Create category columns in reports

Create category columns in reports

This feature is available only for all partner accounts. It will be released for other users in a phased manner.

What are category columns? 

Category columns allow you to organize large data sets into categories. When viewing reports with a wide range of data, it can be challenging to get an overview of the entire dataset. This feature helps you to create user-defined categories to group data into easily digestible information. This enables you to draw context from the vast report values.

In Zoho CRM, you can create two types of category columns:
  1. Number category columns - To group numerical data into columns
  2. Picklist category columns - To group picklist data into columns
Let's understand this better with the following scenario:

A delivery manager plans the schedule for parcel deliveries, considering factors such as the size and weight of the parcels. Knowing the weight and size helps them choose the right shipping option, especially for heavier items. The weight category is not a primary factor for entry into the system, but it proves useful for the delivery manager's report analysis to plan and execute. This is where category columns come to play. The delivery manager categorises the parcels as Light, Medium, and Heavy.




Notes :
You can only add category columns for numeric and picklist values. It is not supported for any other values.
The numeric field types supported are Number, Long Integer, Currency, Percent, Decimal.
You can only create a maximum of two category columns in a report. 

Number category columns    

Create category columns to simplify complex numerical values from your reports and group them into categories for better interpretation. This allows for easier comparisons, improving the clarity and relevance of the report data.

Scenario 

A district health professional is analyzing the weights of 1000 children born last year. The aim is to investigate how susceptible children are to illnesses or diseases during their early years. The report will include 'Child Name', 'Address', 'Weight', and 'Height'.  To enhance the report, a new column has been created to classify the child's weight based on standard scales such as normal, malnourished, or obese. This segmentation will help the health professional group the data and gain a better understanding of this extensive dataset.

To add a numerical category column based on the above scenario:
  1. Go to the Reports tab and select the report for which you want to add category columns.
  2. Edit the available columns by clicking the Edit icon on the right. Click the + icon near the Column header to add category columns.

  3. Select the new category column source from one of the numeric fields available. The numeric fields supported are number, long Integer, currency, percent, decimal, formula, and roll up summary. The source column is 'Weight' in this example.
  4. Enter the new category column name. Click Create Category. As per the scenario stated above, the category name we've entered is Weight Category.

  5. Enter Categories and define start and end range values for each.
  6. Enter the category names and input the start and end range values in a continuous order. To add a new category, click the green + icon.
    Note : We've ensured that range values are continuous to prevent any report value from falling into the uncategorized section unintentionally.
  7. Add the lowest range or highest range for values from Settings. The ranges for these categories will be automatically set based on your range inputs. In the example, We have three ranges:
    -- Underweight: Below 14 kgs [ Low Range ]
    -- Normal: Between 14 to 17 kgs [ Middle Range ]
    -- Overweight: Above 17 kgs [ High Range ]
  8. Add a default category : (see screenshot above)
    Any uncategorized value not falling in the above ranges will fall into the default category, which is defined as 'New Born' for this example.
  9. Add empty category : (see screenshot above)
    You can choose to show empty values as a separate category and name the column to easily understand why those column values are empty. It will be 'Undefined' for this example.
  10. Click Done to save the changes made to the report.
  11. Once saved, the column values will be checked against the specified criteria, and the record will be marked with appropriate categories automatically, as shown in the screenshot.

Notes :
  1. We can select the category columns for row or column groups as well.
  2. The numeric field types supported are Number, Long Integer, Currency, Percent, Decimal.
  3. You can add up to 10 categories apart from the two system defined minimum and maximum categories.
  4. You can also add the category columns to row groups and column groups. A maximum of two categories can be added to the row and column groups.

Picklist category columns    

Create category columns based on picklist values to group similar items and get valuable insights from unstructured data.

Scenario

Consider the example of a sales manager who analyzes an industry-based report to create a sales strategy depending on the country their customers are from. He aims to target them by getting insights about their purchasing behaviour by region from the report. The report includes details such as 'Account name', 'Deal name', 'Amount', and 'Country'.

The sales manager adds a category column categorizing the picklist values of the 'Country' column from his report. The new column is named 'Region' in the report. The categories the values would fall in are : North /South / East / West.




To add a picklist category column :
  1. Go to the Reports tab and select the report for which you want to add category columns.
  2. Edit the available columns by clicking the Edit icon on the right. Click the + icon to add category columns.

  3. Select the source column from one of the picklist fields available, which is 'Country' in this example.
  4. Enter the new category column name. Click Create Category. We've entered Customer Region as the category column name for this example.
  5. Enter the category name and select the values that must be categorized into it and click Done. For the example, we've entered the category name as 'North' and selected the countries that fall in the north region.  
  6. Click New Category to add more categories.
  7. Enter the category names and select values for each and click Done. For the example, we've entered three more categories South, East, and West, and selected the countries that fall in those respective regions.
  8. Add a default category : (see screenshot above)
    Any uncategorized picklist value will fall into the default category. In this example, all uncategorized values will be marked as 'New Country'.
  9. Add empty category : (see screenshot above)
    You can choose to show empty values as a separate category and name the column to easily understand why those column values are empty. In this example, all empty records will be marked 'Undefined'.
  10. You can reorder categories to reflect their priority while being sorted. Simply drag and drop the category name to its desired location, as shown in the screenshot below.
  11. Click Run and then Save to activate the report.
  12. The column values will be checked against the specified criteria and placed in their proper categories automatically, as shown in the screenshot.


Notes :
  1. You can add up to 10 categories and up to 20 values for each category.
  2. You can also add the category columns to row groups and column groups. A maximum of two categories that can be added to the row and column groups.

 

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