The following questions were submitted during the MSX Group’s Management Reporter Users Forum 2013 and have been answered here, if not during the forum. Please email us at info@msxgroup.com if you have additional questions or need any clarification. The consultants, software support staff and instructors at the MSX Group are available to assist you with your installation of Management Reporter, Forecaster and/or FRx. Email Info@MSXGroup.com for information.
Management Reporter Q&A
Q: Scheduling only works with Outlook or can it work with Google email?
A: Scheduling is built into MR and doesn’t require outlook or any other email. More info and video here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dynamicscpm/archive/2012/02/10/managament-reporter-2012-feature-overview-report-scheduling.aspx
Q: Scheduling only works with Outlook or can it work with Google email?
A: Scheduling is within MR and not dependent on email system. The frequency of schedule looks like Outlook but does not require Outlook.
Q: In the first version of MR you were able to generate the report and it would go the queue and the report would pop up right away, does this version not do that automatically anymore? you have to go to viewer to see the report?
A: When you generate a report the Viewer will automatically open when the report is finished
Q: In FRx, the summary report with trees has both the summary and the child units on one page, MR does not. As you said, it only lists the summary then you have to drill down to the child units. Is this a setting issue?
A: It is difficult to tell from the information provided. I believe this is a report design issue.
Q: Is there any way to get an Excel export of a report to create multiple tabs without using a tree?
A: Without using a tree, the export could only create a financial summary tab, an account detail tab and a third transactional detail tab.
Q: Please clarify which of the limitations will or will not go away in RU5 for GP. Specifically the multicurrency functions and the drill back to GP. Last I knew neither of these are available in Datamart for GP
A: Since RU5 is yet to be released, we will defer to Microsoft to address the question during the next session or the final Q&A
Q: How do those comments at different levels show when printing?
A: Comments can be printed or exported to Excel. Comments will appear on the right hand side/column.
Q: Once in Excel, I have 25 tabs. Each one is set to page layout, which I don’t want. I’m now having to select all tabs and change to normal view. Has anyone at CPM done any work with MR Reports once they are in Excel, using Macros, or Power Pivot, etc?
A: No, we do have a suggestion to allow the user to choose the view in Excel.
Q: Sorry, I meant too many goto choices based on the Descriptions and totals. Can I deselect some of them so they are shown as go tos?
A: They are defined based upon how you create the row definition. Here is more info: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dynamicscpm/archive/2013/01/25/quick-links-in-management-reporter-web-viewer.aspx
Q: I had a problem running the RU4 update and it had to do with Fabrikam being listed in the DYNAMICS database, but no TWO database existed on the server.
A: MR pulls all of its setup information from the host GL. You should check the GL to make sure the databases are defined as needed.
Q: A user was getting this message when generating a report or when opening the same reprt in the viewer…. Object is currently in use elsewhere. I was told on a support case to remove an image, and try to add back a smaller version. i have not tried it yet. Any one have any experience with the size of the image files and how MR responds?
A: Yes, I have seen images embedded as a Page Header/Footer may cause issues (also when sending to Excel or if image too large as you noted).
Q: My client has a strong preference for the Report Viewer over the Web Viewer. If he sends a link to a staff member, the link opens the Web viewer, is there a way to see the report that is in the link via the Report Viewer instead of the Web Viewer (assuming the Client is on the staff member’s desktop).
A: Yes you have the option of users opening the MR Viewer client (installed on a terminal server or their own coomputer) to open reports which I too like better than the web viewer with more options and better users experience & graphics
Q: what is default base period?
A: Default base period can be determined in the Report Definition screen. You can define a specific default period and year or you can select S-1, which will default to the previous month based on the system date. Similar options are available.
Q: where do we find exception report option ?
A: See the Output tab of the report definition and then view the exception report in the Viewer under the View option.
Q: We run month end reports multiple times before they may be finalized. Can you delete preliminary versions from the library?
A: No. There is currently no option to delete report versions through the application.
Q: We run month end reports multiple times before they may be finalized. Can you delete preliminary versions from the library?
A: Update, you can delete report versions and the report in its entirety within the Viewer
Q: Is the Exception Report discussed yesterday in FRx session available in Management Reporter?
A: Yes. Exception reports can be utilize to highlight missing or duplicate accounts in reports.
Q: How do I reorder reporting tree units? I do not want to change the grouping. I would like to change the order within a grouping.
