# Report Designers - I need a name

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/report-designers-i-need-a-name/825291>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 29, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/report-designers-i-need-a-name/825291 "2018-11-29T19:29:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/report-designers-i-need-a-name/825291/1 "2018-11-29T19:29:14Z")

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So, my report for tasks assigned to employees has various columns including

- Due Date
- Days Left
- Aging Status

Days Left is days until Due Date. If negative then it’s overdue. Aging Status is text like Due next 30, 1-30 overdue, 31-60 overdue, 60+ overdue.

Maybe I’m being fussy, but I’m not thrilled with the name Aging Status… maybe Due Status or something else?

Suggest away, thanks.

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**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/report-designers-i-need-a-name/825291/2 "2018-11-29T20:58:08Z")

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That column sounds redundant with the Days Left column. Why don’t you use the old “stoplight” trick - Highlight the Days Left value in green if everything is fine, make it yellow if it is within 30 days or whatever, and red when it is overdue?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/report-designers-i-need-a-name/825291/3 "2018-11-29T22:13:08Z")

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Yeah, that would be good if we were looking at individual records, but this is a summary by department - shows the aging category and how many are in each bucket.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/report-designers-i-need-a-name/825291/4 "2018-11-29T22:40:42Z")

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Ah, got it. In that case, “Due Status” sounds pretty descriptive.