Methods for scoping a report pack
When you create a report pack you can choose which reports are included in it. But many times you will find it necessary to scope the information to filter unnecessary data from the report pack so that it is easier to read. There are three methods for scoping a report pack: by job, page or an XRule.
You can use any combination of these methods to get a very focused set of report results with a report pack.
| Filter | What is filtered | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Job | Data gathered by the job | Use the Source Jobs
property to determine which
jobs will contribute data to the report pack and what data they will
gather. Note: You can also use this property to select entire folders
- all the jobs they contain will contribute data to the report pack. |
| Page | Pages with specific URL patterns | Use the Page Filter property to determine which pages will be included in the report pack and which pages will be deliberately excluded from it. By scoping your report pack to certain pages you can obtain a very focused set of results. |
| XRule | Page or PageComponent meeting search criteria | Use an XRule filter
to find very specific items
to include or exclude from the report pack. Some examples of items
that an XRule might find include: pages with forms; a specific link
on your pages; pages authored by a certain individual (identified
with a metatag); or an image on your pages with an incorrect size. An XRule also has the ability to look for a specific PageComponent, such as a media clip or a navigation tool bar, versus an entire page. |
Including or excluding data with an XRule
You can implement an XRule so that it includes something in the report pack, or excludes something from it. When an XRule is used to include data in the report pack, its search results are pages that are included in the report pack. When an XRule is used to exclude data, its search results are pages that are not included in the report pack. For example, assume you have both Spanish and English pages on your website. You have created an XRule that finds Spanish pages and an XRule that finds English pages. When you want to deliver a report pack to Spanish-speaking developers so they might correct errors with their pages, you add the XRule that finds Spanish pages as "Included Data" to the report pack (Report Pack properties > XRule Filters page). At the same time you can also add the XRule that finds English pages to the Excluded Data section of the page. The report pack will contain report results for Spanish pages only. You can also do the reverse for English-speaking developers.
This example presumes that one job drives the report pack and that it scans both applications for issues. If you had two jobs, one that scanned each application, then you can filter the report pack by job, rather than by XRule.