IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced

Version 10.2.2

User Guide

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Note

Before using this information and the product it supports, read the information in “Notices” on page 245.

Product Information

This document applies to IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Version 10.2.2 and may also apply to subsequent

releases.

Licensed Materials - Property of IBM

US Government Users Restricted Rights – Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract

with IBM Corp.

Contents

Introduction .................................xiii

Chapter 1. What's new in Cognos Workspace Advanced ...............1

New features in Cognos Workspace Advanced version 10.2.2 ...................1

Dynamically named worksheet tabs in Excel 2007 output ...................1

Custom user interfaces and UI profiles .........................1

Report run format restrictions ............................2

Support for IBM Cognos Theme Designer ........................2

Enhancements to extensible visualizations ........................2

New features in Cognos Workspace Advanced version 10.2.1.1 ..................3

Extensible visualizations ..............................3

New features in Cognos Workspace Advanced version 10.2.1 ...................3

Simplified custom grouping .............................3

Share sets between reports..............................3

Crosstab values as percentages ............................4

Improved text-based relational filters ..........................4

Option to group or ungroup repeating cells in Excel 2007 reports.................4

Search parameter Ends with any of these keywords .....................4

Removed features in Cognos Workspace Advanced version 10.2.1 .................4

IBM Cognos Statistics ...............................5

New features in Cognos Workspace Advanced version 10.2.0 ...................5

Cognos Business Insight and Cognos Business Insight Advanced are renamed ............5

Improved support for bidirectional content ........................5

Copying results to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with more fidelity ................6

Pasting a list of values from a spreadsheet into custom filters ..................6

Enhanced crosstab headers .............................6

Inherited table styles in lists and crosstabs ........................6

Additional keyboard shortcuts for accessibility .......................6

New features in Cognos Business Insight version 10.1.1 .....................7

Custom groups .................................7

Creating sections .................................7

Filtering directly from the data tree ...........................7

Names for lists, crosstab, and chart objects ........................7

New startup options................................8

Visual aid to select lists and crosstabs ..........................8

Keyboard shortcuts for accessibility...........................8

Showing content when no data is available ........................8

Larger worksheet sizes for Microsoft Excel 2007 report outputs .................8

Microsoft Excel 2007 supported as an external data source ...................9

New features in Cognos Business Insight Advanced version 10.1.0 .................9

Business Insight Advanced .............................9

Use Your Own External Data ............................11

Charts ....................................12

Mozilla Firefox Support ..............................12

Working with Relational Data Sources .........................12

Working with Dimensional Data Sources ........................13

Report Name Used for the Exported Output File Name ...................14

Accessibility Features ...............................14

Summarizing Data ................................14

Filtering to Limit Data ...............................15

Preview Reports when Opening and Saving .......................15

Lay Out Report Pages ...............................15

Braces and Parentheses are Breakable..........................15

Changed features in Cognos Business Insight Advanced version 10.1.0 ...............16

Line break rules in PDFs have changed .........................16

Removed features in Cognos Business Insight Advanced version 10.1.0 ...............16

Analyze with Analysis Studio ............................16

Excel 2000 and Excel 2000 Single Sheet Report Outputs....................16

Chapter 2. Understanding Cognos Workspace Advanced ..............17

Relational and dimensional reporting styles ........................17

Working in Cognos Workspace Advanced .........................20

The user interface ................................20

Work in Preview or Design Mode ...........................22

Basic Report Layout ...............................23

Options ....................................24

Web browser settings ................................27

Chapter 3. Creating Reports ..........................29

Specify the Package ................................29

Refresh the package ...............................30

Choosing a basic report layout .............................30

Inserting a data container from the toolbox tab ......................30

Add Data to a Report ................................31

Data source icons ................................32

Save a Report...................................33

Running a report .................................33

Running a Report Against a Dimensional Data Source ....................35

Producing a Report in CSV Format ..........................35

Producing a Report in Microsoft Excel Format .......................35

Producing a Report in XML Format ..........................39

Set PDF Page Options ...............................39

Naming report objects for workspaces in Cognos Workspace ...................40

Recommendation - Creating Financial Reports ........................40

The IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Software Development Kit .................40

View Lineage Information for a Data Item .........................41

The IBM Cognos Business Intelligence lineage tool .....................42

Chapter 4. Crosstabs .............................43

Working with Crosstab Reports.............................43

Create a Nested Crosstab ..............................44

Create a Single-Edge Crosstab ............................45

Creating headers automatically for sets in crosstabs ......................46

Showing crosstab values as percentages ..........................46

Swap Columns and Rows ..............................47

Change a List into a Crosstab .............................48

Chapter 5. Charts ...............................49

Using Legacy Report Studio Charts ...........................49

Creating Charts ..................................49

Chart objects ..................................50

Chart types and chart configurations ...........................52

Chart Types ...................................52

Column Charts .................................53

Line Charts ..................................53

Pie Charts ...................................54

Bar Charts ...................................55

Area Charts ..................................56

Point Charts ..................................56

Combination Charts ...............................57

Scatter Charts .................................58

Bubble Charts .................................58

Bullet Charts ..................................59

Gauge Charts..................................60

Pareto Charts ..................................60

iv IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Progressive Column Charts .............................61

Quadrant Charts.................................62

Marimekko Charts ................................63

Radar Charts ..................................64

Polar Charts ..................................64

Chart Configurations ................................65

Standard Charts .................................65

Stacked Charts .................................65

100 Percent Stacked Charts .............................66

Three-dimensional Charts .............................67

Convert Charts From One Type to Another .........................68

Customizing charts .................................68

Resizing a chart .................................71

Add Titles to a Chart ...............................71

Customizing the Color Palette of a Chart ........................71

Customizing the Color Palette of a Progressive Chart ....................73

Highlighting data in a chart by creating a conditional palette ..................74

Add Background Effects to a Chart Object ........................75

Add Colored Regions to a Chart ...........................76

Customizing the Axes in a Chart ...........................77

Customize the Legend of a Chart ...........................79

Adding a Note to a Chart .............................80

Adding a Baseline to a Chart ............................81

Display Trendlines in Current Default Charts .......................82

Showing data values in bar, column, line, and area charts ...................83

Showing data values in pie and donut charts .......................84

Showing data values in other charts ..........................84

Customizing Lines and Data Points in a Line Chart .....................85

Create a Matrix of Charts..............................85

Customize a Gauge Chart .............................88

Defining color by value in scatter or bubble charts .....................89

Create a Donut Chart from a Pie Chart .........................90

Pull Out Pie Slices in a Pie Chart ...........................90

Customize a Bullet Chart ..............................91

Chapter 6. Extensible visualizations .......................93

Adding a visualization to a report ............................93

Adding a treemap visualization ...........................94

Adding a heatmap visualization ...........................96

Adding a packed bubble visualization .........................97

Adding a network diagram .............................99

Visualization properties ...............................100

Resizing a visualization ...............................100

Specifying the range values that are displayed .......................100

Updating visualizations ...............................101

Converting visualizations from one type to another .....................101

Chapter 7. Lists ...............................103

Group Data ...................................103

Chapter 8. Exploring Relational Data ......................105

Using Relational Calculations .............................105

Create a Simple Calculation ............................106

Inserting a Query Calculation ............................108

Summarize Relational Data ..............................110

Sorting relational data ...............................111

Sorting multiple rows or columns and grouped columns ...................111

Sorting lists based on a data item not in the report .....................112

Format Relational Data ...............................112

Specifying the Number of Decimals in Numbers......................113

Contents v

Locale-sensitive Properties .............................113

Digit shaping in charts ..............................114

Filtering relational data ...............................115

Creating a custom filter ..............................116

Creating relational custom groups ..........................117

Combining filter conditions.............................118

Filtering based on data items not in the report ......................119

Editing filters .................................120

Removing filters ................................120

Suppress Empty Cells in Relational Reporting .......................120

Limitations When Formatting Empty Cells in SAP BW Data Sources ...............121

Example - Suppress Zeros in Rows and Columns in an Existing Report ..............121

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data .....................123

Customize the Source Tree ..............................124

Insert a Member .................................125

Search for a Member ................................125

Nest Members ..................................126

Insert a Hierarchy .................................127

Insert a Member Property ..............................127

Create a Set of Members...............................128

Excluding members from a set ............................128

Moving members within a set .............................128

Replace a Member or Set ..............................129

Create Members and Intersections ...........................129

Expand and Collapse a Member ............................130

Sharing sets between reports .............................130

Managing shared set references ...........................131

Join Multiple Sets .................................132

Edit the Operations Performed on a Set .........................132

Create Page Layers ................................133

Sort Dimensional Data ...............................134

Sorting members in a set by their labels ........................134

Sorting sets by value ...............................134

Sorting sets by member properties or tuples .......................135

Format Dimensional Data ..............................136

Specifying the Number of Decimals in Numbers .....................137

Locale-sensitive Properties .............................137

Digit shaping in charts ..............................138

Suppress Empty Cells in Dimensional Reporting ......................139

Limitations When Formatting Empty Cells in SAP BW Data Sources ...............140

Example - Suppress Zeros in Rows and Columns in an Existing Report ..............140

Summarize Dimensional Data .............................140

Creating dimensional custom groups ..........................141

Using Dimensional Calculations ............................143

Create a Simple Member Calculation .........................144

Limitations When Summarizing Measures in DMR Data Sources ................146

Creating a Query Calculation ............................147

Create an Intersection (Tuple) ............................149

Drill on a Member or Set ..............................149

Filtering dimensional data ..............................150

Creating a context filter ..............................151

Limiting data to top or bottom values .........................152

Filtering the members within a set ..........................153

Creating a custom filter ..............................154

Combining filter conditions.............................155

Editing filters .................................156

Removing filters ................................156

Extended Data Items ................................156

Create a Drill-up and Drill-down Report .........................157

vi IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chapter 10. Formatting Reports ........................159

Add a Header or Footer to a Report...........................159

Add Borders to an Object ..............................159

AddText....................................159

Specify the Font for a Report .............................160

Add Color to an Object ...............................160

Copy Object Formatting ...............................161

Insert an Image in a Report .............................161

Add Background Effects...............................161

Insert Page Numbers in a Report ............................162

Insert Other Objects ................................163

Align an Object..................................165

Lay Out Report Pages ...............................165

Using a table to control where objects appear .......................165

Applying table styles ...............................166

Dividing data into sections ..............................167

Apply Padding to an Object .............................168

Set Object Margins ................................168

Rename a Row or Column ..............................168

Support for bidirectional content ............................169

Specifying text and container direction ..........................171

Specify Line Spacing and Breaking ...........................173

Specify the Height and Width of an Object ........................173

Control How Other Objects Flow Around an Object .....................174

Highlight Data Using a Conditional Style .........................175

Create a New Conditional Style ...........................175

Reuse an Existing Conditional Style ..........................176

Create an Advanced Conditional Style .........................177

Example - Add a Conditional Style to an Existing Report...................177

Specify what appears for data containers that contain no data ..................178

Modifying Report and Object Styles ...........................179

Modify the report properties ............................179

Modify Object Styles ...............................180

(Don't Print) Class................................180

Modifying the Default Layout Style Sheet ........................181

Chapter 11. Managing Existing Reports .....................183

Copying the result of an analysis to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet ................183

Copy a Report to the Clipboard ............................183

Copy a Report to the Clipboard in Internet Explorer ....................183

Copy a Report to the Clipboard in Firefox........................184

Open a Report from the Clipboard ...........................184

Managing Changes in the Package ...........................184

Chapter 12. Working with your external data ...................185

My Data Sets ..................................185

Manage external data................................186

Preparing to Work with your External Data .......................187

Import Data ..................................189

Map Data ..................................190

Finish Importing Data ..............................191

Publish the Package ...............................192

Edit Your External Data ..............................192

Delete Your External Data .............................193

Running a Report That Contains External Data ......................194

Making your Reports Public ............................194

Chapter 13. Upgrading Reports.........................195

Upgrading Reports from IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Version 8.4 ...............195

Tips for Report Studio Express Authoring Users......................195

Contents vii

Upgrading Report Styles .............................197

Chapter 14. Samples .............................199

The Sample Outdoors Company ............................199

Samples in the GO Data Warehouse (analysis) Package ....................199

Promotion Success................................200

Retailer sales target ...............................200

Samples in the GO Data Warehouse (query) Package .....................200

Employee Expenses by Region ...........................200

Returns by Product Brand .............................200

Appendix A. Accessibility Features .......................201

Accessibility features in IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced ...................201

Keyboard Shortcuts ................................201

Considerations to Improve Report Accessibility .......................202

Enable Accessible Report Outputs ..........................202

Add Alternate Text to Images and Charts ........................203

Add Summary Text to Tables ............................204

Designate Cells Headers in Tables ..........................204

IBM and Accessibility ...............................204

Appendix B. Troubleshooting .........................205

Auto Correct Errors in a Report ............................205

Problems Creating Reports ..............................205

Metadata Change in Oracle Essbase Not Reflected in Reports and in the Studios ...........205

Relationships Not Maintained in a Report With Overlapping Set Levels ..............205

Unexpected Summary Values in Nested Sets .......................206

Limited Support for Relational Functions When Used with OLAP Data Sources ...........207

Columns, Rows, or Data Disappear With SSAS 2005 Cubes ..................207

Report Differences Between TM1 Executive Viewer and IBM Cognos Business Intelligence with TM1 Data

Sources ...................................208

Order of Metadata Tree Differs for TM1 Data Sources ....................208

Problems Calculating Data ..............................209

Incorrect Results with IBM Cognos PowerCubes and Time Measures ...............209

Problems importing external data ...........................209

MSR-PD-0012 error when importing external data .....................209

MSR-PD-0013 error when importing external data .....................209

Problems Running Reports ..............................210

Measure Format Disappears in SSAS 2005 ........................210

Cognos Statistics object is not displayed in a report ....................210

Appendix C. Limitations When Producing Reports in Microsoft Excel Format .....211

Unable to Load Images from the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Content Store in a Report .......211

Blank Worksheet Appears ..............................211

Warning Message Appears When Excel Opens an IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Report ........211

Spreadsheet Content Not Saved for Reports Saved in XLS Format .................211

Unable to Load Excel Report in Netscape 7.01 .......................212

Unsupported IBM Cognos BI Formatting .........................212

Cells Contain Series of #...............................212

Excel Cannot Render Reports with More Than 256 Columns ..................213

Table and Column Widths ..............................213

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Is Not Supported in Some Excel Formats and Versions ...........213

Number Formats Become Currency Formats in Japanese Excel ..................213

Reports Show Data in Wrong Columns ..........................213

Unable to Access Reports on Remote Servers ........................214

Unsupported Excel Formatting ............................214

Hyperlink Buttons Are Not Supported in Excel .......................214

Unable to View Reports in Excel Format Sent as Email Attachments ................214

Cell Height and Width Are Incorrect ..........................214

viii IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Appendix D. Using the expression editor ....................215

Operators ...................................215

(......................................215

)......................................215

*......................................215

,......................................215

/.....................................215

+.....................................215

-......................................216

when ....................................216

Constants ...................................216

date ....................................216

date-time ...................................216

interval ...................................216

number ...................................216

string ....................................216

time ....................................216

time with time zone ...............................216

timestamp with time zone .............................216

List Summaries ..................................217

aggregate...................................217

average ...................................217

count ....................................217

maximum ..................................217

median ...................................218

minimum...................................218

standard-deviation ...............................218

total ....................................218

variance ...................................219

Crosstab/Chart Summaries ..............................219

aggregate...................................219

average ...................................219

count ....................................219

maximum ..................................220

median ...................................220

minimum...................................220

standard-deviation ...............................220

total ....................................221

variance ...................................221

Functions....................................221

abs.....................................221

ancestor ...................................221

bottomCount .................................222

bottomPercent .................................222

bottomSum ..................................223

caption ...................................223

cast.....................................223

ceiling ....................................224

children ...................................224

closingPeriod .................................225

completeTuple .................................225

cousin ....................................226

current_date..................................226

currentMember.................................227

current_timestamp................................227

defaultMember .................................227

descendants ..................................227

except ....................................229

extract....................................229

filter ....................................229

firstChild ...................................230

Contents ix

firstSibling ..................................230

floor ....................................230

head ....................................231

hierarchize ..................................231

hierarchy ...................................231

item ....................................232

intersect ...................................232

lag.....................................232

lastChild ...................................233

lastPeriods ..................................233

lastSibling ..................................233

lead ....................................234

lower ....................................234

member ...................................234

members ...................................235

mod....................................235

nextMember..................................235

nullif ....................................235

openingPeriod .................................236

order....................................236

parallelPeriod .................................237

parent....................................238

periodsToDate .................................238

power ....................................238

prevMember .................................238

rootMember ..................................239

rootMembers .................................239

_round ...................................239

set.....................................239

siblings ...................................239

sqrt.....................................240

subset ....................................240

substring ...................................241

tail .....................................241

topCount ...................................241

topPercent ..................................242

topSum ...................................242

trim ....................................242

tuple ....................................243

union ....................................243

unique ...................................243

upper ....................................243

value ....................................244

Notices ...................................245

Glossary ..................................249

A......................................249

B......................................249

C......................................250

D......................................251

E......................................252

F......................................252

G......................................252

H......................................252

I.......................................252

J.......................................252

L......................................253

M......................................253

N......................................254

x IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

O......................................254

P......................................254

Q......................................255

R......................................255

S ......................................255

T......................................256

U......................................256

V......................................257

W......................................257

Index ....................................259

Contents xi

xii IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Introduction

This document is intended for use with IBM

Cognos

Workspace Advanced.

Cognos Workspace Advanced is a web-based tool that is used to author reports

and analyze data. The user interface is designed for business users to get insight

into their business.

Finding information

To find product documentation on the web, including all translated

documentation, access IBM Knowledge Center (http://www.ibm.com/support/

knowledgecenter).

Accessibility features

Accessibility features help users who have a physical disability, such as restricted

mobility or limited vision, to use information technology products. Cognos

Workspace Advanced has accessibility features. For more information, see

Appendix A, “Accessibility Features,” on page 201.

IBM Cognos HTML documentation has accessibility features. PDF documents are

supplemental and, as such, include no added accessibility features.

Forward-looking statements

This documentation describes the current functionality of the product. References

to items that are not currently available may be included. No implication of any

future availability should be inferred. Any such references are not a commitment,

promise, or legal obligation to deliver any material, code, or functionality. The

development, release, and timing of features or functionality remain at the sole

discretion of IBM.

Samples disclaimer

The Sample Outdoors Company, Great Outdoors Company, GO Sales, any

variation of the Sample Outdoors or Great Outdoors names, and Planning Sample

depict fictitious business operations with sample data used to develop sample

applications for IBM and IBM customers. These fictitious records include sample

data for sales transactions, product distribution, finance, and human resources.

Any resemblance to actual names, addresses, contact numbers, or transaction

values is coincidental. Other sample files may contain fictional data manually or

machine generated, factual data compiled from academic or public sources, or data

used with permission of the copyright holder, for use as sample data to develop

sample applications. Product names referenced may be the trademarks of their

respective owners. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

xiv IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chapter 1. What's new in Cognos Workspace Advanced

This section contains a list of new, changed, deprecated, and removed features for

this release.

It will help you plan your upgrade and application deployment strategies and the

training requirements for your users.

For information about upgrading, see the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence

Installation and Configuration Guide for your product.

To review an up-to-date list of the environments that are supported by IBM

Cognos products, including information about operating systems, patches,

browsers, web servers, directory servers, database servers, and application servers,

see Supported Software Environments (http://www.ibm.com/support/

docview.wss?uid=swg27042164).

For an overview of new features for this release, see the IBM Cognos Business

Intelligence New Features Guide.

New features in Cognos Workspace Advanced version 10.2.2

This release contains new features.

Dynamically named worksheet tabs in Excel 2007 output

When you produce reports in Excel 2007 format, you can configure IBM Cognos

Business Intelligence to dynamically name the Excel worksheet tabs, based on the

data items that are used to break pages.

For example, you specify page breaks by Product line. In Excel 2007 output, the

five worksheet tabs that are generated are named Camping Equipment,

Mountaineering Equipment, Personal Accessories, Outdoor Protection, and Golf

Equipment.

Related tasks:

“Create Page Layers” on page 133

When working with dimensional data, you can create page layers in a report to

show values for each member on a separate page. For example, your report

contains payroll information for the entire company. You want to view values for

each department on a separate page.

Custom user interfaces and UI profiles

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence administrators can now create custom user

interface profiles for use in IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced. Custom user

interface profiles are used to control the features and functionality of the user

interface.

Users with different profiles see different interfaces and experience different default

behavior in Cognos Workspace Advanced. For more information, see the IBM

Cognos Business Intelligence Administration and Security Guide.

Related concepts:

“The user interface” on page 20

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced has a work area, content and properties panes,

a page layers area, and a context filter area to help you to create reports.

Report run format restrictions

To manage system resources, IBM Cognos Business Intelligence administrators can

now restrict the ability of users to run reports in the CSV, PDF, Microsoft Excel,

and XML report output formats.

If your Cognos BI administrator implements these restrictions, you might not be

able to run reports in all output formats.

Related tasks:

“Running a report” on page 33

Run your report to see how the report will appear to report consumers.

Support for IBM Cognos Theme Designer

IBM Cognos Theme Designer provides a graphical user interface that makes it easy

to tailor IBM Cognos BI applications to your brand requirements. You can replace

images, change colors, or edit html to get the look you want. You can produce

multiple themes for users to choose from or different themes for each tenant or

application in multiple tenant environments.

In addition to existing support for Cognos Theme Designer by IBM Cognos

Connection, IBM Cognos Viewer, and IBM Cognos Workspace, this version adds

support by IBM Cognos Report Studio and IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced.

To download Cognos Theme Designer and its documentation, go to IBM Cognos

Theme Designer Tool (www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=0

&uid=swg24035533).

Enhancements to extensible visualizations

Enhancements were made to extensible visualizations that simplify the authoring

experience.

The following list describes the enhancements that were made to extensible

visualizations.

v Optional category fields

When you add an extensible visualization to a report, it is no longer necessary

to insert data items in all category drop zones. For example, you can create a

visualization that has only a measure and categories, and no data series.

In previous IBM Cognos BI releases, you cannot run a visualization until all

required data drop zones contain data items.

v Conversion of visualizations from one type to another

You can convert an existing visualization to another visualization type. With this

enhancement, you do not have to re-author the data items in the original

visualization.

v Support for more properties

Visualizations support more properties, giving report authors greater control

over the appearance and behavior of visualizations in reports.

Related concepts:

Chapter 6, “Extensible visualizations,” on page 93

You can use extensible visualizations in IBM Cognos reports to visualize data.

2 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

New features in Cognos Workspace Advanced version 10.2.1.1

This release contains new features.

Extensible visualizations

You can use new and innovative visualizations in Report Studio and IBM Cognos

Workspace Advanced. You can also consume the new visualizations in IBM Cognos

Workspace. This feature makes use of Rapidly Adaptive Visualization Engine

(RAVE) to introduce new visualizations such as treemaps, heatmaps, and network

diagrams.

New visualization types might become available over time on IBM AnalyticsZone

(http://www.analyticszone.com). You can download and use new visualization

types in your environment. You can also engage IBM to produce custom

visualizations that are specific to your business needs.

Related concepts:

Chapter 6, “Extensible visualizations,” on page 93

You can use extensible visualizations in IBM Cognos reports to visualize data.

New features in Cognos Workspace Advanced version 10.2.1

This release contains new features.

Simplified custom grouping

You can now create, edit, combine, and remove custom groups directly by

right-clicking.

In previous releases of IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced, you were required to

create custom groups in the Custom Grouping window. You can now also create,

edit, combine, and remove custom groups directly with the right-click menu.

Related tasks:

“Creating dimensional custom groups” on page 141

Create custom groups to classify existing data items into groups that are

meaningful to you.

Share sets between reports

When you work with dimensional data, you can now share a set. Shared sets

appear in the model tree for inclusion in other reports.

When you include a shared set, you can designate it to be either Run Time or

Design Time. If a set is designated as Run Time, the report always uses whatever

is in the shared set as it is defined. If a set is designated as Design Time, the

report caches the contents of the shared set at the time when it is initially included.

The report uses this definition until you explicitly refresh it.

Related tasks:

“Sharing sets between reports” on page 130

When you are working with dimensional data, you can share a set to make it

available for inclusion in multiple reports.

“Managing shared set references” on page 131

After you share a set to make it available for inclusion in multiple reports, you can

manage references to it. You can also copy it locally.

Chapter 1. What's new in Cognos Workspace Advanced 3

Crosstab values as percentages

In crosstabs, you can now show values as a percentage of a summary instead of

the actual values. For example, you can show the revenue that was generated by

each product line as a percentage of the total revenue.

Related tasks:

“Showing crosstab values as percentages” on page 46

When you work with dimensional data sources, you can show crosstab values as a

percentage of a summary instead of the actual values. When you show values as a

percentage, you can compare the contribution of an item to the whole.

Improved text-based relational filters

You can now define relational filters that are based on a text pattern.

In previous releases, text-based relational filters were defined by selecting actual

values, such as Camping Equipment. Performance is impacted when the number of

strings in a filter condition increases. This feature automatically generates filters

that contain strings or members that match a text pattern. The following text

matching options are available:

v Starts with

v Ends with

v Contains

v Matches SQL pattern

Related tasks:

“Creating a custom filter” on page 154

Create custom filters when the values you want to use in your filter conditions do

not occur in your report.

Option to group or ungroup repeating cells in Excel 2007

reports

When you produce reports in Excel 2007 format, you can choose to group

repeating cells into a single merged cell.

Grouped or ungrouped cells are produced by various report objects, such as

grouped data items, headers and footers, and nested objects. The option to group

or ungroup repeating cells is controlled by the Group repeating cells when

exporting to Excel report property.

Related concepts:

“Option to group repeating cells in reports produced in Excel 2007 format” on

page 36

When you produce reports in Excel 2007 format, you can specify whether

repeating cells are grouped, or merged, into a single cell.

Search parameter Ends with any of these keywords

A search parameter, Ends with any of these keywords, is now available when you

perform searches, such as when you search for members when you create a filter

expression.

Removed features in Cognos Workspace Advanced version 10.2.1

In this release, some features have been removed.

4 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

IBM Cognos Statistics

IBM Cognos Statistics was removed from this version of IBM Cognos Business

Intelligence.

To ensure that reports that were created in previous releases, and that contain

statistical objects, will run in this and future releases, statistical objects are removed

when the reports are upgraded. Each removed statistical object is replaced with the

following image:

Tip: Queries and their data items that are associated to statistical objects are not

removed from upgraded reports.

You can use IBM SPSS

Statistics to perform statistical reporting and analysis.

New features in Cognos Workspace Advanced version 10.2.0

This release contains new features.

Cognos Business Insight and Cognos Business Insight

Advanced are renamed

Two product components are renamed in this release to avoid confusion with the

names of other components. IBM Cognos Business Insight is now IBM Cognos

Workspace. IBM Cognos Business Insight Advanced is now IBM Cognos

Workspace Advanced.

Improved support for bidirectional content

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced offers improved support for bidirectional

content when authoring reports.

The improved support for bidirectional content includes

v Base text direction for text in more report objects, such as charts and prompts

v Control of object direction for charts and prompts

v Digit shaping

In addition, the improved support for bidirectional content includes the PDF and

Microsoft Excel report formats.

Related concepts:

“Support for bidirectional content” on page 169

You can author reports that support bidirectional content. You can specify base text

direction, digit shaping, and container direction.

Figure 1. Image that replaces statistical objects in upgraded reports

Chapter 1. What's new in Cognos Workspace Advanced 5

Copying results to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with more

fidelity

You can now copy data from a list or crosstab and paste it into a Microsoft Excel

2007 spreadsheet, while maintaining number formatting. This ability is a

convenient way to quickly export your analysis.

Related tasks:

“Copying the result of an analysis to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet” on page 183

You can copy the result of an analysis in IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced to a

Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The data retains its table structure and simple

text-based formatting.

Pasting a list of values from a spreadsheet into custom filters

You can now paste a list of values copied from a spreadsheet such as Microsoft

Excel into custom filters.

Related tasks:

“Creating a custom filter” on page 154

Create custom filters when the values you want to use in your filter conditions do

not occur in your report.

Enhanced crosstab headers

In crosstabs, you can display headers that indicate the parent categories of the data

items in the columns and rows. The headers help users to understand where the

data is located in the hierarchy.

Related tasks:

“Creating headers automatically for sets in crosstabs” on page 46

You can automatically add header labels on columns and rows when working with

sets in a crosstab that uses a dimensional data source. The headers help consumers

of the report to understand where the data is in the hierarchy.

Inherited table styles in lists and crosstabs

When an item is inserted in a list or crosstab, the item inherits the table style of

one of the items in the data container.

By default, items inherit the style of an item of the same type. For example, if you

insert a measure in a list, the measure inherits the style of a measure that is in the

list, if one exists. Inheritance rules control which style is inherited.

Related tasks:

“Applying table styles” on page 166

Apply a table style to quickly format tables. You can also apply a table style to lists

and crosstabs.

Additional keyboard shortcuts for accessibility

The report authoring experience is more accessible to people who have a physical

disability, such as restricted mobility or limited vision. IBM Cognos Workspace

Advanced now includes additional keyboard shortcuts to make it easier to

navigate the user interface with a keyboard.

Related concepts:

“Keyboard Shortcuts” on page 201

This product uses some standard Microsoft Windows and accessibility shortcut

keys.

6 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

New features in Cognos Business Insight version 10.1.1

This release contains new features.

Custom groups

You can create custom groups of existing data items based on elements that you

define and that are meaningful to you.

For example, you can create custom groups for product names based on their

alphabetical order. You might create groups for products that start with the letters

AtoC,DtoF,GtoH,andsoon.

Related tasks:

“Creating relational custom groups” on page 117

Create custom groups to classify existing data items into groups that are

meaningful to you.

“Creating dimensional custom groups” on page 141

Create custom groups to classify existing data items into groups that are

meaningful to you.

Creating sections

You can now create sections to show a separate list, chart, or crosstab for a data

item.

To create sections, use the section/unsection icon

on the toolbar.

Related tasks:

“Dividing data into sections” on page 167

Create sections in a report to show a separate list, chart, visualization, or crosstab

for a data item.

Filtering directly from the data tree

When using IBM Cognos Business Insight Advanced with relational data sources ,

you can now filter using measures

and query items in the source tree.

This allows you to create a filter based on a data item that is not included in your

report.

Related tasks:

“Filtering based on data items not in the report” on page 119

You can create a filter using a data item in the source tree that is not included in

your report.

Names for lists, crosstab, and chart objects

A new Name property for lists, crosstabs, and charts allows you to give these

report objects a meaningful business name. These names allow business users to

easily recognize the lists, crosstabs, or charts when they add them into an IBM

Cognos Business Insight workspace.

Related tasks:

“Naming report objects for workspaces in Cognos Workspace” on page 40

Provide a name for list, crosstab, and chart report objects so that they can easily be

identified when added in a workspace in IBM Cognos Workspace.

Chapter 1. What's new in Cognos Workspace Advanced 7

New startup options

A new Start page view option allows you to specify whether Business Insight

Advanced opens in Page Design or Page Preview view (Tools > Options > View).

By default, Business Insight Advanced opens in Page Preview view.

Related concepts:

“Options” on page 24

You can set various options that control the appearance and behaviors of IBM

Cognos Workspace Advanced (Tools, Options).

Visual aid to select lists and crosstabs

A new visual aid allows you to select all the objects in a list or crosstab.

When you enable the Show Container Selectors visual aid, a selector (three orange

dots) appears in the top-left corner of lists and crosstabs. You can use this selector

to easily access and set properties for all objects in the list or crosstab with one

mouse gesture.

Related tasks:

“Using visual aids to design your report layout” on page 23

Visual aids in the work area help you when you are designing your report layout.

Keyboard shortcuts for accessibility

To make the report authoring experience more accessible to people who have a

physical disability, such as restricted mobility or limited vision, Business Insight

Advanced now includes new keyboard shortcuts to allow navigating the user

interface with a keyboard.

Related concepts:

“Keyboard Shortcuts” on page 201

This product uses some standard Microsoft Windows and accessibility shortcut

keys.

Showing content when no data is available

In IBM Cognos Business Insight Advanced, you can now specify what to show in a

data container when no data is available in the database.

You can show an empty data container, such as a list, crosstab, or chart; alternate

content; or text. By default, the text No Data Available appears.

Related tasks:

“Specify what appears for data containers that contain no data” on page 178

You can specify what appears in a data container when no data is available from

the database.

Larger worksheet sizes for Microsoft Excel 2007 report

outputs

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence now supports a larger worksheet size for report

outputs exported in Microsoft Excel 2007 format.

In previous versions of IBM Cognos Business Intelligence, report output in

Microsoft Excel format was limited to a maximum of 256 columns by 65,000 rows.

Although this remains as the default worksheet size, administrators can now

enable larger worksheets and change the maximum number of rows in a

8 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

worksheet - up to a maximum of 16,384 columns by 1,048,576 rows - by using

advanced server properties. This number matches the Microsoft Excel 2007

worksheet size limitations.

For more information, see the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Administration and

Security Guide.

For an up-to-date list of environments supported by IBM Cognos products, such as

operating systems, patches, browsers, Web servers, directory servers, database

servers, and application servers, visit http://www.ibm.com/.

Related concepts:

“Producing a Report in Microsoft Excel Format” on page 35

You can export your report output to several different Microsoft Excel spreadsheet

software formats.

Microsoft Excel 2007 supported as an external data source

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence now supports external data sources from

Microsoft Excel up to version Microsoft Excel 2007.

For an up-to-date list of environments supported by IBM Cognos products, such as

operating systems, patches, browsers, Web servers, directory servers, database

servers, and application servers, visit http://www.ibm.com/.

Related concepts:

“Use Your Own External Data” on page 11

You can now supplement your enterprise data with your own external data file.

New features in Cognos Business Insight Advanced version 10.1.0

This release contains new features.

Business Insight Advanced

IBM Cognos Business Insight Advanced is part of a new report consumption

experience that provides an integrated business intelligence experience for business

users.

You use IBM Cognos Business Insight to create sophisticated interactive

workspaces and explore your content in a predefined way. In a Business Insight

workspace, you work with existing content and perform basic analysis, data

exploration, and collaborative decision making. When you want to perform deeper

analysis and report authoring, you graduate to Business Insight Advanced, where

you can perform more advanced data exploration, such as adding additional

measures, conditional formatting, and advanced calculations.

Business Insight Advanced is both an extension of and a replacement for the IBM

Cognos Report Studio Express authoring mode, which met the needs of financial

analysts to create statement-style reports. Business Insight Advanced offers much

greater capability, such as full support for list reports, charts, and relational data

sources, and offers an entirely different user experience.

The Business Insight Advanced user interface concentrates on exploring data. As a

result, the default behavior of some actions has changed. For example,

double-clicking an item now drills down, and when inserting members, you now

insert sets by default.

Chapter 1. What's new in Cognos Workspace Advanced 9

You can open Business Insight Advanced two different ways:

v from a Business Insight workspace to perform advanced editing of a report (Do

More)

v from either the Launch menu in IBM Cognos Connection or from the Welcome

page (Author Business Reports)

If you prefer to use the defaults from version 8.4, you can configure Business

Insight Advanced to behave like the Report Studio Express authoring mode (Tools,

Options).

Related concepts:

“Tips for Report Studio Express Authoring Users” on page 195

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced is both an extension of and a replacement for

IBM Cognos Report Studio Express authoring mode, which allowed financial

analysts to create statement-style reports. The Report Studio Express authoring

mode allowed you to create only crosstabs with dimensional data sources, with no

relational or charting support.

Enhancements to the User Interface

Business Insight Advanced features an enhanced user interface, including a new

modern skin.

Full and Dimensional-only Views of Data Tree:

When working with dimensional and mixed model data sources, you can switch

between viewing the full data tree and the dimensional-only data tree by clicking

the view package tree button

and the view members tree button .

These same buttons are available when you build a calculation.

Related concepts:

Chapter 9, “Exploring Dimensional Data,” on page 123

Dimensional data sources include OLAP and dimensionally-modeled relational

(DMR) data sources. The Source tab

in the content pane shows a

member-oriented view of the data.

Properties Pane:

A new Properties pane lists the formatting properties that you can set for an object

in a report.

Related concepts:

Chapter 10, “Formatting Reports,” on page 159

Format your report to make it more readable and to reflect company standards.

When you format a report in IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced, the formatting is

stored in a layout.

Moving the content and properties panes:

By default, the content and properties panes appear to the right of the work area.

You can move them to the left.

Related concepts:

“Options” on page 24

You can set various options that control the appearance and behaviors of IBM

Cognos Workspace Advanced (Tools, Options).

10 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Inserting Members Buttons Moved:

The insert individual members button

and the insert member with children

button have moved to the top of the content pane.

These buttons have the same function as they did in the previous release.

Related tasks:

“Insert a Member” on page 125

By default, when you insert members from the source tree into your report with

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced, members are inserted with their children and

are inserted as sets. You can change how members are inserted. For example, you

may want to insert a member without its children or insert only the member's

children.

Expanded Tooltips:

Business Insight Advanced now features expanded tooltips for toolbar buttons.

The expanded tooltips include a title for the button and a description of what the

button does. To see a tooltip, pause the pointer over a button in the toolbar.

Sorting Buttons Combined:

You can now access all the sorting options from the same sort button

The options that appear when you click this button depend on your data source.

Related tasks:

“Sorting relational data” on page 111

You can sort items to view them in your preferred order.

“Sort Dimensional Data” on page 134

You can sort items to view them in your preferred order. For example, if your bar

chart shows revenue for each product line by sales region, you can display product

lines from the most revenue to the least across the x-axis.

New Report Style

Business Insight Advanced includes a new report style with updated colors and

gradients.

By default, new reports appear in the new report style.

Related concepts:

“Modifying Report and Object Styles” on page 179

Objects in reports are assigned a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) class that provides a

default style for the object. For example, when you create a new report, the report

title has the class property Report title text assigned to it. In addition, objects

inherit the classes set on their parent objects.

Use Your Own External Data

You can now supplement your enterprise data with your own external data file.

Chapter 1. What's new in Cognos Workspace Advanced 11

You can import an .xls, .txt, .csv, or .xml file into IBM Cognos and create reports

that contain your own data. This allows you to leverage the IBM Cognos platform,

including the security, data integrity, and full range of reporting functionality.

You can perform self-service reporting without the need to ask your IT department

or administrator to set up a data source connection to your file. You import your

own data file and start reporting on it right away.

After importing, your external data file is protected by the same IBM Cognos

security as your enterprise data, thus allowing you to report on your data in a

secure environment.

Related concepts:

Chapter 12, “Working with your external data,” on page 185

You can supplement your enterprise data with your own external or personal data

file.

Charts

You can now create charts in Business Insight Advanced.

You can insert a specific chart type from any report with the insert chart button

on the toolbar or by dragging a chart object from the Toolbox tab. When you

insert a chart into a report that already contains a list, the list data is added to the

chart automatically.

The current default charts use many properties that allow you to customize most

aspects of the chart. If you work with Report Studio reports that use the legacy

chart type, you can set the Use legacy chart authoring option in Business Insight

Advanced to continue working with the legacy chart type.

Related concepts:

Chapter 5, “Charts,” on page 49

You can use IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced to create many chart types, such as

column, bar, area, and line charts.

Mozilla Firefox Support

Versions 3.5 and 3.6 of the Mozilla Firefox Web browser are now supported for

Business Insight Advanced.

For a full list of supported software environments, see http://www.ibm.com/.

Working with Relational Data Sources

You can now work with relational data sources and create list reports, or tabular

reports, in Business Insight Advanced.

Related concepts:

Chapter 8, “Exploring Relational Data,” on page 105

Relational data is best represented by lists. This data is organized in IBM Cognos

Workspace Advanced by query items.

Chapter 7, “Lists,” on page 103

Use list reports to show detailed information from your database, such as product

lists and customer lists.

12 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Working with Dimensional Data Sources

The user interface of Business Insight Advanced is now geared toward data

exploration, including drilling, excluding, moving, replacing, duplicating,

expanding, filtering, and joining members.

When working with dimensional data sources, you can do the following by

right-clicking a member in a set, using the Explore option on the Data menu, or

clicking the explore button

v Drill up and down on members and sets.

v Exclude members from the initial set or from the set as it is currently shown.

v Move members to the top or bottom of the set.

v Replace members or sets with child members, with level members, with a set of

selected members, with individual members, or with an intersection.

v Create duplicates of individual members, add members from the next level

down, or create an intersection.

v Expand and collapse members to add its child members below it as new rows.

v Filter the members in a set.

v Join two sets to create a new, larger set.

Related concepts:

Chapter 9, “Exploring Dimensional Data,” on page 123

Dimensional data sources include OLAP and dimensionally-modeled relational

(DMR) data sources. The Source tab

in the content pane shows a

member-oriented view of the data.

Default Behaviors for Members in Dimensional Data Sources

Business Insight Advanced includes new default behaviors for members when

working with dimensional data sources.

The default behavior for inserting members from the source tree into your report is

now to insert members with their children and to create sets.

The default behavior for double-clicking a member is now to drill up or down on

that member.

The default behavior for replacing a member is now to replace the entire edge

rather than just one node.

Related tasks:

“Insert a Member” on page 125

By default, when you insert members from the source tree into your report with

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced, members are inserted with their children and

are inserted as sets. You can change how members are inserted. For example, you

may want to insert a member without its children or insert only the member's

children.

Drill-up and Drill-down Links

You can drill up and down in a report by selecting and then clicking data items if

you have enabled drill-up and drill-down links for all reports.

Related concepts:

“Options” on page 24

You can set various options that control the appearance and behaviors of IBM

Chapter 1. What's new in Cognos Workspace Advanced 13

Cognos Workspace Advanced (Tools, Options).

Report Name Used for the Exported Output File Name

When you run a report in an export format such as PDF, delimited text (CSV),

Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software (XLS), the IBM Cognos report name is now

used as the exported file name.

This allows you to save the report output using the same name as the original

report.

Related tasks:

“Running a report” on page 33

Run your report to see how the report will appear to report consumers.

Accessibility Features

Business Insight Advanced includes features to help you create reports that are

more accessible to people who have a physical disability, such as restricted

mobility or limited vision.

You can

v add alternative text for non-text objects, such as images and charts.

v add summary text for crosstabs, lists, and tables.

v specify whether table cells are table headers.

In addition, the documentation now includes alternate text for all graphics so that

screen readers can interpret them.

Related concepts:

“Keyboard Shortcuts” on page 201

This product uses some standard Microsoft Windows and accessibility shortcut

keys.

Appendix A, “Accessibility Features,” on page 201

Accessibility features help users who have a physical disability, such as restricted

mobility or limited vision, to use information technology products.

Summarizing Data

You can now easily add summaries to your reports.

These summaries include the following:

v automatic summary

v total

v count

v average

v minimum

v maximum

Related tasks:

“Summarize Relational Data” on page 110

Summarize data in your reports to obtain a total, count, average, minimum,

maximum, and so on.

“Summarize Dimensional Data” on page 140

Summarize data in your reports to obtain a total, count, average, minimum,

maximum, and so on.

14 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Filtering to Limit Data

In addition to context filters, you can now add filters in your report to exclude

data based on a condition.

For example, you can select a value in your report, and filter out all values that are

less than the one you selected. You can also combine filters to create more complex

conditions.

In addition, you can filter sets of members to show only the top or bottom values.

For example, if you have a crosstab showing revenue for each product line for all

years, you can filter the product lines to show only the top three product lines by

revenue.

Related tasks:

“Filtering relational data” on page 115

Use filters to remove unwanted data from reports. Data is displayed in the report

only if it meets the filter criteria. When working with relational data sources, the

available filtering options are determined by the data that you select.

“Filtering dimensional data” on page 150

Use filters to remove unwanted data from reports. Data is shown in the report

only if it meets the filter criteria.

“Limiting data to top or bottom values” on page 152

You want to focus your report on the items of greatest significance to your

business question. For example, you want to identify your top 100 customers and

what that group of customers is worth.

