In this guide we’ll look at how you can create a week by week Attendance Report in Quick Reports using Attendance Summary Columns and apply colours to the report based on how the Student’s Attendance has changed. We’ll look at how to create a Quick Report that includes Attendance Summary columns and then we’ll look at 2 different methods for applying colour, by applying colour directly to the Attendance Summary column and then by applying colour to a Calculated Column.
- Creating a Quick Report with Attendance Summary Columns
- Applying colour coding to the Attendance Summary Column
- Applying colour coding using a Calculated Column
- Saving the Report
- Rename Columns
Access: The minimum permissions required to access Quick Reports can be found in the Reporting module from within Config > Setup > Roles and Permissions.
To follow the steps in this guide you will also need the following Report Design Permissions.
See Also: Must Try Attendance Reports in Bromcom
Creating a Quick Report with Attendance Summary Columns
Go to Reports > Quick Reports > Quick Report, depending on how long you have been using Bromcom this pathway may be Reports > Ad hoc > Quick Report.
Using the drop down at the top, ensure that the Domain selected is Students (Basic).
Add any required Data Items by selecting them using the tick boxes in the list on the left and then clicking the Add Items to Table icon.
Turn on Advanced Mode using the switch in the top right hand corner.
Click the + button and select Add Attendance Summary.
In the pop-up that appears enter the required information and once you’re happy click Add.
- Column Label – Enter a title for the column, make sure that you use a name that allows you to easily identify what information the column contains.
- Attendance Result – Select whether to filter Attendance by Meaning or by Mark.
- Attendance Meaning/Attendance Mark – Select which Attendance Meaning(s) or Attendance Mark(s) you would like to include in the Attendance figures for this column.
- Period Type – Select which Periods you would like to include in the Attendance figures for this column.
- Display Result – Choose whether you would like to view the Attendance figures as a Percentage or as a Count.
- Interval – Select a time range from the drop down. You may see different options depending on what you select in this drop down.
- Date Range – If you have selected Custom Date Range in the Interval drop down, select your required date range. If you have not selected Custom Date Range as your Interval this field will not be editable.
In this example we have chosen to create an Attendance Summary Column to display the Present Attendance Percentage for Students between 03/03/25 and 09/03/25, including only AM and PM Periods in the calculation.
If you would like to add further attendance summary columns, you can do this by hovering over your Attendance Summary column and clicking the Copy icon.
This will create a Copy of your original Attendance Summary column, hover over the Copy and click the pencil icon to Edit the copied column.
In the pop-up that appears, make any required amendments. In this example we have changed the Column Label and the Date Range so that the second column now displays the Present Attendance Percentage for Students for the next week (10/03/25 to 16/03/25). Once you’re happy click OK.
You should now see both of your attendance columns appear in your Selected Data Items list. Continue to add Attendance Summary columns in this way until you have added all the information you require.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Adding lots of summary columns to a Report can cause the Report to run slowly, so to avoid any problems we would generally recommend that you create a separate Report per term.
Applying colour coding to the Attendance Summary Column
Once you’ve added all of the Attendance Summary columns you need, click the + button and select Add If Then Else Column.
In the pop-up that appears, enter a Column Label. From the Data Item drop down, select the first Attendance Summary column. Ensure Apply Colours is selected as this applies the colour from the If Then Else Column onto the column selected in the Data Item drop down – in this case this is the Attendance Summary Column.
Next, we need to set up our first condition. To do this, first select the qualifier in the IF Result drop down, in this case we have selected Less Than, then select the Value in the next box, in this case we’ve entered 90 because we want the condition to apply whenever the Student’s Attendance is below 90%.
Below that, in the THEN section, in the first box enter the text you would like to be displayed in the If Then Else Column, you do need to enter a value however we will look at how to hide this later in the guide if you don’t want this included in the final report. Then, use the drop down to select what Colour you would like to be displayed.
Once you’re happy click the + button to add another condition.
In the Else If Result field select the qualifier for your next condition. In this case we have chosen Between, then use the boxes to the right to select your From and To values, in this case 90 and 95. In the Then field, enter the text you would like to appear in the If Then Else column should the attendance percentage meet the condition. Then, use the drop down to select which colour should appear.
