Training Segment Chapters Page Number Training Segment Chapters Page Number

Framework Manager 1 3 Report Studio 6 - Formatting 214

Cognos Connection 1 - Data Source 50 Report Studio 7 - Query SQL 238
Creation
Report Studio 8 - Multiple Queries 265
Cognos Connection 2 - Backups 59
Report Studio 9 - More Formatting 295
Cognos Connection 3 - Object Security 75
Report Studio 10 - Prompts 315
Cognos Connection 4 - Opening and 95
Running a Report Report Studio 11 - More Prompts 336

Cognos Connection 5 - Pages 109 Report Studio 12 - Prompt Pages 369

Report Studio 1 - Introduction 157 Report Studio 13 - Concatenation 384

Report Studio 2 - Sorting 180 Report Studio 14 - Variables 402

Report Studio 3 - Grouping 189 Report Studio 15 - Drill Through 447

Report Studio 4 - Aggregates 194 Report Studio 16 - Charts 467

Report Studio 5 - Creating a Filter 201 Report Studio 17 - Master Detail 485
Report Studio 18 - Templates 501

2
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

3
4
5
6
7
The data sources that have been defined in Cognos Connection are
also used in Framework Manager.

8
Specify which objects (tables, views, stored procedures, etc.) should be
automatically imported into the model. 9
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.

10
11
To view the objects that were imported into the
model, expand the jarosdm item.

12
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 are
two 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 at
least one root namespace.

13
AR_INVOICELINES_DFACT, CUSTOMER_DIM, and
DATE_DIM are all Query Subjects. A Query Subject is
essentially the same thing as a table in a database.

14
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.

15
Since these items are what the report authors will see
when 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, and
Query Items can be rearranged by dragging and
dropping them to the desired location.

16
First, let’s create a relationship. Right click on the
namespace that will contain the relationship and
select Create > Relationship.

17
Give the relationship a meaningful name and
specify the Query Subjects to be joined.

18
Choose a Query Subject and click OK.

19
20
21
Simply click on the appropriate query items to link them.
Multiple links can be created if necessary. Click OK when
finished.

22
Relationships are not visible in the Project Viewer pane.
To see them, double-click on the Namespace in which
they are contained.

23
To edit the definition of a query subject, either double-click
it or right-click it and click Edit Definition…

24
This is the SQL query that is used to define the query subject. It can be
modified with a custom query if desired.
25
26
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.
27
It is a good idea to test the calculation to ensure that it
gives the expected results.
28
29
30
Assume that there are records for inactive customers stored for historical
reports, but those inactive customers should not be visible in reports created
with this package. An inactive customer is designated by the prefix ‘INACTIVE – ‘
in the CUSTOMER_NAME field. 31
32
Notice the custom Query Item that was just defined is
now included in the Query Subject.

33
34
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.
35
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 8
portal. 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.

36
Give the package a meaningful name and click Next.

37
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.
38
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.
39
40
41
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.

42
43
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
wouldn’t be a problem if the other functions were included).
44
45
46
Uncheck the Enable model versioning checkbox so that if this package is
republished, it will simply overwrite the existing package that was
previously published.

47
48
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.

The fix for this warning is to create a relationship between CUSTOMER_DIM and
AR_INVOICELINES_DFACT and republish the package.

49
Cognos Connection 1 –
Data Sources

 In this training segment, you will learn to:

Create a data source that can be used throughout the
Cognos environment.

50
51
52
53
54
55
Enter the appropriate connection information.
Note that the SQL*Net connect string property
references the tnsnames.ora file on the server by
default. However, if the file on the server does not
have the connection details for the database you
wish to connect to, you may enter the full connection
details that would normally be in the tnsnames.ora
file here.

56
57
The jarosods data source has
been created

58
Cognos Connection 2 –
Backups

In this training segment, you will learn to:

 Take an export of either the entire Cognos
Content Store or just select items for backup
purposes
 Restore an exported backup.

59
60
61
This is the New Export button.

62
Give the export a meaningful name.

63
If you want to export only a subset of the content store
(i.e., just a few reports or packages), then choose Select
public folders and directory content. For a full export,
choose Select the entire Content Store.

64
If you chose to select public folders and directory
content, this screen will appear. Check the items to be
exported.

65
Check the Disable after import option only if there
are some administrative tasks that need to be
performed after an import before the objects can be
used. For the majority of users, disabling after
import will not be needed.

66
These options along with those on the
following pages are dependent on your
individual needs.

67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
Cognos Connection 3 –
Security

In this training segment, you will learn to:

 Manage access permissions to an object based on
a user’s group or role.

75
For this example, the Customer Address List report’s 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 see
the report, but not execute it. Only Administrators will be able to have
full access to the report.

76
This is the Set properties button. Every object
(reports, pages, data sources, etc.) has its own set
of properties.

77
78
These are the default permissions for this report.

79
This is the read permission. With this permission, users
can view (but not modify) all of the properties of an
object, including the report specification, report output,
etc.

80
This is the write permission. With this permission, users
can modify all of the properties of an object and delete
the object.

81
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.

82
This is the set policy permission. With this permission,
users can read and modify the security settings for an
object.

83
This is the traverse permission. With this permission,
users can view the object and its general properties
without full access to the object’s content.

84
85
86
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.

87
88
89
Since in this example, consumers should not
even be aware of the object’s existence, deny
all permissions.

90
91
Since administrators are granted all
permissions by default, no other changes
need to be made.

92
When logged in as an author, the report is visible, but
can’t be modified or run.

93
When logged in as a consumer, the report is not visible
at all.

94
Cognos Connection 4 –
Running and Opening a Report

In this training segment, you will learn to:

 Navigate through folders in Cognos Connection
 Run a report in multiple formats (HTML, PDF,
Excel, etc.)
 Open an existing report in Report Studio

95
96
97
Clicking this link runs the report

98
99
This takes you to the previous page

100
This lets you run the report
in a different format

101
102
103
104
105
106
This opens the report in Report Studio
so that it can be modified.

107
108
Cognos Connection 5 –
Pages

In this training segment, you will learn to:

 Create and customize a page in Cognos
Connection
 Share a single page with multiple users

109
This is the New Page button.

110
If this page is going to be used by multiple users, choose
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.

111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
Enter an appropriate title and
instructions if desired.

119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
This specifies the size of this
window in the page.

135
136
If desired, portlets can interact with
each other. For example, you
could browse to a report and click
on it in the Cognos Navigator
portlet above and the report would
run in the Cognos Viewer portlet to
the right.

137
Portlets communicate via channels. A channel can be
named whatever you want as long as there are no
spaces. Enter a meaningful name for the channel for
this portlet.

138
139
Enter the same channel name that you entered
in the Cognos Navigation porlet.

140
Navigate to the report that you want
to run and click on its name.

141
External content, such as web pages,
can also be viewed in a page.

142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
Enter the URL for the page and change
the other options as desired.

150
151
Tabs can be added, deleted, rearranged,
or edited with these options.

152
Assume that another user wants to use the
page that was just created without having
to manually recreate it.

153
Navigate to the location where the page to
be added is located and select it.

154
155
Now multiple users have access to
the same page.

156