With the 1.9 version of VividCharts comes some updated language. Some of the language changes appear in the UI, while others represent a change in how we talk about objects and actions in VividCharts. Most of these changes appeared in the 1.8 release, but they remain here for anyone who may have jumped to 1.9 from more than the previous version.
Here are the changes and the reasoning behind them.
A View (noun) → changing to → A Report (noun)
With the introduction of workflows in the system, reports more accurately describe the outputs of those workflows. Whether you’re making a slide deck, dashboard, scaled report, or VividSheet, those can all be characterized as reports.
This change also means view can now be primarily used as a verb.
Summaries → changing to → Scaled Reports
This change more accurately describes the mechanism of creating many reports from a single blueprint.
Any Summaries created in previous app versions can be categorized as Scaled Reports and can be found by navigating to the Scaled Reports link in the top navigation bar.
View Template → changing to → Template
Previously we made a distinction between a slide template and a summary template, however, with the introduction of the new scaled reports workflow, that distinction is no longer necessary.
Now, in versions 1.8 and greater, a template can be used in any workflow and includes charts, data, styles, and slides. A template can be created in one workflow and consumed in another.
In any workflow, you can add a template by selecting “Add a Slide” and choosing an existing template.
Any view templates created in previous app versions will translate into a template in the 1.8 version and will retain all charts, data, styles, and slides.
Summary Template → changing to → Scaled Report Blueprint
With the new scaled reports workflow in version 1.8, the charts, styles, data, table mappings, and settings that define what reports to generate are all streamlined into a single experience. This language change reinforces the new workflow.
Any Summary Templates created in previous app versions will be translated into Scaled Report Blueprints in the 1.8 version, which can be found by navigating to the scaled report and clicking open the Edit panel (users must have edit access on the scaled report to do so).
Custom Summaries → changing to → Custom Process Area
This change represents moving away from the word “Summary” and toward something more descriptive in the new scaled reports workflow.
A custom process area is a way to define table mappings for scaled reports and can be found in the admin panel from the VividCharts home page.
Report Generator → changing to → Snapshot Reports
The behavior of this mechanism did change slightly. Refreshing a snapshot report was previously possible, but now that capability is removed. This is to reinforce that it's meant to be a moment-in-time report.
The name change also differentiates this mechanism from the Scaled Report process that generates reports based off a blueprint.