Blackbaud SKY View-Reporting Manager - NOT HELPFUL-MOST FEATURES GONE!!

Cheryl Dabat

In Sky view reporting, most functionality has been removed. You can no longer create column fields based on criteria (i.e. total fields for all payments in 2021, etc), you cannot copy an existing report to start a new one, you can not group/sort/sub-total the same way, you cannot format. Basically the new reporting feature in Sky view is USELESS FOR CREATING MEANINGFUL NEW REPORTS. They took a functional reporting system and removed it without giving a new option - we are not getting what was promised in the new SKY View with relation to this function!!

Vin St John

Hi Cheryl - Sorry to hear that you're finding the new Reporting Manager not up to the high standards that you expect from us. It's true that there are some aspects of the Report Manager that have not made it over to SKY View yet - for example, right now, when creating new reports, you can't change the fonts and colors of the text from the defaults, and can't adjust the paper size for printing. Those features are all still coming, but we knew it would be a while before we could complete them, and didn't want to hold back the rest of the reporting feature, knowing that many users don't use those options frequently.


I was a little bit surprised to read some of your feedback, because some of the options you mentioned, such as configuring columns that total the sum of related payments, are available today in SKY View just as they were in Classic View. But of course, if that's not clear to you, it's probably not clear to others either, which means we've got work to do to make that more intuitive. If it's ok with you, I will send you an email so we can find time to talk about the report designer and make sure that I understand exactly where the issues are that you're experiencing.


Thank you, as always, for the feedback. We're still committed to delivering everything you need in SKY View and we appreciate your help getting us there, as an early adopter of SKY View and now!


- Vin St. John

Product Manager, Grantmaking and Foundations, Blackbaud

Cheryl Dabat

Thank you –
I would like to set up time to discuss with you. Please let
me know when we can set up a call.

Cheryl

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Carolyn Worth

It might be helpful if other SKY users would
be able to benefit from your discussion with Cheryl about the
Report Manager. I am new to SKY, and face problems as
well.

And, I also have a problem responding online
to e-mailed Blackbaud Community topics, which is why this is sent
to you via e-mail. My Blackbaud Community responses are
not accepted. I could use some instructions, as this is all
new to me, and I have to guess a lot at what to do.

Between changes in the grantmaking program, in
the Blackbaud home page and in Blackbaud Community as a resource, I
am several steps behind most others, as I have not needed to go
online very often.

Carolyn Worth

Wayne & Gladys Valley Foundation

Cheryl Dabat

Vin - Can we please set up the call. I would love to discuss this with you. Thank you.


Cheryl

Elizabeth Perron

Hi Carolyn Worth‍,


I am happy to meet with you about the Blackbaud Community. I will send you a private message to see when you are free.


Also, we have three webinars walking users through the Blackbaud Community. Please click here to see the event times.


Sincerely,

Elizabeth

Blackbaud Community Team

Cheryl Dabat

Thank you
for your offer of help, the email was for Vin to meet up regarding
the features that are not included with reporting in Blackbaud
Sky.

Cheryl

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Notice: The information contained in this e-mail, and any
attachment, is private and confidential and is intended solely for
the use of the intended recipient. Access, copying, re-distribution
or re-use of this e-mail or attachments, or any information
contained therein, by any other person is not authorized. If you
are not the intended recipient please return the e-mail to the
sender and delete it from your computer. Although we attempt to
scan e-mail and attachments for viruses, we do not guarantee that
either are virus-free and we accept no liability for any damage
sustained as a result of your use of this electronic
communication.

Erika May

I'm having difficulty finding in the SKY View Report Manager a report I run quarterly--"Payment Status Summary - by Year".

Does it no longer exist? Yikes! That would be bad.

Carolyn Worth

Elizabeth-

I tried to send this message through My
Community but could not get it to “Send”. Maybe it finally
got there, but here it is in e-mail format just in case:

Using My Community, as well as Blackbaud in general, has been
difficult because some connections are through Explorer (which
Blackbaud Grantmaking requires) while other connections need to be
through Chrome in order to get full use of the link. However,
all links received in e-mail (Outlook) go to Explorer. Since
I need to have both connections open at the same time, and may
have to go back and forth, it is easy to lose track of where I
am online, or how I got there.


Would you be able to set up a "chat"
that starts before noon PST? And will that chat be on
the phone or online, and if online, would you provide a link?


