Working with Report Design Templates

FortiSIEM gives you the flexibility of designing custom templates for each of your reports. When you select RESOURCES > Reports, notice that the table of reports includes a Report Design Template column. This column identifies the template to be used when generating and exporting a report. By default, all reports are assigned the same template. The default template name has the format organization_name scope Reports Template. For example, Global System Reports Template would be a report for the Global organization with System scope.

The Global System Reports Template can be edited when you log in as Super/Global. In this case, an Edit icon will appear next to Global System Reports Template after you modify the report design template.

A Template can be created at various levels:

  • For each Report in RESOURCES > Reports
  • For each Report folder in RESOURCES > Reports
  • For each Report Bundle defined in RESOURCES > Reports > Report Bundles

When you run a report under RESOURCES > Reports, FortiSIEM will choose the appropriate Report Template in the following order:

  1. If a specific template is defined for the selected report, then that template will be chosen.
  2. If a template in the previous step is not found, then the template for the folder to which the Report belongs will be chosen.
  3. If no matching template is found in Steps 1 and 2, then the system-defined template for the root folder RESOURCES > Reports will be chosen. System-defined templates cannot be edited.

If you load and run a report in RESOURCES > Reports from the ANALYTICS page and then manually export the Report in PDF or RTF format:

  • If you choose the Defined option, then FortiSIEM will use the rules above to find the matching template.
  • If you choose the New option, then you can define a new Report format for this report instance only.

Note:

  • For Service Provider deployments, the Report templates can only be defined at the Super/Global level and applies for all customers.
  • If a report is part of two folders and each folder has its own template defined, then the template of the current folder being viewed will be used.

The following sections provide information about:

Creating a Report Template

A Report template for PDF and RTF can be created as follows:

  1. Go to RESOURCES > Reports and select one of the subcategories from the left pane.
  2. Select the desired row from the table.
  3. (Optional) Select the Sync checkbox in the row to synchronize the report with the Report Server.
  4. Open the More drop-down list and select Report Design. The Report Design page opens.
  5. Notice that the Name given to the report template is in the form organization_name scope report_name Template. You can edit this name if you want.
  6. Follow the instructions in Designing a Report Template to design the cover page and add sections, subsections, attachments, and so on, to the report.
  7. Click Save.

    The name of the new template will be displayed in the Report Design Template column of the table. Notice that an edit icon appears next to the name of the template.

Creating Report Templates for a Report Folder or Resource Bundle

To create a report template for a Resource folder, choose any Report folder from the left pane. The steps to create the template are similar to Creating a Report Template.

To create a report template for a Report Bundle, complete these steps:

  1. Select any system-defined or user-defined report bundle in this group.
  2. Select all of the reports in the table.
  3. Click More > Report Design.

Notice that the Name of the template for a Report Bundle cannot be edited.

Modifying an Existing Report Template

  1. Click the edit icon next to the name of the existing report design template. The Report Design page opens.
  2. Make the desired changes to the template design.
  3. Click Save.

Designing a Report Template

You can design or modify the following template sections using the settings under Report Design for PDF and RTF reports:

Overview

Report Designer allows you to build a report out the following objects, the Cover Page, Table of Contents, Sections, and Subsections.

Adding an Object

When you create a new Report Design, a default Cover Page and Table of Contents is automatically created. If you choose to delete the Cover Page and/or Table of Contents, the option to add these objects will appear from the left Add drop-down list button.

To add a Section, click on the Table of Contents or an existing section and click the left Add drop-down list button and select Section.

To add a Subsection, select the Section where you wish to add a Subsection to, then click the left Add drop-down button and select Subsection.

Deleting an Object

A report can have a maximum of one Cover Page and one Table of Contents. The Table of Contents is based off the section(s) and subsection(s) that you create, or that already exist. To delete any existing objects, add a check mark to the checkbox for the objects you wish to delete, then click Delete. You will be prompted to confirm deletion when you click Delete.

Orientation

You can choose the page orientation that your report appears in by clicking on the Orientation drop-down list button and selecting Portrait or Landscape.

Using the Text Editor when Adding Text to an Object

When you add text to a cover page, section, or subsection, the text editor will open. Use the editor to add any text you wish to display with your report in the Enter Text window. When done, click Save.The text editor also provides the following tools:

Icon

Description
Undo Click to undo the last typing action.
Redo Click to re-apply the last undo action.
Size Click the drop-down list, and select a size. To apply to existing text, select the text first, then click the icon and select a size.
Font Color Click the icon and select a color. To apply to existing text, select the text first, then click the icon and select a color.
Bold Click the icon to begin bolding text. To apply to existing text, select the text first, then click the icon.
Underline Click the icon to begin underling text. To apply to existing text, select the text first, then click the icon.
Italic Click the icon to begin italicizing text. To apply to existing text, select the text first, then click the icon.

Remove Format

Click the icon to remove any existing formatting that is currently being applied. To apply to existing text, select the text first, then click the icon.

Code view

Click to toggle between normal and code view.
Preview Click to view your work in a separate window.

