Report on the Updates area with a Journal Entry report

Last update: February 20, 2025

CREATED FOR:

  • User

The Journal Entry report surfaces system updates from the Updates area of projects, tasks, issues, and other objects that were previously only available through the Adobe Workfront API. While this is an advanced report intended for specific use cases, the more digestible format makes it easier for you to report on project activity and system updates within Workfront.

TIP
The Journal Entry report contains only system updates from the Updates area of objects. To report on comments left in the Updates area, you must use the Note report.
For more information on the Note report, see View all updates in a Note report.‍

The Journal Entry report can show:

  • How many status changes occurred
  • When a task or issue was deleted
  • How values in important custom fields changed over the course of a project’s life cycle
  • What important dates changed over the course of a project’s life cycle
  • If the owner of a project changed

Access requirements

Expand to view access requirements for the functionality in this article.

You must have the following access to perform the steps in this article:

Adobe Workfront planAny
Adobe Workfront license

New:

  • Standard

Current:

  • Plan
Access level configurations

Edit access to Reports, Dashboards, Calendars

Edit access to Filters, Views, Groupings

Object permissions

View permissions to the objects that contain the journal entries you display in the report

You will obtain Manage permissions to the report after you create it

*For information, see Access requirements in Workfront documentation.

Prerequisites

Before you can perform the actions described in this article, you must make sure of the following:

  • Any fields (including custom fields) that you want to report on are tracked in Workfront. You can only report on data from the Updates area that is tracked.

    To learn how to add fields that you want Workfront to track, see Configure system updates.

Journal Entry report overview

Because the Journal Entry report queries system updates, it can return a significant number of results. For this reason, we recommend that you filter to specific objects—such as projects, programs, portfolios, groups, and so forth—when creating the report.

To learn more about the different object types in Workfront, see Understand objects in Adobe Workfront.

NOTE
Because the Journal Entry report returns so much data, exporting and scheduled report delivery are not supported.

The default view for this report contains the following columns:

FieldExplanation
Field Name

The name of the affected field. Depending on how you set up the report, this column could contain Status, Owner ID, Task Name, Planned Completion Date, or other fields.

When DE: displays in this column, it indicates that the field listed is a custom field.

Change Type

The type of change made to the affected field. Depending on the filter rules that you set up and the actions taken by users, the following might appear in this field:

  • Add

  • Audit

  • Delete

  • Digest

  • Edit

  • Restore

Top ObjCodeThe highest parent object in the hierarchy.
ScopeThe type of object that was changed.
Entry DateThe date that the field was changed.
Edited by NameThe user that changed the field.

To organize the information in this report, you can use the built-in grouping called Project. The Project grouping gives you a primary grouping of Project Name and a secondary grouping of Entry Date. You can apply this existing grouping during report creation, or you can apply it when viewing the report.

To learn how to set up the views, filters, and groupings you want for your report, see the relevant section:

See what status changes occurred

You can set up the Journal Entry report to show:

  • How many status changes were made on a project, task, or issue

  • What the previous status was before the change

  • Who changed the status

  • When the status change took place

If you want to see the health of a project, you could also set up the report to show this same information using the project Condition field.

This information can be used to help with auditing and to illustrate how well you and your organization are planning.

TIP
If you want to compare the difference in days between condition changes, you can use Enhanced analytics.
To learn more about Enhanced analytics, see Enhanced analytics overview.

  1. Click the Main Menu icon Main Menu in the upper-right corner of Adobe Workfront, or (if available), click the Main Menu icon Main Menu in the upper-left corner, then click Reports.

  2. Click New Report, then select Journal Entry.

    Select journal entry

    The report builder loads.

  3. In the Columns (View) tab, add the following columns:

    ColumnExplanation
    Field NameThe name of the affected field. In this case, status should display in this column.
    Change TypeThe type of change made to the affected field, such as Add, Delete, or Edit.
    Edited by NameThe name of the user that updated the status.
    Entry DateThe date that the status was changed.
    Old Text Value

    The key for the previous status. The following are the status keys for the default project statuses:

    • CUR: Current

    • DED: Dead

    • ONH: On Hold

    • PLN: Planning

    • CPL: Complete

    • REQ: Requested

    • APR: Approved

    • REJ: Rejected

    • IDA: Idea

    If your organization has set up custom statuses, other status keys might appear in this column. To learn what custom status is related to a status key, contact your Workfront administrator or group administrator.

    New Text ValueThe key for the updated status.
    Top ObjCodeThe highest parent object for the field that had the status change.
    ScopeThe type of object that had the status change.
    Issue Name
    (Optional)    		The name of the issue that had a status change.
    Task Name
    (Optional)    		The name of the task that had a status change.

