---
title: Items
slug: reports/items
description: Manage report items and components in Unaric Reports to build complex, multi-part business intelligence outputs.
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-01-30T15:49:10.904Z
---

Solution items are the building blocks you include in a Solution. Items include:

- **Reports**
- **Agents**
- **Document Templates**
- **HTML Templates**
- **Dashboards**

A single solution can contain multiple items working together. For instance, a complex *multi-item merge* might include a *burst* report (to determine recipients), several *source* reports (to provide the data), and a document template (to package the final output). When using templates, you can assign aliases to report items so the system knows exactly where to place specific data within the template.

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## Reports

These are the most common items and can include standard Salesforce reports, custom reports created in Unaric Reports or reports from external data sources like Google Analytics or ServiceNow. There are different report types you can add as items:

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### *Regular&#x20;*&#x72;eports

Regular reports are included in the Solution as a separate file. As such, tthey are not used as the Burst report or a Source report for a Document Template. **If you are not sure which one to use, then most likely you should just use a&#x20;*****Regular*****&#x20;report.**

- **Files**: For *regular* reports, select your formatting and file options you would like to apply to your Solution item. You can choose to specify the **format** or select a **report template**:
  - **Format:&#x20;**&#x53;elect a format from the drop-down that you would like to apply to the report. You can add or update formats in the **Configure > Formats&#x20;**&#x70;age.&#x20;
    - You can toggle select *Salesforce Lightning Style&#x20;*&#x6F;r *Salesforce Classic Style*.
    - You can include the report as an attachment to the email or as an upload to a file storage service such as Google Drive in any of the following file types: HTML, XLSX (Excel), CSV, PDF, and Salesforce-formatted PDF. If file type options are missing, navigate to **Configure > Settings**, disable **Enable PDF Download Only&#x20;**&#x61;nd re-login to Unaric Reports.&#x20;
  - **Report options**:
    - Header: Toggles the Metric Header for lightning reports.
    - Report Chart: Toggles the chart on the report.
    - Report Table: Toggles the table on the report.
    - Row Counts: Toggles the row counts on the tables.
    - Detail Rows: Toggles the columns and rows with detailed data.
    - Subtotals: Toggles the subtotals columns and rows on the table.
    - Grand Total: Toggles the grand total row on the table.
  - **Template**: Select a template from the drop-down that you would like to apply to the report. The template will only affect the report embedded in the email, PDF, and Excel (Printable View) file types. To add or update Templates, go to the Templates tab. To add or update report templates, see [Report Templates](docId\:R6-zCeZbhY1RKvTlRToXV).
- **Naming options**:
  - **File Name:** Default file name will be the URL encoded name of the Report plus the file extension. For example, the name of a PDF file for a report named 'Test Report' will be 'Test+Report.pdf'. To override, enter your own file name (don't include the file extension in your name).
  - **Append Date to Filename:&#x20;**&#x59;ou may choose to append the date to the file name. This gives the file a unique identifier, which may be useful in case you are tracking the history of data.
  - **Date Format:&#x20;**&#x44;efault date format when you select "Append Date to Filename" is MM-dd-yyyy\_hh-mm-ss, e.g., 05-17-2024\_11-12-35. If you'd like to use this default, leave this field empty. If you would like to provide your own date format, enter that format here. This field follows the [Java SimpleDateFormat rules](https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/11/docs/api/java.base/java/text/SimpleDateFormat.html). For example, if you just wanted to include a date with underscores instead of dashes, you would enter: MM\_dd\_yyyy
  - **File Password:&#x20;**&#x55;sing this field will require your recipients to enter a password for the file for each attachment that is sent (PDF, Excel & Word Only or Zipped CSV FTP Files).
  - **File Password Field:&#x20;**&#x55;sing this field will require your recipients to enter a password that comes from the Burst report for the file for each attachment that is sent (PDF, Excel & Word Only or Zipped CSV FTP Files).
- **Data Update** (unde&#x72;**&#x20;Advanced Options**): You can use the fields below to update the records included in this report. This feature requires the first column of the report to be either an ID field or a field that contains the ID in the link such as the **First Name**, **Last Name**, and **Full Name** on the Contact.
  - **Object to Update:** API name of the oObject, such as Contact, that you would like to update after the Solution runs.
  - **Field to Update:&#x20;**&#x41;PI name of the field from the Object to Update that you would like to update after the Solution runs.
  - **Update Value:** Value that you would like to use for the update. Use true if you would like to mark a checkbox as checked and false to mark it as unchecked. Use TODAY() to use the current date and NOW() to use the current date / time. If using a database other than Salesforce, then for string fields, set the values with double quotes, for example "test".
  - **Don't Update if Report is Empty:** Check if you don't want to update the field if the report is empty, then check this box.
- **Agent:&#x20;**&#x59;ou can assign an Agent to this Solution Item to have it analyse the data in the report.
  - **Format:&#x20;**&#x53;pecify which Format to use when sending the data to AI. Most of the settings on a Format are not applicable because AI doesn't look at the styles, colours, etc. However, you can specify whether to use formatted or unformatted values, which does affect the data that is sent to the Agent. Sending formatted values will help AI to better analyse the data as it will be able to pick up on things like currency symbols and note that the value is currency amount instead of just a raw number.
- **Send Criteria:&#x20;**&#x41;dd criteria that define when this item will send. For example, you could say you only want to send a report when the record count is over 100 or the sum of an amount is over $100,000. If you add more than one criterion, you can also specify how you would like the criteria to be evaluated using the filter logic. For example, if you wanted the report to send if either your first criteria or second criteria is met, you would put in 1 OR 2. If you don't input a filter logic value, then it will use AND to combine the filters.
- **Additional fields (these will only display if you are using a burst):**
  - **Filter Field**: Field on which to filter this report.
  - **Filter Operator**: Operator used when applying the filter to this report.
  - **Burst Filter Value Field**: Field from the Burst report that contains the value used to filter this report.
  - **No Report Filter**: If selected, the report will not be filtered and will run only once. This enables you bring in a report that does not need to be filtered but still needs to be included. For example, in a Burst Solution that sends your customers a report of their past orders, you may also want to include a report that lists out all your products. That list of products is dynamic from Salesforce (that is why you would use a report) but it is the same for each customer, so there is no need to filter it per customer like you would with the past order report.
:::

