to help you create polished, insightful reports for your audience. We’ll cover how to get started by connecting your data, building reports, adding advanced analytics, and sharing customized reports.

 

Getting Started with Magic Reports

 

Sending Data from Designer Desktop to Auto Insights

 

  • To begin using Magic Reports, you first need to send your data from Alteryx Designer to Auto Insights. This process is straightforward:
    1. In Alteryx Designer, clean and structure your dataset.
    2. Use the “Auto Insights Uploader” tool to send your dataset to Auto Insights.
    3. Ensure your data is in a format that Auto Insights can recognize, such as wide transactional datasets or pre-aggregated summaries.
    4. Once the data is exported, it becomes available in Auto Insights for report creation.

 

Creating a Magic Report

 

  • After uploading your data to Auto Insights, you can connect it directly in Magic Reports:
    1. Go to the Reports tab within Auto Insights (available in Public Preview).
    2. Create a report and you’ll be able to start adding in elements and building up your report.

 

Authoring a Report in Magic Reports

 

Using the Advanced Editor

 

  1. Magic Reports includes a Rich Text Editor that provides flexibility in how you create and structure your reports. Here’s how you can leverage its features:

    1. Text Editor: You can choose from different text sizes, embellishments, and styles to ensure that your reports have a professional look and feel.

    2. Table Creation: The advanced editor allows you to create tables directly within your report, offering customization options for presenting your data cleanly. You can modify table rows and columns and apply inline analytics as needed.

 

Inserting Content from Other Sources

 

  1. Replicating tables via Data Tables from Designer Cloud within Magic Reports will be possible by saving the table as an Analytics Cloud dataset and importing it as a dataset into Auto Insights.
  2. Datasets can be used in Magic Reports in two ways: to power Analytics Blocks or to display in their raw form on a Table.

 

Adding Analytics

 

  1. Figures are key feature of Magic Reports that allows users to insert Dynamic Figures directly into the report. These dynamic analytics automatically update to reflect the most current data, ensuring your reports always have the latest insights. You can choose to add this in your formatted text or table.
  2. Insight cards help you bring the Auto Insights various analyses into your customizable Magic Report and present it with a chart of your choice
  3. Charts will help your audience focus on the important visual callouts and insights via a chart of your choice.
  4. KPI Tiles helps you display Dynamic Values in the Report, focusing on the change over time and providing you with more context around the dynamic value displayed.

 

Using AI Assist

 

  1. Magic Reports’ AI Assist feature is a game-changer, helping users save time by summarizing and rephrasing content, or generating executive summaries for reports. Here’s how you can use it:
    • Once your report structure is complete, AI Executive Summary analyzes the data and generates insightful summaries.
    • Use AI Summarize to summarize your report findings or AI Rephrase to repurpose your content for a different audience.
    • Use the AI Translate to present to different audiences

 

Customizing a Report in Magic Reports

 

Customization Hacks

 

  1. Magic Reports offers various ways to tailor your reports to your specific needs. Some useful customization tips include:
    1. Figures within inline tables: type the following: /figure or just /ana
    2. Insight and Chart Blocks: Magic Reports allows you to embed data stories related to your configured query
    3. KPI Tiles: track KPIs and performance trends. These blocks give you a clear visual representation of your data, and they automatically update as new data comes in.
    4. Data Tables Customization: You can customize your row-level data displays and adjust sorting/filtering criteria to highlight key information.
    5. Images: Upload images that could serve you as header/footer branding or anything in between.
    6. AI Executive Summary: Once you are done with your report, you can use the Executive Summary capability to highlight the top findings from your text and analytics.

 

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Polishing the Report

 

  1. Once your report is structured and the analytics are in place, it's time to give it a polished look:
    1. Consistency: Ensure that callouts or pull quotes are consistent across the report for a professional appearance.
    2. Visual Enhancements: Make use of Magic Reports’ rich text and table customization features to highlight key insights and ensure clarity.

 

Sharing and Distributing Reports

 

E-mail Distribution

 

  1. Once your report is finalized, Magic Reports offers convenient sharing options:
    1. E-mail PDF Reports: You can send reports via email as a PDF attachment. This is useful when distributing the reports to a broader audience.
    2. Sharing Reports: While automated subscriptions are not available until General Availability, email distribution can still be sent manually. You can select specific stakeholders to receive a link to the report.

 

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Send Report.png

 

Additional Context and Use Cases

 

Magic Reports is designed to address a wide range of operational reporting needs, offering flexibility for users who require more than just traditional dashboards. With its advanced editor, AI-powered insights, and dynamic analytics, it’s suitable for users migrating from legacy reporting solutions or those looking for a streamlined way to create detailed reports directly in the cloud.

 

Whether you are an analyst building detailed operational reports or a business leader looking for executive summaries, Magic Reports is versatile enough to meet these needs while improving data accessibility and report-building efficiency.

 

Conclusion

 

Magic Reports brings a powerful combination of flexibility, automation, and AI to the world of reporting. This guide outlines the steps to get started, build, customize, and distribute reports that are polished and insightful. By leveraging these features, you can create professional reports that not only meet but exceed your reporting needs.

 

With a Public Preview coming soon, this is the perfect time to explore how Magic Reports can revolutionize your reporting process and improve efficiency across your organization. Get access to Magic Reports here.