    For more information on adding columns, see Views overview in Adobe Workfront.

  4. In the Filters tab, click Add a Filter Rule, then add the filter rule Field Name > Equal > status.

    Journal entry status filter

    TIP
    To report on condition changes, you can instead add the filter rule Field Name > Equal > Condition.

    For more information on adding filters, see Filters overview.

  5. (Optional) To narrow the focus of the report and reduce load times, add a prompt.

    Or

    Create additional filter rules to include specific projects, tasks, or issues.

    IMPORTANT
    Creating a filter rule that uses the modifier Contains can actually increase load times. For this reason, we recommend using a different modifier like Equal when possible to filter for a specific project or higher-level object ID.

    To learn how to add a prompt, see Add a prompt to a report.

  6. In the Groupings tab, click Apply an Existing Grouping, then select Project.

    For more information on adding groupings, see Groupings overview in Adobe Workfront.

  7. Click Save + Close.

    Your new report loads.

See when a task or issue was deleted

You can set up the Journal Entry report to show:

  • What tasks or issues have been deleted
  • Who deleted a task or issue

To see when a task or issue was deleted:

  1. Click the Main Menu icon Main Menu in the upper-right corner of Adobe Workfront, or (if available), click the Main Menu icon Main Menu in the upper-left corner, then click Reports.

  2. Click New Report, then select Journal Entry.

    Select journal entry

    The report builder loads.

  3. In the Columns (View) tab, add the following columns:

    ColumnExplanation
    ScopeThe type of object that was deleted.
    Change TypeThe type of change that happened. The Delete change displays in this column.
    Entry DateThe date that the task or issue was deleted.
    Edited by NameThe name of the user that deleted the task or issue.
    Project NameThe name of the project that had tasks or issues deleted.

    For more information on adding columns, see Views overview in Adobe Workfront.

  4. In the Filters tab, click Add filter rule, then add the following filters:

    • Change Type > Equal > Delete
    • Project ID > Equal > < project name >

    For more information on adding filters, see Filters overview.

  5. (Optional) To narrow the focus of the report and reduce load times, add a prompt.

    Or

    Create additional filter rules to include specific projects, tasks, or issues.

    IMPORTANT
    Creating a filter rule that uses the modifier Contains can actually increase load times. For this reason, we recommend using a different modifier like Equal when possible to filter for a specific project or higher-level object ID.

    To learn how to add a prompt, see Add a prompt to a report.

  6. (Optional) In the Groupings tab, click Apply an Existing Grouping, then select Project.

    For more information on adding groupings, see Groupings overview in Adobe Workfront.

  7. Click Save + Close.

    Your new report loads.

See how custom fields changed over the course of a project’s life cycle

You can track important field changes over the course of the project. To do this, you can set up the Journal Entry to track:

  • If certain custom fields were added, updated, or edited
  • When these changes happened
  • Who made the changes

To see how custom fields changed over the course of a project’s life cycle:

  1. Click the Main Menu icon Main Menu in the upper-right corner of Adobe Workfront, or (if available), click the Main Menu icon Main Menu in the upper-left corner, then click Reports.

  2. Click New Report, then select Journal Entry.

    Select journal entry

    The report builder loads.

  3. In the Columns (View) tab, ensure you have or click Add Column to add the following columns:

    ColumnExplanation
    Field Name

    The name of the custom field affected.

    When DE: displays in this column, it indicates that the field listed is a custom field.

    Change TypeThe type of change made to the affected field, such as Add, Delete, or Edit.
    Edited by NameThe name of the user that updated the custom field.
    Entry Date

    The date that the value in the custom field changed.

    You should sort by this field in descending order.

    Old Number ValueThe previous number value in the custom field.
    New Number ValueThe current number value in the custom field.
    Old Date ValueThe previous date value in the custom field.
    New Date ValueThe current date value in the custom field.
    Old Text ValueThe previous text value in the custom field.
    New Text Value

    The current text value in the custom field.

    If the custom field is a typeahead field, the New Text Value column displays the object ID.

    For more information on adding columns, see Views overview in Adobe Workfront.

  4. In the Filters tab, click Add a Filter Rule, then add the following filters:

    • Journal Entry Field Name > Contains > DE

      TIP
      To limit this report to specific custom fields, add the filter rule Journal Entry Field Name > Equal > < custom field name>.

    • Project ID > Equal > < project >.

    Custom form changes filter

    For more information on adding filters, see Filters overview.

  5. (Optional) To narrow the focus of the report and reduce load times, add a prompt.

    Or

    Create additional filter rules to include specific projects, tasks, or issues.

