The Reports/QA Dashboard is available directly from the Output menu, and at various other points from the mDesktop processing wizards and will guide you through some basic Quality Assurance steps.
File Information - Compare current data with previous jobs
This section allows you to configure some of the reports available so that the results from your currently imported file can be compared with previously imported data sets. This is a useful QA tool since it will quickly become obvious when comparing your current data file with previous similar jobs if obvious discrepancies exists (e.g. column widths are different, data counts are drastically different).
The reports supporting the compare functionality are as follows:
- Import Summary
- Field Widths Report
Reports/QA Dashboard - Processing
Import Summary
This is a summary of your imported data. It summarizes information such as:
- Potential data errors
- Data enhancement and relocation
- Records which should perhaps be excluded from the output
- Salutations
- Male/Female split
- Forenames found in mDesktop's names table.
Note that this report is generated immediately following import, and not re-generated should you subsequently remove duplicates or make any other subsequent changes. To see the latest snapshot of your data, use the Data Summary report from the Import menu.
Address Processing Summary
The addressIT Summary contains postcoding statistics for the Main File, including the results of postcode generation and correction.
Drill down by Category
This allows you to display all records meeting selected categories, most of them as categorized on the Data Summary which you can view after Import.
You can select several categories to view at once. You can also choose to delete the selected records, print them and/or to write them out to a separate file.
After you browse the selected records, mDesktop returns you to the same screen to select more categories if you wish. To leave the screen, select Close.
Non Alphanumeric Report
The Non Alphanumeric Report displays all the records in your imported data that contain non alphanumeric data.
Field Widths Report
This allows you to check the maximum and minimum widths of the contents of each field in your imported data.
Quality Scoring Report
This report allows you to check the overall quality of elements in your data such as the individual names, company names, addresses and email addresses.
All
With this option you can choose to output all records.
Range from
With this option you can choose to output all records or a selection of records.
One-in-N Sampling
When you choose this option, an intermediate table is created containing a selection of the records in your Main File. For example, if you have a Main File of 100,000 records, and choose One in 1000 sampling, your test file will contain 100 records – the 1000th, 2000th, etc. from your Main File. Obviously, sampling does not guarantee that there will be no errors in your data.
Output to File/Output to Page/Output to Label
These buttons will bring you to the standard mDesktop Output screen, from which you can access all of the output options available in your version of mDesktop, but for the selected sample of records. Even if you never produce labels from mDesktop, using the default Address label to preview a sample of names and addresses gives a clearer picture than a Browse view of what those names and addresses will look like if and when they are eventually printed from another piece of software. You can even print a sample of "labels" on plain paper to Q/A them more easily and perhaps file them.
Write Flagged Records
mDesktop will now copy the flagged records from your Main File into the new File you just named and unflag them from this new file. When it has finished, mDesktop will automatically select the new file as the Main File.
View Data
View Data allows you to browse and update the selected Main File in any order.
Click Close to exit the Reports/QA Dashboard .
Cost Savings Report
This report allows you to enter your Print and Postage costs and see how money you are going to save on any mailing you do having removed duplicates, and having matched your data against any suppression files.