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### *Burst* reports

Burst reports are used to drive a burst Solution and to filter the Source and Regular reports. To learn more about burst reports, see [Simple Burst](docId\:zaCjW9a2zlAaiCICAj1Vx).

Burst reports can only be Salesforce tabular reports or Unaric Reports custom reports without a grouping.

- **Record Identifier Field**: The field that uniquely identifies a record in a Burst report, which is usually an ID field. This is used for activity tracking and is also important if you are using the Solution APIs. For example, if you set up a button in Salesforce to run a filtered report on a Contact, then you would set this field to the Contact ID. That way when you click the button from Salesforce (which passes in the Contact ID in the URL), Unaric Reports knows how to take the Contact ID and filter the Burst report down to just that Contact. Also there is an advanced scenario where you can include the FILTER\_VALUE directly in your Regular or Source custom report (either in the SOQL or on a filter) and then the Record Identifier Field tells Unaric Reports to use this field as the FILTER\_VALUE on those reports.
- **Name Value Field:&#x20;**&#x54;he field to be used as the "name" for the activity record. If this value is not set, then the activity will be tracked using the Record Identifier Field. Setting this field makes it easier to review activity and determine the status of specific records. For example, if you have a Burst set up on Contacts, then most likely the Record Identifier Field would be set to the Contact ID. When reviewing activity for a Burst though the ID is hard to use when looking for specific Contacts. In this case, you may want to use Email as the Name Value Field.
- **Burst Filter Value Field:** In some Burst scenarios, you may need to filter down the Burst report to a smaller set of records. For example, if you are sending an email from a Salesforce Campaign and your Burst report contains Campaign Members, then you would want to filter the Burst report to just members of a specific Campaign. In that case, you would set the Burst Report Filter Value Field to Campaign ID.