A: You may drag and drop units in the graphical view or promote or Demote units to reorganize.
Q: How do you move a reporting tree unit up or down in the list?
A: Highlight the unit to be moved on the left side hierarchy and drag and drop.
Q: How do I get the consolidated rollups to export to Excel?
A: All the info in teh report can be downloaded to Excel.
Q: FRx asks user to select a Default company. Does this Default company hold true for Management Reporter?
A: Yes, you have a Default company in MR. In MR Designer, you may go to Company | Companies to see a list of companies and set one as default. This default company will be logged into by default the next time you launch the MR Designer. You enter your network/database credentials to first access companies and you have the option to save your credentials so you do not always have to enter them.
Q: If this holds every report generated then there will be a time that this grows to a very large library. No?
A: Yes. Eventually it will become large and need to be cleared out.
Q: Just FYI – if a GP installation is running multi currency then as per MS Engineers, Datamart currently does not support multi currency. Use Legacy instead – for now.
A: Sandy makes an excellent point. The benefit to the DDM is that it can be more efficient, resulting in faster report generation. The downside is that you forego some features when using the DDM, namely, multi-currency reporting, Drill back to GP (not the same as drilldown) and GP account level security.
Q: We have not converted yet to MR. We are multi company multi currency. If we go with Legacy for now can we incorporate Datamart later OR convert to Legacy and Datamart all at once?
A: Microsoft recommends that you go ahead and implement both Datamart and the Legacy provider. That will give you maximum flexibility for the time being so that you can take advantage of the efficiency of the Datamart while keeping the Legacy for reports where currency is needed.
Q: To Jill – are the new roll ups easily incorporated to a current rollup – from RU4 to RU5 for example? A: Hi, Yes, the rollups are very easy to install and config.
Q: How can we set each company as default when only 1 is default?
A: One at a time
Q: Hi Noah, How to manage to do the shading in the columns?
A: Shading is handled in the building block definitions (Rows, Columns) by utilizing the Windows shading options or Font Styles ”
Q: Can we view the headings when looking at just summaries?
A: Yes, the headings will be displayed. The current code is not yet shipping but has been fixed.
Q: how can you get rid of the day of the week on the report date but still have it in the month, day, year format? March 31, 2013?
A: This is a regional setting on the server. You will find the regional settings for long date under the control panel.
Q: Why are you using S-4 in default base period?
A: Because the demo database I used has closed period data for Dec 2012 which is the System date of today (Apr 2013) minus 4 periods. S-1 and C-1 are the most common default base periods to choose which will automatically update the report date based on System/Computer dates (S-1) or your last closed period (C-1)
Q: To use MR 2012, does it naturally assume that the AX version being used is also 2012? (…we are on AX 2009…)
A: Yes, to AX 2009 and AX 2012. Other versions supported: AX 2012, AX 2009, GP 2010, GP 2013, NAV 2009 (only for customers replacing Microsoft FRx), SL 2011
Q: Will ru5 data mart include multi currency?
A: Currency rates are entered in your host ERP (GP/AX/NAV/SL) and Mgt Reporter will report on those amounts.
Q: Does Forecaster also use the same security access as MR (using GP set up)?…probably a ques for tomorrow’s session.
A: No. Security is separate in Forecaster and is based on the segments (dimensions) defined in Forecaster which can be different from MR or the GL. Users can be assigned using SQL or Windows authentication.
Q: We need to migrate from FRx to MR soon due to Windows upgrade across the entire company. What is the timing requirement to migrate? Is there an ideal time (quarter end/year end)? Do you have some preparation tips we need to embark on prior to migration (clean up/purge FRx obsolete reports, etc.) you can send out?
A: It is difficult to determine how long it will take for a particular company to migrate depending on many factors. Of course, the number of companies and the number of reports will impact it. However, there are several ways to minimize the amount of time required by “”cleaning up”” prior to the migration. We will be addressing some of these tips in a later session.
Q: When reports are revised/reclassed and re-run, do the comments stay from the previous report version?
A: YOu can copy the comments from one version to another
Q: Is there time to demo copying of comments?
A: This video should help: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dynamicscpm/archive/2012/01/23/comments-management-reporter-2012-feature-overview.aspx
Q: We have 4 companies within the same database and run 4 separate sets of financial statements. We do not consolidate . Can we still do a report showing all 4 companies on the same Report?