Thank you,

Carolyn

Elizabeth Perron

Hi Carolyn Worth‍,


Please jump on this webex tomorrow at 9am PST and I will help troubleshoot your Blackbaud Community issue. We got to make it easy for you to be a part of this Community:).


Elizabeth

Carolyn Worth

Thanks Elizabeth. I will try to get
connected. I am in the middle of trying to find out why SKY
has changed so many important things. They even changed my
codes and decided to eliminate some of them. This affects
many of my searches. I guess they expect us all to dumb down
our grantmaking.

Hopefully I will be communicating with you
tomorrow.

Carolyn

Elizabeth Perron

Hi Carolyn Worth‍,


Can you please click on the webex link so we can connect again?


Thanks,

Elizabeth

Carolyn Worth

I
think I am in.

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Elizabeth Perron

Hi Carolyn Worth‍,


I am sorry we were not able to see your screen. If you want to send screenshots of how your Community screen appears, please email them to community@blackbaud.com Or if you have a webinar meeting platform that is easier for you, please let me know in that same email.


Thank you,

Elizabeth

Carolyn Worth

I had trouble holding a phone with one
shoulder and trying to scroll and use the mouse with the other hand
while trying to go back and forth between Outlook and Blackbaud
Community and look for the earlier link to Webex, etc. I
could not act fast enough.

I appreciate your patience, and wish our
attempts had been more successful.

Carolyn Worth

Carolyn Worth

Cheryl, your comments match mine. Blackbaud took not just a "functional reporting system", but a functional grantmaking program and made it significantly less useful. Because there have been a multitude of issues arise as I compare Classic with SKY, I tried submitting a page of observations and problems to Blackbaud, but it was shelved because it did not have a case number. I just wanted Blackbaud to realize how many issues there are and how serious this is, especially to users who spent the last three years adapting to Blackbaud's last update in 2018. It is maddening when we find that filter options are eliminated in reports and searches, or the coding system has been amended, again with fewer options. We set up our reports and codes and searches to keep our applicants/Grantees, Board Members and auditors informed and satisfied. If their questions and concerns continue, as they will, we may not be able to answer their questions with the truncated SKY, which is not just a "view", but a totally revised and limited access to our data.


It was not Blackbaud's fault that Microsoft decided to end support of Silverlight, which is one of the reasons for the SKY update. However, it is a shame that Blackbaud chose to cheapen its product rather than to create a replacement for the Silverlight program.

John Sharples

Hi Carolyn


I'm a little confused by your comments on reporting as I can see options for changing the search (filters) as soon as I try to generate a report. I've popped a screen shot here which I hope works. This screen appears as soon as you click on the Generate button for the report (in the 3 dots).




Similar options are available for ad-hoc reports both in design and at runtime.


I did find options for sorting and grouping but not for sub-totals in the groups. I suspect that this functionality may not yet be completed in the system.

I also didn't find the options to "save as" as you suggest.


I apologise if I have missed the point of your post but thought I would share in case it helps.


John

Carolyn Worth

John-

When
I generate a report in SKY, and select “Modify Filters”, I can
insert a filter for the Approval Date, as seen below. But I
cannot get the option of Fiscal year, either in the scrolled list
or in a second option which shows when going through the same steps
for the same report, but in Classic View.

I
hope this explains my complaint.

Carolyn
Worth

Search
in SKY:

Search
for same report in Classic view:

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Carolyn Worth

Sorry John, but my print screens for both the Sky view and the Classic view did not make it in my initial response to you. I don't know what is the problem. I tried to copy and paste when online, but that did not work either. Just believe me when I report that using the filter "This Year" brings up a second choice which offers Fiscal year or Calendar year, but that choice does not show up in the same report opened in SKY.

Carla Godec

Did you ever hear anything about them adding "Fiscal Year" or "Calendar Year" to the search option in reports in SKY? This was a feature in Classic that I used daily and now....??I have been hoping that Blackbaud is still in the process of ramping up the SKY version, but I am not so sure.

Sue Clarke

I use this feature in Classic all the time. I reached out to Support on this issue a couple of months ago and asked them about it again about a month ago. They are still looking in to this.

Alan Welch

What is the status of Report Manager issues? Are we ever going to be able to edit/save legacy reports? Or must we go through the process of recreating them?

It's disappointing there is no followup on this.