Preview Reports when Opening and Saving

You can now see a preview of the report when you open or save it.

To preview a report, click Tools, Options, Display report preview.

Related concepts:

“Options” on page 24

You can set various options that control the appearance and behaviors of IBM

Cognos Workspace Advanced (Tools, Options).

Lay Out Report Pages

You can divide your report pages into various layouts, including two columns, two

rows, and four quarters. Your report objects then fit into the report sections.

Related tasks:

“Lay Out Report Pages” on page 165

You can divide your report pages into various layouts, including two columns, two

rows, and four quarters. You can then drag report objects to the report sections.

Braces and Parentheses are Breakable

When you run a report in PDF format, braces {} and parentheses () no longer stay

on the same line as the text before them.

For example, Products(2012) may now break to a new line between Products and

(2012).

Chapter 1. What's new in Cognos Workspace Advanced 15

Changed features in Cognos Business Insight Advanced

version 10.1.0

In this release, some features have been changed.

Line break rules in PDFs have changed

Line break rules for word wrapping in PDFs have changed slightly from the last

release. Brackets and parenthesis such as{}and()arenowtreated as breakable.

For example, in past releases, the following string would be treated as a single

non-breaking string.

Boilers(Steam)

In this release, "Boilers" and "(Steam)" are treated as separate strings which might

result in the following when the string occurs at the end of a line.

Boilers

(Steam)

Removed features in Cognos Business Insight Advanced

version 10.1.0

In this release, some features have been removed.

Analyze with Analysis Studio

The ability to open a report with IBM Cognos Analysis Studio from within IBM

Cognos Business Insight Advanced (Tools or right-click, Analyze) was removed in

this release.

Excel 2000 and Excel 2000 Single Sheet Report Outputs

The Microsoft Excel 2000 spreadsheet software and Excel 2000 Single Sheet

spreadsheet software report outputs are no longer supported in this release.

16 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chapter 2. Understanding Cognos Workspace Advanced

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced is a Web-based tool used to author reports and

analyze data. The user interface allows business users to gain insight into their

business.

Cognos Workspace Advanced allows you to create reports with relational or

dimensional data sources, and show data in lists, crosstabs, and charts. You can

also use your own external data source.

You can open Cognos Workspace Advanced two different ways:

v from a workspace in IBM Cognos Workspace to perform advanced editing or to

create a new report (Do More)

v from either the Launch menu in IBM Cognos Connection or from the Welcome

page (Author Business Reports) to create new reports or edit existing reports.

Relational and dimensional reporting styles

You can create reports in IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced using either a

relational reporting style or a dimensional reporting style depending on the type of

data source you use.

The Cognos Workspace Advanced tools and query language are the same for both

reporting styles. However, it is important to choose a reporting style to ensure that

you are making the most of your data and to avoid mixing dimensional and

relational concepts.

How to choose a reporting style

When authoring a report, first choose your preferred reporting style for working

with data: relational or dimensional. You can choose a reporting style from your

viewpoint:

v If you think about your data as tables and columns, you have a relational

viewpoint and should use a relational reporting style.

v If you think about your data as a number of dimensions intersecting at cells,

you have a dimensional viewpoint and should use a dimensional reporting style.

The type of data source that you use might also help you choose a reporting style.

If the metadata tree shows members and dimensions, the data is dimensional. If it

shows tabular query subjects, the data is relational. For more information, see

“Data source icons” on page 32. Relational data requires using the relational

reporting style. Dimensional data can be queried with either reporting style.

Relational reporting style

The relational reporting style consists of lists. You focus the data with filters and

summarize with header and footer summaries.

v If your data is purely relational, then only query subjects and query items

appear in the Source tab

of the content pane, and you must use the

relational reporting style.

v If your data is dimensional, then dimensions appear in the Source tab of

the content pane, and you can still use a relational reporting style, but instead of

query items (columns) and query subjects (tables), you use measures, levels, and

level properties.

To see an example of relational style reporting with dimensional data, see the

Manager Profile sample report in the GO Data Warehouse (analysis) package.

The relational reporting style is similar to report authoring in IBM Cognos Query

Studio.

Dimensional reporting style

The dimensional reporting style consists of measures and members from different

hierarchies arranged in a crosstab with cell values at the intersections. You focus

the data with set expressions that navigate from specific members in the hierarchy

and summarize with set summaries. To use the dimensional reporting style, you

must have either dimensional data or dimensionally modelled relational data.

To see an example of dimensional style reporting with dimensional data, see the

GO Balance Sheet as at Dec 31, 2012 sample report in the GO Data Warehouse

(analysis) package.

The dimensional reporting style is similar to report authoring in IBM Cognos

Analysis Studio.

Guidelines for each reporting style

This user guide is divided into relational and dimensional reporting sections so

that you can follow the best practices for using this product with the reporting

style that you have chosen. The following table outlines the best practices for both

reporting styles.

Table 1. Best practices for the relational and dimensional reporting styles

Item Relational reporting style Dimensional reporting style

Report type Lists

Crosstabs pivoted from lists

Charts created from lists

Crosstabs

Charts created from scratch or

from crosstabs

Metadata tree The view includes the following

items:

v package

v folder

v namespace

v query subject

v query item

v measure

v level

The view includes the following

items:

v package

v folder

v namespace

v fact

v measure

v dimension

v hierarchy

v level

v level attribute

v member

18 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Table 1. Best practices for the relational and dimensional reporting styles (continued)

Item Relational reporting style Dimensional reporting style

Data items Data items using relational and

common constructs.

Data items using dimensional

and common constructs.

Extended data items.

Inserting data Cognos Workspace Advanced

shows the data for the selected

query item. For example, when

you add the Product type query

item or level to a list, all product

types appear when you run the

report.

Cognos Workspace Advanced

shows just the data related to

the selected member or set of

members.

By default, the insertion options

are set to include only the

selected members. For example,

when you add Camping

Equipment and Golf Equipment

to a crosstab row or column

edge, just those members appear

when you run the report.

You can also set the insertion

options to include the selected

member and its children as a

set. For example, when you add

Camping Equipment to a

crosstab, that member appears

in the report, along with all of

the product types that are part

of the Camping Equipment

product line.

Focusing or filtering

data

Use the filtering options

available from the filter icon

on the toolbar. For example, add

the Quarter query item to a list

and filter to show only Q3.

If you are using the relational

reporting style with relational

data, use only the techniques in

“Filtering relational data” on

page 115.

Add only the relevant members

to an edge of the crosstab or to

the context filter. For example,

only add the Q3 member to

your report.

If you are using the dimensional

reporting style, use only the

following techniques:

v “Creating a context filter” on

page 151

v “Limiting data to top or

bottom values” on page 152

v “Filtering the members within

a set” on page 153

Drilling Drilling through by value Drilling through by member

Drilling up and down

Alternative Studios Cognos Query Studio Cognos Analysis Studio

Related concepts:

Chapter 8, “Exploring Relational Data,” on page 105

Relational data is best represented by lists. This data is organized in IBM Cognos

Chapter 2. Understanding Cognos Workspace Advanced 19

Workspace Advanced by query items.

Chapter 9, “Exploring Dimensional Data,” on page 123

Dimensional data sources include OLAP and dimensionally-modeled relational

(DMR) data sources. The Source tab

in the content pane shows a

member-oriented view of the data.

Working in Cognos Workspace Advanced

To create reports in IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced, you must become familiar

with the Cognos Workspace Advanced environment, including the user interface,

the basic report layout, and setting options.

The user interface

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced has a work area, content and properties panes,

a page layers area, and a context filter area to help you to create reports.

The following figure shows the Cognos Workspace Advanced user interface.

Use a screen resolution of at least 1024 by 768 pixels.

Figure 2. The user interface of Cognos Workspace Advanced

20 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

User interface profiles

A user interface profile might be set for you by an IBM Cognos Business

Intelligence administrator. Users with different profiles see different interfaces and

experience different default behavior. If you are able to use more than one profile,

you are prompted to choose a profile when you start Cognos Workspace

Advanced.

For more information about profiles, see your Cognos BI administrator or the IBM

Cognos Business Intelligence Administration and Security Guide.

The work area

The work area is where you create your report.

By default, you see live data as you create your report. You can switch to design

mode where you see only placeholder data. For more information, see “Work in

Preview or Design Mode” on page 22.

Content pane

The content pane contains objects that you can add to a report. You add objects to

a report by dragging them to the work area.

Tip: You can reposition the content pane to the left of the screen (Tools > Options,

View tab).

You cannot reposition the pane when you open a widget from a workspace in IBM

Cognos Workspace to edit it in Cognos Workspace Advanced.

Source tab

The Source tab of the content pane contains items from the package that is

selected for your report, such as data items and calculations. The source tree

presents a dimensional view of your data, which is organized into dimensions,

hierarchies, levels, and measures. For more information, see Chapter 9, “Exploring

Dimensional Data,” on page 123.

By default, the maximum number of items that are shown in the source tree is 50.

Your administrator can set a different value for optimum performance, depending

on the size of the data source.

For more information about inserting items from the source tree into your report,

see “Add Data to a Report” on page 31.

Toolbox tab

The Toolbox tab

of the content pane contains various objects, such as text and

graphics, that you can add to your report.

For more information about inserting objects from the Toolbox tab into your

report, see “Insert Other Objects” on page 163.

Chapter 2. Understanding Cognos Workspace Advanced 21

Search tab

The Search tab of the content pane contains the results when you search for

members. You can insert the members that are found in a search directly into a

report.

Tip: The Search tab appears only after a search for a member runs.

For more information, see “Search for a Member” on page 125.

Properties pane

The Properties pane shows the formatting for an object in a report. You can change

the formatting properties by using either the toolbar or the Properties pane. If you

prefer to use the Properties pane, you can click Hide Style Toolbar to hide the

toolbar icons that control object formatting.

Tip: You can reposition the Properties pane to the left of the screen (Tools >

Options, View tab).

You cannot reposition the pane when you open a widget from a workspace in

Cognos Workspace to edit it in Cognos Workspace Advanced.

Page layers area

Use the Page layers area to create sections, or page breaks, in a report to show

values for each member on a separate page. For example, you can drag Northern

Europe sales territory from the Source tab

to the Page layers area. The report

is broken into a separate page for each territory within northern Europe. Each

page's context appears in the report header.

For more information, see “Create Page Layers” on page 133.

Context filter area

Use the Context filter area to filter your report to show values, or context, only for

a specific data item. This technique is also known as a slicer filter. For example,

you can drag Sales Territory from the Source tab

to the Context filter area.

When you click a specific territory from the list, the values in the crosstab change

to represent data for that territory.

For more information, see “Creating a context filter” on page 151.

Work in Preview or Design Mode

By default, you see live data as you create your report. However, to see data, you

must add enough information in your report to resolve the multi-dimensional

query. You can also switch to only see placeholder data, using the Page Design

mode.

You cannot work in Page Design mode when you have opened a widget from a

workspace in IBM Cognos Workspace to edit it in IBM Cognos Workspace

Advanced.

22 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Procedure

1. From the View menu, click Page Design or Page Preview.

2. If you want to specify how many rows of data to show per page when working

in Page Preview mode, from the View menu, click Preview Options and type a

new value.

Basic Report Layout

A layout is a set of pages that defines the appearance and formatting of a report.

When you design the layout of a report, you

v present the data in a meaningful way

v design the report by adding formatting, such as borders, color, and page

numbers

v specify how the data flows from one page to the next

Pages

Pages are containers for the layout objects that you use to build a report. A page is

made up of the following mandatory and optional components:

v page header (optional)

v page body (mandatory)

v page footer (optional)

When you run a report, the amount of data queried often exceeds one page. As a

result, pages are added until all the data is shown. You have control over how data

flows from one page to the next.

Objects

You add layout objects to a page when you create a report. The most commonly

used objects are text, blocks and tables. Blocks are often used to lay out horizontal

bands of information. Use blocks to hold text or other information.

Related tasks:

“Insert Other Objects” on page 163

In addition to text and images, the Toolbox tab contains other objects that you can

add to the report layout.

Using visual aids to design your report layout

Visual aids in the work area help you when you are designing your report layout.

Procedure

1. Click View > Visual Aids.

2. Select the options that you want to make visible.

Table 2. Descriptions of visual aids

Option Description

Show Boundary Lines Overrides all boundary line settings by replacing them

with default (dotted line) lines. For example, if you set

the Border property for an object, the border lines are

replaced with dotted lines.

Show Page Header & Footer Shows the page header and page footer.

Chapter 2. Understanding Cognos Workspace Advanced 23

Table 2. Descriptions of visual aids (continued)

Option Description

Show Drag & Drop Padding Shows a drag-and-drop zone when the Padding

property for an object is set to 0.IfthePadding

property is set to a value that is greater than the

minimum padding that IBM Cognos Workspace

Advanced uses to show drag-and-drop zones, only the

minimum padding is shown.

Show Container Selectors Shows a small selector (three orange dots) in the top

left corner of list and crosstab reports that allows you

to select lists and crosstabs and the objects that they

contain.

Options

You can set various options that control the appearance and behaviors of IBM

Cognos Workspace Advanced (Tools, Options).

Note: You cannot set Cognos Workspace Advanced options when you have

opened a widget from a workspace in IBM Cognos Workspace to edit it in Cognos

Workspace Advanced.

View Options

Table 3. Descriptions of the options on the View tab of the Options window

Option Description

Show all hidden dialogs Shows all dialog boxes where the Show this

dialog in the future check box was cleared,

such as the Welcome dialog box at startup.

Reuse Cognos Viewer window Reuses the same IBM Cognos Viewer

window when you rerun a report without

first closing the window.

Resize Cognos Viewer window Maximizes the IBM Cognos Viewer window

when you run a report.

Enable animation Animates the appearance of dialog boxes,

menus, and panes.

Window startup size Specifies the size of the Cognos Workspace

Advanced window at startup.

Position pane on the right (requires restart) Moves the content and Properties panes to

the right of the work area. This check box is

selected by default. For the change to take

effect, you must close and then restart

Cognos Workspace Advanced.

24 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Table 3. Descriptions of the options on the View tab of the Options window (continued)

Option Description

Show rich tooltips (requires restart) Specifies whether to show descriptive

tooltips when you hover over a button in

the toolbar. This check box is selected by

default. For the change to take effect, you

must close and then restart Cognos

Workspace Advanced.

Display report preview Shows a preview of the report when you

open or save a report, within the Open,

Save, and Save As dialog boxes.

Start page view Enables you to start Cognos Workspace

Advanced in Design or Preview view. For

the change to take effect, you must close and

then restart Cognos Workspace Advanced.

Edit Options

Table 4. Descriptions of the options on the Edit tab of the Options window

Option Description

Automatically populate values lists When building expressions in the expression

editor, automatically shows values when

you browse the data of a data item.

Enable drill-up or drill-down links For data items where drill-up or drill-down

is possible, enables drill-up or drill-down

links. When you select a data item, it

becomes a link that you can click to drill up

or down. Also, you can still double-click

data items to drill up and down.

By default, this option is enabled.

Drop replace on crosstab and chart nodes Specifies what the existing members are

replaced with when you drag a new

member onto a report.

Double click on member action When working with dimensional data,

specifies what happens when you

double-click a member data item.

By default, you drill down or up on the item

that you double-click.

Chapter 2. Understanding Cognos Workspace Advanced 25

Report Options

Table 5. Descriptions of the options on the Report tab of the Options window

Option Description

Table Style inheritance When a table style is applied to a list or

crosstab, specifies whether new objects

inserted in the list or crosstab should inherit

the style. For more information, see

“Applying table styles” on page 166.

Automatic group and summary behavior

for lists

When working with lists, automatically adds

an overall aggregate summary in the list

footer and a summary for any groups in the

list. When grouping a column, automatically

makes it the first column in the list.

Automatically create crosstab headers for

sets

When adding sets in a crosstab that uses a

dimensional data source, automatically adds

header labels on new columns and rows.

The headers help consumers of the report to

understand where the data is in the

hierarchy.

Limit on inserted individual members When working with a dimensional data

source, limits the number of child members

that are inserted. For example, you specify 3

for this option and in the Source tab

you specify the option to insert children

when you drag a member to a data

container. You then drag the Camping

Equipment member to the rows of a

crosstab. What you see as rows are the child

members Cooking Gear, Tents, and Sleeping

Bags, and a row named Others (Camping

Equipment) for the remaining child

members of Camping Equipment.

Advanced Options

Table 6. Descriptions of the options on the Advanced tab of the Options window

Option Description

Use operating system clipboard If Cognos Workspace Advanced is running

in the Microsoft Internet Explorer Web

browser, uses the Microsoft Windows

operating system's clipboard instead of the

internal application clipboard.

Tip: If Cognos Workspace Advanced is

running in the Mozilla Firefox Web browser,

the internal application clipboard is always

used.

Use legacy chart authoring Enables you to create new reports using the

legacy Report Studio charts instead of the

default Cognos Workspace Advanced charts.

26 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Table 6. Descriptions of the options on the Advanced tab of the Options

window (continued)

Option Description

Disable previews When editing properties such as date and

number formatting, does not display a

sample of the formatting that is applied to

data. When this option is not enabled, either

sample data or data from your data source

is displayed with formatting options

applied.

Additionally, when in Page Design view,

displays a static image for a chart instead of

updating the chart with new data.

Override 10.x styles with 8.x styles on new

reports

Specifies whether to use the version 8.x

report styles by default when creating new

reports.

For more information about report styles,

see “Modifying Report and Object Styles” on

page 179.

Enable accessibility (requires restart) Specifies whether to enable accessibility

features in Cognos Workspace Advanced.

For the change to take effect, you must close

and then restart Cognos Workspace

Advanced.

For more information about accessibility

features, see “Accessibility features in IBM

Cognos Workspace Advanced” on page 201.

Member display count limit (in source tree) When working with dimensional data,

specifies the maximum number of members

that can appear in the Source tab

pane

before you need to perform a search.

Web browser settings

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced can be used in the Microsoft Internet Explorer

and Mozilla Firefox web browsers.

To review an up-to-date list of the environments that are supported by IBM

Cognos products, including information about operating systems, patches,

browsers, web servers, directory servers, database servers, and application servers,

see Supported Software Environments (http://www.ibm.com/support/

docview.wss?uid=swg27042164).

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence uses the default browser configurations provided

by the Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox web browsers. Additional

required settings are specific to the browser.

For the Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser, the following settings are

required:

Chapter 2. Understanding Cognos Workspace Advanced 27

v Allow Cookies

v Active Scripting

v Allow META REFRESH

v Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins

v Script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting

v Binary and Script Behaviors

v Allow programmatic clipboard access

v Enable pop-ups for the IBM Cognos BI server

For the Firefox web browser, the following settings are required:

v Enable JavaScript

v Accept Cookies

v Allow Scripts to disable or replace context menus

v Enable pop-ups for the IBM Cognos BI server

For more information about the web browser configuration and cookies used by

IBM Cognos BI, see the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Installation and

Configuration Guide.

28 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chapter 3. Creating Reports

When you create a report, you are actually creating a report specification. The

report specification defines the queries and prompts that are used to retrieve data,

as well as the layouts and styles used to present the data. For simplicity, the report

specification is named the report.

Specify the Package

Specify the package that will provide items for the report.

A package contains a set of related objects, such as members, dimensions, filters,

and calculations. When you open a package in IBM Cognos Business Intelligence,

these objects are visible in the Source tab

Note: You cannot specify the package when you have opened a widget from a

workspace in IBM Cognos Workspace to edit it in IBM Cognos Workspace

Advanced. In this case, the widget already has a package.

Before you begin

The package must be previously created and published to the IBM Cognos

Connection portal. For more information, see the IBM Cognos Framework Manager

User Guide.

Important: If the package version changed since you opened IBM Cognos

Workspace Advanced, close and restart Cognos Workspace Advanced to ensure

that you are working with the latest version of the package.

Procedure

1. In the portal, from the Launch menu, click Cognos Workspace Advanced.

Note: If there is more than one package available, the Select a package page

appears. Otherwise, Cognos Workspace Advanced starts.

2. If more than one package exists, click the one you want to use.

3. In the Welcome dialog box, choose whether to create a new report or template,

open an existing report or template, or create a new report from an existing

report or template.

v To create a new report, click Create New and choose a basic report layout.

v To open an existing report or template, click Open Existing and select a

report or template.

v To create a new report from an existing report or template, click New from

Existing and select a report or template.

Results

Objects from the package now appear on the Source tab

Tip: You can later change packages.

Refresh the package

If the package that a report is using changed, refresh it to ensure that you are

working with the latest content.

About this task

The contents of a package can change without the package version changing. For

example, your modeler makes changes to a model and republishes the package

with model versioning disabled.

Procedure

Refresh the package.

v To get the latest contents of the current package version being used, in the

Source tab

, click the refresh icon .

v To get the latest package version, close and restart your component.

Choosing a basic report layout

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced includes several basic report layouts that

include report objects, such as lists, crosstabs, and charts. You can also choose to

start with a blank report or create a new report from an existing report or

template.

Note: You cannot choose a basic report layout when you have opened a widget

from a workspace in IBM Cognos Workspace to edit it in IBM Cognos Workspace

Advanced. In this case, the widget already has a basic report layout.

Procedure

1. Click File > New.

2. If you want to change the package, click the ellipsis (...) button and click a

different package.

3. Choose a basic report layout:

v To create a report using one of the predefined report layouts, double-click the

layout.

v To create a new report from an existing report or template, double-click From

Template, locate the report or template, and click Open.

Tip: Click the Type box and then click Report templates to see only existing

templates.

Inserting a data container from the toolbox tab

You can insert data containers from the toolbox tab into a report.

About this task

When you insert a data container from the Toolbox tab, you can specify a name

for the data container and the query that you want to create for the container

instead of accepting the default names that are generated.

30 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Extensible visualizations can contain one or more data containers. When you insert

an extensible visualization, you can specify the visualization name, the names of its

data containers, and the query that you want to create for the data containers.

Tip: By default, a single query is created for a visualization so that any filters that

you add are shared across all data containers in the visualization. You can specify a

different query for each data container.

Procedure

1. From the Toolbox tab , drag the data container that you want to insert in

the report.

2. In the window that appears, type a name for the data container and a name for

the query to be created for the container.

Tip: You can link a container to an existing query by clicking the query menu

and choosing from the list of available queries.

Add Data to a Report

Select the data items that you want to appear in the report.

The data tree in the Source tab

is members-orientated. It allows you to add

dimension members, values, and hierarchies directly to your report. You can add a

single member, only the member's children, or both the member and its children.

If you frequently use items from different query subjects or dimensions in the

same reports, ask your modeler to organize these items into a folder or model

query subject and then to republish the relevant package. For example, if you use

the product code item in sales reports, the modeler can create a folder that contains

the product code item and the sales items you need.

Procedure

From the Source tab , drag each data item to the work area location where

you want it to appear.

Note: A flashing black bar indicates where you can drop an item.

Another way to insert a data item is to right-click each item and click Insert.

Results

Tip: For more information about a data item, select the data item and, from the

Data menu, click Data Properties. If you want to remove a data item from the

report, select it and click the delete button.

Related tasks:

“Insert a Member” on page 125

By default, when you insert members from the source tree into your report with

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced, members are inserted with their children and

are inserted as sets. You can change how members are inserted. For example, you

may want to insert a member without its children or insert only the member's

children.

Chapter 3. Creating Reports 31

Data source icons

Each object in the data source has a representative icon. You can insert all of the

following objects in a report, except for packages and dimensions.

Table 7. Objects represented by data source icons

Icon Object

Package, which contains the objects you can insert in a report.

Namespace, used to organize objects.

Query subject, which represents a table in the database.

In relational data sources, query item, which represents a column of

qualitative data in the database, such as product name or country or

region.

In dimensional data sources, level attribute, which represents a property

of a level.

A member is a unique item within a hierarchy. For example, Camping

Equipment and 4 Man tent are members of the Products Hierarchy.

Dimension, which represents a broad grouping of descriptive data about

a major aspect of a business, such as products, dates, or markets.

Hierarchy, which represents a collection of dimensional members

organized into a tree structure.

Level, which is a set of members that have common attributes. For

example, a geographical dimension might contain levels for country or

region or city.

Multiple levels can exist within a level hierarchy, beginning with the root

level. The root level is the parent and rollup of all members in the first

level. It is used to obtain a rollup of all values across the hierarchy and to

provide a convenient point to start drilling.

For example, a Years level hierarchy may contain the following levels:

v Root level Years

v First level Year

v Second level Quarter

v Third level Month

Measure or fact, a query item that represents a column of quantitative

data in the database, such as revenue or quantity, in a relational model.

Measure or fact, a query item that represents a column of quantitative

data in the database, such as revenue or quantity, in a dimensional

model.

Measures folder, which contains hierarchical measures, in a dimensional

model.

Model filter.

Model calculation.

Folder, used to organize data items. You cannot import a folder into your

report.

32 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Save a Report

Save your report to preserve the modifications you made.

Reports are saved to the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence server. You can also

save your report on your computer.

Note: You cannot save a report when you have opened a widget from a

workspace in IBM Cognos Workspace to edit it in IBM Cognos Workspace

Advanced. In this case, you can click Done to finish editing the widget and return

to Cognos Workspace.

Procedure

1. Click File > Save, or click File > Save As to save a copy of the report under a

different name.

2. If you are saving the report for the first time, specify where to save the report

and type a file name.

For information about setting up folders in IBM Cognos Connection for your

reports, see the IBM Cognos Connection User Guide.

3. Click Save.

Running a report

Run your report to see how the report will appear to report consumers.

You can also run a report or a group of reports in IBM Cognos Connection. For

more information, see the IBM Cognos Connection User Guide.

When you run a report in an export format such as PDF, delimited text (CSV), or

Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software format (XLS), the IBM Cognos report name is

used as the exported file name.

Tip: You cannot run a report when you have opened a widget from a workspace

in IBM Cognos Workspace to edit it in IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced. In this

case, you can click Done to finish editing the widget and return to Cognos

Workspace.

Procedure

1. Open the report that you want.

2. If you want to set run options, from the Run menu, click Run Options.

The default value is the value of the selected corresponding run option in IBM

Cognos Connection.

Note: The run options you set apply only to the current session. When you

close Cognos Workspace Advanced, the options return to the default settings.

3. Change any values you want for the current session.

Option Description

Format None.

Paper size Specify only if the output format is PDF.

Chapter 3. Creating Reports 33

Option Description

Paper orientation Specify only if the output format is PDF.

Data mode Specify how much data is returned. All Data returns all data.

Limited Data limits the amount of data returned based on

design mode filters defined in the package. No Data returns

artificial data instead of actual data from the data source.

For more information about design mode filters, see the IBM

Cognos Framework Manager User Guide.

Language The content language sets the preferred language for the data,

IBM Cognos Viewer, dates, and so on.

Rows per page Specifies the number of rows to appear on each page.

Prompt Select to be prompted for each prompt defined, unless the

prompt is defined in a report page.

If you clear the check box, you are prompted only if the report

cannot run without user intervention. For example, if a report

has a single parameterized filter that is optional, you are not

prompted when you run the report.

Include accessibility

features

Specifies whether accessibility features, such as alternate text

on images and charts and summary text in tables, are included

in the report output.

For more information about how to create accessible reports,

see “Considerations to Improve Report Accessibility” on page

202.

Enable bidirectional

support

Specifies whether to enable bidirectional support in the report

output.

Tip: You can also enable bidirectional support in Cognos

Connection by modifying your user preferences (My

Preferences link). If you enable bidirectional support in

Cognos Connection, this run option will be automatically

selected.

4. From the Run menu, click one of the options to produce the report in the

format you want.

You can produce a report in HTML, PDF, CSV, various Microsoft Excel formats,

and XML.

Restriction: The formats that are available depend on the capabilities set by the

administrator for each user. You may not be able to run reports in all formats.

For more information, see the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Administration

and Security Guide or contact your administrator.

Results

The report runs in IBM Cognos Viewer. Once the report has finished running, you

can run the report again in the same format or in a different format. If you run the

34 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

report again in CSV or XLS format, the report appears in a new browser window

or tab.

Related concepts:

“Support for bidirectional content” on page 169

You can author reports that support bidirectional content. You can specify base text

direction, digit shaping, and container direction.

Running a Report Against a Dimensional Data Source

You can cancel a report that is running against Microsoft SQL Server Analysis

Services only during the initial portion of its execution. After this time, the report

runs to completion.

Units of Measure Notation

If you see an asterisk character (*), one of the following was detected:

v an unknown currency

v a value with an unknown or questionable unit of measure, such as a mixed

currency calculation or rollup

Mixed currency values occur when you calculate values with different

currencies.

This behavior occurs when you are using an IBM Cognos cube as a data source.

Producing a Report in CSV Format

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence can produce reports in CSV format so you can

open them in other applications, such as Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software.

Reports saved in CSV format

v are designed to support Unicode data across many client operating systems

v are UTF-16 Little Endian data encoded

v include a BOM (Byte Order Mark) at the beginning of the file

v are tab-delimited

v do not enclose strings in quotation marks

v use a new line character to delimit rows

You can open reports saved in CSV format using Microsoft Excel, Microsoft

Windows Wordpad, and Oracle StarOffice software. By default, reports produced

in CSV format will appear in the application associated with the .csv file type.

In IBM Cognos Connection, you can configure the CSV output to suit your

environment. For example, you can specify the character used to delimit fields. For

more information, see the Administration and Security Guide, or contact your

administrator.

Producing a Report in Microsoft Excel Format

You can export your report output to several different Microsoft Excel spreadsheet

software formats.

Excel 2007 and Excel 2007 Data formats render report output in native Excel XML

format, also known as XLSX. This format provides a fast way to deliver native

Excel spreadsheets to Microsoft Excel 2002, Microsoft Excel 2003, and Microsoft

Chapter 3. Creating Reports 35

Excel 2007. Users of Microsoft Excel 2002 and Microsoft Excel 2003 must install the

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack, which provides file open and save capabilities

for the new format.

Excel 2007 provides fully formatted reports for use in Microsoft Excel version 2007.

The output is similar to other Excel formats, with the following exceptions:

v Charts are rendered as static images.

v Row height can change in the rendered report to achieve greater fidelity.

v Column widths that are explicitly specified in reports are ignored in Microsoft

Excel 2007.

v Merged cells are used to improve the appearance of reports.

v The default size of worksheets is 65 536 rows by 256 columns.

Your IBM Cognos administrator can enable larger worksheets and change the

maximum number of rows in a worksheet, up to a maximum of 16,384 columns

by 1,048,576 rows, by using advanced server properties. For more information,

see the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Administration and Security Guide.

Excel 2007 Data provides data for use in Microsoft Excel version 2007. These

reports only contain minimal formatting. Default data formatting is applied to the

data based on data type and assumes that each column has a single data type.

The output is similar to other Excel formats, with the following exceptions:

v The generated output includes only the first list query in the report. If a report

contains multiple queries and the first query is a multi-dimensional query for a

crosstab or for a chart, an error message is displayed when the report runs.

v Nested frames and master-detail links are not supported.

v Cells in the Microsoft Excel file have a default width and height. You must

adjust the column width and height if the data is larger than the default size.

v Style specifications are not rendered, including color, background color, and

fonts.

v Borders are not rendered.

v User-specified data formatting in the report specification are not applied,

including exception highlighting and color rules for negative numbers.

Excel 2002 provides fully formatted reports for use in Microsoft Excel versions

earlier than 2007. Excel 2002 format also offers the following benefits:

v Spreadsheets are contained in a single file for reliable spreadsheet navigation.

v The maximum size of worksheets is 65,536 rows by 256 columns.

Related concepts:

“Larger worksheet sizes for Microsoft Excel 2007 report outputs” on page 8

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence now supports a larger worksheet size for report

outputs exported in Microsoft Excel 2007 format.

Appendix C, “Limitations When Producing Reports in Microsoft Excel Format,” on

page 211

There are limitations when producing reports in Microsoft Excel format.

Option to group repeating cells in reports produced in Excel

2007 format

When you produce reports in Excel 2007 format, you can specify whether

repeating cells are grouped, or merged, into a single cell.

36 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Report outputs to Excel 2007 format are easier to read and look more like other

output formats when repeating values are grouped. If further analysis of the data

is required within Excel or if the outputs are used to provide data to another tool,

it is often preferable for repeating values to be populated in each row or column to

which they apply.

By default, repeating cells are merged in Excel 2007 output. For example, Product

line is a grouped column in a list. The values for Product line, such as Camping

Equipment and Golf Equipment, appear once in a merged cell in Excel output.

When repeating cells are not grouped, the values for Product line appear in each

repeating cell. The option to merge repeating cells in Excel output is controlled by

selecting or clearing the Group repeating cells when exporting to Excel check box

in the Report Properties dialog box.

Crosstabs

In general, grouped data item values appear in each repeating cell. For example, a

crosstab contains Product line and Product type as rows. When repeating cells are

ungrouped, the label for each product line value is rendered in each repeating row

cell.

If a cell on a column edge spans multiple worksheet rows, the cell label is not

repeated in all rows. If a cell on a row edge spans multiple columns, the cell label

value is not repeated in multiple worksheet columns. For example, a crosstab

contains Product line, Product type, and Product as rows. A summary is added for

Product line. The product line summary cell spans Product line, Product type, and

Product. In Excel, repeating cells are produced for the summary row, but the label

for the summary appears only in the first cell.

Repeating cells that are produced from crosstab headers follow this behavior. For

example, Product line and Product type are inserted as rows in a crosstab. Headers

named Product line and Product type are created, and each header spans two

columns. In Excel, the header labels appear only in the first cell. The repeating cells

are empty.

If a layout object, such as a table or image, is inserted in the crosstab corner, the

size of the object might cause the crosstab corner column edge to span multiple

rows and row edges to span multiple columns. When this situation occurs, column

labels repeat only in the column span and row labels repeat only in the row span.

The following figure shows a crosstab that contains Year as columns and Order

method type as rows. A three by three table is inserted in the crosstab corner. In

Excel output, the size of the table produces repeating cells in the columns and in

the rows. Year labels, such as 2010, repeat only in the columns and not in the rows.

Order method labels, such as E-mail, repeat only in the rows.

Chapter 3. Creating Reports 37

Lists

In lists, grouped data values are repeated in ungrouped cells. For example, a list

contains Product line and Product type, and Product line is grouped. When

repeating cells are ungrouped in Excel, the label for each product line value is

rendered in the repeating cells.

Group header and list page header labels are not repeated. These labels appear

only in the first cell, and repeating cells are empty.

Nested data containers, images, and charts

Nested data containers, images, and charts in a report can produce merged cells.

For example, when a crosstab is inserted in a list, other columns in the list appear

as merged cells in Excel 2007 output. The following rules are applied when merged

cells are split.

1. If a cell is merged as a result of a data item grouping, then data values are

repeated in the split cells.

2. If a cell is merged as a result of a nested data container, image, or chart, then

data values are not repeated in split cells.

For example, a list contains Product line, Product type, Quantity, and an image as

columns. The Product line column is grouped. The image produces merged cells in

Excel output because its size spans more than one row. When the report is run

with the option to ungroup repeating cells, Product line values are repeated, but

Product type and Quantity values are not.

Bookmarks

When you produce Excel 2007 output with ungrouped repeating cells, clicking an

entry in a table of contents brings you to the first row that contains that entry. For

Figure 3. Excel 2007 output of a crosstab with a table inserted in the crosstab corner

38 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

example, a report contains a list with a table of contents. Product line values are

repeated in the list in Excel output. When you click Camping Equipment in the

table of contents, you are brought to the first cell in the list that contains Camping

Equipment.

Related tasks:

“Modify the report properties” on page 179

You can change the styles in the style sheet to make your entire report appear

differently.

Producing a Report in XML Format

XML report outputs save the report data in a format that conforms to an internal

schema, xmldata.xsd.

You can find this schema file in c10_location/bin.

This format consists of a dataset element, which contains a metadata element and a

data element. The metadata element contains the data item information in item

elements. The data element contains all the row and value elements.

You can create models from reports and other data that conform to the

xmldata.xsd schema. This is useful if you want to use a report as a data source for

another report, or if you use a database that cannot be read by IBM Cognos

Framework Manager. In this case, export the data from the data source to an XML

file, in conformance with the xmldata schema, and then open the XML file in

Framework Manager.

For more information, see the Framework Manager User Guide.

You cannot produce the following in XML format:

v maps

v charts that do not have at least one category or series

v reports that have more than one query defined in the report, unless the

additional queries are used for prompts

If a report contains more than one data container, such as a crosstab and a list,

and both containers use the same query, only the output for the list is produced.

If a report contains multiple lists, only the output for the first list is produced. If

a report contains multiple crosstabs and multiple lists, only the output for the

first list is produced.

Set PDF Page Options

Set PDF page options to control how report pages appear in PDF.

You can also set PDF page options in IBM Cognos Connection. For more

information, see the IBM Cognos Connection User Guide.

Note: You cannot set PDF page options when you have opened a widget from a

workspace in IBM Cognos Workspace to edit it in Cognos Workspace Advanced.

Procedure

Click File > PDF Page Setup, set the page options that you want, and then click

OK.

Chapter 3. Creating Reports 39

Naming report objects for workspaces in Cognos Workspace

Provide a name for list, crosstab, and chart report objects so that they can easily be

identified when added in a workspace in IBM Cognos Workspace.

When building a workspace in Cognos Workspace, business users can insert an

entire IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced report or only insert an individual list,

crosstab, or chart from a report.

By default, Cognos Workspace Advanced gives each list, crosstab, or chart in a

report a default name such as List 1, Crosstab1, Chart1, and so on. In Cognos

Workspace, these names appear in the Content tree. To help business users

recognize the report objects, rename them to something more meaningful.

Procedure

1. Select the list, crosstab, or report.

2. In the Properties pane, double-click the Name property.

3. Type a name that describes the report object.

Recommendation - Creating Financial Reports

When creating a statement-style or financial report, we recommend that you follow

these steps:

v Open the Financial report template.

This template offers a simple crosstab report, with a header and a footer that

includes the date, page number, and time. You can edit the content of the report

by adding and removing objects.

v Insert data to the rows.

A typical statement-style report includes accounts in the rows.

v Insert data to the columns.

A typical statement-style report includes a time dimension in the columns.

v Insert a measure.

v Insert calculations and format data.

v Add page layers or context filters to focus your report.

v Apply formatting.

You can add colors, lines, images, conditional formatting, blank rows or

columns, headings, and so on to improve the appearance of your report.

The IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Software Development Kit

When you create a report, you are creating a report specification. A report

specification is an XML file that you can view (Tools, Show Specification

). In

addition, you can view the specification for a selected object with the Show

Specification (Selection) menu option.

When you are viewing the report specification, you cannot modify or copy parts of

it.

You can also programmatically create or modify reports by using an editing tool to

work with report specifications. You then use the IBM Cognos Software

Development Kit to implement the reports in your IBM Cognos BI environment.

40 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

This is useful if, for example, you must make the same modification in many

reports. Rather than opening each report and making the change, you can

automate the process using the Software Development Kit, thereby saving you

time. For more information about the IBM Cognos Software Development Kit,

contact your local sales office.

You can also modify the XML code in a report specification by saving the report

specification on your computer.

View Lineage Information for a Data Item

View lineage information of a data item to see what the item represents before you

add it to a report.

Lineage information traces the metadata of an item back through the package and

the data sources used by the package. Lineage also displays any data item filters

that were added by the report author or that were defined in the data model.

Viewing lineage information ensures that you add the correct data items to a

report. For example, you can view the lineage information of a model calculation

to see how it was created.

Note: Lineage is available only after your administrator has configured it. For

more information, see the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Administration and

Security Guide. In addition, lineage is not supported in reports that are not linked

to packages.

You can use the lineage tool that comes with IBM Cognos Business Intelligence, or

you can use another lineage tool by specifying the URL to the tool in IBM Cognos

Administration. Note that if the URL source is secured, the source must be able to

prompt users for a password because IBM Cognos BI does not pass security

information. IBM Cognos BI also supports the IBM Metadata Workbench as a

lineage tool. For more information about configuring other lineage tools, see the

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Administration and Security Guide.

You cannot use lineage information to troubleshoot queries. For example, lineage

information will not explain why a data item is double counted. Also, you cannot

view lineage information when running a report from a mobile device.

Before you begin

Before you can access lineage information for a report, your administrator must

configure lineage in IBM Cognos Administration. Also, the administrator must

enable the lineage capability and grant read permission for you on the report.

Note: The IBM Cognos BI lineage tool shows lineage on a report at its highest

level. The lineage does not change after you drill down on a report. Because the

selection context used to launch lineage can be affected by drill-down operations,

we recommend that you always launch lineage at the highest report level before

drilling down on the report. Otherwise, the lineage may not start properly.

Procedure

From the Source tab , right-click the data item and click Lineage.

Chapter 3. Creating Reports 41

Tip: You can view lineage information for multiple data items at the same time by

first Ctrl+clicking the items. The IBM Metadata Workbench does not support

viewing lineage for multiple data items at once.

Results

The lineage tool opens showing the lineage information of the selected data item.

The IBM Cognos Business Intelligence lineage tool

The IBM Cognos Business Intelligence lineage tool includes two views: the

business view and the technical view.

The business view displays high-level textual information that describes the data

item and the package from which it comes. This information is taken from IBM

Cognos Connection and the IBM Cognos Framework Manager model.

The technical view is a graphical representation of the lineage of the selected data

item. The lineage traces the data item from the package to the data sources used

by the package.

When you click an item, its properties appear below it. If you click an item in the

Package area, you see the model properties of the item. If you click an item in the

Data Sources area, you see the data source properties of the item.

You can also view lineage information in IBM Cognos Viewer after you run a

report. For example, you can click a cell in a crosstab to see how the cell value was

calculated. To view lineage information in IBM Cognos Viewer, right-click an item

in the report and then click Lineage. If you or an administrator runs a saved report

with the IBM Cognos BI lineage tool, both the business view and the technical

view are visible. Report consumers can see only the business view. In addition to

the Package and Data Sources areas, a Report area exists when looking at the

technical view.

Figure 4. The technical view in the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence lineage tool

42 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chapter 4. Crosstabs

Use crosstab reports, also known as matrix reports, to show the relationships

between three or more query items. Crosstab reports show data in rows and

columns with information summarized at the intersection points.

For example, the following example crosstab report shows the gross profit and

revenue by product line for each year.

Working with Crosstab Reports

When you add data items to a crosstab, you create crosstab nodes and crosstab

node members. These objects allow you to easily create crosstabs, using

drag-and-drop operations.

Crosstabs are dimensional objects that have row edges and column edges. Each

edge is composed of a set of crosstab nodes. Each crosstab node contains the

following:

v One or more crosstab node members.

v Zero or one nested crosstab node, which contains one or more crosstab node

members or nested crosstab nodes.

Each crosstab node member refers to a data item that contains an expression that

defines the members that appear in the crosstab.

The following crosstab contains four crosstab nodes.

Figure 5. An example crosstab report

1 Crosstab node 1 contains a single node member for the total. This node refers

to the data item Total(Product line).

2 Crosstab node 2 contains a crosstab node member that refers to the data item

Product line. This member has a nested crosstab node containing a crosstab node

member that refers to the data item Product type.

3 Crosstab node 3 contains a single node member for the average. This node

refers to the data item Average(Product line).

4 Crosstab node 4 contains a crosstab node member that refers to the data item

Order year. This member has two nested crosstab nodes. The first node contains a

crosstab node member that refers to the data item Order month. The second node

contains a crosstab node member for the total. This node refers to the data item

Total(Order month).

Crosstab nodes can be placed anywhere in the crosstab. For example, in the

previous diagram, you can drag Order month under Average to create a row edge.

Create a Nested Crosstab

Nest data in a crosstab report to compare information by using more than one data

item in a column or row. For example, a report shows the number of sales by

product line for the past fiscal year. You decide to add a data item to further break

down the number of sales by quarter.

When nesting columns in a crosstab report, there are four distinct drop zones

where you can insert a new data item. The drop zone you choose will define the

relationship between the data item and the column.

The following relationships are created when you insert a data item as a row:

v Inserting a data item to the left or right of a column creates a parent-child

relationship between them.