A: Yes
Q: Can you select a calendar year as well as a fiscal year?
A: MR does not store it’s own calendar information. All calendar information is defined in the GL. However, MR allows you to select any available periods.
Q: Can you direct a report run for a specific unit in a reporting tree to a special library?
A: Unfortunately, no. However, you can limit access to folders in Security.
Q: Is it possible to use FILL in a column type to have a line drawn across a column.. when I use FILL “”_”” I only get one line not across the column.
A: Fill is meant to define blank space between columns. To draw a horizontal line across your report, use LNE in the Format Code field in your row definition.
Q: Any possibility a direct link to Forecaster will be added to MR?
A: We recommend that Forecaster customers use the Data Transfer Tool
Q: Fill is meant to define blank space between columns. To draw a horizontal line across your report, use LNE in the Format Code field in your row definition. In response to the fill answer. Is it possible to just have the line in one column?
A: Sure, designate the Column code (letter) in column H (Column Restriction) of the row definition on the row with LNE as the format code. For example if the column where you want to display the line is the third column in the Column Definition, use C in the column restriction.
Q: I have a summary variance income statement – current month and YTD vs budget with $ variance and % variance. I have coded the lines not to print if zero but when I view the detail accounts that have not budget and actual are showing anyway. Any other things I can check? It seems related to the budget beacause when I delete the budgets for accounts that loaded with all zeros those account disappear but the other accounts have budgeted future months.
A: I would sugge you work with your partner, MSX or Microsoft Support for something specific like this. ”
Q: Is it still possible to email reports in excel format or does it have to be sent out as a link?
A: You can export to Excel from the MR Report Library and then email the files. However, there is not a way to email Excel files directly from MR.
Q: Is there any possibility to do real-time reporting in management reporter, or do the reports always need to run on batch or be generated by a designer on-demand?
A: Reports must be generated. It is possible to schedule reports to generate automatically using Report Scheduling.
Q: And is there an out of the box way of checking if some of my accounts in ax are not included in any of the report lines?
A: You can utilize a check row to indicate when accounts are missing from a report. That is, add a non-printing row that includes the full range of available accounts. Next, add a calculation row that will compare the total of all accounts from your report to the non-printing row with the range. If the result is anything but zero, you know you are missing at least one account. You can also investigate using an Exception report to highlight missing accounts, but the first method is more pro-active.
Q: What about report versioning logs? if i create different versions, will it just overwrite the latest version or do i have a possibility of backtracking and to see how my report was done let´s say 2 years go?
A: MR keeps a copy of the output of every report, each time it is generated, so you can pull up older versions of the report. However, it does not archive the report definitions (Rows, Columns and Tree settings) each time a report is run.
Q: How would you consolidate balance sheets etc from different companies with different charts of account. Is there a possibility of mapping etc?
A: You may create multiple Financial Dimensions (FD) links in the Row definition and reference those FD links by unit/company in the tree
Q: How would you consolidate balance sheets etc from different companies with different charts of account. Is there a possibility of mapping etc?
A: You must utilize a reporting tree to consolidate multiple companies/entities. The structure shown in the Dimensions column in the Tree will automatically reflect the structure for the entity defined for the reporting unit. In the Row Definition, you can double-click on the Link to Financial Dimensions (col J) and select new to add additional columns. You will need to add new columns for any different COAs. Once defined, indicate the appropriate accounts, etc. for each Link to FD column. For example, column J may represent Sales as account 4000, but column K may show 41250, which is sales for company 2. Back in the Reporting Tree Definition, indicate which Link to FD column (from the Row Definition) applies for each Reporting Unit.
Q: I´m going to use this time to write out a couple of questions, if i would need to add more dimensions or accounts etc. as a row definition. Is there any way of automatizing that? meaning that if you have a report with all of the accounts, not using a 1:100000 format and you add an account to ax. Would you have to add that manually to all of the management reporter reports as well?
A: In order to automatically pick up balances in MR from new accounts added in the GL, you mush utilize either ranges or widlcards in your row definition. For example, if you have a detailed report where every account has it’s own row, it will not automatically add the new account to the Row Definition. You can, however, utilize a check row to indicate when accounts are missing from a report. That is, add a non-printing row that includes the full range of available accounts. Next, add a calculation row that will compare the total of all accounts from your report to the non-printing row with the range. If the rusult is anthing but zero, you know you are missing at least one account.