:::hint{type="info"}
File format configuration is not available for *burst* and *Source&#x20;*&#x72;eports, because you aren't sending these items but are using them to filter a report or personalize a document, respectively.
:::
::::

:::ExpandableHeading
### *Source* & *data record* reports

*Source* reports are reports that are merged into a document template. To learn more about document templates, see [Templates](docId\:eZsN8KN8JYKpFxKYeV0iZ). *Data* *record* reports are used to return individual records. This allows you to bring in data from a specific set of records in Salesforce and then reference it within your emails and / or documents. For example, say you wanted to bring in data about the customer's subscription. You could set up a report that returns the fields from their subscription record that you need and then use the Burst to filter down to just their subscription.

- **Alias:** Alias used within the Document Template to merge in this report. To learn more about Document Templates and aliasing, click here.
- **Main Source Report**: This is an advanced feature for document templates, if selected you can then filter all other source reports by this report. This option is only shown on the first source report of a Solution. Using this feature you could create a document that repeats blocks of cases with a sub-table of case comments hat specific case within each block. To learn more about this feature, see [Document Templates](docId\:psulH94eLc8IiOTmikP2v).
- **Data Update** (unde&#x72;**&#x20;Advanced Options**): You can use the fields below to update the records included in this report. This feature requires the first column of the report to be either an ID field or a field that contains the ID in the link such as the **First Name**, **Last Name**, and **Full Name** on the Contact.
  - **Object to Update:** API name of the object, such as Contact, that you would like to update after the Solution runs.
  - **Field to Update:&#x20;**&#x41;PI name of the field from the Object to Update that you would like to update after the Solution runs.
  - **Update Value:** Value that you would like to use for the update. Use true if you would like to mark a checkbox as checked and false to mark it as unchecked. Use TODAY() to use the current date and NOW() to use the current date / time. If using a database other than Salesforce, then for string fields, set the values with double quotes, for example "test".
- **Agent:&#x20;**&#x59;ou can assign an Agent to this Solution Item to have it analyse the data in the report.
  - **Format:&#x20;**&#x53;pecify which Format to use when sending the data to AI. Most of the settings on a Format are not applicable because AI doesn't look at the styles, colours, etc. However, you can specify whether to use formatted or unformatted values, which does affect the data that is sent to the Agent. Sending formatted values, will help AI to better analyse the data as it will be able to pick up on things like currency symbols and note that the value is currency amount instead of just a raw number.
:::

:::ExpandableHeading
### *File record&#x20;*&#x72;eports

Choose this report type to include files from Salesforce in the Solution. You need to set up a *burst* report first and add the *File Record* report pointing to the [ContentDocumentLink](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.object_reference.meta/object_reference/sforce_api_objects_contentdocumentlink.htm) so it gets filtered down by the ID from the *burst* report.

For example, you can us&#x65;*&#x20;file record* reports to bring in a product document associated with a support case.
:::
:::::

:::ExpandableHeading
## Dashboard

- **Files**: Select your formatting and file options you would like to apply to your Solution item.
  - **Format:&#x20;**&#x53;elect a format from the drop-down that you would like to apply to the report. You can add or update formats in the **Configure > Formats&#x20;**&#x70;age.&#x20;
    - You can toggle select *Salesforce Lightning Style&#x20;*&#x6F;r *Salesforce Classic Style*.
    - You can include the report as an attachment to the email or as an upload to a file storage service such as Google Drive in any of the following file types: HTML, PDF, and Salesforce-formatted PDF.
- **Template:&#x20;**&#x53;elect a template from the drop-down that you would like to apply to the dashboard. The template will only affect the dashboard embedded in the email, PDF, and Excel (Printable View) file types. To add or update report templates, see [Report Templates](docId\:R6-zCeZbhY1RKvTlRToXV).
- **Naming options**:
  - **File Name:** Default file name will be the URL encoded name of the Report plus the file extension. For example, the name of a PDF file for a report named 'Test Report' will be 'Test+Report.pdf'. To override, enter your own file name (don't include the file extension in your name).
  - **Append Date to Filename:&#x20;**&#x59;ou may choose to append the date to the file name. This gives the file a unique identifier, which may be useful in case you are tracking the history of data.
  - **Date Format:&#x20;**&#x44;efault date format when you select "Append Date to Filename" is MM-dd-yyyy\_hh-mm-ss, e.g., 05-17-2024\_11-12-35. If you'd like to use this default, leave this field empty. If you would like to provide your own date format, enter that format here. This field follows the [Java SimpleDateFormat rules](https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/11/docs/api/java.base/java/text/SimpleDateFormat.html). For example, if you just wanted to include a date with underscores instead of dashes, you would enter: MM\_dd\_yyyy
  - **File Password:&#x20;**&#x55;sing this field will require your recipients to enter a password for the file for each attachment that is sent (PDF, Excel & Word Only or Zipped CSV FTP Files).
:::