When you insert a data item to the left of a column, the data item becomes a

parent to the column. When you insert a data item to the right of a column, the

data item becomes a child of the column.

v Inserting a data item above or below a column creates a union relationship

between them.

The following relationships are created when you insert a data item as a column:

v Inserting a data item to the left or right of a column creates a union relationship

between them.

Figure 6. An example crosstab report with four nodes

44 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

v Inserting a data item above or below a column creates a parent-child

relationship between them.

When you insert a data item above a column, the data item becomes a parent to

the column. When you insert a data item below a column, the data item becomes a

child of the column.

For example, you have a crosstab with Product line as rows and Quantity and

Revenue as nested rows. For columns, you have Order method with Country or

Region as a nested column. In this crosstab,

v Product line is a parent to Quantity and Revenue.

v Quantity and Revenue are peers.

v Order method is a parent to Country or Region.

Procedure

1. From the Source tab , click the data item to add.

2. Drag the data item to the report as a nested column or nested row.

A black bar indicates where you can drop the data item.

3. Repeat steps 1 to 2 to add other nested columns or rows.

Tip: If you add more than one measure to a crosstab, all measures appear as

columns. You cannot have one measure appear as a row and another as a

column. To make all measures appear as rows, swap columns and rows.

Create a Single-Edge Crosstab

Create a single-edge crosstab report to show data in a list-like form. For example,

to show the quantity of products sold for each year and for each order method,

you could create a crosstab with Order Year and Order Method as rows and

Quantity as the measure.

Procedure

1. From the Toolbox tab , insert a crosstab object to the work area.

2. From the Source tab

, drag data items to the Rows or Columns drop zone.

A black bar indicates where you can drop the data item.

3. Repeat step 2 to insert additional data items:

v If you dragged the data item in step 2 to the Rows drop zone, drag the

additional items above or below the first item.

v If you dragged the data item in step 2 to the Columns drop zone, drag the

additional items to the left or right of the first item.

4. To add measures to the crosstab, drag the measures to the Measures drop zone.

Results

When you run the report, a crosstab is produced that has only one edge.

Chapter 4. Crosstabs 45

Creating headers automatically for sets in crosstabs

You can automatically add header labels on columns and rows when working with

sets in a crosstab that uses a dimensional data source. The headers help consumers

of the report to understand where the data is in the hierarchy.

Header labels are added only when you add new sets to your crosstab. The labels

are not added to existing sets. After you enable this option, it remains on until you

disable it, and applies to any new crosstabs that you create.

Procedure

1. From the Tools menu, click Options, then click the Report tab.

2. Select Automatically create crosstab headers for sets.

3. Click OK.

Results

Header labels are created in the rows and columns in a crosstab.

Showing crosstab values as percentages

When you work with dimensional data sources, you can show crosstab values as a

percentage of a summary instead of the actual values. When you show values as a

percentage, you can compare the contribution of an item to the whole.

About this task

You can show crosstab values as a percentage of a summary on the rows, the

columns, or the rows and columns. For example, a crosstab has Product line as

rows, Year as columns, and Revenue as the measure. You can show the following

crosstab values:

v The actual values of Revenue

v A percentage of a summary on Product line

v A percentage of a summary on Year

v A percentage of a summary on Product line, Year

By default, the summary type that is used to calculate the percentages is Automatic

summary.

When you show values as a percentage, a percentage measure data item is created.

You can also create a custom percentage calculation. For example, you can show

values as a percentage of an intersection (tuple). Or you can show values as a

percentage of a different summary type, such as Maximum.

When you show values as a percentage, the fact cells are formatted with the

percent data format. When you show the actual values, the fact cells are formatted

with the number format. If you modify the data format of the actual values, the

change is lost when you switch between showing the actual values and percentage

values.

If you limit the data in the crosstab to top or bottom values, the actual values are

used to filter the crosstab.

46 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

You can show values as a percentage only in crosstabs. If you insert a chart, you

cannot fill the chart with data from a crosstab that shows values as a percentage. If

you create a chart from a crosstab that shows values as percentages, an empty

chart is created in the report.

Procedure

1. Select the measure for which you want to show values as a percentage.

If there is only one measure in the crosstab, click the crosstab corner.

2. From the Data menu, click Show Value As, and click the percentage values

that you want to show.

3. If you click Custom, provide the information that is required to calculate the

percentage values.

a. To change the default name of the percentage data item that you are

creating, type the new name in the Name field.

b. In the Percentage based on box, choose to build the percentage data item

based on a summary of sets in the crosstab or based on an intersection

(tuple).

c. If you choose to build the percentage data item based on a summary of sets,

in the Choose sets box, click the sets that you want to use. Then, click the

Summary type menu and select the summary that you want to use to

calculate the percentage values.

If there is more than one data item on the crosstab edge that you chose for

the sets, select which data item that you want to use.

d. If you choose to build the percentage data item based on an intersection

(tuple), click the ellipsis and select the items that you want to use to create

the intersection.

e. Click OK.

4. To edit a measure percentage data item, follow these steps.

a. Select the measure.

b. From the Data menu, click Show Value As > Edit.

c. Modify the information for the data item as described in step 3.

d. If you replaced a set in the crosstab with a different set, in the Choose sets

box, click Existing sets when you want to base the percentage values on the

set that you replaced.

Swap Columns and Rows

Swap columns and rows to look at information from a different perspective. This

may help you discover high and low points in the data that you hadn't previously

noted.

You can only swap columns and rows in a crosstab or chart. In a chart, you swap

the x- and y-axes.

Procedure

From the toolbar, click the swap rows and columns button .

Results

In the report, the rows become the columns and the columns become the rows.

Chapter 4. Crosstabs 47

Change a List into a Crosstab

Change a list into a crosstab to view your data from a different perspective.

Procedure

1. Click the columns to appear as columns or nested columns in the crosstab.

2. From the Structure menu, click Pivot List to Crosstab.

Results

The list becomes a crosstab with the columns you selected in step 2 appearing as

columns and nested columns. The unselected columns, except for measures, appear

as rows and nested rows. If you have one measure, it becomes the cells of the

crosstab. If you have more than one measure, they appear as columns.

Tip: To make all measures appear as rows, swap columns and rows.

48 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chapter 5. Charts

You can use IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced to create many chart types, such as

column, bar, area, and line charts.

Tip: To view the available chart types, from the toolbar, click the insert chart

button

and click More. You can also view the available chart types by adding

a Chart object from the Toolbox tab

to an existing report.

Using Legacy Report Studio Charts

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced includes a default chart technology that is

different than the legacy chart technology used in IBM Cognos Report Studio as of

version 10.1.0.

You can continue to work in Cognos Workspace Advanced with Cognos Report

Studio reports that use the legacy chart technology if you set the Use legacy chart

authoring option. You can also convert a legacy chart to a new default chart.

Related tasks:

“Convert Charts From One Type to Another” on page 68

This procedure applies to converting charts from one type (for example, a bar

chart) to another type (for example, a line chart). It also applies to converting

charts from the legacy Report Studio charts to the current default charts.

Creating Charts

Before creating charts, review the available chart types to select the best chart for

your needs. Also review the chart elements that make up charts.

Tip: To view the available chart types, click File > New, and then double-click the

chart icon

. You can also view the available chart types by adding a Chart

object from the Toolbox tab

to an existing report.

To create charts, drag data items from the Source tab

to the measures, data

series, and categories drop zones.

To help you when creating charts, you can do the following:

v Resize your charts.

v Move the chart drop zones into flyouts so that they appear only when you

pause your pointer over the chart.

After you create a basic chart, modify the various chart objects to customize your

chart.

Chart objects

Charts are composed of objects. Settings that you apply to objects in charts in IBM

Cognos Workspace Advanced affect how a chart appears when you run it and

view it in Cognos Viewer.

The following image shows a chart as it appears in Cognos Viewer.

The following image shows the same chart as it appears in the Cognos Workspace

Advanced user interface. The Y-axis title is selected.

Figure 7. A column chart with elements marked in Cognos Viewer.

50 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Data Series

A data series is a group of related data points that are plotted in a chart. Each

series has a unique color or pattern and is described in the legend. You can plot

one or more data series in a chart; pie charts have only one data series.

In the example chart, the data series are order years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

Categories

Categories are groups of related data from the data series that are plotted on the

X-axis. Categories of multiple data series are shown together using clustered and

stacked data markers.

In the example chart, the categories are the product lines of The Sample Outdoors

Company in clustered columns.

Axes

Axes are lines that provide references for measurement or comparison.

The primary axis (or Y-axis) refers to measures of quantitative data, such as sales

figures or quantities. Charts can have more than one primary axis.

The category axis (X-axis or ordinal axis) plots qualitative data, such as products or

regions. It runs horizontally, except in bar charts.

The z-axis is the vertical axis in a 3-D chart.

Major gridlines extend from the tick marks on an axis and run behind the data

markers.

Figure 8. An editable column chart with elements marked in Cognos Workspace Advanced

Chapter 5. Charts 51

Legend

A legend is a key to the patterns or colors assigned to the data series or categories

in a chart.

Columns, Lines, and Areas

Charts use graphical elements such as columns, horizontal bars, points, bubbles,

lines, and areas as visual representations of data points.

Chart types and chart configurations

To choose a chart type, consider what you want the chart to illustrate. Different

chart types and configurations emphasize different things.

Table 8. Types of charts and chart configurations and their purposes

Purpose Chart type or configuration

Show contributions of parts to a whole Bar Charts

Pie Charts

Stacked Charts, when you want to display

measures of the whole, as well as the parts

100 Percent Stacked Charts

Show trends in time or contrast values

across different categories

Line Charts

Area Charts

Bar Charts

Column Charts

Always place time in the horizontal axis.

Compare groups of related information

against actual values

Bar Charts

Radar Charts

Compare different kinds of quantitative

information

Combination Charts

Rank values in descending or ascending

order

Bar Charts

Column Charts

Show correlation between two sets of

measures

Point Charts

Show key performance indicators in an

executive dashboard

Gauge Charts

Bullet Charts

Chart Types

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced includes a number of chart types, such as

column, bar, area, and line charts.

52 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Column Charts

Column charts use vertical data markers to compare individual values.

Column charts are useful for comparing discrete data or showing trends over time.

For example, the following example shows the revenue for each product line.

Column charts can plot data using standard, stacked, 100 percent stacked, and

three-dimensional configurations.

Line Charts

Line charts are useful for showing trends over time and comparing many data

series.

Line charts plot data at regular points connected by lines.

It is best not to use stacked line charts because they are difficult to distinguish

from unstacked line charts when there are multiple data series.

The following example shows a revenue trend that peaked in 2012 in every

territory.

Figure 9. An example column chart

Chapter 5. Charts 53

Line charts can plot data using standard, stacked, 100 percent stacked, and

three-dimensional configurations.

Pie Charts

Pie charts are useful for highlighting proportions.

They use segments of a circle to show the relationship of parts to the whole. To

highlight actual values, use another chart type, such as a stacked chart.

Pie charts plot a single data series. If you need to plot multiple data series, use a

100 percent stacked chart.

Reports in PDF or HTML format show a maximum of 16 pie or gauge charts. If

you need to see more, run the report in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software

Single Sheet format and they all appear in the report.

The following example shows that the largest proportion of revenue comes from

the Americas, followed by the Asia Pacific region.

Figure 10. An example line chart

54 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Pie charts can plot data using standard, 100 percent, and three-dimensional

configurations.

Bar Charts

Bar charts are useful for showing trends over time and for plotting many data

series.

Bar charts use horizontal data markers to compare individual values.

The following example shows revenue for every country or region.

Figure 11. An example pie chart

Figure 12. An example bar chart

Chapter 5. Charts 55

Bar charts can plot data using standard, stacked, and 100 percent stacked

configurations.

Area Charts

Area charts are useful for emphasizing the magnitude of change over time. Stacked

area charts are also used to show the relationship of parts to the whole.

Area charts are like line charts, but the areas below the lines are filled with colors

or patterns.

Do not use standard area charts to show multiple data series because it is possible

for areas with lower values to be covered by others. For multiple data series, use a

stacked area chart.

The following example is a stacked area chart that shows the quantity of products

that were sold over a four-year period in multiple territories.

Area charts can plot data using standard, stacked, 100 percent stacked, and

three-dimensional configurations.

Point Charts

Point charts are useful for showing quantitative data in an uncluttered fashion.

Point charts use multiple points to plot data along an ordinal axis. A point chart

the same as a line chart without the lines. Only the data points are shown.

The following example shows the revenue for each product line.

Figure 13. An example area chart

56 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Combination Charts

Combination charts plot multiple data series by using combinations of columns,

areas, and lines within one chart. They are useful for highlighting relationships

between the various data series.

The following example shows a combination chart that includes planned revenue

as a line chart and actual revenue as a column chart.

Combination charts can plot data using standard, stacked, 100 percent stacked, and

three-dimensional configurations.

Figure 14. An example point chart

Figure 15. An example combination chart

Chapter 5. Charts 57

Scatter Charts

Scatter charts use data points to plot two measures anywhere along a scale, not

only at regular tick marks.

Scatter charts are useful for exploring correlations between different sets of data.

The following example shows the correlation between production cost and gross

profit for each product line.

Bubble Charts

Bubble charts, like scatter charts, use data points and bubbles to plot measures

anywhere along a scale. The size of the bubble represents a third measure.

Bubble charts are useful for representing financial data. These charts are not

supported for Microsoft Excel output.

The following example plots quantity and revenue by product line. The size of the

bubble represents gross profit.

Figure 16. An example scatter chart

58 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Bullet Charts

Bullet charts are a variation of bar charts. They compare a featured measure (the

bullet) to a targeted measure (the target). They also relate the compared measures

against colored regions in the background that provide additional qualitative

measurements, such as good, satisfactory, and poor.

Bullet charts are often used instead of gauge charts in executive dashboards. Bullet

charts can be horizontal or vertical.

Note: This chart type applies only to the current default charts, and does not

apply to the legacy charts.

The following figure is an example of a bullet chart.

A bullet chart contains the following components:

v A bullet measure.

The bullet measure, Revenue, appears as the blue bar in the example.

v A target measure.

The target measure, Planned revenue, appears as the black indicator in the

example.

v From zero to five colored regions along the numeric scale to provide information

about the featured measures' qualitative state.

Figure 17. An example bubble chart

Figure 18. An example bullet chart

Chapter 5. Charts 59

The example contains three colored regions, 0-50%, 50-75%, and 75-100%.

v A label that identifies the measures.

v A numeric scale.

Gauge Charts

Gauge charts, also known as dial charts or speedometer charts, use needles to

show information as a reading on a dial.

On a gauge chart, the value for each needle is read against the colored data range

or chart axis. This chart type is often used in executive dashboard reports to show

key business indicators.

Gauge charts are useful for comparing values between a small number of variables

either by using multiple needles on the same gauge or by using multiple gauges.

Reports in PDF or HTML format are limited to show a maximum of 16 pies or

gauges per chart. These charts are not supported for Microsoft Excel output.

A gauge chart consists of a gauge axis (which contains the data range, color

ranges, and intervals markers), needles, and a center pivot point. The following

example shows a basic gauge chart with default attributes. It is a degree dial chart

with two axes.

Pareto Charts

Pareto charts help you to improve processes by identifying the primary causes of

an event. They rank categories from the most frequent to the least frequent. These

charts are frequently used for quality control data, so that you can identify and

reduce the primary cause of problems.

Pareto charts include a cumulation line, which shows the percentage of the

accumulated total of all the columns or bars.

Figure 19. An example gauge chart

60 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

You can create before and after comparisons of Pareto charts to show the impact of

corrective actions. These charts are not supported for Microsoft Excel output.

The following example shows that the most frequent reason for product returns is

unsatisfactory product.

You can also create Pareto charts using horizontal bars.

Progressive Column Charts

Progressive column charts, also knows as waterfall charts, are like stacked charts

with each segment of a single stack displaced vertically from the next segment.

Progressive column charts are useful for emphasizing the contribution of the

individual segments to the whole.

These charts are not supported for Microsoft Excel output.

The following example analyzes the contribution of each product line to revenue.

Figure 20. An example pareto chart

Chapter 5. Charts 61

Quadrant Charts

Quadrant charts are bubble charts with a background that is divided into four

equal sections. Quadrant charts are useful for plotting data that contains three

measures using an X-axis, a Y-axis, and a bubble size that represents the value of

the third measure.

You can also specify a default measure. For example, you might need to specify a

default measure to give context to a calculated measure in the chart.

Legacy quadrant charts use baselines to create the quadrants. Current default

charts use colored regions. You can change the size of the quadrants.

For more information about the legacy and current default chart technologies, see

“Using Legacy Report Studio Charts” on page 49.

Use a quadrant chart to present data that can be categorized into quadrants, such

as a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis.

The following example shows the relationship between production cost and gross

profit. The size of the bubble represents quantity.

Figure 21. An example progressive column chart

62 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Marimekko Charts

Marimekko charts are 100 percent stacked charts in which the width of a column is

proportional to the total of the column's values. Individual segment height is a

percentage of the respective column total value.

The following example shows the contribution of revenues for product lines in

different regions.

Figure 22. An example quadrant chart

Figure 23. An example Marimekko chart

Chapter 5. Charts 63

Radar Charts

Radar charts integrate multiple axes into a single radial figure. For each figure,

data is plotted along a separate axis that starts at the center of the chart.

The following example shows the revenue from multiple retailer types in multiple

territories.

Radar charts can plot data using standard and stacked configurations.

Polar Charts

Polar charts are circular charts that use values and angles to show information as

polar coordinates.

Polar charts are useful for showing scientific data.

You can specify a default measure. For example, you might need to specify a

default measure to give context to a calculated measure in the chart.

The following example shows the revenue and quantity for each product line. The

distance along the radial axis represents quantity, and the angle around the polar

axis represents revenue.

Figure 24. An example radar chart

Figure 25. An example polar chart

64 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chart Configurations

Chart configurations specify the grouping type of the columns, bars, lines, and

areas in a chart. Some examples are standard, stacked, and 100 percent stacked

charts.

Standard Charts

Standard or absolute charts are useful for comparing specific values and for

representing discrete data, such as data for different regions or individual

employees. For example, a standard column chart that plots regional sales

emphasizes the actual value that each region achieves in sales.

Standard charts plot the actual value of each data series from a common axis.

When you create charts using multiple data series, you can distinguish each series

by the color or pattern of its data marker. Related data series are shown together in

clusters for easy comparison.

In standard area and radar charts that have multiple data series, the colored areas

that represent lower values might be covered by the larger colored areas that

represent higher values. Use the stacked configuration for area and radar charts

with multiple data series.

The following example shows the revenue values for each product line within each

territory.

Stacked Charts

Stacked charts are useful for comparing proportional contributions within a

category. They plot the relative value that each data series contributes to the total.

For example, a stacked column chart that plots product line sales will emphasize

the proportion that each product line contributes to the total in each territory.

You can distinguish each data series by the color or pattern of its section in the

stack. The top of each stack represents the accumulated totals for each category.

Figure 26. An example standard chart that compares specific values

Chapter 5. Charts 65

Do not use the stacked configuration in line charts that have multiple data series

because it is difficult to distinguish between unstacked and stacked configurations,

and your chart consumers might misunderstand your data.

The following example shows that camping equipment contributed a large

proportion of the actual revenue in most sales territories.

100 Percent Stacked Charts

100 percent stacked charts are useful for comparing proportional contributions

across all categories. They plot the relative contribution of each data series to the

total as a percentage. For example, a 100 percent stacked column chart that plots

product line sales emphasizes the percentage within each region without referring

to actual values.

You can distinguish each data series by the color or pattern of its section in the

stack. Each stack represents 100 percent.

100 percent stacked charts highlight proportions. When actual values are

important, use another chart configuration.

The following example shows the percentage of sales for each product line in each

region.

Figure 27. An example stacked chart

66 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Three-dimensional Charts

Three-dimensional charts provide a visually effective display that is suitable for

presentations.

Three-dimensional column, bar, line, and area charts plot data by using three axes.

Three-dimensional pie charts have a three-dimensional visual effect.

Do not use three-dimensional charts when you need to show exact values, such as

for control or monitoring purposes. The distortion in three-dimensional charts can

make them difficult to read accurately. For example, the following chart shows

actual revenue for each product line in each territory, but some data labels are

omitted because there is not enough room to display them all.

Figure 28. An example 100 percent stacked chart

Figure 29. An example three-dimensional chart

Chapter 5. Charts 67

Convert Charts From One Type to Another

This procedure applies to converting charts from one type (for example, a bar

chart) to another type (for example, a line chart). It also applies to converting

charts from the legacy Report Studio charts to the current default charts.

When you convert a chart to a new chart type, IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced

keeps the properties from the existing chart if they exist in the new chart type. For

example, if you convert a donut chart to a bar chart, Cognos Workspace Advanced

maps your chart palette to the new chart, but does not map the hole size, because

the hole size property does not exist in a bar chart.

Note: Cognos Workspace Advanced converts legacy charts to the current default

chart technology unless you select the Use legacy chart authoring option.

Procedure

1. Right-click a chart and click Convert Chart.

2. Select a new chart type, and click OK.

Related concepts:

“Using Legacy Report Studio Charts” on page 49

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced includes a default chart technology that is

different than the legacy chart technology used in IBM Cognos Report Studio as of

version 10.1.0.

Customizing charts

After you create a chart, you can customize it by changing its properties.

For example, you might want to change how chart axes are displayed, add titles

and data labels, change the colors that are used, move or hide the legend, or add

more chart objects such as notes, trendlines, and baselines.

You can make these and many other changes by changing the default properties of

a chart or a chart object. Some properties depend on the existence of other

properties.

The following table shows some of the properties you can change in charts. These

properties are available when you select the chart object unless specified otherwise

in the "Action to perform" column.

Table 9. Ways to customize charts

Goal Action to perform

Hide or show the chart,

legend, or axes titles

Select the chart and in the Properties pane, click Title.

For more information, see “Add Titles to a Chart” on page 71.

Hide or show the legend Select the chart and in the Properties pane, click Legend.

For more information, see “Customize the Legend of a Chart”

on page 79.

68 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Table 9. Ways to customize charts (continued)

Goal Action to perform

Hide or show baselines Select the chart and in the Properties pane, click Numeric

baselines.

For more information, see “Adding a Baseline to a Chart” on

page 81.

Hide or show trendlines Select the chart and in the Properties pane, click Trendlines.

For more information, see “Display Trendlines in Current

Default Charts” on page 82.

Hide or show notes Select the chart and in the Properties pane, click Notes.

For more information, see “Adding a Note to a Chart” on

page 80.

Hide, show, or change the

axis line

Select the Primary Axis or Category Axis chart object. In the

Properties pane, click Axis line.

For more information, see “Change the Axis Scale of a Chart”

on page 78.

Add data labels, such as

values on bars, slices, and

columns

Select the chart and in the Properties pane, select the Axis

label check box.

For more information, see “Customizing the Axes in a Chart”

on page 77.

Hide or show an axis label Select the Primary Axis or Category Axis chart object. In the

Properties pane, select the Axis label check box.

For more information, see “Customizing the Axes in a Chart”

on page 77.

Change axis properties,

such as range and scale

interval

Select the axis and in the Properties pane, click Axis range.

For more information, see “Change the Axis Scale of a Chart”

on page 78.

Hide or show the border

around a chart or chart

object

Select the chart or chart object and from the toolbar, click the

Background Effects Presets icon

For more information, see “Add Background Effects to a Chart

Object” on page 75.

Hide or show the tooltips

in a chart

Select the chart and in the Properties pane, click Tooltips and

select an option.

When you pause your pointer over a data marker in the report

output, the corresponding absolute or cumulative value

appears in a tooltip.

Tooltips are not supported in PDF output.

Chapter 5. Charts 69

Table 9. Ways to customize charts (continued)

Goal Action to perform

Change the white space

around the chart

Select the chart and in the Properties pane, click Padding.

For more information, see “Apply Padding to an Object” on

page 168.

Change the chart

orientation

In the Properties pane, under Chart Orientation, select

Vertical or Horizontal.

Apply a preset palette to a

chart or chart object

Select the chart or chart object and from the toolbar, click the

Chart Palette Presets icon

For more information, see “Customizing the Color Palette of a

Chart” on page 71.

Apply a conditional

palette to a chart or chart

object

Select the chart and in the Properties pane, click Conditional

palette.

For more information, see “Highlighting data in a chart by

creating a conditional palette” on page 74.

Change the default color

or font for all chart objects

Select the chart and in the Properties pane, click Foreground

color and Font.

Change the

three-dimensional

appearance of a chart

Select the chart and in the Properties pane, click Depth.

Insert a background

image, background

gradient, or watermark in

the chart object

Select the chart or chart object and from the toolbar, click the

Background Effects Presets icon

For more information, see “Add Background Effects to a Chart

Object” on page 75.

Enable drilling up and

down in a chart, when

you are working with

dimensional data sources

From the Data menu, click Drill Options.

Drill up and down to view more general or more detailed

information on your data within a predefined dimensional

hierarchy.

For more information, see “Create a Drill-up and Drill-down

Report” on page 157.

Procedure

1. Select the chart object.

2. To change specific chart objects, such as a title or axis, select the object itself

from the Select a chart object menu below the chart.

3. In the Properties pane, set the property value.

An ellipsis (...) button indicates that a dialog box provides further options.

Note: You might have to scroll to see all the properties.

70 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Resizing a chart

You can change the size of a chart by dragging the resize handle in the lower-right

corner of the chart.

Procedure

1. Select the chart object.

2. Click the resize handle in the lower right corner of the chart

and drag it to

the wanted size.

Press Shift and drag to maintain the aspect ratio of the chart.

Tip: To cancel the resizing of the chart, press the Esc key.

Add Titles to a Chart

You can add or change the titles for the chart, legend, and axes.

You can add text titles that are descriptive, such as Revenue by product line in

2005. You can use data items as titles. For example, if you have several charts

showing revenue by product line for each year, you can drag the year data item to

the chart title for each chart.

Procedure

1. To add a chart title, do the following:

a. Select the chart object.

b. In the Properties pane, click Title, and type a chart title.

c. To add a data item in the chart title, change to the Page Design view and

drag a data item to the report title area on the chart.

2. To add a legend title, do the following:

a. Select the legend chart object.

b. In the Properties pane, click Legend title and specify the title.The default

title is the name of the data item.

c. To add a data item in the legend title, change to the Page Design view and

drag a data item to the legend title area on the chart.

Note: If you add a data item to your legend title, when you are in Page

Preview view, you cannot edit the data item. To edit the chart title, you

must switch to the Page Design view.

3. To add an axis title, do the following:

a. Select the axis chart object.

b. In the Properties pane, click Axis title and specify the title.The default title

is the name of the data item.

c. To add a data item as an axis title, change to the Page Design view and

drag a data item to the axis title area on the chart.

Customizing the Color Palette of a Chart

You can use the chart palette to control the colors or patterns used in the columns,

lines, data markers, or areas in a chart.

For example, if "Telephone" is the first in a data series of order methods, and you

want it to appear in blue, use the palette to make the first item in the series blue.

Chapter 5. Charts 71

You can also apply background effects to chart objects or change the colors of

specific objects.

If specified, the default color is used for outputs that do not support the palette

definition. For example, if the palette is defined to use a radial rectangle gradient

and you run the report as PDF output, the default color is used because radial

rectangle gradients are not supported in PDF output.

Note: Progressive charts have a separate set of steps.

Procedure

1. Select the chart object. For combination charts, select the bar, line, or area

objects.

2. To choose a preset color palette, on the style toolbar, click the chart palette

presets button

, and then click a palette.

3. To change the existing color palette, do the following:

a. In the Properties pane, click Palette.

b. On the Entries tab, click the palette entry that you want to change.

c. Under Fill, select fill type, color, transparency, and other fill settings. The

options in the Fill type list depend on the chart type you are using.

Linear Gradient displays a gradient that changes color horizontally. You can

specify the position of each color in the gradient and add or remove colors

from the gradient.

Radial Line Gradient displays a gradient that changes color outwards from

a central point, or focus. You can specify the position of each color in the

gradient and the size and position of the focus. You can also add or remove

colors from the gradient.

Radial Rectangle Gradient displays a gradient that changes color outwards

from a rectangle. You can specify the position of each color in the gradient

and the size of the rectangle. You can also add or remove colors from the

gradient.

Pattern displays a colored pattern that you choose from a preset list. You

can specify the foreground and background colors.

Color displays a solid color. You can specify the transparency.

Image displays an image. You can specify the image to use.

4. Under Style, depending on the chart type you are customizing and the fill type

you chose in step 2, you can change the marker shape, line style, default color,

and line weight.

5. To add a new palette entry, click the new button

and specify the new

palette settings.

6. To customize the data markers, on the Properties tab, depending on the chart

type you are customizing and the fill type you chose in step 2, you can specify

whether data markers are shown and change their color and size.

7. To change the order in which the colors, gradients, or patterns appear in the

chart, use the arrow buttons under the Palette box to change their position.

8. To copy and paste a palette in the Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser,

click the copy button

to copy the palette definition to the clipboard.

72 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Close the palette dialog box. Select another chart, open the palette dialog box,

and click the paste button

to paste the palette definition from the

clipboard.

Customizing the Color Palette of a Progressive Chart

You can use the chart palette to control the colors or patterns used in the columns,

lines, data markers, or areas in a chart.

For example, if "Telephone" is the first in a data series of order methods, and you

want it to appear in blue, use the palette to make the first item in the series blue.

You can also apply background effects to chart objects or change the colors of

specific objects.

If specified, the default color is used for outputs that do not support the palette

definition. For example, if the palette is defined to use a radial rectangle gradient

and you run the report as PDF output, the default color is used because radial

rectangle gradients are not supported in PDF output.

Procedure

1. Select the progressive chart object.

2. To choose a preset color palette, click the chart palette presets button

the style toolbar, and then click a palette.

3. In the Properties pane, click Progressive palette.

You can specify the following:

v Positive value fill defines the appearance of the positive bars or columns on

the chart.

v Negative value fill defines the appearance of the negative bars or columns

on the chart.

v First value fill defines the appearance of the first bar or column on the chart.

v Total value fill defines the appearance of the total bar or column on the

chart, if a total bar or column is present.

4. To change the appearance of a fill, do the following:

a. Click the colored box beside the fill name.

b. Click a fill type from the Fill type list.

Linear Gradient displays a gradient that changes color horizontally. You can

specify the position of each color in the gradient and add or remove colors

from the gradient.

Radial Line Gradient displays a gradient that changes color outwards from

a central point, or focus. You can specify the position of each color in the

gradient and the size and position of the focus. You can also add or remove

colors from the gradient.

Radial Rectangle Gradient displays a gradient that changes color outwards

from a rectangle. You can specify the position of each color in the gradient

and the size of the rectangle. You can also add or remove colors from the

gradient.

Pattern displays a colored pattern that you choose from a preset list. You

can specify the foreground and background colors.

Color displays a solid color. You can specify the transparency.

Chapter 5. Charts 73

Image displays an image. You can specify the image to use.

c. To change the color of this fill, click the color in the Colors list, click Color,

specify the color properties, and click OK.

5. To change the text of the label that appears next to a bar, double-click the text

box beside the fill name and specify the text.

Highlighting data in a chart by creating a conditional palette

You can create a conditional palette to highlight data items that meet conditions

that you specify.

You can use conditions to highlight exceptional data and to control the layout of

your chart.

For example, you want to highlight columns in a chart that show revenue greater

than $1,000,000. You can create a conditional palette that causes columns that meet

the criteria to be colored green. The conditional palette overrides the default

palette that your chart uses.

Procedure

1. Right-click the chart object to which you want to apply a conditional palette

and click Conditional palette.

2. Click the New Conditional Palette Entry icon

, and then click New

Condition.

3. If you want to create a conditional palette that is based on a string data item,

do the following steps:

a. Select the string data item to determine the condition and click OK.

b. Click the New String Condition icon

, and then define the condition:

v To select more than one individual value, click Select Multiple Values

and click the values.

v To type specific values, click Enter Values and type the values.

v To specify your own criteria, such as values that begin with the letter A,

click Enter String Criteria, and then specify the condition.

c. In the Conditional Palette - String dialog box, in the Palette Entry column,

click the Edit Palette Entry icon

that corresponds to the new condition.

d. Define the palette entry fill type, colors, and angle, and click OK.

4. If you want to create a conditional palette that is based on a numeric data item,

do the following steps:

a. Select the numeric data item to determine the condition and click OK.

b. In the Conditional Palette - Numeric dialog box, click the New Value icon

and type a value to define a threshold. The value appears in the

Range column, and two ranges are created.

c. For each range, in the Style column, click the Edit Palette Entry icon

to define the palette entry fill type, colors, and angle, and then click OK.

d. Repeat the previous steps to add other conditions.

74 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Tip: Pause the pointer over each range bracket to see the condition that

is produced for that range.

e. To move a value above or below a threshold, click the Move value above

threshold icon

corresponding to the value. For example, you insert a

threshold value of 1,000,000. By default, the ranges are less than or equal to

1,000,000 and greater than 1,000,000. Moving the 1,000,000 value above the

threshold changes the ranges to less than 1,000,000 and greater than or

equal to 1,000,000.

5. To customize the label for a conditional palette, do the following steps:

a. Click the Label button corresponding to the palette entry.

b. In the Conditional Palette Entry Label dialog box, click Specified text, and

click the ellipsis (...) icon.

c. Type the default label text in the Label text box.

d. To add customized labels for other languages, click the Add icon

select the other languages, and click the language to define the customized

label for that language.

6. Specify the order in which to evaluate the conditions by clicking a condition

and then clicking the Move up or Move down arrow icons. Conditions are

evaluated from top to bottom, and the first condition that is met is applied.

Add Background Effects to a Chart Object

You can change the look of certain charts and chart objects by applying visual

effects such as drop shadows, borders, fills, texture effects, and bevel effects.

Procedure

1. Select the chart object.

2. To apply a preset background fill effect, from the toolbar, click the background

effects presets

button.

3. To add a custom fill effect and border, do the following:

v In the Properties pane, click Background effects.

v Click Border and specify settings for border style, width, color, corner radius

for rounded rectangles, and transparency.

If the chart object also includes a fill with a transparency setting, select the

Allow transparent bleed check box to apply the same transparency to the

border.

v Click Fill and specify the settings.

The fill effect can either be a solid color, a gradient, or a pattern. You can

define a gradient fill effect as a linear, radial line, or radial rectangle gradient.

4. To add a texture effect, in the Properties pane, under Material effects, click an

effect.

5. To add a drop shadow, do the following:

v In the Properties pane, click Drop Shadow.

v Select the Drop shadow check box.

v From the Shadow color list, click a color.

v Under Blur, click an intensity to set the drop shadow's blur.

Chapter 5. Charts 75

v Under Offset, enter a value and a unit to define the width and height of the

drop shadow.

v Under Transparency, type a percentage to determine the transparency of the

shadow.

6. To add a bevel, in the Properties pane, under Bevel, click a bevel effect.

Related tasks:

“Add Color to an Object” on page 160

You can add background and foreground color to objects in the report.

Add Colored Regions to a Chart

You can define colored regions in the body of a chart.

For example, you can divide the background of a scatter chart into quadrants and

color each quadrant.

You can add colored regions to bubble, bullet, combination, Pareto, progressive

column, and scatter charts.

In bullet charts, colored regions are automatically added.

You can use the following criteria to position the colored regions.

Option Position

Percent on Axis (%) Uses a percentage of the full range of the

axis.

For example, if the axis range is -500 to 1100,

a Percent on Axis value of 25% puts the

baseline at -100 (25% of the range, 1600).

Numeric Value Uses a static numeric value.

Mean Uses the statistical mean plus or minus a

number of standard deviations based on all

charted data values on the specified axis.

Percentile (%) Uses a specified percentile.

Statistical Maximum Uses the following expression:

75th percentile value +1.5*(75th percentile

value - 25th percentile value)

For example, if 2.5 is the 25th percentile and

7.5 is the 75th percentile, the statistical

maximum is 15 [7.5 +1.5(5) = 15].

Statistical Minimum Uses the following expression:

25th percentile value -1.5*(75th percentile

value - 25th percentile value)

For example, if 2.5 is the 25th percentile and

7.5 is the 75th percentile, the statistical

minimum is -5 [2.5 -1.5(5) = -5].

76 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Option Position

Query Calculation Uses a query calculation from the same

query or from a different query. For more

information, see “Inserting a Query

Calculation” on page 108.

Layout Calculation Uses a layout calculation.

Category Index Specifies a position based on the index value

of the data item in the categories axis. The

value must be between 0 and 100.

For example, a Category index value of 1

indicates that the position is located at the

first data item. This is the default.

You can also combine colored regions with gridlines.

Note: This procedure applies only to the current default charts, and does not

apply to the legacy charts.

Procedure

1. Select the chart object.

2. In the Properties pane, click Colored regions.

3. Click the new button

4. Under Region label, type a name for the region.

5. Under Label location, specify whether the label should appear in the legend

or in the chart.

6. If your chart includes multiple charts, such as in a combination chart, under

Based on, select the data item for which you want to specify a colored region.

7. Under Region fill, click the color box to specify the color and fill effects.

8. Specify each of the top, bottom, left, and right positions.

9. If you want to add more colored regions, repeat steps 3 to 8.

10. If you add more than one colored region, specify their order using the up and

down arrows.

The regions are drawn in the same order that they appear in this list. The first

region is drawn first, on the bottom, and the last region is drawn on top of

the other regions.

Tip: To delete a colored region, click the colored region icon and text and click

the delete button

Results

The new region appears in the Colored regions box.

Customizing the Axes in a Chart

Chart axes are lines that border the chart area and provide a reference for

measurements. They act as a vehicle for tick marks and scales and form a frame

Chapter 5. Charts 77

around the chart. The Y-axis is usually the vertical axis and contains data. The

X-axis is usually the horizontal axis and contains categories.

To make your chart data easier to understand, you can do the following to

customize each axis:

v customize the title for the axis

v show or hide the axis labels (data values)

v show or hide the axis line

v change the color, style, and weight of the axis line

v show or hide major and minor tick marks and specify where to display them

Procedure

1. Select the axis chart object.

2. To show or hide the axis labels, in the Properties pane, select or clear the Axis

label check box.

3. To show or hide axis lines, in the Properties pane, click Axis lines, and select

or clear the Axis line check box.

4. To change the color, style, and weight of the axis line, in the Properties pane,

click Axis lines.

5. To show or hide minor and major tick marks and specify their location, in the

Properties pane, click Axis lines.

Change the Axis Scale of a Chart

By default, IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced automatically determines the

minimum and maximum scale values for the axes in a chart.

For example, a Y-axis showing revenue values might have an axis range of zero

dollars to one million dollars. You can customize the axis scale, or range, to make

your chart easier to understand. You can specify the following for each axis:

v the maximum and minimum values of the range

v how often major and minor gridlines appear

Procedure

1. Select the axis chart object.

2. In the Properties pane, click Axis range.

3. To set a maximum value for this axis, under Maximum, click Manual, and then

type a maximum value in the Manual box.

Note: You can use either a positive or negative value as the maximum value.

4. To set a minimum value for this axis, under Minimum, click Manual, and then

type a minimum value in the Manual box.

Note: You can use either a positive or negative value as the minimum value.

5. To set the position of major gridlines and tick marks, under Major interval,

click Manual, and then type the distance between major gridlines and tick

marks in the Manual box.

The distance between major gridlines and tick marks is measured in the units

of that axis. For example, if the axis is revenue in dollars, type the dollar value

in the Manual box.

6. To add minor gridlines, type the number of minor gridlines that you want to

see between each major gridline in the Number of minor intervals box.

78 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Show Gridlines in a Chart

To make the data in a chart that includes axes easier to read, you can show

horizontal and vertical gridlines. You can show gridlines for the major or minor

intervals on the axes.

You can also show alternating bands of color in the chart background that

correspond to your axis gridlines.

You cannot show gridlines for chart types that do not display axes, such as pie and

donut charts.

Procedure

1. Select the axis chart object.

2. To show alternating bands of color as your chart background, do the following:

v In the Properties pane, click Gridlines.

v Select the Show alternating color bands check box.

v Set the color and transparency of the first and second colors.

3. To show major gridlines as your chart background, do the following:

v In the Properties pane, click Gridlines.

v Select the Show major gridlines check box.

v Set the color, style, and weight of the major gridlines.

v If you are working with a gauge chart, specify the length of the gridline.

4. To show minor gridlines as your chart background, do the following:

v In the Properties pane, click Minor gridlines.

v Select the Show minor gridlines check box.

v Set the color, style, and weight of the minor gridlines.

v If you are working with a gauge chart, specify the length of the gridline.

Customize the Legend of a Chart

You can customize the legend and its elements, including its title, position, and

items.

You can hide or show the legend and change its position relative to the chart

object, chart area, or using a specific report expression. For example, in a bar chart

showing revenue for each product line by country or region, you could use the

expression [Country or Region] = 'Canada' to position the legend relative to the

Canada bar.

You can change the title that appears above the legend.

If your legend includes items that are too long, you can truncate long legend items

at a specific number of characters.

For example, if you want an ellipsis (...) to appear at the end of each truncated

legend item, type ... in the Truncation text box.

Procedure

1. Select the chart object.

2. In the Properties pane, click Legend.

3. To show the legend on the chart, select the Show legend check box.

Chapter 5. Charts 79

4. To choose a preset legend position, click Preset and click a position from the

diagram.

Note: When you choose a preset legend position, that position appears inside

any padding that you have added to the chart object. Customized legend

positions do not include any chart padding.

5. To choose a customized legend position, do the following:

v Click Advanced and click the ellipsis (...) button.

v To display the legend at a set distance from the sides of the chart area, from

the Anchor list, click Relative to Chart.

v To display the legend at a set distance from the sides of the chart body, from

the Anchor list, click Relative to Chart Body.

v To display the legend at a set distance from a report expression, from the

Anchor list, click Report Expression, click the ellipsis (...) button beside

Expression, and enter an expression in the Report Expression dialog box.

v Set the horizontal and vertical distances from the anchor.

6. To change the text that appears as the legend title, select the legend object, and

in the Properties pane, click Legend title and specify the title.

7. To truncate the items in the legend, do the following:

v Select the legend object.

v In the Properties pane, click Text truncation.

v To specify the number of characters at which the legend items are truncated,

click Manual and type the number of characters in the Maximum characters

box.

v To shrink the font of the legend item text until all the text fits in the legend,

select the Shrink font as needed check box.

v To specify some text to appear at the end of truncated legend items, type the

text in the Truncation text box.

Adding a Note to a Chart

Add a note to a chart to provide additional detail. Notes appear as text in a chart.

By default, notes are aligned with the upper left corner of the chart object. You can

change the position of a note relative to the chart object, or chart area, or by using

a report expression. For example, in a bar chart showing revenue for each product

line by country or region, you could type [Country or Region] = 'Canada' to

position the note relative to the Canada bar.

Notes overwrite whatever is under them so you must position them properly.

If you apply more than one note, ensure that each note has a different position in

the report so that they do not overwrite each other. You can also specify the order

that they should be drawn in when the report runs. If you have two notes with the

same coordinates, the first one in the list is drawn first and the next one is drawn

on top of the first.

Procedure

1. Click the chart object.

2. In the Properties pane, click Notes.

3. Click the new button

80 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

4. Type the note text in the Text box and click OK.

5. To position the note, do the following:

v Select the note object

in the chart.

v In the Properties pane, click Position.

v To align the note horizontally, click the left, center, or right alignment button.

v To align the note vertically, click the top, middle, or bottom alignment

button.

v To set the margins around the chart body, type the desired margin values,

and choose margin units.

v To display the note at a set distance from the sides of the chart area, from the

Anchor list, click Relative to Chart.

v To display the note at a set distance from the sides of the chart body, from

the Anchor list, click Relative to Chart Body.

v To display the note at a set distance from a report expression, from the

Anchor list, click Report Expression, click the ellipsis (...) button beside

Expression, and enter an expression in the Report Expression dialog box.

6. To edit the text, double-click the text next to the note object

in the chart.

If the note contains non-text items, such as calculations or measures, you must

first switch to the Page Design view (View, Page Design).