Q: When exporting to excel can you export the account detail similarly to FRx?
A: Yes, when Exporting to Excel you can Export Financial level, Account detail and Transaction detail along with Comments.
Q: How do you create a consolidated report / trial balance?
A: To create a consolidated TB (or any consolidate report), you must use a reporting tree to identify the entities (companies) in the company field for each reporting unit.
Q: In FRx you could do side by side balance sheet. Can you do that in MR?
A: No, was burdonesome to create in FRx and not available in MR. The option will be Assets at top in Rows and Liab/Equity at the bottom in rows
Q: What are attributes?
A: Attributes are other data tags or information that is collected by your GL and used in some cases to filter data in Row and Column definitions. Attributes available vary by GL.
Q: Are you use the data mart if you are on Windows 2003 server?
A: Yes, but the database needs to be installed from a non 2003 machine. Info in the Install guide
Q: What are attributes?
A: Attributes are transaction details you may filter into the report through the Row or Column. You may add an ATTR (Attribute) column type to the report and the field beneath the ATTR column type will diaply a list of Attribute filters you may choose from. There is also a field in the column toward the bottom to filter/see only certain Attributes. This Attribute filter is also available in the Row Definition (Row Modifier field, Col I in row definition). Q: What does “”CBR”” mean for a Format Code? A: CBR refers to “”Change Base Row”” and is utilized to designate a row in the Row Defitions as the denominater for the report for relational reporting and for calculating ratios in reports. Check the online help for additional information.
Q: what’s the best way to get mid-month #’s? we often need info through the 15th
A: Using Start and End date filters in the Column seen toward the bottom of the Column definition (available for an FD-Financial Dimension column bringing in GL data)
Q: Before transition to DDM, do we still have access to all the functionality on sharepoint?
A: Yes.
Q: How much slower is the processing time?
A: There is considerable variance from one company to another, so it is difficult to determine.
Q: I haven’t seen the “”Effective Dates”” option from FRx for rows and columns in a report definition; is there an plan to bring that to MR?
A: Microsoft has not made any statement about including effective date in MR.
Q: We heard at Convergence DDM was only for AX2012, not 2009.???
A: The Data Mart is for AX2012 and and not AX 2009. Other Data Marts for GP 2010, GP 2013, SL 2011, and NAV.
Q: Can export to Excel be automated (scheduled)?
A: No. The export to Excel option is only available from the Report Viewer (Library)
Q: What was the equivalent to Account Sets in Management Reporter?
A: In FRx they are called Account Sets and in MR they are referred to as Dimension Value Sets found under Edit manage Dimension Value Sets when in the Row or Column or Tree in MR.
Q: Is there any way to change the text for @PeriodCoverage autotext field to read For the Two Months “Ended” instead of For the Two Months “Ending”?
A: No, there may be other dates formats to choose from or this may be an enhancement request one can make on the Microsoft Connect site we will note few times today
Q: Is there a good work around for the missing effective dates in MR? I want to do quarterly reports like that in MR.
A: You can stipulate multiple periods in the Period field in the Column Definition. For example, entering 1:3 in the period field will produce the sum of periods 1 through 3.
Q: How do you clear out those failed reports in your queue?
A: It has to be done in SQL.
Q: Is there any good way to add autotext fields to a calc column? An example is a quarterly report where I am summing 3 periods that are hidden and I want the period ended month and date on the calc field? Thanks.
A: CALC columns do not currently allow for formulas in the column headers. I would sugget voting for this on https://connect.microsoft.com
Q: Is there anyway to use @CalMonthLong on the report header instead of the column header?
A: There are many Page Header/Footer codes available in the Report definition.
Q: Why are you using segment 2 over segment 1
A: In the Demo Microsoft database, the Segments are generically named (Segment1, Segment 2 and Segment 3). usually you will se descriptions like Division, Account and Department. Segment 2 is the Account segment.
Q: How do I calculate metrics using a rolling 12 month in management reporter. Example of a metric I would like to calculate is days inventory outstanding.
A: I would suggest you have MSX help you with this question since it is very specific to how you capture your GL data.
Q: That’s ok. You had stated to ask MSX for assistance. How would I do that?
