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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2026-01-09
Concept: Indexed Data Sources and Fields

Concept: Indexed Data Sources and Fields

A Workday business object can have several standard report data sources (RDSs) associated with it, each representing a different filter or selection into instances of that object. Workday indexes certain RDSs and report fields for:
  • Aggregation.
  • Faceted filtering.
  • Report performance on large volumes of data.
When you create a custom report based on an indexed RDS, Workday prompts you to select from a list of predefined data source filters, if available.
You can access the
Workday-Delivered Data Sources
 report to view a list of delivered data sources. You can also access the
Data Sources
 report and filter the results to view lists of all delivered, indexed, or standard data sources.

Report Data Sources and Report Types

You can create these custom report types using standard or indexed RDSs:
Report Type
Report Data Source Type
Advanced
Standard or Indexed
Matrix
Standard or Indexed
nBox
Indexed
Search
Indexed
Simple
Standard or Indexed
Transposed
Standard or Indexed
Trending
Standard or Indexed
When creating or editing custom reports that use indexed RDSs, you can select the
Optimized for Performance
 check box to display only indexed report fields in field prompts.

Indexed Data Sources and Fields

The
View Indexed Fields for Data Source
 report lists all indexed report fields for each RDS and the focus for indexing:
Column
Description
Indexed for Filter
Workday indexes the report field for use on the
Filter
 tab of report definition.
Indexed for Facets
Workday indexes the report field for use in
Facet Filter
 options on the
Advanced
 tab.
Indexed for Aggregation
Workday indexes the report field for summarization, such as
Sum
,
Average
,
Minimum
, or
Maximum
.
Indexed for Group By
Workday indexes the report field for column or row grouping.
Workday displays an
Indexing Information
 section on the related actions menu of a report field. Workday also displays an
Indexed
 column on the:
  • Filter
     tab for advanced, matrix, and trending report.
  • Matrix
     tab for matrix reports.
  • Trending
     tab for trending reports.
The
Indexed
 column indicates whether the report can run in indexed mode for the condition.

Limitations on Indexed Data Sources

Report Type
Tab
Limitation
All report types
Filter
When you select an indexed RDS that requires a data source filter, Workday populates the
Data Source Filter
 prompt. If needed, you can select another filter from a list of predefined filters for the RDS.
Consider these filter limitations for all report types:
  • You can filter only on report fields indexed for facets or indexed for search.
  • You can't filter on a calculated field.
For text and rich text fields, you can't use filter count operations on instance fields.
Advanced
Filter
You can't filter on an indexed object as a related business object.
Matrix and nBox
Matrix
For group by fields, you can use:
  • Boolean fields indexed for grouping.
  • Single instance fields indexed for grouping.
For group by fields, you can't use:
  • Calculated fields.
  • Numeric fields.
  • Text fields.
For fields to summarize, you can't use calculated fields.
Matrix and nBox
Advanced
The same limitations that apply to group by fields apply to the drillable fields.
Search
Advanced
You can use only report fields indexed for facets as facet filters.
Simple, Advanced, Matrix, nBox, Search, and Transposed
Prompts
You can't prompt for the
Effective Date
 or
Entry Date
.
Consider these additional limitations:
  • Indexed RDSs that include
    Event
     fields only enable the
    Positions I Support
     option in a role-based security group (constrained).
  • Reports using indexed RDSs don't support effective dates other than the current moment when you run the report. If you need to specify an effective date other than the current moment, use a standard data source.
  • Workday might take several hours to update an indexed RDS with the most recent data in your tenant. Example: Workday updates the
    Trended Workers
     RDS weekly for nonproduction tenants (Implementation and Sandbox), and either nightly or every Monday for production tenants depending on your retroactive period selection.