Adding a Baseline to a Chart

Baselines are horizontal or vertical lines that cut through the chart to indicate

major divisions in the data.

For example, you can add a baseline to show a sales quota or break-even point.

Each baseline represents a value on an axis.

Depending on the type of chart, you can use the following options to position the

baseline.

Option Description

Numeric Value Uses a static numeric value.

Mean Uses the statistical mean plus or minus a

number of standard deviations based on all

charted data values on the specified axis.

Percentile (%) Uses a specified percentile.

Percent on Axis (%) Uses a percentage of the full range of the

axis.

For example, if the axis range is -500 to 1100,

a Percent along axis (%) value of 25 puts

the baseline at -100 (25% of the range, 1600).

If you apply more than one baseline, you can specify in which order they should

be drawn when the report runs. They are drawn from top to bottom. If you have

two baselines with the same coordinates, the first one in the list is drawn first and

the next one is drawn on top of the first one.

By default, the baseline and its label appear in the legend.

Chapter 5. Charts 81

Baselines do not support color transparency.

Procedure

1. Select the chart object.

2. Depending on your chart and the type of baseline you want to add, in the

Properties pane, click Numeric baselines or Category baselines.

3. Click the new button

and choose the type of baseline from the list.

4. Specify the necessary criteria for the baseline position.

5. Under Baseline Properties, type a label for the baseline and specify the line

style.

Tip: To remove the baseline from the legend, delete the label.

6. If you add more than one baseline, specify their order using the up and down

arrows.

Tip: To delete a baseline, click the delete button

7. To edit a baseline, select the baseline in the chart, and in the Properties pane,

edit the properties.

Display Trendlines in Current Default Charts

Trendlines, also known as lines of best fit or regression lines, graphically illustrate

trends in data series and are commonly used when charting predictions. A

trendline is typically a line or curve that connects or passes through two or more

points in the series, displaying a trend.

You can display trendlines in the current default bar, line, area, bubble, and scatter

charts.

You can specify the following types of trendlines:

v Linear

Use a linear trendline when your data values increase or decrease along a

straight line at a constant rate. For example, if your chart displays a steady

increase in revenue by product line over time, a linear trendline might be

appropriate.

v Polynomial

Use a polynomial trendline when your data values both increase and decrease.

For example, if your chart displays both increases and decreases in revenue by

product line over time, a polynomial fit trendline might be appropriate.

v Logarithm

Use a logarithmic trendline when your data values increase or decrease rapidly

and then levels out. For example, if your chart displays a rapid decrease in

revenue by product line over time and then a plateau, a logarithmic trendline

might be appropriate.

v Moving Average

Use a moving average trendline when your data values fluctuate and you want

to smooth out the exceptions to see trends. For example, if your chart displays

large fluctuations in revenue by product line over time, but you know that some

data points are exceptions, a moving average trendline might be appropriate.

If you are not sure which trendline type to use, try each type to see which one best

fits most of your data points. For example, a linear trendline will not fit most

points on a scatter chart with widely spread data points.

82 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Trendlines do not support color transparency.

Procedure

1. Select the chart object.

2. In the Properties pane, click Trendlines.

3. Click the new button

and click a trendline type.

4. Define the trendline by specifying the following options.

The options that are available depend on the type of trendline you chose.

v To set the order, or degree, of a polynomial trendline, in the Order box, type

a value between 2 and 6.

v To set the number of prior periods to include when calculating the moving

average trendline, type a value in the Periods box.

v If you have more than one series on your chart, in the Based on list, click the

data you want to use for the trendline.

v To customize the style of this trendline, click Line Styles and customize the

line color, weight, style, and transparency.

v To customize the trendline label in the legend, click Label and choose None,

Automatic,orCustom.

v To display the trendline equation, click Show equation.

v To display the R-squared value of the trendline, click Show R-squared value.

Showing data values in bar, column, line, and area charts

You can show the data labels or data values within the chart so that the data

values are more clear.

For example, you can display the data values above each column in a column

chart to show the exact height of each column.

Procedure

1. In the chart, under Series, select the chart type icon.

2. In the Properties pane, double-click the Show values property.

3. To specify the data label format, in the Values list, select what values to

display.

v None does not display data values.

v Values displays the non-cumulative value of the data.

v Cumulative values displays the cumulative value of the data.

4. To show lines pointing from data labels to the data marker they apply to, select

the Show leader lines check box.

5. To specify where values and labels are to be rendered in the chart, click the

Value Location list and choose the location that you want.

6. To specify how to display the labels if their positions on the chart overlap, in

the Collision Mode list, click one of the following modes:

v None specifies that labels appear in default positions and might overlap.

v Normal (for pie and donut charts) specifies that labels are placed just above

their corresponding data markers or chart objects. There is no collision

detection, so labels can overlap.

v Coarse Stagger specifies that labels are placed close to their data markers

and staggered so that they do not overlap. This collision mode takes less

Chapter 5. Charts 83

time to render than Fine Stagger but might result in labels being farther

away from their corresponding data markers.

v Fine Stagger specifies that labels are staggered so that they do not overlap.

The labels are as close to the data markers as possible without overlapping.

This collision mode takes more time to render than Coarse Stagger but might

result in labels being closer to their corresponding data markers.

Showing data values in pie and donut charts

You can show the data labels or data values within the chart so that the data

values are more clear.

For example, in a pie chart, show the data values within each pie slice, so that you

know the exact size of each pie slice.

Procedure

1. Select the chart.

2. In the Properties pane, double-click the Show values property.

3. To display data labels for each slice of the pie, under Show, select the Slice

names check box.

4. To show lines pointing from data labels to the slices they apply to, select the

Show leader lines check box.

5. To specify the data label format, in the Values list, select what values to

display.

v Hide does not display data values.

v Absolute displays the absolute value of the data.

v Percentage displays the slice's percentage of the whole pie.

v Absolute and Percentage displays the slice's percentage of the whole pie as

an absolute value.

6. In the Position list, select the placement of data labels.

Showing data values in other charts

You can show the data labels or data values within the chart so that the data

values are more clear.

For example, you can display the data values above each bubble in a bubble chart

to show the exact value of each bubble.

You can show data values for the following chart types: Pareto, progressive, scatter,

and bubble.

Procedure

1. Select the chart.

2. In the Properties pane, double-click the Show values property.

3. For each of the categories, series, and measures, select whether to show only

values, values and labels, or neither.

4. To show lines pointing from data labels to the data marker they apply to, select

the Show leader lines check box.

5. To specify how to display the labels if their positions on the chart overlap, in

the Collision Mode list, click one of the following modes:

v None specifies that labels appear in default positions and might overlap.

84 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

v Normal (for pie and donut charts) specifies that labels are placed just above

their corresponding data markers or chart objects. There is no collision

detection, so labels can overlap.

v Coarse Stagger specifies that labels are placed close to their data markers

and staggered so that they do not overlap. This collision mode takes less

time to render than Fine Stagger but might result in labels being farther

away from their corresponding data markers.

v Fine Stagger specifies that labels are staggered so that they do not overlap.

The labels are as close to the data markers as possible without overlapping.

This collision mode takes more time to render than Coarse Stagger but might

result in labels being closer to their corresponding data markers.

Customizing Lines and Data Points in a Line Chart

You can customize the lines in a line chart to show only lines, only data points, or

both.

Data points represent series values for each category on the Y-axis. You can show

special data markers that represent statistically significant values, such as open,

high, low, and close values.

You can also change the shape of the line that connects the data points to one of

the following:

v Point to Point shows data points connected by straight lines.

v Step at Point shows data points connected by steps that start and end at the

data points.

v Step Between Points shows data points connected by steps that start and end

between the data points.

v Smooth shows data points connected by smooth curves.

You cannot show data points if the configuration of the line chart (Series type)is

set to Stacked or Stacked 100%.

Procedure

1. Select the line object.

2. To select whether to show only the line, the line and data points, or only the

data points, in the Properties pane, under General, select an option in the Line

display type list.

3. To show special data markers, click Value markers. Select the check box for the

special data markers that you want to add and for each marker, specify the

color and shape.

The options you specify in Value markers overwrite the options for Line

display type.

4. To change the shape of the line that connects data points, select an option from

the Line shape list.

5. To change the color of the lines or data points, click Palette.

For more information, see “Customizing the Color Palette of a Chart” on page

71.

Create a Matrix of Charts

You can view a complex chart that includes nested series or categories into a

matrix, or crosstab, that shows multiple small charts arranged in rows and

columns.

Chapter 5. Charts 85

The charts in the rows represent the outer nested levels of the series and

categories, and the charts in the columns represent the categories. Each data item

in the outer nested levels of the series and categories becomes a separate chart. The

numeric scale of all the charts is the same so that you can easily compare.

When working with pie, gauge, and bullet charts, if you include a data item in the

categories, you automatically create a matrix of charts. One chart appears for each

data item in the category. When working with progressive and bullet charts, if you

include a data item in the series, you also automatically create a matrix of charts.

For example, the following column chart shows the revenue for each year (in the

categories or x-axis) for all the regions and product lines (in the series or y-axis).

This chart is very complex and difficult to understand.

The following chart contains the same series and categories. However, when

converted to a matrix of charts, the information is much easier to analyze. The

columns show charts for each year and the rows show charts for each the product

lines. The bars represent the revenue for each region.

Figure 30. An example column chart

86 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Procedure

1. Click the chart object.

2. In the Properties pane, click Matrix rows and columns.

3. Select the Show outer nested series as matrix rows or Show outer nested

categories as matrix columns check boxes (or both).

4. In the Matrix levels box, select the number of nested levels to include in the

matrix columns or rows.

The remaining nested levels are represented in the chart bodies in the matrix

if the chart supports additional categories. The pie, gauge, and bullet charts

do not support additional categories. The bullet and progressive column

charts do not support additional series.

For example, in the example column chart, Regions are nested under Product

Line. In the matrix chart, a Matrix level of 1 is specified. Therefore, Product

Line appears as the matrix rows (series) and Regions appear within the chart

bodies.

5. If you want labels for the matrix rows and columns to appear on each chart,

select the Show row labels or Show column labels check box.

6. In the Labels location list, select where the nested labels should appear on

each chart.

The default position is on the bottom for columns and on the left for rows.

7. If the labels are too long, click Truncation and specify where to truncate text

or select the Size fonts automatically check box to resize the text to fit.

8. To change the font, color, and data format of the labels, click Style.

Figure 31. An example matrix of charts

Chapter 5. Charts 87

9. To show the title in the row or column axis, select the Show row title or

Show column title check box.

10. If your matrix chart includes only rows or columns, and you want them to

wrap, select the Wrap rows or columns if possible check box.

Customize a Gauge Chart

You can customize the gauge border, axes, lines, pivot, and needle to make the

chart easier to read.

Unless indicated in the user interface, all sizes are a percentage of the maximum

allowed.

If your gauge chart includes a border, long axis labels, such as 250,000,000, might

overlap the gauge border and be difficult to read. To avoid this problem, customize

the data format of your gauge chart measure and reduce the scale so that fewer

zeros are displayed. Or change the gauge border color or size or remove the

border.

Procedure

1. Click the gauge chart object.

2. If you want to change the size, shape, and color of the center pivot point, in the

Properties pane, click Gauge pivot, and specify the style.

3. If you want to customize the border around the gauge, in the Properties pane,

click Gauge border.

4. If you want to change the indicators in the gauge axis, select the gauge axis

object in the chart and do the following steps:

v To customize the gauge needles, in the Properties pane, click Gauge needle

and specify the style

v To change, add, or remove color bands that indicate the data range positions,

in the Properties pane, click Gauge axis colors and specify the color palette.

v To change the gridlines, in the Properties pane, click Gridlines or Minor

gridlines and specify the style.

v To change the appearance of the gauge axis line, click Axis line and specify

the style.

Figure 32. The elements of a gauge chart

88 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Defining color by value in scatter or bubble charts

In a scatter or bubble chart, you can specify that data points or bubbles appear in

different colors that are based on an additional measure or fact. The color of the

points or bubbles helps you to see relationships in large amounts of data.

For example, the following bubble chart shows the relationship between the unit

cost and unit sale price. The size of the bubbles shows the gross profit and the

color of the bubbles shows whether the quantity sold is above (yellow) or below

(green) 1,000,000 units.

Procedure

1. Drag a measure to the Color drop zone under Measures and then select the

measure.

2. In the Properties pane, click Color by value.

3. To define the colors by percentages instead of actual values, select the

Percentage check box.

For example, if you select the Percentage check box and your values range

from 25 (red) to 50 (green), the bottom 25 percent of values are red and the top

50 percent of values are green. The values between 25 percent and 50 percent

are an interpolated color, such as yellow.

4. If you want to use a preset color palette, click Palette, and select the palette

that you want to use.

5. If you want to customize a palette color or boundary value, select the palette

entry in the Palette box, specify the color and transparency, and type a new

boundary value.

6. To change the color and transparency of the palette definition:

7. To add a palette entry, select the palette entry below which you want to add

the new entry, click the new palette entry icon

, and click Color.

8. If your chart has lines or markers, under Style, set the marker shape, line style,

and line weight.

Figure 33. Example of a bubble chart that shows values in different colors

Chapter 5. Charts 89

9. To choose a color and transparency for missing or null values, under Missing

Values, click Color and type a value in the Transparency box.

Create a Donut Chart from a Pie Chart

You can add a hole to the middle of your pie chart to create a donut chart. You can

then display something in the hole, such as a company logo, a calculation, or the

legend.

Procedure

1. Select the pie chart object.

2. In the Properties pane, set the Hole size (%) property to the percentage of the

pie that you want the hole to take up.

Tip: You can select a value from the Hole size (%) list or type a value that is

not listed.

Pull Out Pie Slices in a Pie Chart

You can highlight pie slices by pulling them out from the rest of the pie.

Because the pie slices represent data items, if you replace or delete the data item,

the slice is no longer pulled out and returns in the pie.

For example, the following chart shows revenue by product line with the Outdoor

Protection slice pulled out.

Procedure

1. Right-click the pie slice that you want to pull out and click Explode Slice.

The slice is pulled away from the chart.

2. To return the pulled-out slice in the pie, right-click the pie chart object and click

Remove Exploded Slices.

Figure 34. Example of a pie chart with a slice pulled out

90 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Customize a Bullet Chart

After you create a bullet chart, you can customize the shape, color, and size of the

bullet and target indicators.

By default, the bullet chart includes three gray colored regions in the background.

You can edit the colored regions (Properties pane, Colored regions).

Procedure

1. Select the bullet chart object.

2. To change the shape, color, and size of the bullet or target, do the following:

v In the Properties pane, click Bullet indicators.

v Under Bullet, specify how to show the bullet.

The Bar width setting specifies the width of the bullet bar as a percentage of

the space available. For example, if you specify 50 percent, the bar uses half

of the space available. If you specify 100 percent, the bar uses all the

available space.

v Under Target, specify how to show the target.

3. To change the chart orientation, in the Properties pane, under Chart

Orientation, select Vertical or Horizontal.

Related tasks:

“Add Colored Regions to a Chart” on page 76

You can define colored regions in the body of a chart.

Chapter 5. Charts 91

92 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chapter 6. Extensible visualizations

You can use extensible visualizations in IBM Cognos reports to visualize data.

Visualizations must be imported into IBM Cognos Administration. The

Visualization Gallery is empty until your administrator imports the visualizations

and makes them available to you. Your administrator can set permissions to restrict

access to only certain report authors.

The visualizations come from the site AnalyticsZone (https://

www.analyticszone.com). For more information about administration and

visualizations, see the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Administration and Security

Guide.

Because visualizations are extensible, they can be customized by an author with

the necessary skills. You can create client-side visualizations that report consumers

can run when they are not connected to the web. You can also use visualizations

on mobile devices.

Some of the visualizations that you can add to your reports are treemaps,

heatmaps, packed bubble visualizations, and network diagrams.

You can set properties that are available for each visualization type. These

properties are determined by the visualization definition. Typically, you can set

such properties as width, height, animation effect, and fixed-axis scaling.

For more information about visualizations and their uses, go to Many Eyes

(http://www-958.ibm.com).

Attention: If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer to view visualizations, you must

have Microsoft Silverlight 5 installed on your computer. Firefox or iPad users do

not need Silverlight.

Adding a visualization to a report

You can add a visualization to a report to efficiently represent your data.

Before you begin

Your administrator must make the visualizations available in the Visualization

Gallery.

If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer to view visualizations, you must have

Microsoft Silverlight 5 installed on your computer. Firefox or iPad users do not

need Silverlight.

About this task

You add data to a visualization by inserting data items in drop zones.

When working with dimensional data sources, if the visualization does not contain

a measure against which to plot data, you must provide one. For example, if you

add a single member to the values drop zone, such as '2012', the default measure

drop zone appears in which you must insert a measure.

Attention: The supported properties for a visualization are determined by the

visualization definition.

Procedure

1. Create a new report or open an existing report.

2. From the Toolbox tab

, drag a Visualization icon to the work area.

3. From the Visualization Gallery, select a visualization and click OK.

4. From the Source tab

, drag items to the appropriate location in the data

container.

5. Run the visualization.

Adding a treemap visualization

You can use a treemap visualization in reports to identify patterns and exceptions.

Treemaps show relationships among large numbers of components by using size

and color coding in a set of nested rectangles.

A treemap that is colored by category identifies the level 1 category by color. The

sizes of the rectangles represent the values. In a treemap that is colored by value,

the sizes of the rectangles represent one of the values and the color represents a

second set of values.

Attention: The supported properties for a visualization are determined by the

visualization definition.

94 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Before you begin

Your administrator must make the visualizations available in the Visualization

Gallery.

If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer to view visualizations, you must have

Microsoft Silverlight 5 installed on your computer. Firefox or iPad users do not

need Silverlight.

About this task

You add data to a visualization by inserting data items in drop zones.

When working with dimensional data sources, if the visualization does not contain

a measure against which to plot data, you must provide one. For example, if you

add a single member to the values drop zone, such as '2012', the default measure

drop zone appears in which you must insert a measure.

Attention: The supported properties for a visualization are determined by the

visualization definition.

Procedure

1. From the Toolbox tab , drag a Visualization icon to the work area.

2. From the Visualization Gallery, select a Treemap icon:

v If you are plotting a single measure, select a treemap colored by category.

Figure 35. A treemap visualization

Chapter 6. Extensible visualizations 95

v If you are plotting two measures, select a treemap colored by value.

3. Click OK.

4. From the Source tab

, drag items to the appropriate location in the data

container:

a. Under Values, drag items to define the size and color of the rectangles to

Size and Color.

b. Under Categories, drag items to the different levels. Each level represents

the category within which the subsequent levels are nested. For example,

the levels might be Year, Product Line, and Product Type.

Adding a heatmap visualization

Heatmaps use colors to represent the individual values that are contained in a

matrix.

Similar to treemaps, you can use heatmaps to identify patterns and exceptions.

Unlike treemaps, the sizes of the rectangles are not proportionate to values.

Before you begin

Your administrator must make the visualizations available in the Visualization

Gallery.

If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer to view visualizations, you must have

Microsoft Silverlight 5 installed on your computer. Firefox or iPad users do not

need Silverlight.

Figure 36. A heatmap visualization

96 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

About this task

You add data to a visualization by inserting data items in drop zones.

When working with dimensional data sources, if the visualization does not contain

a measure against which to plot data, you must provide one. For example, if you

add a single member to the values drop zone, such as '2012', the default measure

drop zone appears in which you must insert a measure.

Attention: The supported properties for a visualization are determined by the

visualization definition.

Procedure

1. From the Toolbox tab , drag a Visualization icon to the work area.

2. From the Visualization Gallery, select the Heatmap icon and click OK.

3. From the Source tab

, drag items to the appropriate location in the data

container:

a. Under Values, drag a measure or a single value to define the color shading

of the rectangles.

b. Under Categories, drag items to the Y Category and X Category.

Tip: Ensure that the items in the Y Category and X Category come from

different dimensions.

Adding a packed bubble visualization

A packed bubble visualization is similar to a bubble chart in which the bubbles are

tightly packed rather than spread over a grid. You can use a packed bubble

visualization to display a large amount of data in a small space.

Chapter 6. Extensible visualizations 97

Before you begin

Your administrator must make the visualizations available in the Visualization

Gallery.

If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer to view visualizations, you must have

Microsoft Silverlight 5 installed on your computer. Firefox or iPad users do not

need Silverlight.

About this task

You add data to a visualization by inserting data items in drop zones.

When you work with dimensional data sources, if the visualization does not

contain a measure against which to plot data, you must provide one. For example,

if you add a single member to the values drop zone, such as '2012', the default

measure drop zone appears in which you must insert a measure.

Attention: The supported properties for a visualization are determined by the

visualization definition.

Procedure

1. From the Toolbox tab , drag a Visualization icon to the work area.

2. From the Visualization Gallery, select the Packed Bubble icon and click OK.

3. From the Source tab

, drag items to the appropriate location in the data

container:

a. Drag a measure or a single value to the data container, under Values.

b. Under Categories, drag an item to plot as the bubbles.

Figure 37. A packed bubble visualization

98 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

c. Under Series, drag an item to apply as a category. Each item in the category

gets a different color from the color palette.

Adding a network diagram

You can create a network diagram in reports. The nodes data container defines the

items that you want to link together. The links data container defines relationship

between the items that you want to link together.

Before you begin

Network node drop zones only take numeric data items. Not all data sources have

the appropriate data to create a network diagram.

Your administrator must make the visualizations available in the Visualization

Gallery.

If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer to view visualizations, you must have

Microsoft Silverlight 5 installed on your computer. Firefox or iPad users do not

need Silverlight.

About this task

You add data to a visualization by inserting data items in drop zones.

When working with dimensional data sources, if the visualization does not contain

a measure against which to plot data, you must provide one. For example, if you

add a single member to the values drop zone, such as '2012', the default measure

drop zone appears in which you must insert a measure.

Attention: The supported properties for a visualization are determined by the

visualization definition.

Figure 38. A network diagram in an active report showing employees by region

Chapter 6. Extensible visualizations 99

Procedure

1. From the Toolbox tab , drag a Visualization icon to the work area.

2. From the Visualization Gallery, select the Network diagram icon and click OK.

3. From the Source tab

, drag items to the appropriate location in the data

container:

a. In the Nodes1 data container, drag items to Node (Numeric) and Name.

The nodes data container defines the items that you want to link together,

such as Employees, defined by an employee code.

b. In the Links1 data container, drag items to From node (Numeric) and To

node (Numeric). The links data container defines relationship between the

items that you want to link together, such as Employees and Managers.

Visualization properties

The properties that you can set for each visualization affect how you work with

visualizations that are inserted in a report.

All extensible visualizations have properties in common and properties that are

specific to each visualization. Properties that are specific to a visualization are

defined by the visualization author in the visualization definition. By default,

properties that are defined by the visualization author appear in a group that is

named Custom in the Properties window, unless the author created property

groups in the visualization definition.

To set properties for multiple visualizations, press Ctrl while you click the

visualizations in the report. When multiple visualizations are selected, only the

common properties appear in the Properties window.

Resizing a visualization

You can change the size of a visualization.

Procedure

1. Click and drag the lower right corner of the visualization.

2. To maintain the aspect ratio, press the Shift key while you resize the

visualization.

You can view the changing height and width of the resized visualization in the

Properties pane, under Positioning.

Specifying the range values that are displayed

You can specify the range of values that you want to display in a visualization.

About this task

To control the range of values that is displayed, the following choices are available

to calculate the minimum and maximum values of the range.

v All data

With this choice, minimum and maximum values are calculated to span the

values of the inserted measure.

v All detail data

100 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

This choice is available only when you create sections. With this choice, the

range of data that is displayed is the same in each section.

v Specified values

With this choice, you specify the minimum and maximum values that you want

to display in the visualization.

Note: The minimum and maximum values that are displayed in the

visualization might differ from the values that you specify. For example, if you

specify a range of 0 to 195, IBM Cognos BI might display a range of 0 to 200.

Procedure

To specify the range of values that is displayed, follow these steps.

1. In the visualization data container, click the data item in the Values section that

represents the values in the visualization. For example, in a packed bubble

visualization, click the data item that is inserted in the Size box.

2. In the Properties pane, double-click the Value Range property.

3. In the Range type box, click one of the available choices.

4. If you clicked All data or All detail data and you want the range of values to

include zero, select the Range includes zero check box.

5. If you clicked Specified, type the minimum and maximum values of the range

in the Minimum and Maximum boxes.

Updating visualizations

Update visualizations when a change was made to the visualization definition.

About this task

If any part of a visualization is invalidated by changes that were made to the

visualization definition, the invalidated part is removed. For example, if a field is

renamed, the data items in the field are removed. You must add the data items to

the renamed field for the visualization to run.

Procedure

Open the report in a new Cognos Workspace Advanced window.

Converting visualizations from one type to another

You can convert a visualization from one type to another type.

About this task

The following list describes the conversion process.

v Data items are mapped to fields with the same name.

v If no field with the same name exists, the first field of the same type is used.

Value fields are mapped to value fields. Category fields are mapped to category

fields. Category fields that are ID fields are only mapped to other category fields

that are also ID fields.

v Common properties that are not specific to visualizations, such as Data format,

are preserved.

v No warnings appear for properties that are dropped during the conversion.

Chapter 6. Extensible visualizations 101

When you convert a visualization to a new visualization type, you can preserve

properties that have the same ID and the same type. Or you can choose to use

only the default properties of the new visualization.

If you convert a visualization to a visualization type that has more fields than the

original visualization, you must populate the empty fields in the converted

visualization. For example, if you convert a column chart to a combination chart

that has columns and lines, there are empty fields for the line data container.

You cannot convert a visualization to a current default chart and vice versa.

Procedure

1. Right-click a visualization and click Convert Visualization.

2. Select a new visualization type.

3. To preserve properties that have the same ID and the same type, under

Visualization properties, click the Preserve existing visualization properties

radio button.

4. To use only the default properties of the visualization type that you are

converting to, under Visualization properties, click the Use new visualization

default properties radio button.

5. Click OK.

102 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chapter 7. Lists

Use list reports to show detailed information from your database, such as product

lists and customer lists.

A list report is a report that shows data in rows and columns. Each column shows

all the values for a data item in the database or a calculation based on data items

in the database.

List reports automatically include an overall summary in a footer row. The default

summary is used.

You can specify whether to automatically add an overall aggregate summary in the

list footer and a summary for any groups in the list by selecting Automatic group

and summary behavior for lists in the IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced options.

The default aggregation as specified in your enterprise data source is used. For

more information, see “Report Options” on page 26.

Related tasks:

“Summarize Relational Data” on page 110

Summarize data in your reports to obtain a total, count, average, minimum,

maximum, and so on.

“Summarize Dimensional Data” on page 140

Summarize data in your reports to obtain a total, count, average, minimum,

maximum, and so on.

“Change a List into a Crosstab” on page 48

Change a list into a crosstab to view your data from a different perspective.

Group Data

Group data items in a list report to remove duplicate values. For example, you

have a report that shows products purchased. For each product, the product type

is also shown. You group the product type column to show only one instance of

each product type in the list.

Grouping a column automatically moves it to the left as the first column. Grouping

a subsequent column moves it to the left until it follows the last grouped column.

When you ungroup a column, it moves to the right until it follows the last

grouped column.

Figure 39. An example list report

After a column is grouped, you can move it elsewhere in the report.

In addition to grouping, you can specify the sort order of data items. In lists, you

can sort data items within groups as well as ungrouped items. In crosstabs, you

can sort row and column items.

Procedure

1. Click the column on which to group.

You can click either the column heading or one of the column cells.

Tip: To perform multiple groupings at once, use Ctrl+click or Shift+click.

2. Click the group/ungroup button

Related tasks:

“Sorting relational data” on page 111

You can sort items to view them in your preferred order.

“Dividing data into sections” on page 167

Create sections in a report to show a separate list, chart, visualization, or crosstab

for a data item.

104 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chapter 8. Exploring Relational Data

Relational data is best represented by lists. This data is organized in IBM Cognos

Workspace Advanced by query items.

In relational reporting, you summarize data by using headers and footers in lists,

summary functions, member summaries, and within detail aggregation. You focus

data in relational reporting with summary or detail filters.

IBM Cognos Query Studio is also available to work with relational data.

Using Relational Calculations

Inserting a calculation makes your report more meaningful by deriving additional

information from the data source. For example, you create an invoice report, and

you want to see the total sale amount for each product ordered. Create a calculated

column that multiplies the product price by the quantity ordered.

You build calculations in the expression editor using functions.

If a calculation is used in multiple reports, or by different report authors, ask your

modeler to create the calculation as a standalone object in the model and include it

in the relevant package.

Calculation Solve Order

When calculations in the rows and columns of a report intersect, calculations are

performed in the following order:

v addition or subtraction

v multiplication or division

v aggregation (rollup)

v remaining arithmetic functions: absolute, round, round down, average,

minimum, maximum, medium, count

v percentage, % difference (growth) or % of total

v rank, quartile, quantile, or percentile

If both calculations have the same precedence, for example, if they are both

business functions, then the row calculation takes precedence.

If you have the necessary permissions, you can open your report in IBM Cognos

Report Studio and override the order of precedence by changing the solve order

property. For more information, see the IBM Cognos Report Studio User Guide.

Limitations of Calculations

Use only the expressions and functions that are available in IBM Cognos

Workspace Advanced, and follow their syntax. For best results, do not build

calculations or summaries over other calculations that were authored in Report

Studio.

Minimal checking exists for calculations. If your calculation uses an invalid

expression, your report results may contain unexpected values.

In addition, you should define member summaries as follows:

summary_function (currentMeasure within set set_reference)

where set_reference is a level or set inserted from the Source tab

Unless otherwise required, use summary_function as the aggregate function. If you

use an explicit summary function, you may encounter problems with measures

and scenario or account dimension members (such as profit margin, distinct count,

and so on) that have complex rollup rules, or members that do not roll up.

Know your data, and confirm with the owner of the cube where overriding the

automatic aggregation is safe.

Because of these limitations, summaries of calculations may not provide reliable

values. For convenience, you may need to build reports where row summaries and

calculated member columns intersect. In such reports, these intersections may

contain unexpected values. In contrast, row calculations intersecting with column

aggregates using the aggregate function are safe because the calculation is

performed on the reliably summarized values.

If you need to create more complex expressions, use Report Studio.

Create a Simple Calculation

You can select items in your report and create simple calculations. In addition to

simple arithmetic calculations, you can perform numeric, string, date and time, and

interval calculations.

The following table defines the available numeric calculations.

Table 10. Descriptions of numeric calculations

Calculation Description

- data item When you select one numeric data item,

inserts the negative of the current value.

Absolute For numeric data items, inserts the absolute

value.

Round For numeric data items, inserts a number

rounded to the nearest integer.

Round up For numeric data items, inserts a number

rounded to the nearest integer.

Round down For numeric data items, inserts a number

rounded to the integer closest to zero.

Rollup Summarizes, or rolls up, all the values in a

hierarchy.

106 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Table 10. Descriptions of numeric calculations (continued)

Calculation Description

% Calculates the value of the first item selected

as a percentage of the second item.

% Difference Calculates the difference between two items

as a percentage.

% of total Calculates the value of the item as a

percentage of the total for the report.

Note: Expression definition: total(x)/

total(total(x) for report)

% Of Base Takes the first selected member from edge A

and the second selected member from edge

B. The calculation result of a percent of base

compare all of the values for member A to

the intersect value of members A and B.

Note: This calculation is only available if

you select two members from different

hierarchies, each from a different edge.

Custom Allows you to specify your own value when

performing a simple arithmetic calculation.

Also allows you to change the order of

operands, or type a custom name for the

new calculated row or column.

The following table defines the available string calculations.

Table 11. Descriptions of string calculations

Calculation Description

Remove trailing spaces For string data items, removes any extra

spaces that appear after the last character in

the string. Spaces between words are not

removed.

Extra spaces can sometimes cause

unexpected results when you sort, filter, or

search.

First ? characters For string data items, truncates the text to

show only the first number of characters

that you specify.

Last ? characters For string data items, truncates the text to

show only the last number of characters that

you specify.

The following table defines the available date and time calculations.

Chapter 8. Exploring Relational Data 107

Table 12. Descriptions of date and time calculations

Calculation Description

Add ? years

Add ? months

Add ? days

When selecting one date or time data item,

adds the specified number of years, months,

or days to the selected value.

Year, Month, Day, Hour, Minute, and

Second

When selecting one date or time data item,

shows the year, month number, day number,

hour, minute, or second value.

The following table defines the available interval calculations.

Table 13. Descriptions of interval calculations

Calculation Description

Days For interval data items, such as number of

days between two dates

If you want to create a more advanced calculation that uses mathematical

functions, create a query calculation.

Procedure

1. Select the items in your report to calculate.

Tip: Shift+click or Ctrl+click to select multiple items.

2. Click the insert calculation button

and select the calculation to perform.

Note: Only calculations that are applicable to the items that you have selected

appear.

3. To change the order of the operands or the name of the calculated item added

to the report, click Custom.

Results

The calculation appears as a new row or column in your report.

Inserting a Query Calculation

Insert a query calculation into your report to add a new row or column with

values that are based on a calculation. For example, you create a query calculation

named Euros that converts dollars to euros by multiplying an existing dollar

measure by a conversion rate. Euros can then be displayed to end users in a

separate row or column.

Quality of Service Indicators

Not all data sources support functions in the same way. The data modeler can set a

quality of service indicator on functions to give a visual clue about the behavior of

the functions. Report authors can use the quality of service indicators to determine

which functions to use in a report. The quality of service indicators are as follows:

108 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

v not available (X)

This function is not available for any data source in the package.

v limited availability (!!)

The function is not available for some data sources in the package.

v limited support (!)

The function is available for all data sources in the package but is not naturally

supported for that data source, which can result in poor performance and

unexpected results.

v unconstrained (check mark)

The function is available for all data sources.

Using Quotation Marks in Literal Strings

When inserting literal strings in an expression, you must enclose the string in

single quotation marks. If the string contains a quotation mark, it must be

modified. For example, if you want to insert the string ab'c, you must type 'ab''c'.

Insert a Query Calculation

Insert a query calculation into your report to add a new row or column with

values that are based on a calculation.

Important: When creating an expression for use in a double-byte environment,

such as Japanese, the only special characters that work are ASCII-7 and ~ -- || - $

¢£¬.

Tip:

v To show or hide the Available Components pane, click the blue arrow to the

right of the pane.

v To show or hide the Information pane, click the blue arrow above the pane.

v To copy and paste expression components in the Expression Definition pane,

you can use the copy button

and the paste button .

Procedure

1. From the Toolbox tab , drag Query Calculation to the report.

2. Type a meaningful name for your expression in the Name box.

For example, if you are calculating the difference between 2007 revenue and

2006 revenue, you could name your expression 2007 - 2006 Revenue.

3. In the Available Components pane, define the calculation:

v To add data items that are not shown in the report, on the source tab

double-click the data items.

v To add data items that are in the report but not necessarily in the model,

such as calculations, on the data items tab

, double-click the data items.

v To add functions, summaries, and operators, on the functions tab

double-click elements.

Chapter 8. Exploring Relational Data 109

Tip: To filter the visible functions, summaries, and operators in the

Available Components pane, click the filter button

and filter by the

function type, what the function returns, or what the function acts on.

Tip: You can also type the calculation directly in the Expression Definition

box. When typing date values, ensure that the date format is correct for your

database type.

4. Click the validate button

Any validation errors appear on the Errors tab of the Information pane.

Summarize Relational Data

Summarize data in your reports to obtain a total, count, average, minimum,

maximum, and so on.

After you add summary rows or columns, you can move them by dragging them

elsewhere in the report.

You can also use summary functions in custom calculations.

The following table defines the available summaries.

Table 14. Descriptions of types of summaries for relational data

Summary Description

Automatic Summary Uses the default summary for the data item,

as specified in the data source.

For example, a data item that represents part

numbers likely uses count as the default

summary.

Total Adds all values, excluding null and missing

values.

Count Counts all values, excluding null and

missing values.

Average Adds all values, and then divides by the

count of values, excluding null and missing

values.

Minimum Selects the smallest value, excluding null

and missing values.

Maximum Selects the largest value, excluding null and

missing values.

When adding summaries to crosstabs or charts, the default is to use detail

summaries. A detail summary tries to summarize only data that is visible in the

crosstab or chart structure. If it is not clear how to summarize the data, such as

when a report includes ambiguous nesting, the report displays no value (--) or an

error occurs.

110 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Procedure

1. Click the row or column to summarize.

2. On the toolbar, click the summarize button , and select a summary type.

The summary appears as a new row or column.

3. To change the summary label, right-click the label and type a new name, such

as Total (February sales).

Tip: To remove a summary, select the summary label, and click the delete

button

Related concepts:

“Using Relational Calculations” on page 105

Inserting a calculation makes your report more meaningful by deriving additional

information from the data source. For example, you create an invoice report, and

you want to see the total sale amount for each product ordered. Create a calculated

column that multiplies the product price by the quantity ordered.

Sorting relational data

You can sort items to view them in your preferred order.

By default, IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced retrieves items in the order defined

in the data source. Relational data sources may not always have a defined order.

The data modeler defines the sorting options in the model. For more information

about data modeling, see the IBM Cognos Framework Manager User Guide.

Procedure

1. Select the column or row to sort.

2. Click the sort icon

3. Under Sort in Layout, click Ascending or Descending.

Tip: To remove a sort order, click Don't Sort.

Sorting multiple rows or columns and grouped columns

If you sort more than one row or column, you can change the order in which they

are sorted. You can also sort grouped columns in a list.

Procedure

1. Select a column or row.

2. Click the sort icon

and click Edit Layout Sorting.

3. To sort a list column within a group, do the following:

a. In the Groups pane, under the Groups folder, expand the folder of the

grouped column.

b. In the Data Items pane, drag the data items to sort to the Sort List folder.

You can also drag data items from the Detail Sort List folder.

c. Click the sort order button

to specify ascending or descending order.

4. To change the sort order when multiple columns are sorted, in the Groups

pane, change the order of columns in either the Sort List folder of a group or

in the Detail Sort List folder.

Chapter 8. Exploring Relational Data 111

Tip: Add items to the Detail Sort List folder to sort items that are not groups.

Related tasks:

“Group Data” on page 103

Group data items in a list report to remove duplicate values. For example, you

have a report that shows products purchased. For each product, the product type

is also shown. You group the product type column to show only one instance of

each product type in the list.

Sorting lists based on a data item not in the report

You can sort columns in a list using a data item from the source tree to sort based

on a data item that is not included in the list.

For example, a list shows all products in your product line. You want to sort them

by production cost without having to add the production cost measure to the

report.

For relational data sources, you can use measures

and query items to

sort.

For dimensional data sources, you can use measures

and levels to sort.

Procedure

1. Select a column.

2. From the Source tab

, right-click the measure, query item, or level and

click Sort for report.

3. From the Data items column, move the data item to the Detail Sort List in the

Groups column.

4. Click the sort order icon

to specify ascending or descending order.

Format Relational Data

Format data in a report to improve readability. For example, you can show all date

values in the order year, month, and day. If you do not specify formatting, data is

formatted according to the properties set in the model. If the properties were not

set in the model, data is formatted according to the International Components for

Unicode (ICU) formats.

You can also format data based on a condition.

Data formats are not applied in delimited text (CSV) and XML report outputs.

Procedure

1. In the work area, right-click a data item and click Style, Data Format.

Tip: You can also use the data format button

on the style toolbar.

2. In the Format type box, click a format type.

The properties that you can set for the selected format type appear in the

Properties box.

3. Set the properties that you want.

112 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

For properties in which you type meta-characters that represent certain types of

information, such as YYYY-MM-DD for dates, the meta-characters required

depend on the authoring language specified for the report.

If you specify a value for the Pattern property, all other formatting properties

are ignored, with the following exceptions:

v Missing Value Characters

v Zero Value Characters

v Negative Pattern

Be aware that some properties are locale-sensitive.

Results

The data formatting properties are applied. If a data item contains values in

multiple currencies, but only a subset of those currencies have defined formats, the

default format for the locale you are working in is applied to values for which no

format is specified.

Related concepts:

“Support for bidirectional content” on page 169

You can author reports that support bidirectional content. You can specify base text

direction, digit shaping, and container direction.

Specifying the Number of Decimals in Numbers

When specifying the number of decimals, IBM Cognos Business Intelligence uses

the IEEE 754 default rounding mode known as half even. With half even rounding,

numbers are rounded toward the nearest truncated value, unless both truncated

values are equidistant, in which case the value ending in an even digit is chosen,

as follows:

v If the digit immediately after the precision to be shown is greater than 5, the

number is rounded up.

v If the digit immediately after the precision to be shown is less than 5, the

number is rounded down.

v If the digit immediately after the precision is a 5, the number is rounded down

when the preceding digit is even and rounded up when the preceding digit is

odd.

For example, the number 78.5 is rounded to 78, while the number 73.5 is

rounded to 74.

In addition, if the maximum number of decimals is lower than the actual number

of decimals in the number, the number is rounded to the maximum number of

decimals.

Locale-sensitive Properties

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced contains an extensive library of customized

properties adapted to users from different regions who speak different languages.

For example, if a modeler specifies that a given data item is a currency, you must

specify only the proper currency symbol. When reports are created, Cognos

Workspace Advanced automatically adapts the format of the currency numbers to

each user according to the content language specified in IBM Cognos Connection.

When modelers or report authors specify properties, these properties override user

preferences and risk creating inconsistent formatting for users of other cultures. It

is usually much easier and safer to let Cognos Workspace Advanced do the

Chapter 8. Exploring Relational Data 113

formatting. For example, for the date format type, different regions use different

characters to represent the date separator. If you specify a date separator, you may

confuse users in other regions.

The following data formatting properties are locale-sensitive:

v Currency Symbol Position

v Date Separator

v Date Ordering

v Calendar Type

v Time Separator

v Display AM/PM Symbols

v Clock

v Decimal Symbol

v Negative Sign Position

v Thousands Separator

v Group Size (digits)

v Secondary Group Size (digits)

v Missing Value Characters

v Zero Value Characters

v Pattern

v Negative Pattern

Digit shaping in charts

When working with bidirectional content, you cannot specify digit shaping at the

chart level. You can specify digit shaping for the objects in charts.

To understand how digit shaping is applied to charts, you must know which chart

objects are considered text and which objects are considered numeric values.

The following list describes those chart objects that are considered text.

v chart title

v subtitle

v footer

v notes

v legend item

v legend title

v regression label

v marker label

v background image label

v axis titles

v discrete axis label (for example, category axis label, x-axis)

v baseline labels

The following list describes those chart objects that are considered numeric values.

v numeric axis label (for example, measure axis label, y-axis)

v numeric values that appear in the legend (you can select to show the first, last,

maximum, minimum value for each item in legends)

v numeric values that appear in the chart

114 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

The following list describes the different digit shaping options and how digit

shaping is applied to charts.

v The digit shape options for text objects, which include titles, footers, and labels,

are Default, None, National, and Contextual. Digit shape options for numeric

values are Default, None, and National. There is no Contextual option for

numeric values.

v By default, digit shaping is not applied to numbers that appear on an object that

is considered text. For example, if a chart shows year data on the x-axis and the

content language specified in IBM Cognos Connection is Arabic (Egypt), no digit

shaping is applied because the x-axis label is considered a string.

The following list describes the default digit shaping behavior for charts when the

content language is Arabic (Egypt).

v Numeric values that have a specific format, such as decimal or currency, are

displayed as Arabic-Indic.

v Except for matrix charts, numeric axis labels for charts are displayed in

European digits.

This is due to the way that charts are rendered. The engine used to render charts

does not perform any formatting for numeric axis labels. No locale information

is passed, and consequently the labels are displayed as European digits. To

display the labels as Arabic-Indic, select the digit shaping option National.

Matrix charts are rendered using International Components for Unicode (ICU) to

format numbers. Locale information is passed and the numbers are shaped

accordingly. For example, when the content language is Arabic (Egypt), ICU

displays numbers as Arabic-Indic.

v Numbers within text labels are displayed as is. That is, no digit shaping is

applied.