    IMPORTANT
    Creating a filter rule that uses the modifier Contains can actually increase load times. For this reason, we recommend using a different modifier like Equal when possible to filter for a specific project or higher-level object ID.

    To learn how to add a prompt, see Add a prompt to a report.

  6. In the Groupings tab, click Apply an Existing Grouping, then select Project.

    For more information on adding groupings, see Groupings overview in Adobe Workfront.

  7. Click Save + Close.

    Your new report loads.

See how the Planned Completion Date changed over the course of a project’s life cycle

You can set up the Journal Entry report to show how often the Planned Completion Date changes over the course of a project’s life.

  1. Click the Main Menu icon Main Menu in the upper-right corner of Adobe Workfront, or (if available), click the Main Menu icon Main Menu in the upper-left corner, then click Reports.

  2. Click New Report, then select Journal Entry.

    Select journal entry

    The report builder loads.

  3. In the Columns (View) tab, add the following columns:

    ColumnExplanation
    Field Name

    The name of the affected field.

    When DE: displays in this column, it indicates that the field listed is a custom field.

    Change TypeThe type of change that happened, such as Add, Delete, or Edit.
    Edited by NameThe name of the user that updated the project's Planned Completion Date.
    Entry Date

    The date that the project's Planned Completion Date was changed.

    You should sort by this field in descending order.

    Top ObjCodeThe highest parent object for the field that had the Planned Completion Date change.
    ScopeThe object that had the Planned Completion Date change.
    Old Date ValueThe previous value for the Planned Completion Date.
    New Date ValueThe current value for the Planned Completion Date.

    Project Name

    (Optional)

    		Thhe name of the project that had the Planned Completion Date change.

    Task Name

    (Optional)

    		The name of the tasks in the project that had the Planned Completion Date change.

    Issue Name

    (Optional)

    		The name of the issues in the project that have the Planned Completion Date change.

    For more information on adding columns, see Views overview in Adobe Workfront.

  4. In the Filters tab, click Add a Filter Rule, then add the following:

    • Field Name > Equal > Date
    • Project ID > Equal > < project name >.

    Planned completion date change filter

    For more information on adding filters, see Filters overview.

  5. (Optional) To narrow the focus of the report and reduce load times, add a prompt.

    Or

    Create additional filter rules to include specific projects, tasks, or issues.

    IMPORTANT
    Creating a filter rule that uses the modifier Contains can actually increase load times. For this reason, we recommend using a different modifier like Equal when possible to filter for a specific project or higher-level object ID.

    To learn how to add a prompt, see Add a prompt to a report.

  6. In the Groupings tab, click Apply an Existing Grouping, then select Project.

    For more information on adding groupings, see Groupings overview in Adobe Workfront.

  7. Click Save + Close.

    Your new report loads.

See if the owner of a project changed

You can set up the Journal Entry report to show how many times the project owner—or project manager—changes over the course of a project’s life.

  1. Click the Main Menu icon Main Menu in the upper-right corner of Adobe Workfront, or (if available), click the Main Menu icon Main Menu in the upper-left corner, then click Reports.

  2. Click New Report, then select Journal Entry.

    Select journal entry

    The report builder loads.

  3. In the Columns (View) tab, add the following columns:

    ColumnExplanation
    Field NameThe name of the affected field. The ownerID displays in this column.
    Change TypeThe type of change that happened, such as Add, Delete, or Edit.
    Top ObjCodeThe highest parent object for the project that had the project owner updated.
    Entry DateThe date that the project owner was changed.
    You should sort by this field in descending order.
    Edited by NameThe name of the user that updated the project owner.
    Additional Info 1The current project owner on the project.
    Additional Info 2The previous project owner on the project.
    Project NameThe project that had the Project Owner field updated.

    For more information on adding columns, see Views overview in Adobe Workfront.

  4. In the Filters tab, click Add filter rule, then add the following:

    • Field Name > Equal > ownerID
    • Project ID > Equal > < project name >.

    Owner change filter

    For more information on adding filters, see Filters overview.

  5. (Optional) To narrow the focus of the report and reduce load times, add a prompt.

    Or

    Create additional filter rules to include specific projects, tasks, or issues.

    IMPORTANT
    Creating a filter rule that uses the modifier Contains can actually increase load times. For this reason, we recommend using a different modifier like Equal when possible to filter for a specific project or higher-level object ID.

    To learn how to add a prompt, see Add a prompt to a report.

  6. (Optional) In the Groupings tab, click Apply an Existing Grouping, then select Project.

    For more information on adding groupings, see Groupings overview in Adobe Workfront.

  7. Click Save + Close.

    The new journal entry report displays.

More help on this topic

Previous pageChange the owner of a report
Next pageCreate a User Delegation report

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