A: Here is contact info: http://msxgroup.com/contact-us/
Q: Can you print a list of report definitions and their associated rows, column, and trees from Management Reporter?
A: Not a direct print (can vote for that new feature on Microsoft Connect site) but you can click the yellow open folder icon then on the Report Definitions tab you can highlight all reports and copy (CTRL+C) and past to Excel/Word for report inventory.
Q: CAn we get down to the transaction level with AX 2009? We are not able to with FRx so wanted to be sure.
A: Yes. Transaction details are available to be drilled down to in MR for AX
Q: Is the current slide telling us that we can not connect to Forecaster data with MR? Can’t we connect to any SQL db to pull data from multiple sources?
A: MR does not pull data directly to Forecaster as FRx did. Instead, MR includes a Data Transfer Utility program that can be utilized to easily copy your Forecaster balances to your GL for reporting in MR. MR does not connect to outside databases, but it can be used to pull data into reports from external Excel files.
Q: Do comments print on Financial Statements?
A: Comments can be added, exported and printed.
Q: How do you uninstall the Migration Wizard?
A: You may unisnatll the MIgration Wizard like other programs. Perhaps there is another thought or end goal you may be inquiring about we can elaborate on.
Q: Do all report names need to start with zz?
A: No. You can name reports, rows, columns and trees according to whatever format you want for your company.
Q: What is XBRL?
A: XBRL is Extensible Business Reporting Language, which is a standard that was created to facilitate financial reporting across industries. It is mostly used by government and large companies, but will likely become more mainstream.
Q: Tree didn’t migrated properly, it’s a very complex tree with more than 1500 rows. there are no rows linked to the tree no &&??
A: I would verify first there is a company code for these units with an account mask and they are not using the @ANY company.
Q: How frequent the data refreshed into DDM database, how much delay we can expect?
A: Datamart utilizes a trickle process to update changes only very frequently (every <1 min). It is not real time, but is updated very frequently. The refresh is scheduled, so no user intervention is necessary.
Q: Can the Company Configuration for SL2011 be changed from a Test SYSTEM DB to a production SYSTEM DB?
A: You may use the MR Configuration Consol to point to different SL environments OR you may also have multiple MR environments/installs.
Q: Can the migration wizard be re-run (after exporting MR data first)?
A: Hi John, yes you can run the Migration Wizard at anytime. Please be advised the Migration Wizard will overwrite reports you have so you may want to export test reports out first.
Q: Also, a client was wondering if there’s a way to produce a “”cover page”” for reports in MR?
A: You would probably need to create the cover page in an alternate application
Q: Client has about 10 companies and runs consolidated F/S. Is there a way to get each company’s logo on their company-specific report when using a consolidated tree?
A: The headers are per report, so you would need to use the corporate logo, not one for each company
Q: Also, a client was wondering if there’s a way to produce a “”cover page”” for reports in MR?
A: No “”Report Book”” exists today in MR with cover page and print all reports like there was in FRx, you may add external files (Word, Excel. etc) into Viewer.
Q: when u use a mix of segments in the row definition, do you have to have a tree to mirror this mix [like in FRx]? or is this not necessary in MR?
A: No. Typically, you can utilize the Dimensions filters in the Row and Tree definitions independently.
Q: When you use a mix of segments in the row definition, do you have to have a tree to mirror this mix [like in FRx] or is this not necessary in MR?
A: Thank goodness Tree are NOT required like they were with FRx when using mutiple segments/dimensions. Trees are only required in MR if you want to report on multiple companies/databases. ”
Q: What does the star do, again?
A: The star (* or asterisk) is a wildcard. For example, if we want to bring in all revenue accounts that begin with a 4 we may use 4* You may also use the ? as a wildcard like the syntax was in FRx (4??? assuming we have a 4 digit account) ”
Q: Do you have to be on datamart in order to use RU4 & future roll ups?
A: There are so many benefits to moving to the data mart. We don’t require it now but I think we will soon. Why are you not interested ?
Q: If we haven’t moved to datamart, when should we move? If we are on RU3 but on legacy, can we apply RU4 & beyond while still on legacy? Or do we have to be on datamart in order to go to RU4?
A: Yes. You can continue to utilize the legacy provider and upgrade to RU4 and beyond implement the DDM at a later time.
Q: This may be a complex question, but how do you edit the chart to be more meaningful & not include every row? For instance, a real pie chart would not include the totals as slices of the pie.