Once you’re happy with your second condition, click the + button to add the third condition.
Use the fields that appear to define your third condition. In this example we have chosen that any Attendance Percentages greater than 95% will be highlighted in green and the text in the If Then Else column will read Exceeding Target.
You can add further conditions in the same way if you would like, and then once you’re happy click Add.
You will need to set up similar If Then Else columns for the rest of your Attendance Summary columns. You can do this by hovering over the If Then Else column and clicking the Copy Icon.
Then, hover over the Copy and click the Edit icon.
Make any required changes, in this case we have edited the Column Label and selected the next Attendance Summary column as the Data Item. Once you’re happy click OK.
Note: Because the Data Item has been updated, you may not be able to select Apply Colours straight away. If this is the case, then select OK to save the column, then Edit it and select Apply Colours.
Continue adding If Then Else columns until you have one for each of your Attendance Summary columns.
If you would like to hide the If Then Else columns so that the colour is displayed only on the Attendance Summary Column, you can do that by hovering over the If Then Else column and selecting the Eye icon.
To preview your report, turn off Advanced Mode using the switch in the top right corner.
You should see a preview off your Report with the colours applied to the Attendance Summary Columns and the If Then Else columns hidden.
Applying colour coding using a Calculated Column
Once you’ve added your desired Attendance Summary columns, you’ll need to add a Calculated Column. To do this, turn on Advanced Mode using the switch in the top right corner.
Then, click the + button, and select Add Calculated Column.
In the pop-up fill in all the required information. In this example, we are using the Calculated Column to display the difference between 2 Attendance Summary columns to see the change in Attendance week on week. Once you’re happy click Add.
Now that you’ve added the Calculated Column, you’ll need to add an If Then Else Column to apply the colour. To do this, click the + button and select Add If Then Else Column.
In the pop up that appears, enter a Column Label, this should be something that helps you easily identify the Column. Next, in the Data Item drop down, select the Calculated Column that you added earlier, then ensure that Apply Colours is selected.
Next, you can start entering your conditions. In this example, if the change in Attendance is negative (i.e. less than 0), we would like the cell to appear in red and for the text to read ‘Decrease’ so we have set the first condition as per the following image.
Once you’re happy with your first condition, press the + button to continue adding conditions until you have covered all possibilities. In this example, we have added 2 further conditions, one so that the cell appears in yellow with the words ‘No Change’ if the change in Attendance is equal to zero, and another so the cell appears in green with the word ‘Improved’, if the change in Attendance is positive (i.e. greater than 0.) Once you’re happy click Add.
Finally, we need to hide the Calculated Column, to do this, hover over the column in the list on the right and click the Eye icon to Hide the Column.
You can now turn off Advanced Mode using the switch in the left hand corner to preview the Report.
You should now see your If Then Else Column on the report, colour coded as per the conditions you entered.
Saving the Report
If you would like to keep this Report for future use, click Save in the top left hand corner.
In the pop-up that appears, give the report a Title and Description and define which report Folder Name you would like the Quick Report to be saved in. Under the Inheritance dropdown choose to either Inherit Folder Permissions or Custom Permissions and choose the Roles that can access the report. Once you’re happy click Save.
Rename Columns
May 2025 A new enhancement has been introduced to allow users to quickly rename Advanced Columns directly from the Quick Reports edit interface, improving it’s usability and efficiency.
- When creating or editing a Quick Report with an Advanced Column, users can right-click on the column header to access a new “Rename” option.
- The “Rename” option appears below the existing “Remove” option in the right-click context menu.
- On selecting “Rename”, a pop-up appears displaying the current column name in an editable text box.
- Users can update the column name and click “Rename” to immediately apply the change without triggering data recalculations.
- The label in the Rename pop-up has been updated from “Field Name” to “Column Name” for consistency.
Additional Details
- The rename action completes in under 2 seconds to ensure optimal performance.
- The functionality of the “Edit” option remains unchanged, allowing users to continue modifying other properties of the advanced column as before.
- This update applies to all Quick Report domains, including “If Then Else” and “Calculated” columns.