cognos_development_tips_and_techniques_2009_10_27_21_16_50_156[1]

8/7/2019 Cognos_Development_Tips_and_Techniques_2009_10_27_21_16_50_156[1]

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201Report Studio 5 - Creating a Filter

194Report Studio 4 - Aggregates

189Report Studio 3 - Grouping

180Report Studio 2 - Sorting

157Report Studio 1 - Introduction

109Cognos Connection 5 - Pages

95Cognos Connection 4 - Opening andRunning a Report

75Cognos Connection 3 - Object Security

59Cognos Connection 2 - Backups

50Cognos Connection 1 - Data SourceCreation

3Framework Manager 1

Page NumberTraining Segment Chapters

501Report Studio 18 - Templates

485Report Studio 17 - Master Detail

467Report Studio 16 - Charts

447Report Studio 15 - Drill Through

402Report Studio 14 - Variables

384Report Studio 13 - Concatenation

369Report Studio 12 - Prompt Pages

336Report Studio 11 - More Prompts

315Report Studio 10 - Prompts

295Report Studio 9 - More Formatting

265Report Studio 8 - Multiple Queries

238Report Studio 7 - Query SQL

214Report Studio 6 - Formatting

Page NumberTraining Segment Chapters


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Cognos

Framework Manager

In this training segment, you will learn to: Create a new data model

Create a relationship between two query subjects

Create a filter Edit performance governors

Create and publish a package


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The data sources that have been defined in Cognos Connection are

also used in Framework Manager.


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Specify which objects (tables, views, stored procedures, etc.) should be

automatically imported into the model.


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While Framework Manager does have the ability to automatically create

relationships (joins) between query subjects (tables), it is safer to

manually create the relationships to ensure that everything is correct.

Uncheck all three checkboxes and finally click the Import button.


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To view the objects that were imported into the

model, expand the jarosdm item.


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This item is a Namespace. Namespaces are simply used to

add structure to the model. Everything under a namespace

must be unique, however there may be duplicate items in

two different namespaces. For example, assume there aretwo Namespaces NS_A and NS_B. NS_A can contain one and

only one object with the name DATE_DIM. NS_B, however,

can also contain one and only one object named DATE_DIM

since it is a separate namespace. Every project must have atleast one root namespace.


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Everything under a Query Subject is a Query Item. A

Query Item is essentially the same thing as a field in a

table in a database.


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Since these items are what the report authors will seewhen creating reports, it could be desirable to make

everything more readable. Every item in the project can

be renamed by simply clicking it twice and typing in a

name. In addition, Namespaces, Query Subjects, andQuery Items can be rearranged by dragging and

dropping them to the desired location.


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First, lets create a relationship. Right click on the

namespace that will contain the relationship and

select Create > Relationship.


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Give the relationship a meaningful name and

specify the Query Subjects to be joined.


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Choose a Query Subject and click OK.


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Relationships are not visible in the Project Viewer pane.

To see them, double-click on the Namespace in whichthey are contained.


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To edit the definition of a query subject, either double-click

it or right-click it and click Edit Definition


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This is the SQL query that is used to define the query subject. It can be

modified with a custom query if desired.


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A calculation does not necessarily have to numerical in nature. For example,assume that customers are identified by both their number and name. Since

customer names and numbers will appear in virtually every report, creating a

custom query item that contains both of those fields in the appropriate format

will save a significant amount of time for the report authors.


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It is a good idea to test the calculation to ensure that it

gives the expected results.


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Notice the custom Query Item that was just defined is

now included in the Query Subject.


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Governors control a variety of performance-related options. For example,

if you want to limit the report authors to creating reports that contain no

more than four separate tables to reduce strain on the database, that

option can be set here.


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To be able to access the objects defined in the model, a package or

set of packages must be created and published to the Cognos 8portal. Once a package is published, it can be used in tools such as

Report Studio to create reports. To create a package, right-click on

Packages in the Project Viewer and click on Create > Package.


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Give the package a meaningful name and click Next.


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Define which objects the package will contain. A single package can contain as

much as the entire project or as little as a single query item.


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Access permissions can be specified for individual packages if desired.

The permissions can be based on either the default Cognos roles or

custom users, groups, or roles defined in a directory server such as Active

Directory.


