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Use date-based wildcards to generalize reports

Last update: Sun Oct 12 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

CREATED FOR:

  • User

You can generalize a report by using wildcards instead of specific information when building certain reporting elements.

For example, if you want to create a report that shows the tasks that have a specific Planned Start Date, you can use the calendar date picker in a filter to select a specific date. However, if you want to create a report that shows tasks that have the Planned Start Date within a certain timeframe from the date when the report is accessed, you can use a wildcard that indicates that when someone views the report it displays information for a timeframe relevant for the moment when they view the report.

For example in the past week, in the past year, in the next two weeks, etc. This way, you build the report once, but because you use a wildcard in the filter, it produces different results every time someone reads it because it adapts to the day when they run the report.

You can use date-based wildcards when building the following reporting elements:

  • Filters
  • Custom prompts
  • Views when adding rules for columns

Access requirements

Expand to view access requirements for the functionality in this article.
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Adobe Workfront package Any
Adobe Workfront license

Standard

Plan
Access level configurations

Edit access to Filters, Views, Groupings

Edit access to Reports, Dashboards, Calendars to edit reporting elements in a report
Object permissions

Manage permissions to a report to edit reporting elements in a report

Manage permissions to a view or filter to edit them

For more detail about the information in this table, see Access requirements in Workfront documentation.

Prerequisites

You must create a report before you can add wildcard variables to it.

For information on creating a report, see Create a report.

How-to steps

To insert a date-based wildcard in a report:

  1. Go to a report for which you want to insert a date-based wildcard.

  2. Click Report Actions, then Edit.

  3. Click the Filters tab.

  4. Click Add a Filter Rule.

  5. Start typing the name of the field that you want to filter by.
    You must type fields that reference a date.

  6. Select Equal in the drop-down menu for the filter variable.

    note tip
    TIP
    You must always select the Equal filter variable when working with wildcards in Adobe Workfront.

  7. Click the Set relative date toggle, then in the text box that appears type: $$TODAY if you want to display information about something that occurs the same day that the report is run.

    Or

    Type $$NOW if you want to display information about something that occurs at the same date and time that the report is run.

    This date is always different, as it changes with the date the report is actually viewed by a user. so the information in the report is different from day to day.

  8. (Optional) If you want to display information that occurs within a timeframe after the date when the report is run, type $$TODAY+1w to display information in the following week, or $$TODAY+2m to display information in the next two months. You can also indicate timeframes for quarters, hours, days, or years.

  9. (Optional) If you want to display information about something that occurred within a timeframe before the date when the report is run, type $$TODAY-1w to display information from the previous week, or $$TODAY-2m to display information from the previous two months. You can also indicate timeframes for quarters, hours, days, or years.

    For a complete list of attributes, qualifiers, and operators that you can use in date-based wildcards, see the article Wildcard filter variables overview.

  10. Click Save + Close.

Additional information

See also:

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