Winter '12 brings new advancements in dashboards and reports with the development of Dashboard filters, which make it easier for users to see the data they need. In terms of dashboards, there is now the option to choose which data to display, through options in a drop down list, with the option of specifying up to 10 values for users to choose from. This filter value option saves times, as previously it could only be achieved by creating several dashboards. With the filter option of ten values, there are several advantages:
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managers can easily filter to view data for different team members
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sales VP can flip between data for each region, without switching dashboards
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Product managers can share a single view of a dashboard and then switch to a view of just their own products
A further advantage is the Enhanced Reports Tab, which makes managing reports and dashboards a simple matter. The tab displays the most recently viewed dashboards and reports and from there it is possible to search for a specific dashboard or report. It is also possible to perform actions on an item from its menu button, as well as create new reports or dashboards directly from the Reports Tab rather than having to navigate to the dashboards list. Further advantages to report types are:
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administrators will be able to create custom report types where customers are the primary object
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using custom report types, support managers can build reports to show which agents are and aren't closing cases, on the same report
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sales managers can build performance reports focusing on users with opportunities
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