:::ExpandableHeading
## Agent

Agent you would like to use.

- **Agent Type:**
  - **Regular:** Regular Agents are simply ones that will be included in the Solution as a separate item. Meaning they are not used as the Burst report or a Source report for a Document Template. If you are not which one to use, then most likely you should just use a Regular Agent.
  - **Source:** Source Agents are merged into Document Templates. To learn more about Document Templates, click here.
- **Alias:** Alias used within the Document Template to merge in this Agent. To learn more about Document Templates and aliasing, click here.
- **Format:&#x20;**&#x53;pecify which Format to use when sending the data to AI. Most of the settings on a Format are not applicable because AI doesn't look at the styles, colors, etc. However, you can specify whether to use formatted or unformatted values, which does affect the data that is sent to the Agent. Sending formatted values will help AI to better analyse the data as it will be able to pick up on things like currency symbols and note that the value is currency amount instead of just a raw number.
:::

:::ExpandableHeading
## Document & HTML template

Select a document or HTML template from the dropdown that you would like to send as a static document or to merge reports and/or data into.

- **File Type (for HTML templates):&#x20;**&#x46;ile types you would like included.
- **File Name**: Default file name will be the URL encoded name of the Document Template plus the file extension. For example, the name of a PDF file for a document template named 'Test Document' will be 'Test+Document.pdf'. To override, enter your own file name (don't include the file extension in your name).
- **Append Date To Filename**: You may choose to append the date to the file name. This gives the file a unique identifier, which may be useful in case you are tracking the history of data.
- **Date Format:&#x20;**&#x44;efault date format when you select "Append Date to Filename" is MM-dd-yyyy\_hh-mm-ss, e.g., 05-17-2024 11-12-35. If you'd like to use this default, leave this field empty. If you would like to provide your own date format, enter that format here. This field follows the [Java SimpleDateFormat rules](https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/11/docs/api/java.base/java/text/SimpleDateFormat.html). For example, if you just wanted to include date with underscores instead of dashes, you would enter: `MM_dd_yyyy`
- **File Password:** Using this field will require your recipients to enter a password for the file for each attachment that is sent (PDF, Excel & Word Only).
:::

:::ExpandableHeading
## HTML template

- **File Type (for HTML):&#x20;**&#x46;ile types you would like included.
- **File Name:&#x20;**&#x44;efault file name will be the URL encoded name of the HTML Template plus the file extension. For example, the name of a PDF file for a HTML Template named 'Test Document' will be 'Test+Document.pdf'. To override, enter your own file name (don't include the file extension in your name).
- **Append Date To Filename:&#x20;**&#x59;ou may choose to append the date to the file name. This gives the file a unique identifier, which may be useful in case you are tracking the history of data.
- **Date Format:&#x20;**&#x44;efault date format when you select **Append Date to Filename** is `MM-dd-yyyy_hh-mm-ss`, e.g., 05-17-2024 11-12-35. If you'd like to use this default, leave this field empty. If you would like to provide your own date format, enter that format here. This field follows the [Java SimpleDateFormat rules](https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/11/docs/api/java.base/java/text/SimpleDateFormat.html). For example, if you just wanted to include date with underscores instead of dashes, you would enter: `MM_dd_yyyy`.
- **File Password:&#x20;**&#x55;sing this field will require your recipients to enter a password for the file for each attachment that is sent (PDF, Excel &; Word Only).
:::

