- 3 minutes to read

Custom Logging, FAQ, Troubleshooting, Business Reports, Log Views, Self-Service Analytics, Excel, Power BI Custom Logging, business reports, self-service analytics, Log Views, Search Fields, Excel export, Power BI, Web API, business users, non-technical reporting Can business users create their own reports without developer help? Learn about Log Views, Search Fields, and Web API for self-service analytics.

Self-Service Business Reports

Can business users create their own reports without developer help?

Yes—Log Views with Search Field Expressions enable business users to self-service search, filter, and export data without writing SQL or requiring developer assistance. Power users can build dashboards using Web API integration with Excel and Power BI.

How Self-Service Works

1. Configure Message Types & Search Fields (One-Time, By Developers)

Developers define data model:

  • Message Types - "PurchaseOrder#1.0", "Invoice#2.0", "Shipment#1.0"
  • Search Field Expressions - Extract Order Numbers, Customer IDs, Invoice amounts, Status codes from message bodies
  • Log Views - Create role-based views: "Finance Team View", "Operations View", "Customer Support View"

After configuration, business users operate independently.

2. Business Users Search & Filter (No Developer Needed)

Business user workflow in Nodinite Web Client:

  1. Select Log View - "Finance Team View" (shows only Invoice and Payment messages)
  2. Enter search criteria - Customer ID: "ACME", Date range: Last 30 days, Invoice amount: >$10,000
  3. Click Search - Results appear in seconds
  4. Export to Excel - Click export button, download CSV with all matching invoices

Zero SQL, zero developer involvement.

Real-World Example: Manufacturing Company

Before Custom Logging:

  • Business analyst asks: "How many purchase orders processed last week?"
  • Developer: Writes SQL query joining 3 tables across webMethods Oracle DB, IBM Sterling DB2, custom SQL Server
  • Wait time: 8 hours for developer availability + SQL writing + QA
  • Result: Excel export via email

After Custom Logging with Self-Service:

  • Business analyst: Logs into Nodinite, selects "Procurement View", filters: Message Type = "PurchaseOrder#1.0", Date = Last 7 days
  • Wait time: 30 seconds
  • Result: 1,247 purchase orders displayed, exports to Excel, creates pivot table, shares with management

Developer interruptions: 80% reduction.

Self-Service Capabilities

Search by Business Data

Search Field Expressions make business identifiers searchable:

  • Order Numbers: "Show me Order PO-12345"
  • Customer IDs: "Show all orders for customer ACME last month"
  • Invoice Amounts: "Show invoices >$10K processed yesterday"
  • Status Codes: "Show failed transactions last week"
  • Product SKUs: "Show orders containing product SKU-9876"

No SQL knowledge required—point-and-click filtering.

Filter by Message Type

Log Views filter by message format:

  • "Finance View" - Shows only Invoice#2.0, Payment#1.0, Refund#1.0
  • "Operations View" - Shows only PurchaseOrder#1.0, Shipment#1.0, Inventory#1.0
  • "Support View" - Shows only CustomerRequest#1.0, ErrorLog#1.0

Role-based access: Finance team doesn't see technical integration logs, Operations doesn't see financial data.

Export to Excel

One-click CSV export:

  1. Search/filter - Find matching records
  2. Click Export - Download CSV with all columns
  3. Open in Excel - Pivot tables, charts, formulas

Business users create their own reports in Excel—no developer SQL export scripts.

Advanced: Power BI Integration

Power users build dashboards using Web API:

Power BI Desktop → Get Data → Web:

https://nodinite.company.com/api/v1/logs?messageType=PurchaseOrder#1.0&startDate=2025-10-01

Result: Power BI pulls log data, creates visualizations—orders per day (line chart), top 10 customers (bar chart), success vs failure rate (pie chart).

Related Topics:
Log Views Overview
Search Field Expressions
Web API for Integration

See all FAQs: Troubleshooting Overview

Next Step

Back to Custom Logging Overview