The following list describes the default digit shaping behavior for charts when the

content language is Thai.

v Numeric values that have a specific format, such as decimal or currency, are

displayed as European digits.

v Numbers within text labels are displayed as is. That is, no digit shaping is

applied.

Filtering relational data

Use filters to remove unwanted data from reports. Data is displayed in the report

only if it meets the filter criteria. When working with relational data sources, the

available filtering options are determined by the data that you select.

You can combine two or more filters into a complex filter, create a context filter,

and create top or bottom filters.

If you filter values that are floating-point numbers, you may encounter imprecise

filtering results due to rounding or data truncation. Floating-point numbers may

appear differently in the report than how they are stored in the data source. To

ensure accurate results, your filter criteria should account for any rounding issues.

By default, filters on measures are applied after automatic aggregation. You can

change whether filters are applied before or after aggregation using the Edit filters

option.

Chapter 8. Exploring Relational Data 115

You can also use filters to suppress null cells in your reports. Using filters ensures

that calculations take suppression into account. If you want to perform calculations

before suppression is applied, use the Suppress option.

Procedure

1. Select the data item on which you want to filter.

Tip: If you select two or more items, you can filter using a range.

2. Click the filter icon

3. Select a filter condition from the list.

4. Click OK.

Related concepts:

“Relational and dimensional reporting styles” on page 17

You can create reports in IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced using either a

relational reporting style or a dimensional reporting style depending on the type of

data source you use.

Related tasks:

“Suppress Empty Cells in Dimensional Reporting” on page 139

Sparse data may result in crosstabs showing empty cells. For example, a crosstab

that matches employees with products results in many rows of empty values for

the revenue measure if the employee does not sell those products.

Creating a custom filter

Create custom filters when the values you want to use in your filter conditions do

not occur in your report.

You can use filters to create prompts in the report. Prompts provide questions that

help users to customize the information in a report to suit their own needs. For

example, you create a prompt so that users can select a region. Only data for the

specified region is retrieved and displayed in the report.

Procedure

1. Select the data item on which you want to filter.

Tip: If you select two or more items, you can filter by using a range.

2. On the toolbar, click the filter icon

3. Click Create Custom Filter.

4. Under Condition, select the type of condition you want.

5. Optional: Type a value to search for in the Keywords box. You can also paste a

list of values from a spreadsheet into the Keywords box. Optionally, modify the

search criteria by clicking the arrow beside the Keywords button. Then, click

Search.

6. Optional: If you are reporting on relational data, you can apply more text-based

filtering.

a. To choose specific data item values for the filter condition, in the Values

box, click Specific values and choose the values that you want to filter on.

Tip: You can search for values by typing a string in the Keywords box.

Click the arrow beside Search and select the search parameter that you

want to use. If you select Use Tab as keyword delimiter, you can add a tab

116 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

in the Keywords box only by copying and pasting a tab (or the string you

want to search on with a tab in it), from another application, such as

Notepad.

b. To filter values based on a pattern, in the Values box, click Starts with,

Ends with, Contains,orMatches SQL pattern, and type the pattern in the

Value box.

With the Matches SQL pattern choice, you can filter values by using

standard SQL syntax to create a SQL supported pattern. You can use a %

(percent) symbol to substitute for zero or more characters, or _ (underscore)

to substitute for one single character. For example, the pattern '%a_b_c%'

returns every value that contains the sequence 'a, any character, b, any

character, c' anywhere in the string.

If you search for patterns that include the '%' or '_' characters, specify an

escape character in the Escape character (optional) box. The value must be

a single character. When specified, each occurrence of the escape character

causes the next character to be treated as text and not as a special character.

For example, if you specify '\' as the escape character, entering TEST\% in

the Value box searches for the string 'TEST%' rather than a string that

begins with 'TEST' followed by any other characters. Similarly, entering

TEST\\\% searches for strings that begin with 'TEST\%'.

You can specify whether the filter condition is case-sensitive or not. A

case-sensitive filter is applied only when the data source supports

case-sensitive filtering.

Note: When a filter based on a pattern is converted into a prompt, users are

prompted to specify a pattern when the report is run.

7. Under Values, select your values. If you filter numeric data, select the type of

filter condition that you want to create: Specific values, Comparison,orRange.

8. If you want users to be prompted when they run the report, select the Prompt

for values when report is run in viewer check box.

9. If you want the filter to include null values, select the Include missing values

(NULL) check box.

Creating relational custom groups

Create custom groups to classify existing data items into groups that are

meaningful to you.

You can use custom groups to convert numeric values into broader categories. For

example, you can break down sales results into low, medium, and high categories.

Or you can reduce the number of values into a smaller, more meaningful groups.

For example, you can change a list of employees into separate teams or

departments.

When you create custom groups in a list, a new column is added to the report,

with the name data item (Custom). You can use this new column to group or sort

the report. If you want to show only the new groups, you can delete the original

column.

Procedure

1. Click the column that you want to group on and, from the Data menu, click

Calculate > Define Custom Groups.

Tip: You can click either the column heading or one of the column cells.

Chapter 8. Exploring Relational Data 117

2. Click the New Group Entry icon .

3. To group by values that you select, click New Select Values Group, type a

New group name, select the required values from the Values box, and move

the values to the Selected values box.

4. To group by a range of values, click New Range Group, type a New group

name, and enter the From and To values.

5. If you do not want a group name to appear for remaining values, select Do not

show remaining values. Clicking this option will produce empty cells for

remaining values.

6. If you want the group name for remaining values to match each value, select

Use each remaining value as a group name.

7. If you want to specify your own group name for all remaining values, select

Group remaining values into a single group and type the name that you

want.

8. If you are adding custom groups in a list, under New data item name, select

either the default data item name or type a new data item name.

Combining filter conditions

You can combine two or more filter conditions to do more complex filtering.

Combined filters allow you to create compound conditions that are grouped with

AND or OR conditions.

For example, you want to filter the columns Product line and Year in a report. The

specific data you want to retrieve is the quantity of Camping Equipment sold in

2010 and the quantity of Golf Equipment sold in 2009. To do this, you must create

a complex filter that combines several filter conditions.

Procedure

1. On the toolbar, click the filter icon .

2. Click Edit filters.

3. Click the new button

, select Combined, and click OK.

4. In the Create Filter window, select the data item on which you want to filter

and click OK.

5. Under Condition, select the type of condition you want.

6. Under Values, select your values. If you filter numeric data, select the type of

filter condition that you want to create: Specific values, Comparison,or

Range.

7. If you want users to be prompted when they run the report, select the Prompt

for values when report is run in viewer check box.

8. If you want the filter to include null values, select the Include missing values

(NULL) check box.

9. Click the operator that appears between the filters and click AND, OR,or

NOT to combine them.

10. Click the new condition button

, and specify a second filter condition.

11. Click the operator that appears between the filters and click AND, OR,or

NOT to combine them.

118 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Filtering based on data items not in the report

You can create a filter using a data item in the source tree that is not included in

your report.

For example, a crosstab shows the sales revenue of all your product line for each

year. You want to filter the crosstab to show the revenue for only one country or

region, which does not appear in the report.

For relational data sources, you can use measures

and query items to

filter.

Procedure

1. Select the data container (list, crosstab, or chart) or the data item within the

container that you want to filter.

2. From the Source tab

, right-click the measure, query item, or level and

click Filter for report.

3. Under Condition, select the type of condition that you want.

4. Optional: If you are reporting on relational data, you can apply more text-based

filtering.

a. To choose specific data item values for the filter condition, in the Values

box, click Specific values and choose the values that you want to filter on.

Tip: You can search for values by typing a string in the Keywords box.

Click the arrow beside Search and select the search parameter that you

want to use. If you select Use Tab as keyword delimiter, you can add a tab

in the Keywords box only by copying and pasting a tab (or the string you

want to search on with a tab in it), from another application, such as

Notepad.

b. To filter values based on a pattern, in the Values box, click Starts with,

Ends with, Contains,orMatches SQL pattern, and type the pattern in the

Value box.

With the Matches SQL pattern choice, you can filter values by using

standard SQL syntax to create a SQL supported pattern. For example, the

pattern '%a_b_c%' returns every value that contains the sequence 'a, any

character, b, any character, c' anywhere in the string.

You can specify whether the filter condition is not case-sensitive or case

sensitive. A case-sensitive filter is applied only when the data source

supports case sensitive filtering.

Note: When a filter based on a pattern is converted into a prompt, users are

prompted to specify a pattern when the report is run.

5. Under Values, select your values. If you filter numeric data, select the type of

filter condition that you want to create: Specific values, Comparison,orRange.

Tip: If you filter text data and want to use your own value, under Selected

Value, click the new button

and specify your value.

6. If you want users to be prompted when they run the report, select the Prompt

for values when report is run in viewer check box.

7. If you want the filter to include null values, select the Include missing values

(NULL) check box.

Chapter 8. Exploring Relational Data 119

Editing filters

You can specify whether filters are mandatory and whether to apply them before

or after automatic aggregation.

Procedure

1. On the toolbar, click the filter button .

2. Click Edit filters.

3. To edit an existing filter, select the filter that you want to edit and click the edit

button

Tip: Click the new button

to add new filters.

4. To specify whether the filter is mandatory, in the Usage box, select an option.

5. To specify whether to apply filters before or after automatic aggregation, in the

Application box, select an option.

Removing filters

You can remove a single filter or all filters for your report if they are no longer

needed.

Procedure

1. On the toolbar, click the filter icon .

2. To remove all the filters in your report, click Remove all filters.

3. To remove a single filter, click Edit filters.

4. Select the filter that you want to remove and click the delete icon

Suppress Empty Cells in Relational Reporting

Sparse data may result in crosstabs showing empty cells. For example, a crosstab

showings employees and products with a measure of revenue results in empty

cells when the employee does not sell the product.

You can suppress rows, columns, or rows and columns based on divide by zero,

missing, and overflow values. Suppressing rows or columns without data gives

you a more concise view of your report.

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced performs calculations before applying

suppression. If you have multiple crosstabs or charts, you must select one to access

suppression options.

Access to the suppression feature depends on the settings in your modeling

component, IBM Cognos Transformer, Framework Manager, and IBM

Cognos Administration.

Procedure

1. From the Data menu, click Suppress and click Suppression Options.

2. Under Suppress, choose what sections to suppress.

3. Under Suppress the following, choose which values to suppress.

120 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Limitations When Formatting Empty Cells in SAP BW Data

Sources

When working with SAP BW data sources, if the SAP BW server administrator

configured custom formatting for empty cells on the SAP BW server, this custom

format does not appear in IBM Cognos Business Intelligence reports. Ask your

administrator to configure the formatting of empty cells in IBM Cognos BI.

Example - Suppress Zeros in Rows and Columns in an

Existing Report

You are a report writer at The Sample Outdoors Company, which sells sporting

equipment. You have a report that compares current year data to previous year

data. You want to suppress zeros in the report to make it more concise. You use

the zero suppression tool to set the level of suppression.

Procedure

1. Open the Sample Outdoors Company Balance Sheet as at Dec. 31, 2012 report.

2. From the Data menu, click Suppress

and click Suppression Options.

3. Under Suppress the following, click Rows and columns.

4. Under Suppress the following type of values, select the Zero values check

box.

5. Run the report.

Rows and columns containing zeros are hidden.

Figure 40. Balance sheet with zero suppression applied in rows and columns

Chapter 8. Exploring Relational Data 121

122 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data

Dimensional data sources include OLAP and dimensionally-modeled relational

(DMR) data sources. The Source tab

in the content pane shows a

member-oriented view of the data.

For dimensional and mixed model data sources, you can view the full data tree by

clicking the View Metadata Tree icon

in the Source tab of the content

pane. You can switch to the dimensional-only data tree by clicking the View

Members Tree icon

Note: The names of levels and members in a dimension come from the model. It is

the responsibility of the modeler to provide meaningful names.

1. Package

Packages are subsets of a model, containing items that you can insert in a

report.

2. Dimension

Dimensions are broad groupings of descriptive data about a major aspect of a

business, such as products, dates, or markets.

3. Level hierarchy

Level hierarchies are more specific groupings within a dimension. For example,

for the Years dimension, data can be organized into smaller groups, such as

Years, Current Month, and Last Month.

4. Members folder

Figure 41. A dimensional-only data tree

Members folders contain the available members for a hierarchy or level. For

example, the Members folder for the Years level hierarchy contains everything

found in the Year, Quarter, and Month levels.

5. Level

Levels are positions within the dimensional hierarchy that contain information

at the same order of detail and have attributes in common. Multiple levels can

exist within a level hierarchy, beginning with a root level. For example, the

Years level hierarchy has the following related levels.

Table 15. The Years level hierarchy

Level Level name Description

Root Years The root level.

First Year Years in the Years root level. For example,

2004, 2003, and 2002.

Second Quarter Quarters for each year in the Year level. For

example, 2004 Q1, 2004 Q2, and 2004 Q3.

Third Month Months for each quarter in the Quarter

level. For example, Jan., Feb., and Mar.

Tip: The Measures dimension contains the measures available in the data

source.

6. Member property

Member properties are attributes that each member possesses. For example,

gender could be a property for all employee members. For more information,

see “Insert a Member Property” on page 127.

Customize the Source Tree

When using dimensional data, you can customize how you see data in the source

tree. You can select a full package tree view that shows dimensions, hierarchies,

levels, an optional members folder, and member properties.

Or you can select a members-only tree view, such as the one in IBM Cognos

Analysis Studio. This view allows you to add only members in your report.

Procedure

1. Click the Source tab .

2. To view the members-only tree view, click the view members tree button

3. To view the full package tree, click the view package tree button

4. To change what is included in the tree, right-click and click Package Tree

Settings.

Use the Preview pane to choose the appropriate settings.

124 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Insert a Member

By default, when you insert members from the source tree into your report with

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced, members are inserted with their children and

are inserted as sets. You can change how members are inserted. For example, you

may want to insert a member without its children or insert only the member's

children.

You can set your report options to insert a member's children when you

double-click a member that you have already inserted in your report. You can

control whether the children are inserted before or after, nested, or not inserted at

all. To do this, from the Tools menu, click Options, and then choose a setting on

the Edit tab.

You can set the default behavior for replacing members to replace individual

nodes, replace the entire edge, or not to replace anything. To do this, from the

Tools menu, click Options, and then choose a setting on the Edit tab.

Note: You cannot change these member insertion and replacing behaviors when

you have opened a widget from a workspace in IBM Cognos Workspace to edit it

in Cognos Workspace Advanced. In this case, double-clicking a member drills

down and replacing members replaces the entire edge.

When inserting members into a crosstab, ensure that you insert members from the

same hierarchy on only one of the crosstab edges. If you insert members from the

same hierarchy on both edges of the crosstab, you may encounter unexpected

results. For example, a report that uses members from years in the rows and

Quarters in the columns is very difficult to read because the useful numbers are

distributed over a large area of mostly blank cells.

Calculated members from the data source also appear in the source tree. However,

calculated members in Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) cubes do not

appear in the list of descendants in the query. If you want these calculated

members to appear in a report or a prompt, you must insert them explicitly.

Procedure

1. From the Source tab , click the insert member with children button

and select how to insert members.

2. If you want to insert individual members instead of inserting members within

a set, click the insert individual members button

3. Do one of the following:

v To insert a member above or below another member, drag the new member

above or below a cell.

A flashing black bar appears where you can drop the new member.

v To replace an entire edge, drag the new member to the cell with the member

to replace.

A flashing black box appears where you can drop the new member.

Search for a Member

You can perform a member search to quickly find the data you want.

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 125

You can control the number of members that are returned in a search by specifying

a value for the Member display count limit (in source tree) option.

Procedure

1. From the Source tab , select and then right-click a hierarchy or level

and click Search.

2. In the Keywords box, type the words or characters for which to search.

3. Click the search parameter to use.

4. To search all descendants instead of just the immediate children, select the

Search all descendants check box.

For example, when performing a search in a hierarchy, selecting this check box

returns members found in all the levels of the hierarchy.

5. Click Search.

Results

The search results appear in a hierarchical structure on the Search tab .You

can browse the hierarchy to explore members at lower levels.

Tip: You can insert members directly from the Search tab into a report. This can

save you time, because you do not have to define a filter. For example, instead of

inserting Product line from the Source tab and adding a filter for Camping

Equipment, you can insert Camping Equipment from the Search tab.

Nest Members

When you insert members in your report, you may want to nest them in another

row or column to make your report easier to use. You can nest members from

different dimensions. You can also nest sets.

For example, in the following report, the quarters (Q1 to Q4) were selected from

the Time dimension and nested only for the GO Americas member, which is from

a different dimension.

When you filter out children from nested sets, the parent set still appears in your

report. To avoid this, filter only the top level set and nest only the complete set of

descendants at the desired levels.

Figure 42. Crosstab showing the year to date amount for all four quarters nested beside GO

Americas

126 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Procedure

From the Source tab , drag the members to the work area.

A flashing black bar indicates where you can drop an item.

Insert a Hierarchy

You can quickly insert entire hierarchies in a report.

When using an IBM Cognos PowerCube, a SSAS cube, or a dimensionally-modeled

relational data source, you can insert multiple hierarchies from the same dimension

in a crosstab. For example, you can place one hierarchy from a dimension on an

edge of the crosstab and nest another hierarchy from the same dimension on the

same edge, on another edge, or in the Context filter area.

You can also perform arithmetic, percentage, and ranking calculations using

multiple hierarchies.

Summary or analytic calculations that refer to different hierarchies from the same

dimension, such as total, count, average, minimum, and maximum, are not

supported. These calculations cause an OP-ERR-0250 error.

Procedure

1. From the Source tab , drag the hierarchy to the report.

2. In the Insert Hierarchy dialog box, choose which members to insert:

v To insert only the root members of the hierarchy, click Root members.

v To insert all members of the hierarchy, click All members.

Tip: The default Level Indentation property for all members is to show the

hierarchical structure when the report is run.

Insert a Member Property

You can insert member properties, which are attributes of a member, in your

report. Member properties provide additional information about the member. For

example, an employee level may have a property named gender.

About this task

In the data tree of the Source tab , member properties are identified by the

icon

You can only insert properties. You cannot group them. Do not insert member

properties in the series or categories of a chart because by default, IBM Cognos

Report Studio groups items that are inserted in these areas. Grouping member

properties produces a warning when you validate the report.

Procedure

From the Source tab , drag the member property to the report.

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 127

Create a Set of Members

Use sets to group members that are logically related for various actions, such as

formatting, nesting, and sorting.

Creating sets is also useful when members may be dynamic over time. For

example, the child accounts of a total assets account may change from year to year.

By creating a set, you do not have to modify the report each time accounts are

added or removed.

By default, IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced creates sets when you add members

in a report.

After you create a set of members, you can add or remove members within the set.

Procedure

1. From the Source tab , click the create sets for members button to

toggle between adding individual members and creating sets for members.

2. Select the items to include in the set and drag them to the work area.

3. To add or remove members from the set, right-click the set and click Edit

Members.

Excluding members from a set

You can choose to remove individual items that are not needed in your analysis.

You can exclude one or more members from the original set you added to your

report, or you can exclude one or more members from the set as it is displayed in

your report.

Procedure

1. To exclude members from the original set, click the members, click the Explore

icon

, click Exclude Members, and click From Initial Set.

2. To exclude members from the current set, click the members, click the Explore

icon, click Exclude Members, and click From Current Set.

Tip: To edit a set, regardless of whether you exclude members, click the

Explore icon and click Edit Set.

Moving members within a set

You can move one or more members to the top or bottom of a set.

Procedure

1. Select the member or members that you want to move.

2. Click the Explore icon

Tip: You can also right-click the selected members, then click Explore.

3. Click Move Members, then click To Top or To Bottom.

128 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Results

The members are moved to the bottom or top of the set. You might need to repeat

these steps to achieve the order for the members that you want.

Tip: To undo the move, click the Explore icon, then click Edit Set.

Replace a Member or Set

You can replace an individual member or a set of members with a preset

combination of members.

You can replace an individual member or a set of members with any of the

following:

v its child members

v members on its level

v a new set made up of some members from the original set

v individual members from the set that have been separated from the set

v an intersection

Procedure

1. To replace a member with its child members or a set of members with the child

members of the selected member, click a member, click the explore button

click Replace, and click With Children Members.

2. To replace a member with its level members or a set of members with the level

members of the selected member, click a member, click the explore button, click

Replace, and click With Level Members.

3. To replace a set of members with one or more individual members, select the

members you want to keep, click the explore button, click Replace, and click

With Individual Members.

4. To replace a set of members with a set made of a few members, select the

members you want in the new set, click the explore button, click Replace, and

click With Set of Selected Members.

5. To replace members or sets with an intersection, select a member or set on each

edge of the crosstab, click the explore button, click Replace, and click With

Intersection (Tuple).

Create Members and Intersections

You can create individual and combinations of members that are separate from the

set.

You can add any of the following to your report:

v duplicates of individual members separate from the set

v child members of each of the members in the set as a new column

v an intersection of two or more members from different hierarchies as a new row

or column

Procedure

1. To create individual members, select the members, click the explore button

, click Create, and click Individual Members.

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 129

2. To add child members, click a member, click the explore button, click Create,

and click Next Level Down.

3. To create an intersection, select the two data members you want to intersect,

click the explore button, click Create, and click Intersection (tuple).

Expand and Collapse a Member

You can expand a member to add its child members indented below it as new

rows or columns and you can collapse expanded members.

Procedure

1. To add a member's child members, click the member, click the explore button

, and click Expand Member.

Tip: You can also right-click the member.

2. To remove the expanded member's child members, click the member, click the

explore button, and click Collapse Member.

Sharing sets between reports

When you are working with dimensional data, you can share a set to make it

available for inclusion in multiple reports.

You must first create a set in a source crosstab report, create a shared set definition,

then refer to it in a target report.

A shared set definition is copied from one report to another. As a result, the set

definition must not depend on any context from the source report. For example, it

must meet the following criteria:

v It cannot reference other shared sets.

v It cannot reference other data items.

v It cannot contain calculated members.

You cannot change the definition of a shared set from within the target report.

However, you can carry out other set operations on it, such as excluding a member

or creating a top 10 list.

Procedure

1. In the source crosstab report, create a set that you want to share.

2. Select the set. In the Properties pane, in the Sharing property, enter a name

and description for the set.

3. Save the report.

4. In the Source tab

, right-click the model. Click Add Shared Set Report.

5. In the Open box, select the source report that contains the shared set

definition. If it does not exist, a new folder that is called Shared Sets is

created. It is displayed at the bottom of the source tree.

6. Optional: To add, delete, or change the order of reports in the Shared Sets

folder, right-click the folder and click Manage Shared Set Reports.

7. Create or open a crosstab target report that you want to refer to the shared set

definition.

130 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

8. In the Source tab , open the Shared Sets folder. Open the source report

that contains the shared set definition that you want to use.

9. Add the shared set definition into your target report.

10. Right-click the shared set in the target report and click Edit Set.

11. In the Set Definition box, select the shared set.

12. Click Edit

. The Set Reference Properties window opens.

13. Set the Inclusion property.

a. Select Run time to retrieve the latest shared set definition every time that

the report runs.

b. Select Design time to store the shared set definition in the target report.

This definition is used until you refresh it.

14. Click OK, then save the report.

Managing shared set references

After you share a set to make it available for inclusion in multiple reports, you can

manage references to it. You can also copy it locally.

You can manage set references in the following ways:

v Create a copy of a shared set to be used in a report.

Converting a shared set reference into a copy replaces the reference with a set

definition that is stored in the report. The report does not reference the shared

set from the source report. Any changes that are made to the shared set in the

source report are not reflected in the target report. Instead of converting the

reference to a copy, you can change the Inclusion property of the reference to

Design time. Design time references use a static stored version of the shared set

definition. However, you can later change the Inclusion property to be Run

time to use the latest shared set definition.

v Modify the properties of a set reference in the target report, including its

Inclusion property. You can also modify a set reference in the target report by

changing the set definition it refers to.

v Refresh an existing set reference after a set changed in a source report and you

want to use the updated set. To use the updated set if the Inclusion property is

set to Design time, you must refresh its reference.

v Review problems with an existing set reference.

Procedure

1. Open the target report that contains the reference to the shared set that you

want to work with.

2. Click Tools > Manage Shared Set References.

3. To create a copy of a shared set to be used in a report, do the following steps:

a. Select the shared set reference that you want to copy.

b. Click Convert Reference to Copy. The Confirm Convert window is

displayed.

c. If you want to convert the set reference into a copy that is stored in this

report, click Yes. If you do not want to create a copy, click No.

Important: If you convert the set reference into a copy, it is not updated

when the set in the original report changes.

4. To modify an existing set reference in a target report, do the following steps:

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 131

a. Select the shared set reference that you want to modify.

b. Click Edit Reference.

c. To modify the set reference properties, select the reference, then click Edit

. The Set Reference Properties window opens. You can now modify the

set reference properties.

d. To modify the definition of the set, click New

. The Set Definition

window opens. You can now modify the set definition.

5. To refresh an existing set reference after a set changed in a source report, do the

following steps:

a. Select the set reference that you want to refresh.

b. Click Refresh Reference.

6. To review problems with an existing set reference in a target report, do the

following steps:

a. Select the set reference that is causing the problem.

b. Review and act upon the message that is displayed.

7. Save the report.

Join Multiple Sets

If you have more than one set in your report and you want to perform operations

on both sets, you can join multiple sets into one large set.

Procedure

Select the sets, click the explore button , click Union into One Set, and click

Remove Duplicates or Keep Duplicates.

Tip: To edit the union, click the explore button

, and click Edit Set.

Edit the Operations Performed on a Set

You can view the definition of a set to see, change, add, or delete operations that

are performed on the set.

The definition of a set shows you, in the graphical tree, the history of all the

operations that are performed on the set.

You can see and change the order in which the operations are performed. For

example, you apply a top three filter and then exclude one member. Your set now

contains only two members. You can choose to exclude the member before the top

three filter so that your set still contains three members.

Procedure

1. Select a set.

2. Click the explore button

and click Edit Set.

Tip: You can also right-click the set and click Edit Set.

A graphical tree shows all the operations that are performed on the set of

members.

132 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

3. To see the details of an operation, hover your mouse over an operation node.

4. To change the order of an operation, click the operation node, and click the

right or left arrow.

5. To edit an operation, click the operation node and click the edit button

6. To add a new operation, click the new button

Create Page Layers

When working with dimensional data, you can create page layers in a report to

show values for each member on a separate page. For example, your report

contains payroll information for the entire company. You want to view values for

each department on a separate page.

After you create page layers, a caption appears in the header to indicate the

contents of each page. You can navigate between the different pages using links

below the report.

Creating page layers is similar to using context filters. However, with context

filters, values are filtered according to the member you add to the Context filter

area. With page layers, the report is split into a separate page for each child of the

member you add to the Page layers area.

When you produce reports in Excel 2007 format, you can configure IBM Cognos

Business Intelligence to dynamically name the Excel worksheet tabs, based on the

data items that are used to break pages. For example, you specify to break pages

by Product line. In Excel 2007 output, the five worksheet tabs that are generated

are named Camping Equipment, Mountaineering Equipment, Personal Accessories,

Outdoor Protection, and Golf Equipment. To dynamically name Excel worksheet

tabs, ask your administrator to add the

RSVP.EXCEL.PAGEGROUP_WSNAME_ITEMVALUE advanced setting to the

report service. For more information, see the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence

Administration and Security Guide.

Procedure

1. In the source tree, select or search for one or more items on which to filter.

2. Drag the item into the Page layers section of the overview area.

The crosstab shows the results for the children of the selected item on separate

pages, and a list appears under Page layers.

Tip: To navigate between pages, click Page down and Page up below the

report.

3. To replace the page breaks with items from the same dimension, select an item

from the list. To delete the page breaks, from the list, click Delete. To delete all

the page breaks, right-click the Page layers area and click Delete All.

Related tasks:

“Dividing data into sections” on page 167

Create sections in a report to show a separate list, chart, visualization, or crosstab

for a data item.

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 133

Sort Dimensional Data

You can sort items to view them in your preferred order. For example, if your bar

chart shows revenue for each product line by sales region, you can display product

lines from the most revenue to the least across the x-axis.

By default, IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced retrieves items in the order defined

in the data source. OLAP data sources always have a defined order.

Dimensionally-modeled relational data sources may not always have a defined

order; the data modeler defines the sorting options in the model. For more

information about data modeling, see the IBM Cognos Framework Manager User

Guide.

Sorting members in a set by their labels

You can sort the members within a set based on their labels or captions.

For example, a set contains geographical regions and you want to sort the regions

within the set in descending alphabetical order.

By default, when you select Sort Set - Ascending or Sort Set - Descending, sets

are sorted based on captions. You can also perform advanced sorting to sort sets

using an intersection (tuple) or using a member property.

Only extended data items that represent sets support set sorting. This type of

sorting is performed in the query.

Note: Before you can perform this sorting, you must first create sets for the

members in your report.

You cannot sort data items from different dimensions that are intermixed.

Procedure

1. Select a set to sort.

2. Click the sort button

and under Sort by Label, click Ascending or

Descending.

Tip: To remove a sort order, click Don't Sort.

Related tasks:

“Create a Set of Members” on page 128

Use sets to group members that are logically related for various actions, such as

formatting, nesting, and sorting.

Sorting sets by value

You can sort members in the sets on the opposite axis based on the value of a

member or measure that you select.

For example, a crosstab contains years inserted as individual members in the

columns, product lines inserted as a member set in the rows, and revenue as the

measure. You select 2012, click the sort button

and sort by value in

descending order. The values in the 2012 column are sorted.

134 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Note: Before you can perform this sorting, you must first create sets for the

members in your report.

In nested crosstabs, items are sorted based on the values of the innermost nested

row or column of the opposite axis. For example, a crosstab contains years in the

columns and retailers nested within product line in the rows. Select 2012, sort in

descending order, and you see retailers listed from the largest value to the smallest

value for each product line.

Procedure

1. Select a member or measure to sort.

For example, to sort a set in the row axis, select a member or measure in the

column axis.

2. Click the sort button

, and under Sort by Value, click Ascending or

Descending.

Tip: To remove a sort order, click Don't Sort by Value.

Related tasks:

“Create a Set of Members” on page 128

Use sets to group members that are logically related for various actions, such as

formatting, nesting, and sorting.

Sorting sets by member properties or tuples

You can perform advanced sorting in a report to sort a row or column by a

member property or tuple.

You can sort using the property of a member. For example, your report includes

employee names and you want to sort the employees using the gender property.

You can also sort using an intersection of members, also known as a tuple. For

example, you want to sort the employees using the value of sick days taken for the

year 2006.

Before you begin

Before you can perform this sorting, you must first create sets for the members in

your report.

Procedure

1. Select a set to sort.

2. Click the sort button

on the toolbar, and click Edit Set Sorting.

3. Specify the sorting options that you want.

Figure 43. A crosstab sorted in descending order by revenue in 2012

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 135

4. If you are sorting members from different levels and want to preserve the

hierarchy, select the Hierarchized sorting check box.

5. If you want to sort items using a member property, under Sort by, click

Property and click the drop down arrow to select the member property you

want to use.

6. If you want to sort items using an intersection of members, or tuple, under Sort

by, click Intersection (tuple) and click the ellipsis (...) button. Then, from

Available members and measures, select the items you want to use and click

the right arrow to move them to the Intersection members and measures list.

Related tasks:

“Create a Set of Members” on page 128

Use sets to group members that are logically related for various actions, such as

formatting, nesting, and sorting.

Format Dimensional Data

Format data in a report to improve readability. For example, you can show all date

values in the order year, month, and day. If you do not specify any formatting,

data is formatted according to the properties set in the model. If the properties

were not set in the model, data is formatted according to the International

Components for Unicode (ICU) formats.

You can also format data based on a condition.

When using an IBM Cognos cube or a SAP BW as a data source, mixed currency

values use the asterisk character (*) as the unit of measure. Mixed currency values

occur when you calculate values with different currencies.

Data formats are not applied in delimited text (CSV) and XML report outputs.

Procedure

1. In the work area, right-click a data item and click Style, Data Format.

Tip: You can also use the data format button

in the style toolbar.

2. In the Format type box, click a format type.

The properties that you can set for the selected format type appear in the

Properties box.

3. Set the properties that you want.

For properties in which you type meta-characters that represent certain types of

information, such as YYYY-MM-DD for dates, the meta-characters required

depend on the authoring language specified for the report.

If you specify a value for the Pattern property, all other formatting properties

are ignored, with the following exceptions:

v Missing Value Characters

v Zero Value Characters

v Negative Pattern

Some properties are locale-sensitive and should only be changed with caution.

Results

The data formatting properties are applied. If a data item contains values in

multiple currencies, but only a subset of those currencies have defined formats, the

136 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

default format for the locale you are working in is applied to values for which no

format is specified.

Related concepts:

“Support for bidirectional content” on page 169

You can author reports that support bidirectional content. You can specify base text

direction, digit shaping, and container direction.

Specifying the Number of Decimals in Numbers

When specifying the number of decimals, IBM Cognos Business Intelligence uses

the IEEE 754 default rounding mode known as half even.

With half even rounding, numbers are rounded toward the nearest truncated value,

unless both truncated values are equidistant, in which case the value ending in an

even digit is chosen, as follows:

v If the digit immediately after the precision to be shown is greater than 5, the

number is rounded up.

v If the digit immediately after the precision to be shown is less than 5, the

number is rounded down.

v If the digit immediately after the precision is a 5, the number is rounded down

when the preceding digit is even and rounded up when the preceding digit is

odd.

For example, the number 78.5 is rounded to 78, while the number 73.5 is

rounded to 74.

In addition, if the maximum number of decimals is lower than the actual number

of decimals in the number, the number is rounded to the maximum number of

decimals.

Locale-sensitive Properties

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced contains an extensive library of customized

properties adapted to users from different regions who speak different languages.

For example, if a modeler specifies that a given data item is a currency, only the

proper currency symbol must be specified. When reports are created, Cognos

Workspace Advanced automatically adapts the format of the currency numbers to

each user according to the content language specified in IBM Cognos Connection.

When modelers or report authors specify properties, these properties override user

preferences and risk creating inconsistent formatting for users of other cultures. It

is usually much easier and safer to let Cognos Workspace Advanced take care of

formatting. For example, for the date format type, different regions use different

characters to represent the date separator. If you specify a date separator, you may

confuse users in other regions.

The following data formatting properties are locale-sensitive:

v Currency Symbol Position

v Date Separator

v Date Ordering

v Calendar Type

v Time Separator

v Display AM/PM Symbols

v Clock

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 137

v Decimal Symbol

v Negative Sign Position

v Thousands Separator

v Group Size (digits)

v Secondary Group Size (digits)

v Missing Value Characters

v Zero Value Characters

v Pattern

v Negative Pattern

Digit shaping in charts

When working with bidirectional content, you cannot specify digit shaping at the

chart level. You can specify digit shaping for the objects in charts.

To understand how digit shaping is applied to charts, you must know which chart

objects are considered text and which objects are considered numeric values.

The following list describes those chart objects that are considered text.

v chart title

v subtitle

v footer

v notes

v legend item

v legend title

v regression label

v marker label

v background image label

v axis titles

v discrete axis label (for example, category axis label, x-axis)

v baseline labels

The following list describes those chart objects that are considered numeric values.

v numeric axis label (for example, measure axis label, y-axis)

v numeric values that appear in the legend (you can select to show the first, last,

maximum, minimum value for each item in legends)

v numeric values that appear in the chart

The following list describes the different digit shaping options and how digit

shaping is applied to charts.

v The digit shape options for text objects, which include titles, footers, and labels,

are Default, None, National, and Contextual. Digit shape options for numeric

values are Default, None, and National. There is no Contextual option for

numeric values.

v By default, digit shaping is not applied to numbers that appear on an object that

is considered text. For example, if a chart shows year data on the x-axis and the

content language specified in IBM Cognos Connection is Arabic (Egypt), no digit

shaping is applied because the x-axis label is considered a string.

138 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

The following list describes the default digit shaping behavior for charts when the

content language is Arabic (Egypt).

v Numeric values that have a specific format, such as decimal or currency, are

displayed as Arabic-Indic.

v Except for matrix charts, numeric axis labels for charts are displayed in

European digits.

This is due to the way that charts are rendered. The engine used to render charts

does not perform any formatting for numeric axis labels. No locale information

is passed, and consequently the labels are displayed as European digits. To

display the labels as Arabic-Indic, select the digit shaping option National.

Matrix charts are rendered using International Components for Unicode (ICU) to

format numbers. Locale information is passed and the numbers are shaped

accordingly. For example, when the content language is Arabic (Egypt), ICU

displays numbers as Arabic-Indic.

v Numbers within text labels are displayed as is. That is, no digit shaping is

applied.

The following list describes the default digit shaping behavior for charts when the

content language is Thai.

v Numeric values that have a specific format, such as decimal or currency, are

displayed as European digits.

v Numbers within text labels are displayed as is. That is, no digit shaping is

applied.

Related concepts:

“Support for bidirectional content” on page 169

You can author reports that support bidirectional content. You can specify base text

direction, digit shaping, and container direction.

Suppress Empty Cells in Dimensional Reporting

Sparse data may result in crosstabs showing empty cells. For example, a crosstab

that matches employees with products results in many rows of empty values for

the revenue measure if the employee does not sell those products.

You can suppress rows, columns, or rows and columns based on divide by zero,

missing, and overflow values. Suppressing rows or columns without data gives

you a more concise view or your report.

Calculations are performed before suppression is applied. If you have multiple

crosstabs or charts, you must select one in order to access suppression options.

Access to the suppression feature depends on the settings in your modeling

component, IBM Cognos Transformer, IBM Cognos Framework Manager, and IBM

Cognos Administration.

You can also use filters to suppress null cells in your reports. Using filters ensures

that calculations take suppression into account. You may also obtain better report

performance because the filtering is done at the data source.

Procedure

1. From the Data menu, click Suppress and click Suppression Options.

2. Under Suppress, choose what sections to suppress.

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 139

3. Under Suppress the following, choose which values to suppress.

Related tasks:

“Filtering dimensional data” on page 150

Use filters to remove unwanted data from reports. Data is shown in the report

only if it meets the filter criteria.

Limitations When Formatting Empty Cells in SAP BW Data

Sources

When working with SAP BW data sources, if the SAP BW server administrator

configured custom formatting for empty cells on the SAP BW server, this custom

format does not appear in IBM Cognos Business Intelligence reports. Ask your

administrator to configure the formatting of empty cells in IBM Cognos Business

Intelligence.

Example - Suppress Zeros in Rows and Columns in an

Existing Report

You are a report writer at The Sample Outdoors Company, which sells sporting

equipment. You have a report that compares current year data to previous year

data. You want to suppress zeros in the report to make the report more concise.

You use the zero suppression tool to set the level of suppression.

Procedure

1. Open the Sample Outdoors Company Balance Sheet as at Dec. 31, 2012 report.

2. From the Data menu, click Suppress

and click Suppression Options.

3. Under Suppress the following, click Rows and columns.

4. Under Suppress the following type of values, select the Zero values check

box.

5. Run the report.

Rows and columns containing zeros are hidden.

Summarize Dimensional Data

Summarize data in your reports to obtain a total, count, average, minimum,

maximum, and so on.

Figure 44. Balance sheet with zero suppression applied in rows and columns

140 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

After you add summary rows or columns, you can move them by dragging them

elsewhere in the report.

You can also use summary functions in custom calculations.

The following table defines the different types of summaries.

Table 16. Descriptions of types of summaries for dimensional data

Summary Description

Automatic Summary Uses the default summary for the data item,

as specified in the data source.

For example, a data item that represents part

numbers likely uses count as the default

summary.

Total Adds all values, excluding null and missing

values.

Count Counts all values, excluding null and

missing values.

Average Adds all values, and then divides by the

count of values, excluding null and missing

values.

Minimum Selects the smallest value, excluding null

and missing values.

Maximum Selects the largest value, excluding null and

missing values.

Procedure

1. Click the row or column to summarize.

2. On the toolbar, click the summarize button

and select a summary type.

The summary appears as a new row or column.

3. To change the summary label, right-click the label and type a new name, such

as Total (February sales).

Tip: To remove a summary, select the summary label, and click the delete

button

Related concepts:

“Using Dimensional Calculations” on page 143

Insert a calculation to make your report more meaningful by deriving additional

information from the data source. For example, you create an invoice report, and

you want to see the total sale amount for each product ordered. Create a calculated

column that multiplies the product price by the quantity ordered.

Creating dimensional custom groups

Create custom groups to classify existing data items into groups that are

meaningful to you.

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 141

You can reduce the number of values into smaller, more meaningful groups. For

example, you can change a list of employees into my team and others.

When you are working with dimensional data and crosstabs or charts, you can

create custom groups only on sets of members. After you create a custom group in

a set, the members in the set are replaced by the custom groups.

When you create custom groups in a list, a new column is added to the report,

with the name data_item (Custom). You can use this new column to group or sort

the report. If you want to show only the new groups, you can delete the original

column.

When you are creating custom groups on sets of members, consider the following

constraints:

v Members included in a custom group must be from the same level in a

hierarchy.

v If you insert a hierarchy that is used in a custom group elsewhere in the data

container, it must be inserted as a sibling of the custom group.

v Automatic aggregation on a custom group might not work as expected. For

example, you might encounter error cells (- -).

Procedure

1. To quickly add custom groups in a crosstab that includes sets of members, do

the following steps:

a. Select the members that you want to include in a custom group.

b. Right-click one of the selected members, then click Explore > Create a

Custom Group from selected items. The custom group is created.

c. To change the name or composition of the custom group, right-click it,

then click Explore > Edit custom_group_name.

2. To quickly add members to a custom group in a crosstab that includes sets of

members, do the following steps:

a. Select the members that you want to include in an existing custom group

and select the custom group.

b. Right-click the custom group, then click Explore > Add to

custom_group_name.

3. To quickly ungroup a custom group in a crosstab that includes sets of

members, do the following steps:

a. Right-click the custom group, then click Explore > Ungroup

custom_group_name.

4. To add custom groups in a crosstab or chart that includes sets of members, do

the following steps:

a. Right-click a set and click Edit Set.

b. Click New

and select Custom Grouping.

c. In the Custom Grouping window, click New Custom Group

d. Type a New group name.

e. Select members from the Available members list and move them to the

Members list.

5. To add custom groups to a list, do the following steps:

142 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

a. Click the column that you want to group on and from the Data menu,

select Calculate > Define Custom Groups.

Tip: You can click either the column heading or one of the column cells.

b. Click New Group Entry

c. To group by values that you select, click New Select Values Group, type a

New Group Name, select the required values from the Values box, and

move the values to the Selected Values box.

d. To group by a range of values, click New Range Group, type a New

Group Name, and enter the From and To values.

6. To quickly make other changes, do the following steps:

a. Right-click the custom group and click Edit set.

b. In the Set Definition window, select the custom grouping and click Edit

The Custom Grouping window opens.

7. If you do not want a group name to be displayed for remaining values, select

Do not show remaining values. Clicking this option produces empty cells for

remaining values.

8. If you want the group name for remaining values to match each value, select

Use each remaining value as a group name.

9. If you want to specify your own group name for all remaining values, select

Group remaining values into a single group and type the name that you

want.

10. If you are adding custom groups in a list, under New data item name, select

either the default data item name or type a new data item name.

Using Dimensional Calculations

Insert a calculation to make your report more meaningful by deriving additional

information from the data source. For example, you create an invoice report, and

you want to see the total sale amount for each product ordered. Create a calculated

column that multiplies the product price by the quantity ordered.

You build calculations in the expression editor using functions.

If a calculation is used in multiple reports, or by different report authors, ask your

modeler to create the calculation as a standalone object in the model and include it

in the relevant package.

Calculation Solve Order

When calculations in the rows and columns of a report intersect, calculations are

performed in the following order:

v addition or subtraction

v multiplication or division

v aggregation (rollup)

v remaining arithmetic functions: absolute, round, round down, average,

minimum, maximum, medium, count

v percentage, % difference (growth) or % of total

v rank, quartile, quantile, or percentile

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 143

If both calculations have the same precedence, for example, if they are both

additions, then the row calculation takes precedence.