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For this example, only users in the Authors, Directory Administrators, and Portal

Administrators roles have access to this package. If a user in any other group or

role tries to access this package or a report that was created with this package,access will be denied.


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This defines which vendor-specific functions are available when creating reports

with this package. Since the data source for this package is an Oracle database, it

does not make sense to include the functions for the other vendors (although it

wouldnt be a problem if the other functions were included).


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Uncheck the Enable model versioning checkbox so that if this package is

republished, it will simply overwrite the existing package that waspreviously published.


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Thi i b h k i l d d h CUSTOMER DIM


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The fix for this warning is to create a relationship between CUSTOMER_DIM and

AR_INVOICELINES_DFACT and republish the package.

This warning appears because the package included the CUSTOMER_DIM query

subject, but there is no relationship (join) defined for it, so it is an orphan. Be

sure to always read the warnings and fix them if necessary.


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Cognos Connection 1

Data Sources

In this training segment, you will learn to:

Create a data source that can be used throughout theCognos environment.


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Enter the appropriate connection information.

Note that the SQL*Net connect string propertyreferences the tnsnames.ora file on the server bydefault. However, if the file on the server does nothave the connection details for the database you

wish to connect to, you may enter the full connectiondetails that would normally be in the tnsnames.orafile here.


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Thejarosodsjarosods data source hasbeen created

Cognos Connection 2


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Cognos Connection 2

Backups


Take an export of either the entire Cognos

Content Store or just select items for backup

purposes

Restore an exported backup.


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This is the New Export button.


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If you want to export only a subset of the content store(i.e., just a few reports or packages), then choose Selectpublic folders and directory content. For a full export,choose Select the entire Content Store.


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These options along with those on thefollowing pages are dependent on yourindividual needs.


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Cognos Connection 3


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Security


Manage access permissions to an object based ona users group or role.


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For this example, the Customer Address List reports permissions will be

modified so that any user in the Consumers role will be unable to even

know that the report exists. Users in the Authors role will be able to seethe report, but not execute it. Only Administrators will be able to have

full access to the report.


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This is the read permission. With this permission, userscan view (but not modify) all of the properties of an

object, including the report specification, report output,

etc.


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This is the write permission. With this permission, userscan modify all of the properties of an object and delete

the object.


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This is the execute permission. With this permission,users can process the object. For reports, this means the

user can run the report. For data sources, the user can

use the object to retrieve information from the data

provider.


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This is the set policy permission. With this permission,users can read and modify the security settings for an

object.


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This is the traverse permission. With this permission,users can view the object and its general properties

without full access to the objects content.


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Since in this example, authors should only be

able to see that this report exists but not do

anything with it, allow the traverse privilege

and deny all others.


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When logged in as an author, the report is visible, but

cant be modified or run.


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When logged in as a consumer, the report is not visible

at all.

Cognos Connection 4

Running and Opening a Report


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Running and Opening a Report


Navigate through folders in Cognos Connection Run a report in multiple formats (HTML, PDF,

Excel, etc.)

Open an existing report in Report Studio


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Clicking this link runs the report


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This takes you to the previous page


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This lets you run the reportin a different format


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Cognos Connection 5

Pages


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g


Create and customize a page in CognosConnection

Share a single page with multiple users


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This is the New Page button.

If this page is going to be used by multiple users, choose

S l h l i d h h


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Select another location and save the page somewhere

in Public Folders so that it is accessible to everyone. If this

is a custom page just for yourself, saving the page in My

Folders might be the best choice.


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Enter an appropriate title andinstructions if desired.


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instructions if desired.


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This specifies the size of thiswindow in the page.


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If desired, portlets can interact witheach other. For example, youcould browse to a report and clickon it in the Cognos Navigatorportlet above and the report wouldrun in the Cognos Viewer portlet tothe right.


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Portlets communicate via channels. A channel can benamed whatever you want as long as there are no

spaces. Enter a meaningful name for the channel forthis portlet.


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Enter the same channel name that you enteredin the Cognos Navigation porlet.


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External content, such as web pages,

can also be viewed in a page.


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Enter the URL for the page and change


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Enter the URL for the page and change

the other options as desired.


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Tabs can be added, deleted, rearranged,

or edited with these options.


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Assume that another user wants to use thepage that was just created without havingto manually recreate it.


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Navigate to the location where the page tobe added is located and select it.


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Now multiple users have access tothe same page.

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