Cover Page

The default Cover Page template includes the current Organization, Start Time, End Time, Generated Time, and Device Time Zone as Default Text. These settings can be deleted or rearranged but not modified. You can also add text content and attachments to the Cover Page.

Adding Text to Cover Page

  1. Click the Cover Page bar to expand the section.
  2. Click the right Add drop-down list button and select Text from the drop-down list to add text content in the cover page.
  3. Add the text in the Enter Text window. For information on text tools, see Using the Text Editor when Adding Text to an Object.
  4. Click Save to apply the changes.

Adding Attachments to Cover Page

  1. Click the Cover Page bar to expand the section.
  2. Click the right Add drop-down list button and select Attachment from the drop-down list to add any PDF or PNG attachments in the cover page.
  3. Click Upload to add the attachment.
  4. Enter the required Width and Height of the attachment or else enable Auto Resize to adjust the size of the attachment to the PDF borders. The units for Height and Width are in pixels. The acceptable range of values is 595-860.
  5. Click Save to apply the changes.

    Use the Edit, Delete, Move Up or Move Down icons to the right of the Text field to modify, delete or re-arrange the order of text.

Note: 

  1. The Auto Resize checkbox does not work correctly.
  2. To fill the width of a page, the image size must be set to 5000 x 5000.
  3. Even when enlarged, the PDF or PNG image will appear pixelated (it does not use vector graphics). the more you zoom the page, the worse the image will look.

Adding Page Break to Cover Page

  1. Click the Cover Page bar to expand the section.
  2. Click the right Add drop-down list button and select Page Break from the drop-down list to add a page break that appears after the cover page.
  3. Click Save to apply the changes.

Use the Edit, Delete, Move Up or Move Down icons to the right of the configurable fields to modify, delete or re-arrange the order of the page break.

Table of Contents - Sections and Subsections

This sections allows you to add new Sections and Sub Sections to the Table of Contents. You can also add text content, attachments, event reports and CMDB reports here.

Adding Sections and Subsections

  1. Click the Table of Contents bar to expand the section.
  2. Click the right Add drop-down list button and select Section to add a new section.
  3. To add a subsection, select the required Section and click the right Add drop-down list button and select Sub Section.
  4. Click the new section bar to expand.
  5. Enter a Title for the section.
  6. Click Preview to view the changes before saving.
  7. Click Save to apply the changes.

Adding Text to a Section or Subsection

  1. Click the required section or subsection bar to expand the section.
  2. Click the right Add drop-down list button and select Text from the drop-down list to add text information in the cover page.
  3. Add the text in the Enter Text window. For information on text tools, see Using the Text Editor when Adding Text to an Object.
  4. Click Save to apply the changes.

Adding Attachments to a Section or Subsection

  1. Click on the required section or subsection bar to expand the section.
  2. Click the right Add drop-down list button and select Attachment from the drop-down list to add any PDF or PNG attachments.
  3. Click Upload to add the attachment.
  4. Enter the required Width and Height of the attachment or else enable Auto Resize to adjust the size of the attachment to the PDF borders.
  5. Click Save to apply the changes.

Note: 

  1. The Auto Resize checkbox does not work correctly.
  2. To fill the width of a page, the image size must be set to 5000 x 5000.
  3. Even when enlarged, the PDF or PNG image will appear pixelated (it does not use vector graphics). the more you zoom the page, the worse the image will look.

Adding Page Break to a Section or Subsection

  1. Click on the required section or subsection bar to expand the section.
  2. Click the right Add drop-down list button and select Page Break from the drop-down list to add a page break.
  3. Click Save to apply the change.

Adding an Event Report to a Section or Subsection

  1. Click on the required section or subsection bar to expand the section.
  2. Click the right Add drop-down list button and select Event Report from the drop-down list.
  3. Select the Event Report from the drop-down.
  4. To display the event type, enable Show Event Type.
  5. When you define a custom template for Report Bundles (excluding the root group), you can select any Event Reports from the Select Event Report drop-down list.

    Note the following:
    - For Report folders (including the root group), the Select Event Report setting is not available.
    - For a single Report, the Event Report is automatically selected under Select Event Report setting and you cannot modify this.

  6. Configure the display format:
    1. Select the report Format from the drop-down list. The list displays the available charts.
    2. Select the Attribute.
    3. Enter the Title for the chart.
    4. Select or enter the number of Items to display.
    5. Enter the Height of the chart or table.
    6. To add more formats, click + under Row and use the Move arrows to re-order the list.
    7. Click Save.
  7. Click Save to apply the changes.

Adding a CMDB Report to a Section or Subsection

Note: You can add CMDB Reports only to a Report Bundle template.

  1. Click on the required section or subsection bar to expand the section.
  2. Click the right Add drop-down list button and select CMDB Report from the drop-down.
  3. Click the Edit icon to select the CMDB Report from the drop-down. You can also use the search bar to find a specific CMDB report.
  4. Click Select to confirm the selection.
  5. Select the number of Items to display.
  6. Click Save to apply the changes.