Generating Reports

This page explains how to select a report form, choose which fields to include, run the report against Active Directory, and work with the results.

Selecting a Report Form

Open the report catalog by clicking REPORTS in the sidebar. Select a category tab (Users, Computers, Groups, etc.) and click on a report form in the left panel. The main area shows the report form’s details: its name, description, any predefined filters, and the list of fields that will be included.

You can also find report forms from the Home screen using the search box, the Favorites list, or the Recent list.

Choosing Fields

Each report form has a set of fields (AD attributes) that will appear as columns in the results. You can adjust which fields are included before generating:

• Fields are shown in a checklist. Check a field to include it, uncheck to exclude it.
• Each field shows its display name and a description explaining what it contains. The LDAP attribute name is also shown so you can identify the underlying AD attribute.
• Use the Up, Down, Top, and Bottom buttons to reorder how columns appear in the results.

Some fields are marked as Pro-only. If you try to generate a report that includes a Pro-only field in the Free edition, AD FastReporter will show a notification explaining the restriction.

For built-in report forms, field changes are saved per report form — your customized field selection is preserved the next time you use the same form.

Running the Report

Click the Generate button in the toolbar. AD FastReporter begins querying Active Directory through the currently selected connection.

During generation, the interface shows:

• The current operation being performed (e.g., “Starting LDAP search”, “Data processing”)
• A timer showing elapsed time
• A progress log in the bottom panel with detailed status messages
• A Stop button to cancel the report if needed

The time required depends on the size of your directory, the number of fields selected (especially calculated fields like inherited group memberships), and the connection’s scope. Reports against a small OU complete in seconds; reports across a large enterprise domain with complex calculated fields may take several minutes.

Working with Results

Once generation completes, the results appear in a data grid. The title bar shows the report name and the total number of records found.

Sorting — Click any column header to sort ascending. Click again for descending. Hold Shift and click additional columns to sort by multiple columns.

Column search/filter — Click the filter icon in a column header to filter the displayed rows by that column’s values. This is a client-side filter on the already-retrieved results — it doesn’t re-query Active Directory.

Text search — Use the search box above the grid to find specific text across all columns. Press F3 for “Find next” or Shift+F3 for “Find previous.” Check the “Filter” checkbox to hide non-matching rows.

Column sizing — Drag column dividers to resize. Click “Expand all columns” to auto-size all columns to fit their content.

Multiple open reports — Each generated report opens in its own tab in the sidebar. You can have multiple reports open simultaneously and switch between them by clicking their tabs.

Exporting Results

With the Pro edition, you can export the results to a file. Click one of the export buttons in the results toolbar:

Format	Description
XLSX	Excel spreadsheet with formatting
CSV	Comma-separated values
CSV (append)	Appends to an existing CSV file instead of overwriting
HTML	Formatted HTML page with CSS styling
PDF	Print-ready PDF document
XML	Structured XML
ODS	OpenDocument Spreadsheet (LibreOffice/OpenOffice)
JSON	JSON format for integration with other tools and scripts

After selecting a format, choose a save location and file name. The DateTime format used in XLSX exports can be configured in Settings → General.

Sending Results by Email

You can also send the report directly by email. Click the Email button in the results toolbar and choose the delivery format:

• Plain text — Report data formatted as text in the email body
• CSV attachment — Report exported as CSV and attached
• XLSX attachment — Report exported as Excel and attached
• HTML attachment — Report exported as HTML and attached

Email delivery requires SMTP to be configured in Settings → Email. See Email Delivery for setup details.

Report Errors and Warnings

If errors occur during generation, AD FastReporter shows the error in the log panel. Common situations:

• DirectoryServicesCOMException — Typically an LDAP error such as insufficient permissions or an unreachable domain controller. The extended error message provides specific details.
• Non-replicated attribute warnings — When reporting on attributes like lastLogon that exist per-DC, some domain controllers may be unreachable. The report will still complete but with a note that data from those DCs is missing.
• ProOnlyException — A field or filter in the report form requires the Pro edition.

Even when errors occur, AD FastReporter attempts to return whatever results it successfully retrieved. Partial results are still displayed in the grid.

Automatic Report Storage

In the Pro edition, generated reports are automatically saved to the local SQLite database. You can access them later from the Report History view without re-querying Active Directory. This behavior can be controlled via the “Save reports with results” option in Settings.