Moodle comes with a number of predefined reports that are based on stored log information. While this is sufficient for certain activities, there are two drawbacks to this approach:
- It is not possible to create user-defined reports
- Additional data stored in the database or summary information is not taken into account
The following two tools rectify this situation.
Configurable reports is a third-party plugin for Moodle, which will appear as a block once it has been installed. The installation of the add-ons has been described in detail in Chapter 8, Moodle Plugins.
Anyone who has been given permission can create new reports at the site or course level. Configurable reports supports five types of reports:
- Courses report: Reports using course data
- Categories report: Reports using category data plus optional embedded course reports
- Users report: Reports using user data and their course activities
- Timeline report: Reports across time for courses, users, and their activities
- SQL report: Any valid SQL statement can be used to query the Moodle database
Depending on what type of report has been chosen, different selection criteria (fields, conditions, ordering, and calculations) are offered. Additionally, filters for a drill-down can be specified, the layout can be created, and permissions for who are allowed to run the report can be set. Furthermore, the report builder has the ability to plot different types of graphs.
The unique feature of Configurable reports is the ability to create reports that are based on Custom SQL. If you are familiar with the SQL language and the underlying Moodle database schema, you have the ability to add queries, such as the one shown in the following screenshot (taken from https://docs.moodle.org/en/ad-hoc_contributed_reports):
Further information on the Configurable reports plugin can be found on its Moodle Docs page at https://docs.moodle.org/en/Configurable_reports. In the preceding screenshot, you can also see a link to List of SQL Contributed reports, which is a very good starting point to create you own reports.
Totara LMS contains a powerful report builder. It has been planned that parts of the tool will be added to the Moodle core in the near future. Totara LMS is an open source Moodle distribution that's targeted at commercial and public sector organizations as well as NGOs (https://www.totaralms.com/).
The upcoming screenshot shows you a user-defined report that takes Moodle's site data as its source. Based on the selected data, columns and filters will be predefined, which can be changed. Additionally, a search and filter criteria have been configured to add some interactivity to the report.
In addition to the expected features of a report generator (columns, including summary information and sorting, search, filters, pagination, and so on), the Totara report builder contains a number of interesting features:
- Interactivity: Once a report has been shown, a user can apply drill-down operations.
- Content control: Restriction of records and information that are available when a report is viewed.
- Graphs: Various graph types are supported to aid visual representations, which can be fully customized via the SVG settings.
- Access control: A restriction through which users and roles are allowed to view a report.
- Performance settings: Prefetching (caching) of reports is supported.
- Scheduling: Reports can be scheduled for execution by each user who will the receive a report by e-mail. Additionally, exporting (CSV, Excel, ODF, and Google Fusion tables) to a filesystem is supported, which allows for integration with other systems.
The screenshots in this section have been taken from a Totara system. At the time of writing this, it is not certain which features will make it into the Moodle core, but the general approach should come across to you. The report builder is an ideal tool to interactively create a wide range of user-defined reports that are based on supported sources.