If you have the necessary permissions, you can open your report in IBM Cognos

Report Studio and override the order of precedence by changing the solve order

property for a data item. For more information, see the Report Studio User Guide.

Limitations of Calculations

Use only the expressions and functions available in Cognos Workspace Advanced,

and follow their syntax. For best results, do not build calculations or summaries

over other calculations that were authored in Report Studio.

Minimal checking exists for calculations. If your calculation uses an invalid

expression, your report results may contain unexpected values.

In addition, you should define member summaries as follows:

summary_function (currentMeasure within set set_reference)

where set_reference is a level or set inserted from the Source tab

Unless otherwise required, summary_function should be the aggregate function. If

you use an explicit summary function, you may encounter problems with

measures (such as profit margin, distinct count, and so on) that have complex

rollup values, and/or scenario or account dimension members that do not roll up.

Know your data, and confirm with the owner of the cube where overriding the

automatic aggregation is safe.

Because of the these limitations, summaries of calculations may not provide

reliable values. For convenience, you may need to build reports where row

summaries and calculated member columns intersect. In such reports, these

intersections may contain unexpected values. In contrast, row calculations

intersecting with column aggregates using the aggregate function are safe because

the calculation is performed on the reliably summarized values.

If you need to create more complex expressions, use Report Studio.

Create a Simple Member Calculation

When working with dimensional data sources, you can select members in your

report and create simple calculations. In addition to simple arithmetic calculations,

you can perform numeric, string, date and time, and interval calculations.

The following table defines the available numeric calculations.

Calculation Description

- data item When you select one numeric data item ,

inserts the negative of the current value.

Absolute For numeric data items, inserts the absolute

value.

144 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Calculation Description

Round For numeric data items, inserts a number

rounded to the nearest integer.

Round up For numeric data items, inserts a number

rounded to the nearest integer.

Round down For numeric data items, inserts a number

rounded to the integer closest to zero.

Rollup Summarizes, or rolls up, all the values in a

hierarchy.

% Calculates the value of the first item selected

as a percentage of the second item.

% Difference Calculates the difference between two items

as a percentage.

% Of Base Takes the first selected member from edge A

and the second selected member from edge

B. The calculation result of a percent of base

compare all of the values for member A to

the intersect value of members A and B.

Note: This calculation is only available if

you select two members from different

hierarchies, each from a different edge.

Custom Allows you to specify your own value when

performing a simple arithmetic calculation.

Also allows you to change the order of

operands, or type a custom name for the

new calculated row or column.

The following table defines the available string calculations.

Calculation Description

Remove trailing spaces For string data items, removes any extra

spaces that appear after the last character in

the string. Spaces between words are not

removed.

Extra spaces can sometimes cause

unexpected results when you sort, filter, or

search.

First ? characters For string data items, truncates the text to

show only the first number of characters

that you specify.

Last ? characters For string data items, truncates the text to

show only the last number of characters that

you specify.

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 145

The following table defines the available date and time calculations.

Calculation Description

Add ? years, Add ? months, Add ? days,

Add ? hours, Add ? minutes,orAdd ?

seconds

When selecting one date or time data item,

adds the specified number of years, months,

days, hours, minutes, or seconds to the

selected value.

Year, Month, Day, Hour, Minute, and

Second

When selecting one date or time data item,

shows the year, month number, day number,

hour, minute, or second value.

Years between, Months between, Days

between, Hours between, Minutes

between, and Seconds between

When selecting two date or time data item,

shows the number of years, months, days,

hours, minutes, or seconds between the two

value.

The following table defines the available interval calculations.

Calculation Description

Days For interval data items, such as number of

days between two dates

If you want to create a more advanced calculation that uses mathematical functions

or if you want to create a calculated member, calculated measure, set expression, or

value expression, instead create a query calculation.

Procedure

1. Select the items in your report to calculate.

Tip: Shift+click or Ctrl+click to select multiple items.

2. Click the insert calculation button

and select the calculation to perform.

Note: Only calculations that are applicable to the items that you have selected

appear.

3. To change the order of the operands or the name of the calculated item added

to the report, click Custom.

Results

The calculation appears as a new row or column in your report.

Limitations When Summarizing Measures in DMR Data

Sources

There are limitations when summarizing dimensionally-modeled relational (DMR)

measures and semi-additive measures in crosstabs using the aggregation function

count distinct, median, standard-deviation,orvariance. The following

limitations can produce empty or error cells when the report is run:

146 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

v The aggregation function must apply to all members of a level or all children of

a member.

v Error cells are produced when drilling down on a crosstab that has two nested

levels.

If you do not consider these limitations in a calculation, the report may return

inaccurate results.

Creating a Query Calculation

When working with dimensional data, insert a query calculation into your report

to add a new row or column with values that are based on a calculation. For

example, you create a query calculation named Euros that converts dollars to euros

by multiplying an existing dollar measure by a conversion rate. Euros can then be

displayed to end users in a separate row or column.

In IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced, you can create the following types of

calculations:

v Create calculated members or calculated measures where the expression is a

member or a tuple-based (as opposed to property-based) value expression. For

example, [2005] - [2004] is a calculated member and [Revenue] - [Planned

Revenue] is a calculated measure.

v Use set expressions to create calculated sets of members. For example, children

([2004]) is a set expression that displays the child members of 2004.

You must base each set expression on a hierarchy and the set expression must

contain only members from this hierarchy.

v Create value expressions when you want to insert a string, number, date, or

interval value.

You can also create a calculation that uses an intersection (tuple) that you already

defined.

Assigning a Hierarchy or Dimension

You must assign each query calculation to a hierarchy or dimension. For best

results, select the hierarchy or dimension upon which your calculation focuses. For

example, if your calculated member is based on years, select the Time hierarchy. If

you create a calculated measure, select the Measures dimension.

Select only a hierarchy that cannot affect the value of the calculation. For example,

the hierarchy Camping Equipment has the same value regardless of its Products

context as it appears in the report. Therefore,

v the calculation ([Camping Equipment]-[Mountaineering Equipment]) has a

well-defined meaning only in the Products hierarchy, so select that hierarchy.

v the calculation tuple ([Revenue], [Camping Equipment]) can be assigned to

either the Products or Measures hierarchy, as it is not affected by either context.

v the calculation ([Revenue] - [Camping Equipment]) does not have a well-defined

meaning in any hierarchy, and is not reliable.

Automatic Database Aggregation

You can use automatic database aggregation only when using IBM Cognos

PowerCubes and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS) data sources.

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 147

Quality of Service Indicators

Not all data sources support functions the same way. The data modeler can set a

quality of service indicator on functions to give a visual clue about the behavior of

the functions. Report authors can use the quality of service indicators to determine

which functions to use in a report. The quality of service indicators are as follows:

v not available (X)

This function is not available for any data source in the package.

v limited availability (!!)

The function is not available for some data sources in the package.

v limited support (!)

The function is available for all data sources in the package but is not naturally

supported for that data source. IBM Cognos Business Intelligence uses a local

approximation for that function. This approximation may cause poor

performance and unexpected results.

v unconstrained (no symbol)

The function is available for all data sources.

Using Quotation Marks in Literal Strings

When inserting literal strings in an expression, you must enclose the string in

single quotation marks. If the string contains a quotation mark, it must be

modified. For example, if you want to insert the string ab'c, you must type 'ab''c'.

Create a Query Calculation

If you are using a IBM DB2

data source, the subtract operator is invalid if you

combine the datatypes timestamp2 and packed decimal.

When creating an expression that for use in a double-byte environment, such as

Japanese, the only special characters that work are ASCII-7 and ~ -- ||-$¢£¬.

Procedure

1. From the Toolbox tab , drag Query Calculation to the report.

2. In the Name box, type a meaningful name for your expression.

For example, if you are calculating the difference between 2007 revenue and

2006 revenue, you could name your expression 2007 - 2006 Revenue.

3. Click the type of calculation that you want to create, and select the hierarchy or

dimension that contains the data that is the focus of your calculation.

4. In the Available Components pane, define the calculation:

v Specify how you want to view the available data items in your data package

by clicking the view member tree button

or the view package tree

button

v To add data items that are not shown in the report, on the source tab

double-click the data items.

v To add data items that are in the report but not necessarily in the model,

such as calculations, double-click the data items on the data items tab

148 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

v To add functions, summaries, and operators, on the functions tab ,

double-click elements.

Tip: To filter the visible functions, summaries, and operators in the

Available Components pane, click the filter button

and filter by the

function type, what the function returns, or what the function acts on.

Tip: You can also type the calculation directly in the Expression Definition

box. When typing date values, ensure that the date format is correct for your

database type.

5. Click the validate button

Any validation errors appear on the Errors tab of the Information pane.

Tip:

v To show or hide the Available Components pane, click the blue arrow to the

right of the pane.

v To show or hide the Information pane, click the blue arrow above the pane.

v To copy and paste expression components in the Expression Definition

pane, use the copy button

and the paste button .

Create an Intersection (Tuple)

When working with dimensional data, an intersection, also known as a tuple, is

useful for obtaining a value from the combination of two or more members that

you specify. Each member must be from a different hierarchy. The intersection can

include only one measure.

For example, the intersection (Revenue, 2004, Cooking Gear) shows the revenue

value for the year 2004 and for the product line Cooking Gear.

Procedure

1. From the Toolbox tab , drag the Intersection (Tuple) object to the report.

2. From the Available members and measures pane, select items and click the

right arrow to move them to the Intersection members and measures box. You

can also use items from the Calculated Members and Measures tab

3. To define the hierarchy for this intersection, click a parent object in the

Intersection hierarchy box.

Drill on a Member or Set

You can drill up or down on members and sets within IBM Cognos Workspace

Advanced.

In crosstabs, drilling down on a member adds the member's children so the

crosstab displays both the member and its children. Drilling up on a member adds

the member's parent set so the crosstab displays both the member and its parent

set.

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 149

In charts, drilling down on a legend member or x-axis member displays that

member's children. Drilling up on a legend title or axis title displays the parent set

of the member you drilled on.

Note: You can enable drill-up or drill-down links or double-click drilling in the

Edit Options.

To allow drilling in the report output, such as HTML output, you must enable

drilling (Data, Drill Options).

Procedure

1. Double-click a member to drill down.

Tip: You can also click a member, click the explore button

, and click Drill

Down or Drill Up. Or you can right-click a member and click Drill Down or

Drill Up.

2. Double-click the parent to drill up.

Related tasks:

“Create a Drill-up and Drill-down Report” on page 157

When working with dimensional or dimensionally-modeled relational (DMR) data

sources, you can create reports that allow the reader to drill down to lower-level

data sets or drill up to higher-level data sets.

Filtering dimensional data

Use filters to remove unwanted data from reports. Data is shown in the report

only if it meets the filter criteria.

When working with dimensional data sources, you can filter only by members and

measures. Filtering is not available for data items that represent a single member

or calculated member.

For predictable results, when using the dimensional reporting style, use context

filters, limit data to top or bottom values, and filter the members within a set. Not

following these guidelines might yield unexpected results. In addition, the results

may change depending on what else is in the report, the data source used, and

whether the package uses the dynamic query mode.

You can use filters to suppress null cells in your reports. Using filters ensures that

calculations take suppression into account. If you want to perform calculations

before suppression is applied, use the Suppress option.

If you filter values that are floating-point numbers, you may encounter imprecise

filtering results due to rounding or data truncation. Floating-point numbers may

appear differently in the report than how they are stored in the data source. To

ensure accurate results, your filter criteria should account for any rounding issues.

By default, filters on measures are applied after automatic aggregation because, by

definition, dimensional data is aggregated. For members, filters are applied before

aggregation, which reduces the amount of data received from the data source. You

can change whether filters are applied before or after aggregation using the Edit

filters option.

150 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Procedure

1. Click the data item on which you want to filter.

Tip: If you select two or more items, you can filter using a range.

2. On the toolbar, click the filter button

3. Select a filter condition from the list.

Results

The filter is applied to the report.

Related concepts:

“Relational and dimensional reporting styles” on page 17

You can create reports in IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced using either a

relational reporting style or a dimensional reporting style depending on the type of

data source you use.

Related tasks:

“Suppress Empty Cells in Dimensional Reporting” on page 139

Sparse data may result in crosstabs showing empty cells. For example, a crosstab

that matches employees with products results in many rows of empty values for

the revenue measure if the employee does not sell those products.

Creating a context filter

When you are working with dimensional data, you can use context filters, or slicer

filters, to quickly focus your report on a particular view of the data.

For example, the following crosstab contains product lines in the rows, years in the

columns, and revenue as the measure. You want to filter the values to show the

revenue for only Web orders from Asia Pacific. To change the context, you drag

Asia Pacific and Web from the source tree to the Context filter section of the

overview area. The crosstab then shows the revenue for only Asia Pacific and Web.

Changing context changes only the values that appear. It does not limit or change

the items in the rows or columns.

The members that are used as the context filter appear in the report header when

you run the report.

Any summary values in the report are recomputed to reflect the results that are

returned by the context filter.

You can create multiple context filters to filter across two or more different

hierarchies.

Figure 45. A crosstab with a context filter that is applied

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 151

Context filters are different from other filters. When you filter data, members that

do not meet the filter criteria are removed from the report. A context filter does not

remove members from a report. Instead, their values are filtered and you see blank

cells.

Important: When you create a context filter, use only data items that are not

contained in the rows or columns of your report or in the axes of your chart. If

you use data items in your context filter that are already present in your report or

chart, the result set is sparse. A result set is sparse if it contains many null values

relative to the number of values with actual numbers. Because null values still

must be processed, the time to run the report is extended unnecessarily. For

example, you create a crosstab report that contains Product Line in the rows, then

apply a context filter that includes only the Camping Equipment product line. The

resulting report contains many null values and might take a long time to run.

You can apply only one member per hierarchy in a context filter. If you add more

than one member into a context filter, a list of all members from that hierarchy is

displayed. You can choose which one to include in the filter. For example, you

have a crosstab that contains product lines in the rows, years in the columns, and

revenue as the measure. If you add the Web orders and Telephone order methods

into a context filter, a list appears that contains all Order Methods. You choose the

specific Order Method that you want to include in the context filter.

Procedure

1. From the Source tab , select or search for one or more items on which to

filter.

2. Drag the item that you want to filter on into the Context filter section of the

overview area.

3. To change context, select a new item from the Context filter box.

Limiting data to top or bottom values

You want to focus your report on the items of greatest significance to your

business question. For example, you want to identify your top 100 customers and

what that group of customers is worth.

You can limit the data to the top or bottom values of a set. This keeps the amount

of data shown in the work area small, even when using large data sources.

You can define a top or bottom rule by specifying

v a number, such as the 50 top or bottom performing sales people

v a percentage, such as customers who contribute to the top 10% of overall

revenue

v a cumulative sum, such as customers who contribute to the first ten million

dollars of overall revenue

If the selected set contains a user-defined filter, the top or bottom rule applies only

to the included values. For example, if you apply a filter to show only retailers

with revenue greater than one million dollars, the bottom rule applies to the lowest

values within those results.

You can filter a set of members to show only those at the top or bottom and base

the filter on the measure you are using and the set of members on the opposite

edge. You can also specify a custom filter.

152 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Procedure

1. Click the set that you want to filter, click the explore button , click To p o r

Bottom, and then click one of the filtering options.

Tip: You can also right-click the member.

2. If the filtering option that you want is not listed, click Custom.

3. In the Top or Bottom dialog box, click To p to filter to the top values or Bottom

to filter to the bottom values.

4. To choose how and how much you want to filter, click Count, Percent,orSum

and type the number of data items to show, the percent of data items to show,

or the value to sum.

5. Choose the intersection on which to base your filter by clicking the ellipsis (...)

button and selecting the members and measure for the intersection from either

the Source tab or the Calculated Members and Measures tab.

Tip: To edit the top or bottom filters, click the explore button

, and click

Edit Set.

Filtering the members within a set

You can remove members from within a set by specifying filter conditions so that

only the members that you require remain.

You can filter a set based on

v member captions

For example, your set includes employee names and you want to keep only the

employees with names that begin with a specific letter.

v properties that are numeric or strings

For example, your set includes employee names and you want to filter

employees using the gender property.

v intersection of values (tuple)

For example, you want to keep only the employees who used less than ten sick

days for the year 2008.

If you want to create a more complex filter, you can combine multiple conditions

using AND, OR, and NOT operators. By default, multiple conditions are combined

with an AND operator, which means that all conditions must be met for the filter

to take effect.

Filtering the members in a set is not the same as relation detail or summary filters.

Procedure

1. Select a set.

2. From the toolbar, click the explore button

and click Filter Set.

3. Select how you want to filter.

v If you want to filter the set using a caption, click Caption.

v If you want to filter the set using a member property, click Property and

select from the drop-down list.

v If you want to filter the set using an intersection of members, or tuple, click

Intersection (tuple) and click the ellipsis (...) button. Then, from Available

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 153

members and measures, select the desired items and click the right arrow to

move them to the Intersection members and measures list.

4. Specify the Operator and Value to complete your condition and click OK.

5. To add additional conditions, click the new button

6. If you include multiple conditions in your filter, use the AND, OR, and NOT

operators to combine them.

v To add an operator, select the conditions that you want to combine, and click

an operator.

v To change an operator, double-click the operator to toggle among available

ones or select the operator and then select a different one from the list.

v To remove an operator, select it in the condition string, and then click the

delete button

7. To change a condition, click the edit button

Tip: To edit a filter, click the explore button

, and click Edit Set.

Creating a custom filter

Create custom filters when the values you want to use in your filter conditions do

not occur in your report.

You can use filters to create prompts in the report. Prompts provide questions that

help users to customize the information in a report to suit their own needs. For

example, you create a prompt so that users can select a region. Only data for the

specified region is retrieved and displayed in the report.

Procedure

1. Select the data item on which you want to filter.

Tip: If you select two or more items, you can filter by using a range.

2. On the toolbar, click the filter icon

3. Click Create Custom Filter.

4. Under Condition, select the type of condition you want.

5. Optional: Type a value to search for in the Keywords box. You can also paste a

list of values from a spreadsheet into the Keywords box. Optionally, modify the

search criteria by clicking the arrow beside the Keywords button. Then, click

Search.

6. Optional: If you are reporting on relational data, you can apply more text-based

filtering.

a. To choose specific data item values for the filter condition, in the Values

box, click Specific values and choose the values that you want to filter on.

Tip: You can search for values by typing a string in the Keywords box.

Click the arrow beside Search and select the search parameter that you

want to use. If you select Use Tab as keyword delimiter, you can add a tab

in the Keywords box only by copying and pasting a tab (or the string you

want to search on with a tab in it), from another application, such as

Notepad.

154 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

b. To filter values based on a pattern, in the Values box, click Starts with,

Ends with, Contains,orMatches SQL pattern, and type the pattern in the

Value box.

With the Matches SQL pattern choice, you can filter values by using

standard SQL syntax to create a SQL supported pattern. You can use a %

(percent) symbol to substitute for zero or more characters, or _ (underscore)

to substitute for one single character. For example, the pattern '%a_b_c%'

returns every value that contains the sequence 'a, any character, b, any

character, c' anywhere in the string.

If you search for patterns that include the '%' or '_' characters, specify an

escape character in the Escape character (optional) box. The value must be

a single character. When specified, each occurrence of the escape character

causes the next character to be treated as text and not as a special character.

For example, if you specify '\' as the escape character, entering TEST\% in

the Value box searches for the string 'TEST%' rather than a string that

begins with 'TEST' followed by any other characters. Similarly, entering

TEST\\\% searches for strings that begin with 'TEST\%'.

You can specify whether the filter condition is case-sensitive or not. A

case-sensitive filter is applied only when the data source supports

case-sensitive filtering.

Note: When a filter based on a pattern is converted into a prompt, users are

prompted to specify a pattern when the report is run.

7. Under Values, select your values. If you filter numeric data, select the type of

filter condition that you want to create: Specific values, Comparison,orRange.

8. If you want users to be prompted when they run the report, select the Prompt

for values when report is run in viewer check box.

9. If you want the filter to include null values, select the Include missing values

(NULL) check box.

Combining filter conditions

You can combine two or more filter conditions to do more complex filtering.

Combined filters allow you to create compound conditions that are grouped with

AND or OR conditions.

For example, you want to filter the columns Product line and Year in a report. The

specific data you want to retrieve is the quantity of Camping Equipment sold in

2010 and the quantity of Golf Equipment sold in 2009. To do this, you must create

a complex filter that combines several filter conditions.

Procedure

1. On the toolbar, click the filter icon .

2. Click Edit filters.

3. Click the new button

, select Combined, and click OK.

4. In the Create Filter window, select the data item on which you want to filter

and click OK.

5. Under Condition, select the type of condition you want.

6. Under Values, select your values. If you filter numeric data, select the type of

filter condition that you want to create: Specific values, Comparison,or

Range.

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 155

7. If you want users to be prompted when they run the report, select the Prompt

for values when report is run in viewer check box.

8. If you want the filter to include null values, select the Include missing values

(NULL) check box.

9. Click the operator that appears between the filters and click AND, OR,or

NOT to combine them.

10. Click the new condition button

, and specify a second filter condition.

11. Click the operator that appears between the filters and click AND, OR,or

NOT to combine them.

Editing filters

You can specify whether filters are mandatory and whether to apply them before

or after automatic aggregation.

Procedure

1. On the toolbar, click the filter button .

2. Click Edit filters.

3. To edit an existing filter, select the filter that you want to edit and click the edit

button

Tip: Click the new button

to add new filters.

4. To specify whether the filter is mandatory, in the Usage box, select an option.

5. To specify whether to apply filters before or after automatic aggregation, in the

Application box, select an option.

Removing filters

You can remove a single filter or all filters for your report if they are no longer

needed.

Procedure

1. On the toolbar, click the filter icon .

2. To remove all the filters in your report, click Remove all filters.

3. To remove a single filter, click Edit filters.

4. Select the filter that you want to remove and click the delete icon

Extended Data Items

Extended data items differ from the traditional, expression-based text strings by

enabling you to view details, select sets, sort sets, and apply contextual

calculations.

You can do the following with extended data items that are not available with

traditional data items:

v View details

You can select an extended data item and then, from the Data menu, click Data

Properties to see where the data item appears in the package and in the report

queries.

156 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

v Select member sets

You can select a member in a set to highlight it as the primary selection and the

other members as secondary selections.

v Sort sets

You can select an extended data item, click the sort button

, and click

Advanced Set Sorting to sort a set in ascending or descending order, to sort

hierarchically, and to sort by caption, by a property, or by an intersection (tuple).

v Apply contextual calculations

You can select an extended data item and then, from the Data menu, click

Calculate to see a contextual list of calculations that are available for this

extended data item.

Create a Drill-up and Drill-down Report

When working with dimensional or dimensionally-modeled relational (DMR) data

sources, you can create reports that allow the reader to drill down to lower-level

data sets or drill up to higher-level data sets.

Drilling up and down allows you to view more general or more detailed

information on your data within a predefined dimensional hierarchy (such as Years

- Year - Quarter - Month), without having to create different reports.

You must run the report before you can drill up or down.

Note: You cannot set drill options when you have opened a widget from a

workspace in IBM Cognos Workspace to edit it in IBM Cognos Workspace

Advanced.

Procedure

1. From the Data menu, click Drill Options.

2. In the Report output drill capabilities box, select the Allow drill-up and

drill-down check box.

By default, Cognos Workspace Advanced determines which items can be

drilled on, based on the dimensional structure.

Tip: If you want the report to be used as the source during a package

drill-through, select the Allow this report to be a package-based drill-through

source check box and click OK. For more information about package

drill-through, see the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Administration and

Security Guide.

Related tasks:

“Drill on a Member or Set” on page 149

You can drill up or down on members and sets within IBM Cognos Workspace

Advanced.

Chapter 9. Exploring Dimensional Data 157

158 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chapter 10. Formatting Reports

Format your report to make it more readable and to reflect company standards.

When you format a report in IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced, the formatting is

stored in a layout.

You can also format a report based on conditions.

Add a Header or Footer to a Report

Add a header or footer to make a report easier to read. Headers and footers are

containers in which you can add objects like text, images, and report expressions

such as the current date and page numbers.

When you create a new report, a header and footer is included by default. You can

insert a table in the header or footer to split it into multiple cells.

Before you begin

To see the headers and footers, ensure that the visual aids are turned on.

Procedure

1. From the Structure menu, click Headers & Footers, and then click Page Header

& Footer.

2. Select the appropriate check boxes, and click OK.

3. If you want to add objects to a header or footer, drag the object that you want

from the Toolbox tab

to the appropriate location.

Add Borders to an Object

You can add borders to objects in a report such as a cell, a column, a row, a header,

a footer, or to the whole report.

Once you define a style for an object, you can copy and reuse it on another object.

Procedure

1. In the work area, click the object to which you want to add a border.

Tip: To quickly select the parent of an object, click the object, and then click the

select ancestor button

in the Properties pane title bar.

2. From the style toolbar, use the all borders button

to specify the border

properties that you want.

Add Text

You can add text to a report. You can insert text in other objects, such as a block or

table cell, or directly in the report page.

You can also add multilingual text to a report.

Procedure

1. From the Toolbox tab , drag the Text Item object to the report.

2. Type the text and click OK.

Tip: You can also paste text from another part of the report.

Results

You can now format the text by changing the font, color, size, style, justification,

and alignment.

Specify the Font for a Report

You can specify the font properties for objects in a report.

Once you define a style for an object, you can copy and reuse it for another object.

Procedure

1. Click the object for which you want to specify the font.

Tip: To specify the default font for the entire report, click the page body.

2. From the style toolbar, specify the font properties that you want.

You can also right-click the object, and click Style and Font.

Tip: Type a list of fonts in the Family box if you are not sure whether a

specific font is installed on a user's computer. For example, if you type, Times

New Roman, IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced checks to see if Times New

Roman is installed. If it is not, Cognos Workspace Advanced checks for Arial. If

Arial is not installed, the monospace font used by the computer is used.

Results

If you clicked (Default) for any of the font properties, the default value for the

property is used. Default values are stored in a style sheet that is used across all

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence tools. You can modify default values by

applying different style classes.

Add Color to an Object

You can add background and foreground color to objects in the report.

Procedure

1. Select the object to which you want to add color.

Tip: To quickly select the parent of an object, click the object, and then click the

select ancestor button

in the Properties pane title bar.

2. From the Style menu, click Style.

3. Click Background Color or Foreground Color.

4. To apply an existing color, click the Web Safe Colors tab or Named Colors tab

and choose one of the available colors.

Use a named color to select a color from a small set of colors. Use Web safe

colors to select from 216 available colors.

160 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

5. To apply a custom color, click the Custom Color tab and type values in the

Red, Green, and Blue boxes.

The values must be hexadecimal.

Copy Object Formatting

You can quickly copy the formatting of items in your report, such as fonts, colors,

borders, and number formats, and apply that formatting to other items.

Procedure

1. Click an item that has the formatting to copy.

2. Do one of the following:

v To copy all the formatting applied to the item, click the pick up style button

, click the item to format, and then click the apply style button .

v To copy only one of the formatting styles, click the down arrow to the right

of the pick up style button and click the style to copy. Then click the item to

format and click the apply style button.

3. If you want to make changes to a style that you copied, click the down arrow

to the right of the pick up style button and click Edit Dropper Style.

4. In the Style dialog box, specify basic and advanced style characteristics.

Insert an Image in a Report

You can insert an image in a report. You can insert images in other objects, such as

blocks or table cells, directly in the report page or as the background image of

another object.

Before you begin

The images that you insert must first be uploaded to the IBM Cognos Business

Intelligence server or another Web server and must be .gif or .jpg format.

Procedure

1. From the Toolbox tab , drag the Image object to the report and then

double-click it.

2. In the Image URL dialog box, type the URL of the image to insert or click

Browse to go to the location containing the image.

To browse images on a Web server, you must enable Web-based Distributed

Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) on your Web server. For more

information about configuring Web servers, see the IBM Cognos Business

Intelligence Installation and Configuration Guide.

Add Background Effects

You can add background effects to enhance the appearance of your report.

You can enhance objects, such as data containers (lists, crosstabs, and charts),

headers, footers, page bodies, and so on with borders, gradient fill effects, drop

shadows, and background images. You can also apply background effects as a class

style.

Chapter 10. Formatting Reports 161

The background effect is rendered within the rectangle area that bounds the object.

To use a generated background in a chart, the chart must have a fixed size.

If the background image is complex and large, the size of the report output may be

affected proportionately.

Background effects are rendered only if the data container has a fixed height and

width; if a percentage size is used, the effects are ignored.

Resizing or overflow behavior is ignored for generated images in HTML reports.

Procedure

1. Click the object.

2. To choose a preset background effect, click the background effects presets

button

on the style toolbar, and then click a background.

3. Click the style button

4. Click the Advanced tab.

5. Click the edit button

beside the Background effects box.

6. Select one or more of the following:

v To apply a border, click Border and specify settings for border style, width,

color, corner radius for rounded rectangles, and transparency.

If the element also includes a fill with a transparency setting, select the

Allow transparent bleed check box to apply the same transparency to the

border.

v To apply a fill effect, click Fill and specify the settings. The fill effect can

either be a solid color, a gradient, or a pattern. You can define a gradient fill

effect as a linear, radial line, or radial rectangle gradient.

v To apply a drop shadow effect, click Drop Shadow and specify the shadow

color, transparency value, color, and offset settings. The default horizontal

and vertical offset is 5 pixels.

v To specify one or more images as a background, click Images. You can

specify the transparency value and the position for each defined image. You

can also specify a custom position for each image.

Related tasks:

“Add Background Effects to a Chart Object” on page 75

You can change the look of certain charts and chart objects by applying visual

effects such as drop shadows, borders, fills, texture effects, and bevel effects.

Insert Page Numbers in a Report

You can insert page numbers in a report and specify the number style to use.

You can select a predefined page numbering scheme or create a custom scheme.

You can easily insert page numbers using the Page Number object.

Procedure

1. From the Toolbox tab , drag Page Number to the report.

162 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Tip: When you create a new report using one of the existing report layouts,

Page Number is already inserted in the page footer.

2. Right-click the page number symbol and click Edit Number Style.

3. Choose the style to use.

The first three choices apply only to vertical page numbers. The remaining

choices specify how vertical and horizontal page values appear.

Note: The 1 of 3 number style works only for reports produced in PDF or

non-interactive HTML format. In HTML format, the 1 of 3 number style works

when viewing saved report outputs, as the entire report appears in a single

HTML page.

4. If you want to customize the choice that you made in the previous step, click

the edit button

, make your changes, and click OK.

A custom number style is created. If you later choose a different number style,

the custom style is removed from the list.

Tip: In the Custom Number Style dialog box, when you pause the pointer

over a box, a tooltip describes how that box affects page numbers. For example,

the Separator Text box contains the text, such as a hyphen, that separates page

values for both vertical and horizontal pages.

Insert Other Objects

In addition to text and images, the Toolbox tab contains other objects that you can

add to the report layout.

Object Description

Text item Inserts text.

Block Inserts an empty block, a container in which

you can insert other objects. This is useful

for controlling where objects appear.

Tip: You can use blocks to add space

between objects. However, empty blocks are

not rendered. You must insert an object or

specify the height and width.

Table Inserts a table, a container in which you can

insert other objects. This is useful for

controlling where objects appear.

Query Calculation Inserts a calculation.

Intersection (Tuple) Inserts an intersection (tuple).

Image Inserts an image.

Chapter 10. Formatting Reports 163

Object Description

Crosstab Space Inserts an empty cell on a crosstab edge.

Allows for the insertion of non-data cells on

an edge. Blank cells appear for the edge

when the report is run.

Insert this object when a crosstab edge does

not produce useful data and you want

blanks to appear in the cells instead.

Crosstab Space (with fact cells) Inserts an empty cell on a crosstab edge.

Allows for the insertion of non-data cells on

an edge. The contents of the fact cells for the

edge are rendered when a measure is added

or the default measure is specified.

If the crosstab space is nested, the scope of

the fact cells is the scope of the item that is

at the level before the space.

If the crosstab space is not nested and there

are no items nested below it, the scope of

the fact cells is the default measure.

List Inserts a list.

Crosstab Inserts a crosstab. You can insert multiple

crosstabs in your report layout.

Chart Inserts a chart. You can insert multiple

charts in your report layout.

Hyperlink Inserts a hyperlink so that users can jump to

another place, such as a Web site.

Date Inserts the date when the report runs.

Time Inserts the time when the report runs.

Page Number Inserts page numbers that you can

customize.

Before you begin

Before you can add a hyperlink, HTML item, or hyperlink button, you must have

the HTML Items in Report capability. For more information, see the IBM Cognos

Business Intelligence Administration and Security Guide, or contact your

administrator.

Procedure

To add an object, drag it to the work area or double-click it from the Toolbox tab

164 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Align an Object

You can specify an alignment for an object in a report to determine where it

appears.

Tables can also be used to determine where objects appear in a report.

Procedure

1. Select the object that you want to align.

2. From the style toolbar, click an available horizontal or vertical alignment

button.

Lay Out Report Pages

You can divide your report pages into various layouts, including two columns, two

rows, and four quarters. You can then drag report objects to the report sections.

Procedure

Click the page layout button

, and then click a report layout.

If report objects are already in the report, they will move to fit the new layout.

Using a table to control where objects appear

You can use tables in your report to control where objects appear. Tables can be

inserted anywhere in a report, such as a header, a footer, or the page body. After

you create a table, insert the objects you want in the cells.

You can also apply a predefined table style to tables.

The alignment buttons can also be used to determine where objects appear in a

report.

Procedure

1. From the Toolbox tab

, drag Table to the report.

The Insert Table dialog box appears.

2. In the Number of columns and Number of rows boxes, type the number of

columns and rows for the table.

3. If you want to have the table span the width of the report page, select the

Maximize width check box.

4. If you want to add borders to the table, select the Show borders check box.

5. If you want to merge cells in the table, select the cells and click the merge cells

icon

6. Select the table object.

7. In the Properties pane, under Positioning, double-click the Table Properties

property.

8. To display both the inside and outside borders, do the following:

v Clear the Collapse borders check box.

v Type a number in the Cell spacing text box to define how much space to

add between the table cells.

Chapter 10. Formatting Reports 165

v Select the Show empty cell borders check box to display the borders even

for empty cells.

9. To fix the size of the columns in the table, check the Fixed size check box.

When this check box is cleared, the table columns expand to fit the text.

Applying table styles

Apply a table style to quickly format tables. You can also apply a table style to lists

and crosstabs.

About this task

By default, when a new object is inserted in a list or crosstab, the object inherits

the style from an object of the same type in the data container. For example, if you

insert a measure in a list, the measure inherits the style of a measure that is

already in the list, if there is one. If you do not want objects to inherit styles, clear

the Table Style inheritance option in the Tools menu (Tools, Options, Report tab).

The following rules explain how style inheritance is applied to lists and crosstabs.

v Styles are inherited in the following order: custom, client default, and server

default.

A custom style is a style that you manually apply. A client default style is one of

the styles available in the Apply Table Style dialog box. The server default style

is the style applied when Default is selected in the Apply Table Style dialog

box.

v When a new column or row is inserted, it inherits the style from the sibling of

the same type that is on its right or below it.

v If there is no sibling of the same type on its right or below it, then the style of

the nearest sibling that is on its left or above is applied.

v If there is no sibling of the same type in the container, then the client or server

default table style is applied.

v If a custom style is applied to a column or row and the object is then moved to

another location, the object retains the custom style.

Custom styles applied to part of an object, such as the header, body, or footer,

may be lost. For example, if a container has a footer, the footer is recreated when

a column is moved. The recreated footer is rendered using the style that was

applied to the footer before you customized its style.

v Deleting a column or row has no impact on the styles of the other objects in the

container.

v Styles are preserved if a column is grouped or ungrouped. The same applies

when creating or removing sections.

v When drilling up or down, the style of the parent item is applied.

Procedure

1. Click the table, list, or crosstab to which you want to apply a table style.

Tip: To quickly select the parent of an object, click the object, and then click the

select ancestor button

in the Properties pane title bar.

2. From the Style menu, click Apply Table Style.

3. In the Table styles box, click a table style.

Tip: Some styles are unique to tables, lists, or crosstabs.

166 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

4. If you are applying a table style to a table or list, in the Apply special styles to

section, select or clear the various column and row check boxes based on how

you want to treat the first and last columns and rows.

Some options may not be available for particular table styles or for particular

columns or rows.

5. If you are applying a table style to a list or crosstab, and you want the style to

be applied to all lists or crosstabs in the report, select the Set this style as the

default for this object type check box.

For a list, you may need to clear the First column and Last column check

boxes in the Apply special styles to section before you can select this check

box. In addition, some table styles cannot be set as the default.

Dividing data into sections

Create sections in a report to show a separate list, chart, visualization, or crosstab

for a data item.

For example, you have a list that shows products that were purchased. For each

product, the product type is also shown. You section the product type column to

show a separate list for each product type. The product type is displayed as the

heading for each list.

Creating sections is similar to grouping data. The difference is that when you

create sections, a separate list, crosstab, visualization, or chart is displayed for each

data item and a section header is displayed outside the list, crosstab, visualization,

or chart. In addition, you can group data items only in lists but you can create

sections in lists, crosstabs, visualizations, and charts.

For dimensional data, you can also create page layers to show values on a separate

page for each member.

When you remove a section, the data item is returned to the original list, crosstab,

visualization, or chart. For crosstabs, if you created sections for both rows and

columns simultaneously (with Ctrl+click or Shift+click), when you remove the

section, all data items are returned to one edge of the crosstab for the first data

item that you selected. For example, you Ctrl+click the rows and then the columns,

and you create a section. When you remove the section, all data items are returned

to the rows. You can then drag the data items that belong in the columns back into

the Columns area.

Procedure

1. Click the data item on which to section.

Tip: To create multiple sections simultaneously, use Ctrl+click or Shift+click.

2. Click the Section/Unsection icon

3. To remove a section, click the data item and click the Section/Unsection icon.

Related tasks:

“Group Data” on page 103

Group data items in a list report to remove duplicate values. For example, you

have a report that shows products purchased. For each product, the product type

is also shown. You group the product type column to show only one instance of

each product type in the list.

Chapter 10. Formatting Reports 167

“Create Page Layers” on page 133

When working with dimensional data, you can create page layers in a report to

show values for each member on a separate page. For example, your report

contains payroll information for the entire company. You want to view values for

each department on a separate page.

Apply Padding to an Object

Apply padding to an object to add white space between the object and its margin

or, if there is a border, between the object and its border.

Tip: You can quickly apply left or right padding by either pressing Tab and

Shift+Tab or by clicking the increase indent

and the decrease indent

buttons in the style toolbar. When using the toolbar buttons, you can indent an

object by up to nine times the indentation length. You can specify the indentation

length to use by clicking the arrow beside either button and clicking Set Default

Indent Length.

Procedure

1. Select the object to which you want to apply padding.

2. From the Style menu, click Style.

3. Under Padding, click the edit button

4. Specify top, bottom, left, and right padding by typing values in the

corresponding boxes and choosing the unit of measure you want.

Set Object Margins

Set the margins for objects in a report to add white space around them.

For Date, Time, Row Number, and Page Number objects, you can only set the left

and right margins. If you want to set the top or bottom margins for these objects,

place them in a table or a block. Then set the margin or padding properties on the

table or block object.

Procedure

1. Select the object for which you want to set margins.

2. From the Style menu, click Style.

3. Under Margin, click the edit button

4. Specify the top, bottom, left, and right margins by typing values in the

corresponding boxes and choosing the unit of measure you want.

Rename a Row or Column

Change the row or column title to provide a more meaningful name.

By default, when you run a report, the column title is taken from one of the

following:

v if defined, the Data item label property of the data item. This is the label seen

in the report output.

v if defined, the label of the data item in the model

168 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

v the Data item name property of the data item. This is the name of the data item

in the query.

Consequently, the column title you see in the layout may not be the column title

you see when you run the report. For example, if you modify the Data item name

property of the data item, the column title in the layout will change to the new

name. However, when you run the report, the column title that appears will be, if

defined, the data item label in the report or the data item label in the model. If

neither of these are defined, only then will the modified name be used as the

column title.

When you insert a member calculation or summary in a crosstab, row or column

headings use the data item label.

Procedure

Right-click the row or column heading you want to change and select one of the

following:

v To show the label that is seen in the report output, click Data Item Label.

Tip: To change the data item label, click Edit Data Item Label.

v To use static text that you type, click Show Text and type the new name in the

Edit Label dialog.

v To restore the default name, click Show Default Contents.

v To leave the heading blank, click Show Empty Cell.

Support for bidirectional content

You can author reports that support bidirectional content. You can specify base text

direction, digit shaping, and container direction.

Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu, and Farsi are languages written from right to left, using the

Arabic or Hebrew scripts. However, numbers in those languages, as well as

embedded segments of Latin, Cyrillic, or Greek text, are written from left to right.

Using the bidirectional settings in IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced, you can

control the direction in this type of text in reports.

Report formats

Bidirectional content is supported for reports produced in HTML, PDF, and

Microsoft Excel formats.

Enabling bidirectional support

To enable support for bidirectional languages when a report is run, in IBM Cognos

Connection, users must open their My Preferences page and select the Enable

bidirectional support check box.

To enable support for bidirectional languages when a report is run from Cognos

Workspace Advanced, select the Enable bidirectional support check box in the

Run Options window.

Tip: If you enable bidirectional support in Cognos Connection and you then start

Cognos Workspace Advanced, the bidirectional support run option in Cognos

Chapter 10. Formatting Reports 169

Workspace Advanced is selected. If you disable bidirectional support in Cognos

Connection and you then start Cognos Workspace Advanced, the run option in

Cognos Workspace Advanced is cleared.

Base text direction

Base text direction sets the text direction as left-to-right or right-to-left. You can

specify the base text direction for any text object in a report. You specify the base

text direction for text by clicking the Direction & Justification property for the text

or for the object that contains the text, such as a list column.

A contextual option also exists in the Direction & Justification property that sets

the text direction based on the first letter in the text.

For compound objects that contain text, such as a chart, you specify the base text

direction of the text contained in the object by clicking the Contained text

direction property for the object.

Digit shaping

Digit shaping allows users to consume reports in the numeric shaping that they

can read after they select the content language in IBM Cognos Connection. You can

specify digit shaping at the following levels:

v Report

v Container (except for charts)

v Text

v Number

You specify digit shaping for an object by clicking the Data Format property for

the object. To specify digit shaping at the report level, click the Default Data

Formats option in the Data menu.

Tip: Digit shaping has no impact on reports produced in Excel format, since the

shaping of digits in Excel depends on Windows regional settings.

Container direction

Container direction sets the direction of container objects in a report as left to right

or right to left. You specify container direction for an object by clicking the

Direction & Justification property for the object.

Tip: Container direction is not supported in reports produced in Excel format.

Excel spreadsheets do not natively support mirroring at the container level.

Related concepts:

“Digit shaping in charts” on page 138

When working with bidirectional content, you cannot specify digit shaping at the

chart level. You can specify digit shaping for the objects in charts.

Related tasks:

“Running a report” on page 33

Run your report to see how the report will appear to report consumers.

“Specifying text and container direction” on page 171

You can specify text flow properties by choosing any of these options.

170 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

“Format Relational Data” on page 112

Format data in a report to improve readability. For example, you can show all date

values in the order year, month, and day. If you do not specify formatting, data is

formatted according to the properties set in the model. If the properties were not

set in the model, data is formatted according to the International Components for

Unicode (ICU) formats.

“Format Dimensional Data” on page 136

Format data in a report to improve readability. For example, you can show all date

values in the order year, month, and day. If you do not specify any formatting,

data is formatted according to the properties set in the model. If the properties

were not set in the model, data is formatted according to the International

Components for Unicode (ICU) formats.

Specifying text and container direction

You can specify text flow properties by choosing any of these options.

Option Description

Direction Sets the reading order of an object, such as right-to-left. If

Inherit is selected, the direction is inherited from the

parent object. The default is left-to-right.