A: Build a report intended to be used in a chart or graph.
Q: To have access to the web viewer, what roll up do you have to be on?
A: Web Viewer was added with RU3, but we always recommend you install the most recent, which is RU. Also, RU5 will be coming out within a few weeks.
Q: Can you choose an account category ID instead of segment range?
A: Yes, if you have setup Account Categories in your host ERP (GP/AX/NAV/SL), then you may reference those in the report (like most common in the Row and also less common in Column or Tree)
Q: How do you bring in the items from excel for calculation purposes?
A: Bringing data into MR from Excel can be done in two ways. The first is the Combined method – where you utilize the Link to Dimensions column in the Row Definition to define an Excel file and designate certain rows to pull Excel data into the report. or the Seperate method, which utilizes the Reporting Tree Definition to identify Excel file(s) containing data to be pulled into the report. In the seperate method, you designate specific columns in the Column Definition to display Excel data. This is an advanced topic, see MSXGroup.com for more specific details.
Q: In my viewer the excel, xps, print and email are grayed out? What do I do to get this working?
A: This relates to your user security role (Administrator, Designer, Generator and Viewer) and priviliges you have in Viewer (View, Edit, Create, Delete).
Q: Is an alert on a library different than an alert on a group of report recipients?
A: With SharePoint, any person can set up the level of alerts they want. The admin can set them for everyone but anyone can then edit as they see fit for what they need.
Q: Is it true that by using TOT in the format code you can sum the entire range and it will ignore the other TOT’s and give a correct grand total?
A: Yes, TOT ranges (like TOT 100:600 summing up rows 100 through 600) will exclude other TOT rows. The exception to that is: if your first row in the range (row 100 in this example) is a TOT row it WILL include that total. TOT ranges will always include CAL rows so please be aware of that in your report design.
Q: On the row definition, how did you populate the description column in one fell swoop?
A: In the Row Definition, go to Edit and Insert Rows from Dimensions
Q: Will you show us how to set security for web viewer?
A: Today, security for web viewer is created by folders in the report library. There are several videos on the MR blog that willl help understnad how the link files for the web viewer have security applied. Here is a link to the blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dynamicscpm/
Q: When you are in the viewer, you can driilldown to the summary. Is that option available when exported to Excel?
A: In the Viewer (and when Exporting/Printing) you may do so down to the the various tree unit levels with Financial and Account and Transaction detail depending on the Detail level chosen in the Report Definition.
Q: Can only add comments to a row, not a cell?
A: Yes, comments are at the Row/line level and not at the cell level.
Q: Can you enter a comment for the entire report? Maybe attached to the heading or title?
A: Yes, you have a few options for report “”comments””. Comments in the Viewer at any report level in tree, any account and/or transaction. You may also have “”comments”” that you may add to the Row definition seen by all units, also as a Page Header or Footer, and there is also a Tree text field where you have individual notes attached to each unit of the tree particular to that unit.
Q: If you allow MR to convert your balance sheet from its local currency to a currency used in at the consolidated level, how does it know where or how to post the translation gain/loss?
A: MR is not used to revalue the currencies, just to show the amounts in a reporting currency. The ERP handles revaluation.
Q: We have date and time stamp in the header, when we open a report from report library without refreshing the report data…it does give a new date and time implying that the data has been refreshed when it actually hasn’t. Is this a setting issue?
A: The date you are seeing implies the current day/time the report was opened and not generated (which I prefer too). Enhancement request we can vote on in icrosoft Connect web site.
Q: Does management report have the ability to let us report on unposted activity like FRx did?
A: Yes. Management Reporter will allow reporting on unposted balances and can be selected in the report definition in the Provisional field on the Report tab.
Q: Does Management Reporter allow us to report on unposted activity?
A: Yes. Management Reporter will allow reporting on unposted balances and can be selected in the report definition in the Provisional field on the Report tab.
Q: Is the datamart realtime or scheduled refresh?
A: Datamart utilizes a trickle process to update changes only very frequently (every <1 min). It is not real time, but is updated very frequently. The refresh is scheduled, so no user intervention is necessary.
Q: Could you ask Jill to show us again wher ethe allow content settings are in the SharePoint library?
A: This post covers it: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dynamicscpm/archive/2012/07/20/how-to-configure-management-reporter-2012-with-microsoft-sharepoint.aspx