For text objects, an additional choice named Contextual

exists. This choice sets the text direction based on the first

letter in the text. If the letter belongs to a right-to-left

script, the text direction is right-to-left. Otherwise, the text

direction is left-to-right. Numbers and special characters do

not influence the text direction. For example, if the text

starts with a number followed by an Arabic letter, the

direction is right-to-left. If the text starts with a number

followed by a Latin letter, the direction is left-to-right.

Tip: You can also set the direction of text items by clicking

the Text direction icon

in the toolbar. This icon is

visible only when the IBM Cognos Connection user

preference Enable bidirectional support is selected.

Writing mode Sets the direction and flow of content in an object.

Bi-directional Sets the level of embedding in an object.

For text objects, if the Direction option is set to a value

other than (Default) and no value is selected for this

option, this option is set to Embed. Setting this option to

Embed ensures that the base text direction specified for the

text is applied.

Justification Sets the type of alignment used to justify text in an object.

Kashida space (%) Sets the ratio of kashida expansion to white space

expansion when justifying lines of text in the object. This

property is used in Arabic writing systems.

Chapter 10. Formatting Reports 171

About this task

Specifying text direction and container direction depends on the object selected in

the report. The following list describes the types of objects in IBM Cognos

Workspace Advanced that you can specify text or container direction.

v Compound objects

Compound objects are container objects that contain text, such as charts. You

cannot set text direction for specific text objects in a compound object.

To specify container direction for compound objects, click the Direction &

Justification property for the object. To specify text direction for text in

compound objects, click the Contained Text Direction property for the object.

v Container objects

You can specify only container direction for container objects, such as a report

page. Click the Direction & Justification property for the object to specify

container direction.

By default, the text direction of text in a container object is inherited from the

container.

v Text objects

For all text objects, the Direction & Justification property specifies the text

direction.

In charts, container direction impacts all aspects of a chart. The following list

describes the parts of a chart that are affected by container direction.

v The chart itself.

v The location of the Y-axis and the horizontal run direction of the X-axis.

v The labeling, including the orientation of angled labels on axes.

v The location of the legend as well as the legend content.

Container direction has no impact on rotary axes. For example, the slices in a pie

always progress in the same direction around the pie. However, container direction

does affect labelling as well as position and direction of the legend.

Note: You cannot specify base text direction and container direction for legacy

charts.

Procedure

1. Click the object you want.

2. From the Style menu, click Style and click the Advanced tab.

3. Under Direction & justification, click the edit button

4. Choose how you want text to flow by specifying the options that you want.

Related concepts:

“Support for bidirectional content” on page 169

You can author reports that support bidirectional content. You can specify base text

direction, digit shaping, and container direction.

172 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Specify Line Spacing and Breaking

You can specify text properties by choosing any of these options.

Option Description

Line Height Sets the distance between lines of text in an

object.

Letter Spacing Sets the amount of additional space between

letters in an object.

Text Indent Sets the indentation of the first line of text in

an object.

Note: This property works with HTML

output but does not apply to PDF output.

Word Break Sets line-breaking behavior within words.

Break words when necessary Sets whether to break words when the

content exceeds the boundaries of an object.

Enforce stricter line-breaking rules for

Japanese Text

Sets line-breaking rules for Japanese text.

Procedure

1. Click the object you want.

2. From the Style menu, click Style and click the Advanced tab.

3. Under Spacing & breaking, click the edit button

4. Specify the text properties.

Specify the Height and Width of an Object

You can specify the height and width of objects using various units of

measurement. In addition, if the object is a block, you can specify how to handle

content overflow. Specify the height and width by choosing any of these options.

Option Description

Height Sets the height of the object.

Width Sets the width of the object.

Content is not clipped If the contents of the block exceed the height

or width of the block, the block

automatically resizes to fit the contents.

Content is clipped If the contents of the block exceed the height

or width of the block, the content is clipped.

Note: The clipped content still exists. It is

just not visible in the block.

Chapter 10. Formatting Reports 173

Option Description

Use scrollbars only when necessary If the contents of the block exceed the height

or width of the block, scrollbars are added

to the block.

Always use scrollbars Scrollbars are added to the block.

When you use a percentage to specify the size of an object, the percentage is

relative to the object's parent. In some cases, setting the size of an object using

percentages will not give you the results that you want unless you also specify the

size of the parent container.

Procedure

1. Click the object you want.

2. From the Style menu, click Style and click the Advanced tab.

3. Under Size & overflow, click the edit button

4. Specify the options that you want.

Control How Other Objects Flow Around an Object

For each object in your report, you can specify how other objects flow around the

object.

The following options are available:

Option Description

Float Sets how other objects flow around the object.

Allow floating objects on

both sides

Allows other objects to flow on both sides. The Float

property must be set.

Move below any floating

object on the left side

If there are other objects to the left of the object, the object

moves below those objects. The Float property must be

set.

Move below any floating

object on the right side

If there are other objects to the right of the object, the

object moves under those objects. The Float property must

be set.

Move below any floating

object

Moves the object under any other object in which the

Float property was set.

Procedure

1. Click the object you want.

2. From the Style menu, click Style and click the Advanced tab.

3. Under Floating, click the edit button

4. Specify how you want other objects to flow around the object by specifying the

options that you want.

174 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Highlight Data Using a Conditional Style

Add conditional styles to your report to better identify exceptional or unexpected

results. A conditional style is a format, such as cell shading or font color, that is

applied to objects if a specified condition is true.

For example, you want to automatically highlight in green the departments in your

organization that meet their budget quotas and highlight in red the departments

that go over budget. Creating conditional styles color-codes information in your

reports so that you can find areas that need attention.

You can apply multiple conditional styles to objects. For example, you can apply

one style in specific cells and another style for the overall report. If multiple styles

set the same property, such as font color, the last style in the list is applied.

You can apply conditional styles based on any data item in your report.

You can create the following types of conditional styles.

Type Description

Numeric Range Highlights straight numerical data, such as

revenues and losses.

Date/Time Range Highlights data from specific dates and

times.

Date Range Highlights data from specific dates.

Time Range Highlights data from specific times.

Interval Highlights data falling between set intervals.

String Highlights specific alphanumeric items in a

report. For example, you can highlight all

instances of a specific word or phrase, such

as Equipment. String criteria are

case-sensitive.

If multiple string conditions are met, only

the first conditional style is applied.

Advanced Creates conditional styles that use

calculations or expressions.

If multiple advanced conditions are met,

only the first conditional style is applied.

Note: Conditional styles and conditional data formatting do not work on chart

axis labels. If you apply a conditional style or conditional data formatting to a

chart axis, only the first style defined is applied.

Create a New Conditional Style

You can apply conditional styles based on any data item in your report.

Procedure

1. Click the object for which you want to define a conditional style and click the

conditional styles button

Chapter 10. Formatting Reports 175

Tip: You can also right-click the object and click Style, Conditional Styles or

click the object, and then, in the Properties pane, set the Conditional Styles

property.

2. Click the add button

and click New Conditional Style.

3. Select the data item to determine the condition and click OK.

The type of conditional style that you can use depends on the type of data item

you select.

4. In the Name box, type a name for the conditional style.

5. To define a numeric value, date/time, date, time, or interval condition:

v Click the new button

and select a value to define a threshold.

The value appears in the Range column, and two ranges are created.

v For each range, under Style, click one of the predefined styles to apply to the

range or click the edit button

and create a new style.

Tip: You can also define a style for the cells in your report that have missing

values.

v Repeat the steps above to add other conditions.

Tip: Under Style, pause the pointer over each range

to see the condition

produced for that range.

v To move a value above or below a threshold, click the arrow button

to the value.

For example, you insert a threshold value of five million. By default, the

ranges are less than or equal to five million and greater than five million.

Moving the five million value above the threshold changes the ranges to less

than five million and greater than or equal to five million.

6. To define a string condition:

v Click the new button and select how to define the condition.

v To select more than one individual value, click Select Multiple Values and

click the values.

v To type specific values, click Enter Values and type the values.

v To specify your own criteria, such as values that begin with the letter A, click

Enter String Criteria and specify the condition.

v For each condition, under Style, click one of the predefined styles to apply

or click the edit style button and create a new style. Specify the style to

apply to remaining values by clicking one of the predefined styles beside

Remaining values (including future values).

v Specify the order in which to evaluate the conditions.

Conditions are evaluated from top to bottom, and the first condition that is

met is applied.

Reuse an Existing Conditional Style

You can create a conditional style once and reuse it on multiple objects in your

report. You can specify the order in which conditional styles are applied. You can

also use existing local classes as your conditional styles.

176 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Procedure

1. Click the data item for which you want to define a conditional style, and then

click the conditional styles button .

Tip: You can also right-click the data item and click Style, Conditional Styles

or click the data item, and then, in the Properties pane, set the Conditional

Styles property.

2. Click the add button

, click Use Existing Conditional Style, and select the

style.

Create an Advanced Conditional Style

You can create advanced conditional styles that use calculations or expressions.

If multiple advanced conditions are met, only the first conditional style is applied.

Procedure

1. Click the data item for which you want to define a conditional style, and then

click the conditional styles button

Tip: You can also right-click the data item and click Style, Conditional Styles

or click the data item, and then, in the Properties pane, set the Conditional

Styles property.

2. Click the add button

and click Advanced Conditional Style.

3. Type a name for the conditional style.

4. Click the add button

and specify the expression that defines the condition.

5. For each condition, under Style, click one of the predefined styles to apply or

click the edit button

and create a new style. Specify the style to apply to

remaining values by clicking one of the predefined styles beside Remaining

values (including future values).

6. Specify the order in which to evaluate the conditions by clicking a condition

and then clicking the move up or move down arrow.

Conditions are evaluated from top to bottom, and the first condition that is met

is applied.

Example - Add a Conditional Style to an Existing Report

You are a report writer at The Sample Outdoors Company, which sells sporting

equipment. You have a report that compares current year data to previous year

data and highlights negative percentage variances in red (Poor) and positive

percentage variances in green (Excellent). You want to add a third conditional style

to indicate percentage variances above 0 but less than 10. You create a conditional

style that highlights percentage variances between 0 and 10% in yellow (Average).

Procedure

1. Open the GO Balance Sheet as at Dec 31 2012 report from the GO Data

Warehouse (analysis) package.

2. Right-click any cell in the % Variance column and click Style, Conditional

Styles.

Chapter 10. Formatting Reports 177

3. Select Conditional Style 1 and click the edit button .

4. Select the first advanced condition listed and click the edit button.

5. Delete =0 from the expression definition.

6. Click the Functions tab, and then expand the Operators folder.

7. Double-click between, and then click after between in the expression, add a

space, and type 0.

8. Double-click and, and then click after and in the expression, add a space, type

.1, and click OK.

9. From the Style box associated with this condition, click Average.

10. Select the second advanced condition listed and click the edit button.

11. Replace >0 in the expression with >.1 and click OK.

12. Leave the style associated with this condition as is.

13. Run the report.

The new conditional style appears in the % Variance column.

Specify what appears for data containers that contain no data

You can specify what appears in a data container when no data is available from

the database.

When no data is available, you can show one of the following options:

v An empty data container, such as a blank list.

v Alternate content, such as another data container or an image. You can insert

any object from the Toolbox tab.

In IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced, to insert alternate content, you must be in

the Page Design mode (View > Page Design).

v Text, such as There is no data available for this month. If you show text, you can

format it. By default, the text No Data Available appears.

You can specify what appears when no data is available for the following data

containers: lists, crosstabs, charts, maps, repeaters, repeater tables, and tables of

contents.

Figure 46. Conditional styles that are applied to a report

178 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

If your report includes multiple data containers, you can specify different no data

contents for each container.

Procedure

1. Select a data container.

2. In the Properties pane, click the select ancestor icon

and click the data

container type.

3. Click the ellipsis button next to the No Data Contents property and select what

should appear for data containers that contain no data:

v To show an empty data container, click No Contents.

v To show alternate content, click Content specified in the No data tab.

Two tabs appear at the top of the data container and the No Data Contents

tab

is selected automatically.

From the Toolbox tab

, insert the objects to appear when there is no data

available into the No Data Contents tab.

v To show text, click Specified text and type the text that you want to appear.

Modifying Report and Object Styles

Objects in reports are assigned a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) class that provides a

default style for the object. For example, when you create a new report, the report

title has the class property Report title text assigned to it. In addition, objects

inherit the classes set on their parent objects.

You can apply a different class to an object to change its appearance.

You can also use classes to highlight data using conditional styles.

Modify the report properties

You can change the styles in the style sheet to make your entire report appear

differently.

You cannot edit the report style when you have opened a widget from a

workspace in IBM Cognos Workspace to edit it in IBM Cognos Workspace

Advanced.

Procedure

1. Click File > Report Properties.

2. In the Report styles list, select one of the following options:

v To work with classes in the default style sheet, click 10.x styles.

v To work with classes that were used in IBM Cognos 8, click 8.x styles.

Use 8.x report styles when you are working with reports created in IBM

Cognos 8 and you want to preserve their original appearance.

v To work with classes that were used in IBM Cognos ReportNet, click 1.x

styles.

Use 1.x report styles when you are working with reports created in

ReportNet and you want to preserve their original appearance.

v To work with classes that have minimal styling defined, click Simplified

styles.

This option is useful when creating financial reports.

Chapter 10. Formatting Reports 179

3. When producing reports in Excel 2007 format, if you do not want to group

repeating cells in lists and crosstabs, clear the Group repeating cells when

exporting to Excel check box.

When this check box is selected, grouped cells in crosstab rows and columns

and grouped columns in lists are merged into a cell area in the Excel output.

When the check box is cleared, merged cells are split.

Related concepts:

“Option to group repeating cells in reports produced in Excel 2007 format” on

page 36

When you produce reports in Excel 2007 format, you can specify whether

repeating cells are grouped, or merged, into a single cell.

Modify Object Styles

You can change the style of specific objects in your report to change its appearance.

Procedure

1. Click the object for which you want to change the style.

2. From the Style menu, click Style and click the Advanced tab.

3. Under Classes, click the edit button

4. Click the classes that you want to apply from the Local classes and Global

classes panes and then click the right arrow button.

5. If you applied more than one class, in the Selected classes pane, specify the

order in which the classes are applied by clicking each class and clicking the up

or down arrow button.

Classes in the Selected classes pane are applied from top to bottom. The style

properties from all classes are merged together when they are applied.

However, if the classes have style properties in common, the properties from

the last class applied override those from previous classes.

(Don't Print) Class

The (Don't Print) class allows HTML items to display in the Web browser but not

to print.

The (Don't Print) class behaves as follows in the various report output formats:

v HTML

The Web browser defines the behavior. The HTML standard is that the item

appears on the screen in the Web browser but is excluded by the print operation

of the Web browser.

v PDF

The item is excluded from the output.

v Microsoft Excel 2002 spreadsheet software

The class is specified in the HTML that IBM Cognos uses to render Microsoft

Excel 2002 output. However, Microsoft Excel 2002 does not appear to honor it

and displays the item as missing some or all other style definitions.

v Microsoft Excel 2007 spreadsheet software

The item is excluded from the output.

v CSV

The item is included in the output.

v XML

180 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

The item is included in the output.

An alternative way to consistently exclude a report object from HTML, PDF and

Microsoft Excel output is to set the Box Type property for the object to None. CSV

and XML report outputs will still contain the object.

Modifying the Default Layout Style Sheet

In addition to modifying classes in a report, you can create and modify classes that

will apply to all reports. Default styles are stored in a style sheet named

GlobalReportStyles.css.

For information about modifying the style sheet, see the IBM Cognos Business

Intelligence Administration and Security Guide, or contact your administrator.

Chapter 10. Formatting Reports 181

182 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chapter 11. Managing Existing Reports

You can save existing reports on your computer, copy them to the clipboard or

open them from the clipboard, and update them when your data package changes.

Copying the result of an analysis to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet

You can copy the result of an analysis in IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced to a

Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The data retains its table structure and simple

text-based formatting.

About this task

You can only paste the result of an analysis into a Microsoft Excel 2007 or later

version spreadsheet.

You can copy and paste an entire container, an outer container, or an inner

container of an object. For example, you can copy an entire crosstab or just part of

one.

Supported containers are:

v Lists

v Crosstabs

v Repeater tables

v Tables

Procedure

1. Select a container object.

2. From the Edit menu, click Copy Data.

3. In a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, paste the data.

Copy a Report to the Clipboard

You can copy a report specification to the clipboard so you can open it from the

clipboard later.

This process is different for the Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox

Web browsers because the clipboard works differently in each Web browser.

Related tasks:

“Open a Report from the Clipboard” on page 184

You can open a report specification that was previously copied to the clipboard.

Copy a Report to the Clipboard in Internet Explorer

This process is different for the Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox

Web browsers because the clipboard works differently in each Web browser.

Procedure

From the Tools menu, click Copy To Clipboard.

Copy a Report to the Clipboard in Firefox

This process is different for the Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox

Web browsers because the clipboard works differently in each Web browser.

Procedure

1. From the Tools menu, click Copy To Clipboard.

2. In the Copy Report to Clipboard dialog box, copy the entire report

specification.

3. Open a text editor and paste the report specification.

4. Copy all the text from the text editor report specification.

Now the text is saved on your computer's clipboard.

Open a Report from the Clipboard

You can open a report specification that was previously copied to the clipboard.

This is useful for importing an XML report specification from outside the IBM

Cognos Business Intelligence environment.

Although IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced attempts to validate the report

specification, it is your responsibility to ensure that it is correct. For more

information, see the IBM Cognos Software Development Kit Developer Guide.

Note: You cannot open a report from the clipboard when you have opened a

widget from a workspace in IBM Cognos Workspace to edit it in Cognos

Workspace Advanced.

Procedure

From the Tools menu, click Open Report from Clipboard.

Related concepts:

“Copy a Report to the Clipboard” on page 183

You can copy a report specification to the clipboard so you can open it from the

clipboard later.

Managing Changes in the Package

If changes were made to the package used to create a report, the report must be

updated. When you open a report, IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced

automatically checks to see if the package has changed. If it has, a message

appears indicating that the report will be updated to the latest version of the

package.

184 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chapter 12. Working with your external data

You can supplement your enterprise data with your own external or personal data

file.

You can create a report that uses an external file that contains data that is not part

of your IBM Cognos Business Intelligence enterprise data. For example, you are an

analyst and you receive a spreadsheet that contains what-if data about opening

new branches of your retail store. You are asked to analyze the impact of these

possible new branches on existing sales volumes. You link this scenario data with

your enterprise data and create a professional report in IBM Cognos BI.

You import your own data file and start reporting on it right away. After you

import the file, it is protected by the same IBM Cognos security as your enterprise

data. As a result, you can report on your data in a secure and private environment.

You can import your external data in different tools.

My Data Sets tool

You can import the following types of files:

v Microsoft Excel (.xls and .xlsx) spreadsheet software files

v Delimited text files, such as .csv files

After you import your data, it is saved in a database. You then publish a

package that contains your data and you can then report on your data. You

can grant other users access to your personal data by sharing the

corresponding packages.

Manage External Data tool

You can import the following types of files:

v Microsoft Excel (.xls and .xlsx) spreadsheet software files

v Tab-delimited text (.txt) files

v Comma-separated (.csv) files

v XML (*.xml) files

After you import your data, you then publish a package that contains your

data in addition to the data contained in an existing package. You can then

report on your data.

To review an up-to-date list of the environments that are supported by IBM

Cognos products, including information about operating systems, patches,

browsers, web servers, directory servers, database servers, and application servers,

see Supported Software Environments (www.ibm.com/support/

docview.wss?uid=swg27042164).

My Data Sets

Use the My Data Sets tool to create reports that are based on your personal data

that is contained in delimited text files and Microsoft Excel (.xls and .xlsx)

spreadsheet software files.

You can access the My Data Sets tool from the IBM Cognos Welcome page and

from the My Area Options menu

in IBM Cognos Connection.

First, you import your Microsoft Excel (.xls and .xlsx) spreadsheet software files

and delimited text files, such as .csv files, into My Data Sets. Your data is then

saved in a database and is protected by the same IBM Cognos security as your

enterprise data. You then publish a stand-alone package to any location in IBM

Cognos Connection for which you have write permissions. As a result, you can

report on your data in a secure environment. You can see only your personal data

sets and can delete any packages or data sets that you created. You can grant other

users access to your personal data by sharing the corresponding packages.

The My Data Sets feature must be enabled by your Cognos Business Intelligence

administrator before you can use it.

For more information, see the following documents.

v IBM Cognos Connection User Guide

v IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Administration and Security Guide

Manage external data

You can supplement your enterprise data with your own external or personal data

file by using the Manage External Data tool in IBM Cognos Report Studio and

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced.

You import your own data file and start reporting on it right away. After you

import the file, it is protected by the same IBM Cognos security as your enterprise

data. As a result, you can report on your data in a secure and private environment.

You can use the following types of files:

v Microsoft Excel (.xls) spreadsheet software files

The Manage External Data tool supports external data sources from Microsoft

Excel up to version Microsoft Excel 2007.

To review an up-to-date list of the environments that are supported by IBM

Cognos products, including information about operating systems, patches,

browsers, web servers, directory servers, database servers, and application

servers, see Supported Software Environments (www.ibm.com/support/

docview.wss?uid=swg27042164).

v Tab-delimited text (.txt) files

v Comma-separated (.csv) files

v XML (*.xml) files

Your XML files must adhere to the IBM Cognos schema specified at

c10_location/bin/xmldata.xsd. For more information, contact your IBM Cognos

administrator.

This schema consists of a dataset element, which contains a metadata element

and a data element. The metadata element contains the data item information in

item elements. The data element contains all the row and value elements.

For example, the following simple XML code produces a table with two columns

(Product Number and Color) and two rows of data.

<?xml version="1.0" ?> <dataset xmlns="http://developer.cognos.com/

schemas/xmldata/1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">

<metadata> <item name="Product Number" type="xs:string" length="6"

186 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

scale="0" precision="2" /> <item name="Color" type="xs:string"

length="18" scale="0" precision="8" /> </metadata> <data> <row>

To work with your external data by using the Manage External Data tool, you

start with an existing IBM Cognos package. You import data from your external

file into the package and create links between data items in your file and data

items in your enterprise data source. You then publish a new package that you can

use to create reports that use your data and your enterprise data, or reports that

use only your data. You can link your external data with both dimensional and

relational data sources.

Before you can import your own external data file, your IBM Cognos administrator

must grant you permission for the Allow External Data capability that is found

within the Report Studio capability. You must also have permissions to use IBM

Cognos Report Studio or IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced. For more information,

see the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Administration and Security Guide.

Packages that contain external data

When you import external data into a package with the Manage External Data

tool, you do not overwrite the original package. You create a new package that

includes the original package, the new external data, and any links or relationships

that you defined between the two. By default, the new package is saved in the My

Folders area of IBM Cognos Connection, with External Data appended to the

original package name. You can change where your package is published.

Note: The current content language is used to create the new package, and users

cannot select the language for the package. For example, the content language in

Cognos Connection is set to English. External data is imported into the GO Sales

(query) package, and a new package called GO Sales (query) External Data is

created. If the content language is changed to a different language, the package

name is not translated, even though GO Sales (query) is a multilingual package.

IBM Cognos samples

Sample external data sources in Microsoft Excel (.xls) format are provided with

IBM Cognos BI. You can import these sample files into the Sample Outdoors

Company sample reports that are found within the Cognos Workspace Advanced

folder of the GO Data Warehouse (analysis) or GO Data Warehouse (query)

package.

You can find sample external data source files on the server where IBM Cognos BI

is installed in the c10_location/webcontent/samples/datasources/other directory.

To obtain these files, contact your IBM Cognos administrator.

Preparing to Work with your External Data

To work with your external data, follow the process in this section.

There are four steps to preparing to work with your external data. The following

diagram details these steps.

Chapter 12. Working with your external data 187

1. Prepare your external data file for import.

Ensure that your external data file matches your enterprise data for your

reporting needs. For example, if your external data file contains sales values by

month, ensure that the formatting of months in your file matches the

formatting used in your enterprise data source. Ensure that you can uniquely

link at least one column from your external data file, such as product codes or

years, with your enterprise data source.

The maximum file size that you can import is 2.5 MB, with a maximum of

20000 rows. You can import a maximum of one external data file per package.

Your IBM Cognos modeler can override these governors in IBM Cognos

Framework Manager.

2. Import your external data.

You import your external data file from your own computer or from a location

on your network into an existing IBM Cognos package.

A step-by-step wizard guides you through importing your data. If you want to

create reports that contain data from both your external data file and your

enterprise data source, you must link data items from the two data sources.

You can import all or a subset of data columns from your external file.

By adding external data, you extend an existing IBM Cognos package definition

with the new data items from your file and you create a new package.

3. Create reports with your external data file.

After you import and link your external data, it appears as a new namespace in

the data tree of the Source tab

and is integrated with the IBM Cognos

content.

You can then create reports with your data and perform any operation, such as

filtering, sorting, grouping, or adding calculations. When you run the report, it

uses data items from your external data file.

You can save reports that contain your external data within the My Folders

area of the IBM Cognos portal.

4. Determine whether you want to share your reports that use external data with

other people in your organization. If you decide to share, take into account

these considerations.

Working with Date Data

If the data that you import contains dates, ensure that the dates use the format

yyyy-mm-dd.

Figure 47. Process to prepare to work with external data

188 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Working with Dimensional Data Sources

If your enterprise data source is dimensional, such as OLAP or

dimensionally-modeled relational, and you want to link your external data with

your enterprise data, you must first create a tabular or list report. Create and save

a list report with your enterprise data that contains the data items that you want to

use to link with your external data. Ensure that you remove the aggregate rows

that are automatically added in the footer of the list. This list is a projection of

your dimensional data source.

When you import your external data, use the list report that you created to link

your external data with the query subject from your enterprise data.

Data in your external file is relational by nature because it consists of tables and

rows. If your enterprise data source is dimensional, you can still import and work

with your external data. However, you cannot mix relational data from your

external data files, and dimensional data from your enterprise data source within

the same query. For example, a data container, such as a list, crosstab, or chart,

uses one query and you cannot mix relational and dimensional data within the

same list, crosstab, or chart. Doing so will cause an error.

If you want to use data from both the external data file and the original package

within the same query, you must link the external data to a query subject within

the current package instead of another report.

Working with External Data in an Unsecured IBM Cognos

Application

If your IBM Cognos application is not secured, and users can log on anonymously,

you may encounter issues if multiple people import external data in the same

package.

For example, Robert imports his external data into package A and saves the

package and reports he created in My Folders. Then, Valerie also imports her

external data into the same package A and saves the package in My Folders.

Valerie has therefore overwritten Robert's external data in package A. Now, if

Robert tries to run one of his reports, he encounters errors because his external

data is no longer in package A.

To avoid this problem,

v save packages that contain external data with a unique name.

v apply security to your IBM Cognos applications so that users do not share the

same My Folders area.

Import Data

You select the file to import from your own computer, or from your local area

network.

You select which columns to import.

You then specify a namespace to use. The namespace provides a unique name to

associate with the data items that you import. The namespace appears in the data

tree in the Source tab

and is used to organize the data items. By default, the

namespace is the imported file name without the extension.

Chapter 12. Working with your external data 189

If you change the default name for the namespace, you are prompted to select the

external data file each time that you run the report. To avoid this prompt, select

the Allow server to automatically load file check box.

Procedure

1. From the Tools menu, click Manage External Data.

Tip: You can also click the Manage External Data icon

at the top of the

Source tab .

2. On the Select Data page of the wizard, under External data file, click Browse

and select your external data file to import.

If you want the server to load the file without prompting users when they run

the report, select the Allow the server to automatically load the file check box.

If selected, you must use the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path, such

as \\servername\filename, and you must ensure that the IBM Cognos server

has access to the file.

3. Under Data items, select the check box for the data items that you want to

import.

4. Type a name for the namespace and click Next.

The namespace appears in the Source tree, and identifies the external data

within the package. By default, the name is the name of your imported external

data file.

5. If you do not want to link your data or change the data attributes, click Finish

now.

Related tasks:

“MSR-PD-0012 error when importing external data” on page 209

When you try to import an external data file, you receive an MSR-PD-0012 error.

“MSR-PD-0013 error when importing external data” on page 209

When you try to import an external data file, you receive an MSR-PD-0013 error.

Map Data

If you want to create reports that contain data from both your external file and

from your enterprise data, you must link at least one query subject from your

package or from an existing report to a data item in your external data. This

mapping creates a relationship between your external data and your enterprise

data. For example, your external data contains information about employees,

including an employee number. You map the employee number from your external

data file to the employee number in your enterprise data. This ensures that your

data is integrated smoothly.

About this task

Mapping a data item in your external data to a query subject that references other

query subjects is not supported. For example, the query subject cannot contain a

calculation that references a query item from another query subject. Such a

mapping produces the following error message:

MSR-PD-0001 Failed to relate external data to objects in the underlying package. The item

[query item] does not lead to a query subject.

190 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Procedure

1. On the Data Mapping page, link existing query subjects in your enterprise data

to data items in your external data file.

2. Under Existing query subject / report, click the ellipsis button and do one of

the following:

v If you want to select a query subject from the data tree, click Choose Query

Subject and select a query subject.

Note: This option is not available when working with dimensional packages.

v If you want to select from the query subjects included in a report, click

Choose a Report and select a report.

3. Click the two data items that you want to link and click the New link button.

You cannot link a data item in your external data to a calculation in a query

subject.

A link appears linking two data items.

Tip: You can create multiple links for multiple data items. To delete a link,

select the link and click Delete Link.

4. If your report is using the dynamic query mode, specify the type of filter to

generate for the join relationship by clicking the Join filter type (DQM only)

menu and choosing one of the available values.

A join relationship is created when you link data items. The filter type is used

to optimize the join relationship. In generates an IN predicate of constant

values. Between generates a BETWEEN predicate using the minimum and

maximum values of the join keys. Table generates a table row constructor form

of the IN predicate. The default value is In.

5. Click Next.

Finish Importing Data

You can change how query items from your external data file appear after they are

imported into IBM Cognos Business Intelligence. For example, you can change the

number of decimal places or the default summary.

If you want to use numeric data from your external data source as a measure in a

crosstab, you must assign that data item a default summary other than

Unsupported. A specified default summary makes the data item appear as a

measure in the data tree in the Source tab

. Otherwise, if you add the data

item with an Unsupported default summary as the measure in a crosstab, no

values appear.

Attribute Description

Data type Identifies whether data in the file is one of the following types:

Integer, which represents numeric values.

Decimal, which represents integer values that are scaled by a

variable power of 10.

Text, which represents values that contain letters and symbols.

Date or Date Time, which represent dates and times.

Chapter 12. Working with your external data 191

Attribute Description

Default summary Identifies Sum, Average, Max, Min, Count or Unsupported as the

default type of summary for the data item.

Applies only to Integer and Decimal data types.

Decimal places Specifies the number of decimal places for the data item.

Applies only to the Decimal data type.

If you mapped links between data items in your external data and data items in

your enterprise data, specify the options that define the relationships between the

data items.

For each data item that you import and link, specify whether values are unique or

exist more than once in both your external data and in your enterprise data. You

can also specify how to handle rows that contain missing values in the report

results.

Procedure

1. On the Data Attributes page, specify the attributes for each data item after it is

imported and click Next.

For example, if you import numeric data items, you can change the default

summary and number of decimal places.

2. On the Mapping Options page, specify the relationships between the linked

data items and how to process the results in the report output.

3. Click Finish.

Publish the Package

You can change the name and location of the package with your external data to

help you differentiate between data packages.

Procedure

1. If you want to rename the package that will be published or change the

location where it is published, do the following:

v In the Manage External Data dialog, under Package name, click the ellipsis

button.

v Type a new name for the package and select the location where to save it.

v Click Save.

2. Click Publish.

Results

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence imports your external data into a new package.

A namespace with the data items from your external file appears in the data tree in

the Source tab

You can now create reports with your external data.

Edit Your External Data

After you import your data, you can change the data mappings and options that

you originally specified and republish the package.

192 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

You can

v Rename the namespace, which renames the organizational folder that appears in

the data tree in the Source tab

. If you change the namespace, you are

prompted for the external data file when you run the report.

v Change which columns to import.

v Change the data mapping links.

v Change the data attributes.

v Change the mapping options.

You can also import multiple external data files into the same package. To do this,

your data modeler must modify governors in the model and republish the package

that contains your enterprise data. For more information, see the IBM Cognos

Framework Manager User Guide.

Procedure

1. From the Tools menu, click Manage External Data .

2. In the Manage External Data dialog box, select the external data to edit and

click the Edit icon

3. In the left pane, select the options that you want to change.

4. Click OK and then republish the package.

Results

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence reimports your external data and updates the

data items that appears in the data tree in the Source tab

You can now create and update reports with your external data.

Delete Your External Data

You can delete your external data from within the package that you created if you

no longer need it.

Procedure

1. From the Tools menu, click Manage External Data .

2. In the Manage External Data dialog box, select the external data package to

delete and click the delete button

3. Click Publish.

Results

The external data namespace is removed from the package.

If you also no longer require the external data package or any reports created with

the package, you can delete it from within IBM Cognos Connection.

Chapter 12. Working with your external data 193

Running a Report That Contains External Data

Reports that contain external data run the same way as reports that contain only

enterprise data. If you have access to the report, you will also have access to the

external data included within the report.

You may be prompted to select the location of the external data file when you run

the report if either

v the report author did not specify to automatically load the file.

v the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence server cannot locate the file.

However, you are not re-prompted within the same Web browser session.

You can determine whether data in a report uses external data by tracing its

lineage. For more information, see “View Lineage Information for a Data Item” on

page 41.

Making your Reports Public

After you create a report that uses your external data, you may want to make it

public to share it with coworkers. They can run your report using your external

data file that you made available on a public network drive that the IBM Cognos

server can access. They can also use their own version of the file. If they use their

own version, the file must contain the same columns as your original external data

file that you used to import the data and create the report. In addition, you must

clear the Allow server to automatically load file check box in the Select Data

page of the Manage External Data wizard.

To make reports public, you must save them in the Public Folders area of the IBM

Cognos portal. To save content in Public Folders, you must have the appropriate

permissions. Contact your IBM Cognos administrator to obtain permissions and to

inform him or her that you are sharing a package or files.

If you share your reports, ensure that you maintain the reports.

194 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chapter 13. Upgrading Reports

When you open a report that was created in a previous version of IBM Cognos

Business Intelligence, it is automatically upgraded.

Any problems detected during the upgrade process appear as information

messages

and error messages in the Upgrade Information dialog box.

You must fix any errors in the report and then validate the report before you can

run it. In some cases, the information or error message is linked to the location of

the issue in your report. To go to the location of the issue, click the message, and

then click Select. If only warnings and information appear in the dialog box, these

will disappear when you click OK.

Tip: To view this dialog box again, from the File menu, click Upgrade

Information.

After you upgrade a report to the most recent version of IBM Cognos BI, you can

no longer open it with a previous version.

Lifecycle Manager

You can download IBM Cognos Lifecycle Manager from http://www.ibm.com/ to

help you test your reports. Lifecycle Manager is a verification tool that checks that

your reports run and produce the same results in the new environment.

Lifecycle Manager is a Microsoft Windows operating system-based application for

auditing upgrades to the latest version of IBM Cognos BI from IBM Cognos

ReportNet 1.1 MR3 or MR4, and from IBM Cognos 8 versions 8.2, 8.3, or 8.4.

It provides a verification feature that validates, executes, and compares report

results from two different IBM Cognos BI releases. This helps to identify upgrade

and compatibility issues between releases. User interface design and status

reporting functionality provide both a proven practice process and support for

upgrade project planning and status reporting. Lifecycle Manager also automates

much of the process of bundling the required files, such as reports and models, for

the test case. For more information, see the Lifecycle Manager User Guide.

Upgrading Reports from IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Version 8.4

When you upgrade IBM Cognos BI to version 10.1.0 or later, some reports may

look or behave differently after the upgrade. This section describes changes that

you may encounter in your reports.

Tips for Report Studio Express Authoring Users

IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced is both an extension of and a replacement for

IBM Cognos Report Studio Express authoring mode, which allowed financial

analysts to create statement-style reports. The Report Studio Express authoring

mode allowed you to create only crosstabs with dimensional data sources, with no

relational or charting support.

Cognos Workspace Advanced is a unified authoring and analysis environment for

the more advanced business users who want additional insight into their business.

It offers full support for list reports, charts, and relational data sources, and offers

an entirely different user experience.

Because the user interface of Cognos Workspace Advanced is designed for data

exploration, some default behaviors have changed from the Report Studio Express

authoring mode in version 8.4.

If you prefer to use the defaults from version 8.4, you can configure Cognos

Workspace Advanced to behave like the Report Studio Express authoring mode

(Tools, Options).

Below is a list of changed behaviors.

Action

Behavior in Report Studio

Express Authoring Mode

version 8.4

Behavior in Cognos

Workspace Advanced

versions 10.1.0 and later

Double-clicking a data item

(for dimensional data

sources).

Also applies to Report

Studio.

Inserts children. Drills down.

You can change the behavior

of double-clicking a member

(Tools, Options, Edit tab,

Double-click on member

action).

Inserting members from the

data tree (for dimensional

data sources).

Inserts individual members

(not in sets).

Inserts the member and its

children, and creates a set.

To change how members are

inserted, in the Source tab

, click the insert

member with children button

and select how to

insert member.

To toggle between adding

individual members and

creating sets for members, in

the Source tab

, click

the create sets for members

button

Location of the content pane. Content pane is on the left

side.

Content pane (Insertable

Objects) is on the right side.

You can move the pane to

the left side (Tools, Options,

View tab, Position pane on

the right (requires restart)).

196 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Upgrading Report Styles

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Version 10.1.0 and later includes a new default

report style with updated colors and gradients. If your report uses a custom report

template, your report will appear the same in this version of IBM Cognos BI as it

did in previous versions. By default, new reports and new report objects, such a

lists and crosstabs, appear in the new report style.

If you want to continue to work with the previous 8.x report style, set the

Override 10.x styles with 8.x styles on new reports option (Tools, Options,

Advanced tab).

To update the style of an upgraded report to use the new 10.x style click File >

Report Properties, then from the Report styles list, select 10.x styles.

Note: You cannot edit the report style when you have opened a widget from a

workspace in IBM Cognos Workspace to edit it in IBM Cognos Workspace

Advanced.

Related concepts:

“Modifying Report and Object Styles” on page 179

Objects in reports are assigned a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) class that provides a

default style for the object. For example, when you create a new report, the report

title has the class property Report title text assigned to it. In addition, objects

inherit the classes set on their parent objects.

Chapter 13. Upgrading Reports 197

198 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Chapter 14. Samples

Sample reports are included with IBM Cognos BI. When installed, you can find

them in the Public Folders tab in IBM Cognos Connection.

The Sample Outdoors Company

The Sample Outdoors Company samples illustrate product features and technical

and business best practices.

You can also use them for experimenting with and sharing report design

techniques and for troubleshooting. As you use the samples, you can connect to

features in the product.

The Sample Outdoors Company, or GO Sales, or any variation of the Sample

Outdoors name, is the name of a fictitious business operation whose sample data is

used to develop sample applications for IBM and IBM customers. Its fictitious

records include sample data for sales transactions, product distribution, finance,

and human resources. Any resemblance to actual names, addresses, contact

numbers, or transaction values, is coincidental. Unauthorized duplication is

prohibited.

Samples outline

The samples consist of the following:

v Two databases that contain all corporate data, and the related sample models for

query and analysis

v Sample cubes and the related models

v A metrics data source including associated metrics and a strategy map for the

consolidated company, and a model for Metric extracts.

v Reports, queries, query templates, and workspaces

To run interactive reports, scripts are required. To see all the reports included in

the samples packages, copy the files from the samples content installation into

deployment folder and then import the deployments into the IBM Cognos

Business Intelligence product.

Security

Samples are available to all users.

Samples in the GO Data Warehouse (analysis) Package

The following reports are some of the reports found in the GO Data Warehouse

(analysis) package.

Sample reports that were created in Report Studio are located in the Active Report

folder and the Report Studio Report Samples folder.

Promotion Success

This report shows the financial results of the company’s promotional campaigns,

including how much of the company’s total revenue is attributable to each

promotional campaign. This report can be used as an existing report for the

external data sample files.

This report uses the following features:

v lists

v grouping

v summarizing

v text items

v tables

v custom headers and footers

Retailer sales target

This report shows sales targets by year and retailer site. This report can be used as

an existing report for the external data sample files.

This report uses the following features:

v lists

v foreground colors

v font sizes

v custom headers

Samples in the GO Data Warehouse (query) Package

The following reports are some of the reports found in the GO Data Warehouse

(query) package.

Sample reports that were created in Report Studio are located in the Active Report

folder and the Report Studio Report Samples folder.

Employee Expenses by Region

This report shows the employee expenses result by regions. This report can be

used as an existing report for the external data sample files.

This report uses the following features:

v lists

v grouping

v custom footers

Returns by Product Brand

This report provides information about the returned items situation by returns

reason and product brand. This report can be used as an existing report for the

external data sample files.

This report uses the following features:

v lists

v groupings

200 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Appendix A. Accessibility Features

Accessibility features help users who have a physical disability, such as restricted

mobility or limited vision, to use information technology products.

See the IBM Accessibility Center (http://www.ibm.com/able) for more information

about the commitment that IBM has to accessibility.

Accessibility features in IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced

There are several accessibility features in IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced.

The major accessibility features are described in the following list:

v You can use command keys, or shortcut keys, to navigate through Cognos

Workspace Advanced. Shortcut keys directly trigger an action and usually use

the Ctrl keys.

v Cognos Workspace Advanced uses Web Accessibility Initiative—Accessible Rich

Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA). This means that people with limited vision

can use screen-reader software, along with a digital speech synthesizer, to listen

to what is displayed on the screen.

To take full advantage of the accessible features of Cognos Workspace Advanced,

use the Freedom Scientific JAWS screen-reader software with a Mozilla Firefox web

browser.

To review an up-to-date list of the environments that are supported by IBM

Cognos products, including information about operating systems, patches,

browsers, web servers, directory servers, database servers, and application servers,

see Supported Software Environments (http://www.ibm.com/support/

docview.wss?uid=swg27042164).

Keyboard Shortcuts

This product uses some standard Microsoft Windows and accessibility shortcut

keys.

Action Shortcut keys

Enables or disables the accessibility feature.

You must restart IBM Cognos Workspace

Advanced after enabling or disabling this

feature for it to take effect. The feature is

disabled by default.

Ctrl+Alt+A

Tip: You can also enable or disable the

accessibility feature by selecting or clearing

the Enable accessibility (requires restart)

check box (Tools > Options > Advanced >

Enable accessibility (requires restart)).

Opens the context menu for the selected

item, if available.

Shift+F10

Switches focus from or to the main menu

and the main worksheet.

Ctrl+F10

Action Shortcut keys

Opens the online help. F1

Closes the Web browser window. Alt+F4

Copies objects. Ctrl+C

Pastes objects. Ctrl+V

Considerations to Improve Report Accessibility

Creating accessible reports ensures access of information to all users, with all levels

of ability.

For example, people with a visual impairment may use screen reading technology

to access the information in a report.

The following are some design considerations for creating accessible reports:

v Avoid using visual cues, such as bold text or color, to convey important

information.

v Avoid using pictures and OLE Objects in PDF documents, as these items are

tagged as artifacts and ignored by the screen reader.

v Avoid using conditional formatting to convey important information.

v When selecting color palettes for report objects, choose patterns or shades of

gray.

v Ensure that there is a table corresponding to chart types that are rendered as

images because the screen reader ignores this information.

v Ensure that the report has a title.

v Gain an understanding for screen reading technology.

v Avoid spelling and grammatical errors, as they cause the screen reading software

to misinterpret the information.

v Avoid using features like calendar boxes and up and down selections on time

controls. Instead use prompts such as check boxes, radio buttons, combo boxes,

and multi-select boxes.

v Ensure that the target application is accessible when using embedded Web

applications or drill-through paths.

v Avoid using large, complex list or crosstab reports.

Displaying the information in multiple simple lists or crosstab reports is more

manageable for assistive technology users.

v Add alternate text to images, charts, and other visual objects so that screen

readers can provide context for them.

v When using tables, add summary text to provide context for the table content. If

the top cells in a table behave as headers, designate these cells as headers so that

screen readers can identify the relationships.

Enable Accessible Report Outputs

If you want to include accessibility features, such as alternate text, summary text,

and designated cell headers in tables, you must enable these accessibility features

in the report output.

You can enable accessible report outputs in one of the following ways:

202 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

v in the IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced run options, so that the report has

accessibility features enabled when you run the report from within Cognos

Workspace Advanced.

v in IBM Cognos Connection as a run option (Run with options, Enable

accessibility support), so that report consumers can run the report once with

accessibility features.

v in IBM Cognos Connection as a property (Set properties, Report tab), so that

report consumers can always run the report with accessibility features.

v in IBM Cognos Connection, as a user preference (My area, My preferences), so

that report consumers can enable accessibility features for all of their reports.

Accessibility settings in the report properties overwrite this setting.

v in IBM Cognos Administration, as a server-wide option, so that all reports for all

IBM Cognos users have accessibility features enabled. Accessibility settings in

the user preferences and report properties overwrite this setting.

Administrators can also change a system-level setting that forces the accessibility

features on or off regardless of any other settings.

For information about the last four options, see the IBM Cognos Connection User

Guide or the IBM Cognos Administration and Security Guide.

Procedure

From the Run menu, click Run Options and select the Include accessibility

features check box.

Add Alternate Text to Images and Charts

You can add alternate text for images, maps, and charts to make your reports

accessible. When a screen reader encounters one of these objects, it reads the

alternate text that you added to the object.

You can add translations for the text to support users in multiple languages. When

users run a report, IBM Cognos Business Intelligence uses the alternate text in the

appropriate language.

If you use images only for visual spacing in your report, leave the Alternate Text

property empty.

Procedure

1. Select the image or chart object.

2. In the Properties pane, click the select ancestor button

and select the

Image, Map, or chart object.

3. Double-click the Alternate Text property.

4. Select Specified text and click the ellipsis (...) button.

5. In the Default text box, type a description for the object, and click the add icon

6. In the Languages dialog box, select the languages that apply to your text.

7. Double-click a language and type the translation of the text for each language.

8. From the Run menu, click Run Options and select the Include accessibility

features checkbox.

Appendix A. Accessibility Features 203

Add Summary Text to Tables

You can provide summary text for crosstabs, lists, repeater tables, and table objects.

This text provides context for the entire object to make your reports accessible.

When a screen reader encounters one of these objects in HTML report outputs, it

reads the description that you added to the object.

The table summary is not displayed in visual Web browsers. Only screen readers

and speech browsers use the summary text. The summary text is usually read

immediately before the table caption.

You can add translations for the text to support users in multiple languages. When

users run a report, IBM Cognos BI uses the summary text in the appropriate

language.

If you use tables for report layout, leave the summary empty to indicate to screen

readers that the table is used exclusively for visual layout and not for presenting

tabular data.

Procedure

1. Select the crosstab, list, or table.

2. In the Properties pane, click the select ancestor icon

and select the

Crosstab, List, Repeater Table,orTable object.

3. Click the Summary text property.

4. Select Specified text and click the ellipsis (...) button.

5. In the Default text box, type a description for the object, and click the add icon

6. In the Languages dialog box, select the languages that apply to your text.

7. Double-click a language and type the translation of the text for each language.

8. From the Run menu, click Run Options and select the Include accessibility

features checkbox.

Designate Cells Headers in Tables

You can specify whether specific table cells are table headers. This allows screen

readers and speech browsers to identify the relationships between the cells in your

tables.

Procedure

1. Select the table cells.

2. In the Properties pane, set the Table Header property to Yes.

3. From the Run menu, click Run Options and select the Include accessibility

features checkbox.

IBM and Accessibility

See the IBM Accessibility Center for more information about the commitment that

IBM has to accessibility.

The accessibility center is online at http://www.ibm.com/able.

204 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Appendix B. Troubleshooting

This appendix describes some common problems you may encounter.

For more troubleshooting problems, see the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence

Troubleshooting Guide.

Auto Correct Errors in a Report

When you are in Page Preview mode, IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced shows

you data as you are creating your report.

However, if an error occurs and the application cannot retrieve the data, you can

use the auto-correct feature to determine if there are any incorrect items in your

report. Cognos Workspace Advanced provides a list of such items, each of which

you can then remove to successfully view your report.

For example, if your report refers to member unique names (MUNs) that are either

no longer present in the model or inaccessible due to security restrictions, you

cannot view your report in Page Preview mode.

If the auto-correct feature cannot identify any incorrect items in your report, you

can switch to Page Design mode and manually remove or edit incorrect items, or

contact your administrator.

To access the auto-correct feature, from the Tools menu, click Auto Correct.

Note: You cannot use the auto-correct feature when you have opened a widget

from a workspace in IBM Cognos Workspace to edit it in Cognos Workspace

Advanced.

Problems Creating Reports

The topics in this section document problems you may encounter when creating

reports.

Metadata Change in Oracle Essbase Not Reflected in Reports

and in the Studios

When there is a metadata change on the Oracle Essbase server, the change is not

immediately reflected in the metadata tree in the studios. In addition, when a

report is run, the report does not pick up the republished changes.

To view the new structure, you must restart the IBM Cognos Content Manager

server.

Relationships Not Maintained in a Report With Overlapping

Set Levels

In a report, the relationship between nested or parallel member sets at overlapping

levels in the same dimension may not always be maintained.

For example, a named set in the data source that contains members from both a

Year and Month member is nested under Year, but is not properly grouped by

year.

In another example, an error message such as this appears:

OP-ERR-0201 Values cannot be computed correctly in the presence of multiple hierarchies

([Product].[B1], [Product].[Product]) that each have a level based on the same attribute

(Product).

This problem occurs in the following scenarios involving non-measure data items

X and Y, which overlap in the same dimension:

v X and Y together as ungrouped report details

v Y nested under X

v Y appended as an attribute of a group based on X

When using named sets, or sets that cover more than one level of a hierarchy, do

not use sets from the same dimension in more than one place in the same report.

They should appear on only one level of one edge.

Unexpected Summary Values in Nested Sets

If a report contains nested sets, summaries other than the inner set summaries may

contain unexpected values. For example, you insert a summary in a crosstab that

contains a set with years in the rows.

You then nest a product line set within years.

Notice that the summary value does not change to represent the total of the new

values. This occurs because the within set aggregation used with dimensional

packages does not take into account sets that are nested below the set that is

summarized.

To show the correct summary values, if the inner and outer sets do not belong to

the same dimension, you can nest a copy of the inner summary item under the

outer summary item, as follows.

Figure 48. Example of revenue numbers for the years 2012 and 2013

Figure 49. Example of revenue numbers for the listed products for the years 2012 and 2013

206 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Limited Support for Relational Functions When Used with

OLAP Data Sources

When working with an OLAP data source, we recommend that you not use

relational functions, such as substring and concatenation functions, in a report that

also contains a measure with the Aggregate Function property set to Calculated or

Automatic in the model. If you do so, you may encounter unexpected results. For

example, some summaries are calculated using the Minimum function instead of

the aggregate function derived from the individual query items.

In the expression editor, an exclamation mark (!) that precedes a function indicates

that the function is not naturally supported for that data source. IBM Cognos

Business Intelligence uses a local approximation for that function. Because an

approximation is used, performance can be degraded and the results may not be

what you expect.

For example, you create an IBM Cognos Query Studio report that contains the data

items Product line and Retailer site count. The footer summary is set to Calculated.

You then insert a calculated column that returns the first three characters of the

Product line item, which uses the relational concatenation function. The footer

summary now shows the lowest gross margin value.

For more information about aggregation functions, see the IBM Cognos Query

Studio User Guide or the IBM Cognos Report Studio User Guide.

Columns, Rows, or Data Disappear With SSAS 2005 Cubes

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS) has a feature called AutoExists

that removes tuples that have no facts at the intersection of two hierarchies of the

same dimension.

Columns, rows, or data can disappear if you set the default member of a hierarchy

to a member that does not exist with every other member in the dimension. To

Figure 50. Example of the combined aggregate set for the years 2012 and 2013

Figure 51. A report that contains a calculated footer summary

Appendix B. Troubleshooting 207

avoid this problem, change the default member that caused the disappearance to a

member that exists with all other members in the dimension.

Columns, rows, or data can also disappear if members are specified that result in

one or more non-existent tuples. There is currently no workaround for this

scenario. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article #944527 at

http://support.microsoft.com.

You may also encounter unexpected results if the default member of a hierarchy is

a member that doesn't also exist in all other hierarchies in the dimension, and if

you query members from different hierarchies in the same dimension.

For example a crosstab includes the following (using the Adventure Works cube):

v Rows: Generate([Adventure_Works].[Account].[Accounts],set([Balance

Sheet],[Units])) nested with

children([Adventure_Works].[Department].[Departments]-

>:[YK].[[Department]].[Departments]].&[1]]])

v Column: [Adventure_Works].[Account].[Account Number].[Account Number]

v Measure: [Adventure_Works].[Measures].[Amount]

You run the report and notice that the query renders with some blanks cells. You

then apply the simple detail filter [Amount]>1 and run the report. Only row labels

are displayed and all data and columns are missing.

In the Adventure Works cube, the [Account].[Accounts] attribute has a default

member set to [Net Income]. When evaluating the GENERATE set expression,

SSAS looks in the entire cube space and looks at all coordinates for the [Account]

dimension. These coordinates include both [Account][Account Type].&[] and

[Account].[Accounts].[Net Income]. Because these two coordinates don't exist

within the same hierarchy, SSAS returns an empty set.

To avoid this problem the SSAS administrator must set the default member in the

cube to a member that exists in all other hierarchies.

Report Differences Between TM1 Executive Viewer and IBM

Cognos Business Intelligence with TM1 Data Sources

When using an IBM Cognos TM1

data source, comparable reports created in an

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence studio and in TM1 Executive Viewer may

contain different cell values. This occurs because the TM1 Executive Viewer

product uses an algorithm for selecting default members for non-projected

dimensions that differs slightly from traditional OLAP clients.

To avoid this problem, when filtering your reports in the IBM Cognos Business

Intelligence studios, use context filters that match the default selections shown in

the Executive Viewer user interface. This ensures that the cell values in IBM

Cognos Business Intelligence match the values in Executive Viewer.

Order of Metadata Tree Differs for TM1 Data Sources

When using a an IBM Cognos TM1 data source, the order of members in the

metadata tree of the Source tab of an IBM Cognos Business Intelligence studio may

differ from the order shown in TM1 Architect.

208 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

By default, TM1 Architect renders members of hierarchies using a slightly different

algorithm than does IBM Cognos BI. IBM Cognos BI automatically renders

member metadata from TM1 data sources in hierarchical order.

From within TM1 Architect, if you want to see how an IBM Cognos BI studio will

render a hierarchy, click the Hierarchy Sort button.

Problems Calculating Data

The topics in this section document problems you may encounter when calculating

or summarizing data.

Incorrect Results with IBM Cognos PowerCubes and Time

Measures

If a report uses an IBM Cognos PowerCube data source and a combination of data

items, you will encounter incorrect results.

The following combination of data items in a report that uses an IBM Cognos

PowerCube data source will give incorrect results.

v a measure with a Time State Rollup set to Average or Weighted Average

v an aggregate ( members from time dimension ) expression

v an intersection with a member in a relative time hierarchy

To avoid incorrect results, do not use this combination in your reports.

Problems importing external data

The topics in this section document problems you may encounter when importing

external data.

MSR-PD-0012 error when importing external data

When you try to import an external data file, you receive an MSR-PD-0012 error.

MSR-PD-0012: Unable to upload the specified external data file. It exceeds the permitted

file size of "0(KB)", as specified by your system administrator.

This error occurs when the size of the file you are trying to import is greater than

the value specified for the Maximum external data file size (KB) governor in the

Framework Manager model.

To resolve the issue, the modeler must update the governor, save the model, and

republish the package.

MSR-PD-0013 error when importing external data

When you try to import an external data file, you receive an MSR-PD-0013 error.

MSR-PD-0013: Unable to upload the specified external data file. It exceeds the permitted

maximum number of rows "0", as specified by your system administrator.

This error occurs when the number of lines in the file you are trying to import is

greater than the value specified for the Maximum external data row count

governor in the Framework Manager model.

Appendix B. Troubleshooting 209

To resolve the issue, the modeler must update the governor, save the model, and

republish the package.

Problems Running Reports

The topics in this section document problems you may encounter when viewing or

running reports.

Measure Format Disappears in SSAS 2005

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS) does not propagate formatting

through calculations. IBM Cognos compensates for this whenever possible, but

cannot guarantee to do so in all cases. As a result, if you are working with a

Microsoft SSAS cube, any calculation (other than a non-count summary) that is

based on or intersects with a formatted measure, such as a currency, may lose the

measure format. This may also happen if you use a detail filter or context filter

(slicer).

For example, a crosstab includes members on one edge and a measure with

formatting, such as a currency symbol and decimal places, applied on the other

edge. When you run the report, you see the formatting for each cell. However, if

you add a detail filter, such as measure > 1 and run the report, all the formatting

disappears.

Additionally, the fine details of the MDX generated by IBM Cognos Business

Intelligence can change from release to release. As the SSAS behavior depends on

the MDX generated, the loss of formatting in reports might not occur in a future

release.

To avoid this problem, specify explicit formatting for the affected row, column, or

cell.

Cognos Statistics object is not displayed in a report

An IBM Cognos Statistics object is not displayed in a report.

Each removed statistical object is replaced with an image in the report:

Beginning with IBM Cognos Business Intelligence version 10.2.1, IBM Cognos

Statistics is no longer available.

To ensure that reports that were created in previous releases and that contain

statistical objects run, statistical objects are removed when the reports are

upgraded.

Tip: Queries, and their data items, that are associated to statistical objects are not

removed from upgraded reports.

You can use IBM SPSS Statistics to perform statistical reporting and analysis.

Figure 52. Image that replaces statistical objects in upgraded reports

210 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Appendix C. Limitations When Producing Reports in Microsoft

Excel Format

There are limitations when producing reports in Microsoft Excel format.

Unable to Load Images from the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence

Content Store in a Report

If a report contains an image whose URL points to the IBM Cognos Business

Intelligence content store, the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software generates an

access violation error and shuts down.

This problem is a known issue in the Microsoft knowledge base, and Microsoft is

currently investigating the problem. This problem occurs only in Excel 2002.

Blank Worksheet Appears

If the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software cannot download a worksheet within a

timeout period, Excel may instead open a blank worksheet.

Warning Message Appears When Excel Opens an IBM Cognos

Business Intelligence Report

Each time the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software opens an IBM Cognos Business

Intelligence report, a warning message appears.

The warning message is as follows:

Some of the files in this Web page are not in the expected location. Do you want to

download them anyway? If you are sure the Web page is from a trusted source,

click Yes.

The Excel workbook in HTML/XML format requires the presence of the file

filelist.xml. IBM Cognos BI does not allow the creation of local files on the client

side. In addition, a local file that contains URLs introduces a security issue.

Consequently, this message will appear whenever you open an IBM Cognos BI

report in Excel. If you see this error message, click Yes to open the report.

Spreadsheet Content Not Saved for Reports Saved in XLS Format

If you open a report that was saved in XLS format or run a report in XLS format,

and security settings in your Web browser are set so that you are prompted to

open or save the report, do not click Save. If you save the report, the spreadsheet

content will not be saved. This is because Microsoft Excel reports in Microsoft

Office 2000 HTML format use relative paths to the spreadsheets. The relative URL

paths are no longer available when you open a saved XLS report.

Instead, click Open first and then choose to save the report.

Unable to Load Excel Report in Netscape 7.01

This version of IBM Cognos Business Intelligence does not support loading

Microsoft Excel reports in Netscape 7.01.

Unsupported IBM Cognos BI Formatting

About 30% of the formatting functions available in IBM Cognos Business

Intelligence are not supported in the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software.

In particular, Excel does not allow changing locale-dependent formatting attributes,

such as the following:

v Decimal Separator

v Exponential Symbol

v Group Separator

v Monetary Decimal Separator

v AM String

v Day Name

v Day Short Name

v Decimal Delimiter Symbol

v Month Name

v Month Short Name

v PM String

In addition, Excel does not support the following:

v Format Width

v International Currency Symbol

v List Separator

v Percent Symbol (Excel does not support percent symbols for charts)

v Multiplier

v Overline Text Format

v PerMill Symbol

v Plus Sign

v Scale (Excel has a different scaling formula than IBM Cognos BI)

v Calendar (Excel does not allow changing the calendar)

v Era Name

v First Day Of Week

v Show Era

Cells Contain Series of #

Cells in the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software have a limit of 255 characters. If

your report contains text strings that are longer than 255 characters, they will be

formatted as text and appear as ######.

To resolve this problem, use fewer characters.

212 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Excel Cannot Render Reports with More Than 256 Columns

The Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software limits the size of a worksheet size to

65,536 rows by 256 columns.

If your report contains more than 65,536 rows, it is split into multiple worksheets.

The number of worksheets that your report can contain is limited by the physical

memory of your computer. If your report contains more than 256 columns, the

following error occurs:

Reports with more than 256 columns cannot be rendered in Excel.

Table and Column Widths

The Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software does not support using percentages to

determine the width of tables.

If the report contains only one table, the value of the width attribute for the Table

element in the report specification determines the width of the table in the Excel

worksheet. If the report contains more than one table, Excel determines the width

of all the tables in the worksheet. If the tables are nested, the width specified for

the outer table is used and, if necessary, the width is adjusted to accommodate

data in the nested tables. The columns and rows around the table are merged to

preserve the appearance of the nested table. When you save the workbook, only a

single table is saved per worksheet.

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Is Not Supported in Some Excel Formats

and Versions

SSL is supported for only the Microsoft Excel 2002 format in Microsoft Excel 2002

and Microsoft Excel 2003.

Number Formats Become Currency Formats in Japanese Excel

A report uses the Number data format and you save it as Microsoft Excel output.

When you open the report in the Japanese version of Microsoft Excel, the data

format is listed as Currency rather than Number. This occurs because Japanese

Excel interprets the standard Number data format slightly differently than other

versions of Excel.

The value appears correctly in Number format. For example, if you specified five

digits as your number format, five digits still appear. In Excel, click the Custom

number format to see the exact format string being used.

Reports Show Data in Wrong Columns

A report contains a large amount of data that is presented using a large number of

nested report objects, such as tables and blocks. When the report is produced in

Microsoft Excel format, some of the data appears in the wrong columns. This

occurs because Excel has a 64K limit on how many nested cell objects can appear

in a single spreadsheet.

To solve this problem, you can redesign the report to present the data using

non-nested structures.

Appendix C. Limitations When Producing Reports in Microsoft Excel Format 213

Unable to Access Reports on Remote Servers

You cannot access a report in Microsoft Excel format on a remote server.

To resolve this problem, you must change the hostname portion of the gateway

URI from localhost to either the IP address of the computer or the computer name.

You do this using IBM Cognos Configuration.

Unsupported Excel Formatting

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence does not support some formatting.

The following formatting functions that are available in the Microsoft Excel

spreadsheet software are not supported by IBM Cognos BI:

v background images in table cells

v Excel-specific headers and footers

v text flow and justification

v floating text objects

v white space, normal, and wrap text formatting

v maximum characters

Some layouts do not show exactly in HTML and PDF due to Excel limitations.

Hyperlink Buttons Are Not Supported in Excel

The Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software does not support hyperlink buttons.

Unable to View Reports in Excel Format Sent as Email Attachments

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence can send Microsoft Excel reports in HTML and

XML format by email. However, you cannot open them directly from the email

message.

Save the Excel email attachments to your computer and view them from there.

Cell Height and Width Are Incorrect

The width and height of cells that contain data with curly brackets {} or

parentheses () may appear incorrectly.

This is because the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software uses different word

wrapping algorithms than IBM Cognos Business Intelligence.

214 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Appendix D. Using the expression editor

An expression is any combination of operators, constants, functions, and other

components that evaluates to a single value. You build expressions to create

calculation and filter definitions. A calculation is an expression that you use to

create a new value from existing values that are contained within a data item. A

filter is an expression that you use to retrieve a specific subset of records.

Build expressions that use the following components.

Operators

Operators specify what happens to the values on either side of the operator.

Operators are similar to functions, in that they manipulate data items and return a

result.

(

Identifies the beginning of an expression.

Syntax

( expression )

)

Identifies the end of an expression.

Syntax

( expression )

Multiplies two numeric values.

Syntax

value1 * value2

Separates expression components.

Syntax

expression ( parameter1, parameter2 )

Divides two numeric values.

Syntax

value1 / value2

Adds two numeric values.

Syntax

value1 + value2

Subtracts two numeric values or negates a numeric value.

Syntax

value1 - value2

- value

when

Works with the case construct. You can define conditions to occur when the when

expression is true.

Syntax

case [expression] when ... end

Constants

A constant is a fixed value that you can use in an expression.

date

Inserts the current system date.

date-time

Inserts the current system date and time.

interval

Inserts a zero interval: 000 00:00:00.000.

number

Inserts the number 0, which can be replaced with a new numeric value.

string

Inserts an empty string as two single quotation marks between which you can type

a string.

time

Inserts the current system time.

time with time zone

Inserts a zero time with time zone.

timestamp with time zone

Inserts an example of a timestamp with time zone.

216 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

List Summaries

This list contains predefined functions that return either a single summary value

for a group of related values or a different summary value for each instance of a

group of related values.

aggregate

Returns a calculated value using the appropriate aggregation function, based on

the aggregation type of the expression. This function appears in the Budget vs.

Actual sample report in the GO Data Warehouse (analysis) package.

Syntax

aggregate ( expression [ auto ] )

aggregate ( expression for [ all|any ] expression { , expression } )

aggregate ( expression for report )

average

Returns the average value of selected data items. Distinct is an alternative

expression that is compatible with earlier versions of the product.

Syntax

average ( [ distinct ] expression [ auto ] )

average ( [ distinct ] expression for [ all|any ] expression { , expression } )

average ( [ distinct ] expression for report )

Example

average ( Sales )

Result: Returns the average of all Sales values.

count

Returns the number of selected data items excluding null values. Distinct is an

alternative expression that is compatible with earlier versions of the product.

Syntax

count ( [ distinct ] expression [ auto ] )

count ( [ distinct ] expression for [ all|any ] expression { , expression } )

count ( [ distinct ] expression for report )

Example

count ( Sales )

Result: Returns the total number of entries under Sales.

maximum

Returns the maximum value of selected data items. Distinct is an alternative

expression that is compatible with earlier versions of the product.

Syntax

maximum ( [ distinct ] expression [ auto ] )

maximum ( [ distinct ] expression for [ all|any ] expression { , expression } )

maximum ( [ distinct ] expression for report )

Appendix D. Using the expression editor 217

Example

maximum ( Sales )

Result: Returns the maximum value out of all Sales values.

median

Returns the median value of selected data items.

Syntax

median ( expression [ auto ] )

median ( expression for [ all|any ] expression { , expression } )

median ( expression for report )

minimum

Returns the minimum value of selected data items. Distinct is an alternative

expression that is compatible with earlier versions of the product.

Syntax

minimum ( [ distinct ] expression [ auto ] )

minimum ( [ distinct ] expression for [ all|any ] expression { , expression } )

minimum ( [ distinct ] expression for report )

Example

minimum ( Sales )

Result: Returns the minimum value out of all Sales values.

standard-deviation

Returns the standard deviation of selected data items.

Syntax

standard-deviation ( expression [ auto ] )

standard-deviation ( expression for [ all|any ] expression { , expression } )

standard-deviation ( expression for report )

Example

standard-deviation ( ProductCost )

Result: Returns a value indicating the deviation between product costs and the

average product cost.

total

Returns the total value of selected data items. Distinct is an alternative expression

that is compatible with earlier versions of the product. This function is displayed

in the Budget vs. Actual sample report in the GO Data Warehouse (analysis)

package.

Syntax

total ( [ distinct ] expression [ auto ] )

total ( [ distinct ] expression for [ all|any ] expression { , expression } )

total ( [ distinct ] expression for report )

218 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Example

total ( Sales )

Result: Returns the total value of all Sales values.

variance

Returns the variance of selected data items.

Syntax

variance ( expression [ auto ] )

variance ( expression for [ all|any ] expression { , expression } )

variance ( expression for report )

Example

variance ( Product Cost )

Result: Returns a value indicating how widely product costs vary from the average

product cost.

Crosstab/Chart Summaries

This list contains predefined functions that return either a single summary value

for a set of members or a different summary value for each member of a set of

members.

aggregate

Returns a calculated value using the appropriate aggregation function based on the

aggregation type of the expression.

Syntax

aggregate ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within set set_expression )

aggregate ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within < detail|aggregate > expression )

average

Returns the average value of the selected data items.

Syntax

average ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within set set_expression )

average ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within < detail|aggregate > expression )

Example

average ( Sales )

Result: Returns the average of all Sales values.

count

Returns the number of selected data items excluding null values.

Appendix D. Using the expression editor 219

Syntax

count ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within set set_expression )

count ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within < detail|aggregate > expression )

Example

count ( Sales )

Result: Returns the total number of entries under Sales.

maximum

Returns the maximum value of selected data items.

Syntax

maximum ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within set set_expression )

maximum ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within < detail|aggregate > expression )

Example

maximum ( Sales )

Result: Returns the maximum value out of all Sales values.

median

Returns the median value of selected data items.

Syntax

median ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within set set_expression )

median ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within < detail|aggregate > expression )

minimum

Returns the minimum value of selected data items.

Syntax

minimum ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within set set_expression )

minimum ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within < detail|aggregate > expression )

Example

minimum ( Sales )

Result: Returns the minimum value out of all Sales values.

standard-deviation

Returns the standard deviation of the selected data items.

220 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Syntax

standard-deviation ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within set set_expression )

standard-deviation ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within < detail|aggregate > expression )

total

Returns the total value of the selected data items.

Syntax

total ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within set set_expression )

total ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within < detail|aggregate > expression )

variance

Returns the variance of the selected data items.

Syntax

variance ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within set set_expression )

variance ( < currentMeasure|numeric_expression >

within < detail|aggregate > expression )

Functions

Functions are pre-written formulas that simplify the process of creating

calculations. Using functions, you can quickly create formulas that may be difficult

to build yourself.

abs

Returns the absolute value of "numeric_expression". Negative values are returned

as positive values.

Syntax

abs ( numeric_expression )

Example 1

abs(15)

Result: 15

Example 2

abs ( -15 )

Result: 15

ancestor

Returns the ancestor of "member" at "level" or at "integer" number of levels above

"member". Note: The result is not guaranteed to be consistent when there is more

than one such ancestor.

Syntax

ancestor ( member, level|integer )

Appendix D. Using the expression editor 221

Example 1

ancestor ( [TrailChef Water Bag],1)

Result: Cooking Gear

Example 2

ancestor ( [TrailChef Water Bag],2)

Result: Camping Equipment

Example 3

ancestor ( [TrailChef Water Bag] , [great_outdoors_company].

[Products].[Products].[Product type] )

Result: Cooking Gear

bottomCount

Sorts a set according to the value of "numeric_expression" evaluated at each of the

members of "set_expression" and returns the bottom "index_expression" members.

Syntax

bottomCount ( set_expression , index_expression , numeric_expression )

Example

bottomCount ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products].

[Product line],2,[Revenue] )

Result: Returns the bottom two members of the set sorted by revenue.

Product line

-------

Outdoor Protection

Mountaineering Equipment

Revenue

-------

$3,171,114.92

$20,891,350.60

bottomPercent

Sorts the set specified in "set_expression" in ascending order and returns the

bottommost elements from the sorted set whose cumulative percentage of the total

is greater than or equal to "percentage".

Syntax

bottomPercent ( set_expression , percentage , numeric_expression )

Example

bottomPercent ( set ( [Camping Equipment] , [Golf Equipment] ,

[Mountaineering Equipment]),40,[2006] )

Result: For the set of Camping Equipment, Golf Equipment, and Mountaineering

Equipment, returns the members with the smallest Gross profit whose total for the

year 2006 is at least 40% of the overall total.

222 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

bottomSum

Sorts the set specified in "set_expression" in ascending order and returns the

bottommost elements from the sorted set whose cumulative total is greater than or

equal to "value".

Syntax

bottomSum ( set_expression , value , numeric_expression )

Example

bottomSum ( members ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].

[Products].[Product line] ) , 6000000 , tuple ( [2006] ,

[great_outdoors_company].[Measures].[Gross profit] ) )

Result: For the Product line members, returns the members with the smallest Gross

profit whose total for the year 2006 is at least $6,000,000.

caption

Returns the caption values of "level", "member", or "set_expression". The caption is

the string display name for an element and does not necessarily match the unique

identifier used to generate the business key or member unique name (MUN) for

the element. The caption is not necessarily unique; for example, the caption for a

month may return the month name without further year details to make the value

unique.

Syntax

caption ( level|member|set_expression )

Example 1

caption ( [TrailChef Water Bag] )

Result: TrailChef Water Bag

Example 2

caption ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products].[Product line] )

Result: Returns the caption values of the Product line set.

Camping Equipment

Mountaineering Equipment

Personal Accessories

Outdoor Protection

Golf Equipment

cast

Converts "expression" to a specified data type. Some data types allow for a length

and precision to be specified. Make sure that the target is of the appropriate type

and size. The following can be used for "datatype_specification": character, varchar,

char, numeric, decimal, integer, smallint, real, float, date, time, timestamp, time

with time zone, timestamp with time zone, and interval. When type casting to an

interval type, one of the following interval qualifiers must be specified: year,

month, or year to month for the year-to-month interval datatype; day, hour,

minute, second, day to hour, day to minute, day to second, hour to minute, hour

to second, or minute to second for the day-to-second interval datatype. Notes

When you convert a value of type timestamp to type date, the time portion of the

timestamp value is ignored. When you convert a value of type timestamp to type

Appendix D. Using the expression editor 223

time, the date portion of the timestamp is ignored. When you convert a value of

type date to type timestamp, the time components of the timestamp are set to zero.

When you convert a value of type time to type timestamp, the date component is

set to the current system date. It is invalid to convert one interval datatype to the

other (for instance because the number of days in a month is variable). Note that

you can specify the number of digits for the leading qualifier only, i.e. YEAR(4) TO

MONTH, DAY(5). Errors will be reported if the target type and size are not

compatible with the source type and size.

Syntax

cast ( expression , datatype_specification )

Example 1

cast ( ’123’ , integer )

Result: 123

Example 2

cast ( 12345 , varchar ( 10 ) )

Result: a string containing 12345

ceiling

Returns the smallest integer that is greater than or equal to "numeric_expression".

Syntax

ceiling ( numeric_expression )

Example 1

ceiling ( 4.22 )

Result: 5

Example 2

ceiling ( -1.23 )

Result: -1

children

Returns the set of children of a specified member.

Syntax

children ( member )

Example

children ( [Camping Equipment] )

Result: Returns the set of children for Camping Equipment.

Cooking Gear

Tents

Sleeping Bags

Packs

Lanterns

224 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

closingPeriod

Returns the last sibling member among the descendants of a member at "level".

This function is typically used with a time dimension.

Syntax

closingPeriod ( level [ , member ] )

Example 1

closingPeriod ( [great_outdoors_company].[Years].[Years].[Month] )

Result: 2006/Dec

Example 2

closingPeriod ( [great_outdoors_company].[Years].[Years].[Year] )

Result: 2006

Example 3

closingPeriod ( [great_outdoors_company].[Years].[Years].[Month] , [2006 Q 4] )

Result: 2006/Dec

completeTuple

Identifies a cell location (intersection) based on the specified members, each of

which must be from a different dimension. However, completeTuple () implicitly

includes the default member from all dimensions not otherwise specified in the

arguments, rather than the current member. CompleteTuple will use the default

measure rather than the currentMeasure in the query if the measure is not defined

in the completetuple function. This function appears in the Planned Headcount

sample report in the GO Data Warehouse (analysis) package.

Syntax

completeTuple ( member { , member } )

Example 1

completeTuple ( [Mountaineering Equipment] , [Fax] )

Result: The completeTuple does not pick up the currentMember by default as the

tuple function does. The values in the first column are identical across each year

because the default member of the Years dimension, the root member, is used

rather than the current member. Likewise, the first column displays Revenue rather

than Quantity Sold because the Revenue measure is the default from the Measures

dimension. CompleteTuple will use the default measure rather than the

currentMeasure in the query if the measure is not defined in the completetuple

function.

Appendix D. Using the expression editor 225

Quantity Sold

---------------

2004

2005

2006

Mountaineering Sales by Fax

--------------

$1,220,329.38

Example 2

completeTuple ( [Mountaineering Equipment] , [Fax] ,

[Quantity sold] , currentMember ( [great_outdoors_company].

[Years].[Years] ) )

Result: The completeTuple function uses the currentMember of the Years

dimension and the Quantity sold measure.

Quantity Sold

---------------

2004

2005

2006

Mountaineering Sales by Fax

--------------

8,746

7,860

cousin

Returns the child member of "member2" with the same relative position as

"member1" to its parent. This function appears in the Revenue by GO Subsidiary

2005 sample report in the GO Data Warehouse (analysis) package.

Syntax

cousin ( member1 , member2 )

Example 1

cousin ( [Irons] , [Camping Equipment] )

Result: Cooking Gear

Example 2

cousin ( [Putters] , [Camping Equipment] )

Result: Sleeping Bags

current_date

Returns a date value representing the current date of the computer that the

database software runs on.

Syntax

current_date

226 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Example

current_date

Result: 2003-03-04

currentMember

Returns the current member of the hierarchy during an iteration. If "hierarchy" is

not present in the context in which the expression is being evaluated, its default

member is assumed. This function appears in the Rolling and Moving Averages

interactive sample report.

Syntax

currentMember ( hierarchy )

current_timestamp

Returns a datetime with time zone value, representing the current time of the

computer that runs the database software if the database supports this function.

Otherwise, it represents the current time of the computer that runs IBM Cognos BI

software.

Syntax

current_timestamp

Example

current_timestamp

Result: 2003-03-03 16:40:15.535000+05:00

defaultMember

Returns the default member of "hierarchy".

Syntax

defaultMember ( hierarchy )

Example 1

defaultMember ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products] )

Result: Products

Example 2

defaultMember ( [great_outdoors_company].[Years].[Years] )

Result: Year

Example 3

defaultMember ( hierarchy ( [great_outdoors_company].[Measures].[Quantity sold] ) )

Result: Revenue

descendants

Returns the set of descendants of "member" or "set_expression" at "level" (qualified

name) or "distance" (integer 0..n) from the root. Multiple options may be specified

(separated by a space) to determine which members are returned. self: Only the

Appendix D. Using the expression editor 227

members at the specified level are included in the final set (this is the default

behaviour in the absence of any options). before: If there are any intermediate

levels between the member's level and the one specified, members from those

levels are included. If the level specified is the same as the member upon which

the function is applied, the member is included in the final set. beforewithmember:

If there are any intermediate levels between the member's level and the one

specified, members from those levels are included. The member upon which the

function is applied is also included in the final set. after: If other levels exist after

the specified level, members from those levels are included in the final set. This

function appears in the Sales Commissions for Central Europe sample report in the

GO Data Warehouse (analysis) package.

Syntax

descendants ( member|set_expression , level|distance

[ , { self|before|beforewithmember|after}])

Example 1

descendants ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products]

.[Products] , [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products].

[Product type] )

Result: Returns the set of descendants of the Products set at the Product type level.

Note: [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products].[Products] is the root

member of the Products hierarchy.

Cooking Gear

Sleeping Bags

Packs

Tents

...

Eyewear

Knives

Watches

Example 2

descendants ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products].[Products],1)

Result: Returns the set of descendants of the Products set at the first level.

Camping Equipment

Golf Equipment

Mountaineering Equipment

Outdoor Protection

Personal Accessories

Example 3

descendants ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].

[Products].[Products],3,before )

Result: Returns the descendants of the Products set before the third level.

Camping Equipment

Cooking Gear

Sleeping Bags

Packs

Tents

...

Eyewear

Knives

Watches

228 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Example 4

descendants ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].

[Products].[Products],2,self before )

Result: Returns the set of descendants of the Products set before and including the

second level.

Camping Equipment

Cooking Gear

Sleeping Bags

Packs

Tents

...

Eyewear

Knives

Watches

except

Returns the members of "set_expression1" that are not also in "set_expression2".

Duplicates are retained only if the optional keyword all is supplied as the third

argument.

Syntax

except ( set_expression1 , set_expression2[,all])

Example

except ( set ( [Camping Equipment] , [Mountaineering Equipment] ) ,

set ( [Camping Equipment] , [Golf Equipment] ) )

Result: Mountaineering Equipment

extract

Returns an integer representing the value of datepart (year, month, day, hour,

minute, second) in "datetime_expression".

Syntax

extract ( datepart , datetime_expression )

Example 1

extract ( year , 2003-03-03 16:40:15.535 )

Result: 2003

Example 2

extract ( hour , 2003-03-03 16:40:15.535 )

Result: 16

filter

Returns the set resulting from filtering a specified set based on the Boolean

condition. Each member is included in the result if and only if the corresponding

value of "Boolean_expression" is true.

Syntax

filter ( set_expression , Boolean_expression )

Appendix D. Using the expression editor 229

Example

filter ( [Product line] , [Gross margin] > .30 )

Result: Mountaineering Equipment

firstChild

Returns the first child of "member".

Syntax

firstChild ( member )

Example 1

firstChild ( [By Product Lines] )

Result: Camping Equipment

Example 2

firstChild ( [Camping Equipment] )

Result: Cooking Gear

firstSibling

Returns the first child of the parent of "member".

Syntax

firstSibling ( member )

Example 1

firstSibling ( [Outdoor Protection] )

Result: Camping Equipment

Example 2

firstSibling ( [Camping Equipment] )

Result: Camping Equipment

floor

Returns the largest integer that is less than or equal to "numeric_expression".

Syntax

floor ( numeric_expression )

Example 1

floor ( 3.22 )

Result: 3

Example 2

floor ( -1.23 )

Result: -2

230 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

head

Returns the first "index_expression" elements of "set_expression". The default for

"index_expression" is 1.

Syntax

head ( set_expression [ , index_expression ] )

Example 1

head ( members ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products].

[Product line] ) )

Result: Camping Equipment

Example 2

head ( members ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products].

[Product line]),2)

Result: Returns the top two members of the Product line set.

Camping Equipment

Mountaineering Equipment

hierarchize

Orders the members of "set_expression" in a hierarchy. Members in a level are

sorted in their natural order. This is the default ordering of the members along a

dimension when no other sort conditions are specified.

Syntax

hierarchize ( set_expression )

Example

hierarchize ( set ( [Golf Equipment] , [Mountaineering Equipment] ,

[Camping Equipment] ) )

Result: Returns Camping Equipment, Golf Equipment, Mountaineering Equipment.

hierarchy

Returns the hierarchy that contains "level", "member", or "set_expression".

Syntax

hierarchy ( level|member|set_expression )

Example 1

hierarchy ( [Cooking Gear] )

Result: Returns every member in the hierarchy that contains Cooking Gear.

Products

Camping Equipment

Cooking Gear

TrailChef Water Bag

TrailChef Canteen

...

Mountain Man Extreme

Mountain Man Deluxe

Appendix D. Using the expression editor 231

Example 2

hierarchy ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products].[Product line] )

Result: Returns every member in the hierarchy that contains the Product line.

Products

Camping Equipment

Cooking Gear

TrailChef Water Bag

TrailChef Canteen

...

Mountain Man Extreme

Mountain Man Deluxe

item

Returns a member from the "index" location within "set_expression". The index

into the set is zero based.

Syntax

item ( set_expression , index )

Example

item ( children ( [Camping Equipment]),2)

Result: Sleeping Bags

intersect

Returns the intersection of "set_expression1" and "set_expression2". The result

retains duplicates only when the optional keyword "all" is supplied as the third

argument.

Syntax

intersect ( set_expression1 , set_expression2[,all])

Example

intersect ( set ( [Camping Equipment] , [Mountaineering Equipment] )

, set ( [Camping Equipment] , [Outdoor Protection],),all)

Result: Camping Equipment

lag

Returns the sibling member that is "index_expression" number of positions prior to

"member".

Syntax

lag ( member , index_expression )

Example 1

lag ( [Tents],1)

Result: Cooking Gear

232 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Example 2

lag ( [Tents] , -2 )

Result: Packs

lastChild

Returns the last child of a specified member.

Syntax

lastChild ( member )

Example 1

lastChild ( Cooking Gear )

Result: TrailChef Utensils

Example 2

lastChild ( [By Product Line] )

Result: Golf Equipment

lastPeriods

Returns the set of members from the same level that ends with "member". The

number of members returned is the absolute value of "integer_expression". If

"integer_expression" is negative, members following and including the specified

member are returned. Typically used with a time dimension. This function appears

in the Rolling and Moving Averages interactive sample report.

Syntax

lastPeriods ( integer_expression , member )

Example 1

lastPeriods(2,[2006 Q 4] )

Result: Returns the last two members from the level that ends with 2006 Q 4.

2006 Q 3

2006 Q 4

Example 2

lastPeriods ( -3 , [2006 Q 4] )

Result: Returns the last three members from the level that starts with 2006 Q 4.

2006 Q 4

2007 Q 1

2007 Q 2

lastSibling

Returns the last child of the parent of a specified member.

Syntax

lastSibling ( member )

Appendix D. Using the expression editor 233

Example

lastSibling ( [Camping Equipment] )

Result: Golf Equipment

lead

Returns the sibling member that is "index_expression" number of positions after

"member". If "index_expression" is negative, returns the sibling member that is

"index_expression" number of positions before "member".

Syntax

lead ( member , index_expression )

Example 1

lead ( [Outdoor Protection],1)

Result: Personal Accessories

Example 2

lead ( [Outdoor Protection] , -2 )

Result: Golf Equipment

lower

Returns "string_expression" with all uppercase characters shifted to lowercase.

Syntax

lower ( string_expression )

Example

lower ( ’ABCDEF’ )

Result: abcdef

member

Defines a member based on "value_expression" in "hierarchy". "String1" identifies

the member created by this function. It must be unique in the query and different

from any other member in the same hierarchy. "String2" is the caption of the

member; if it is absent, the caption is empty. To ensure predictable results, you

should supply the "hierarchy". Note: All calculations used as grouping items whose

sibling items are other calculations or member sets should be explicitly assigned to

a hierarchy using this function. The results are not predictable otherwise. The only

exception is where the calculation involves only members of the same hierarchy as

the siblings. In this case, the calculation is assumed to belong to that hierarchy.

Syntax

member ( value_expression [ , string1 [ , string2 [ , hierarchy]]])

Example

member ( total ( currentMeasure within set filter

( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products].[Product name] ,

caption ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products].[Product name] )

starts with ’B’)),’BProducts’ , ’B Products’ ,

[great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products] )

234 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Result: Returns the quantity sold and revenue for all products that start with the

letter B.

members

Returns the set of members in "hierarchy" or "level". In the case of a hierarchy, the

order of the members in the result is not guaranteed. If a predictable order is

required, an explicit ordering function (such as hierarchize) must be used.

Syntax

members ( hierarchy|level )

Example 1

members ( [great_outdoors_company].[Years].[Years] )

Result: Returns the members in Years.

Example 2

members ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products].[Product line] )

Result: Returns the members in Product line.

mod

Returns the remainder (modulus) of "integer_expression1" divided by

"integer_expression2". "Integer_expression2" must not be zero or an exception

condition is raised.

Syntax

mod ( integer_expression1, integer_expression2 )

Example

mod(20,3)

Result: 2

nextMember

Returns the next member in the "member" level.

Syntax

nextMember ( member )

Example

nextMember ( [Outdoor Protection] )

Result: Golf Equipment

nullif

Returns null if "expression1" equals "expression2", otherwise returns "expression1".

Syntax

nullif ( expression1, expression2 )

Appendix D. Using the expression editor 235

openingPeriod

Returns the first sibling member among the descendants of a member at "level".

This function is typically used with a time dimension.

Syntax

openingPeriod ( level [ , member ] )

Example 1

openingPeriod ( [great_outdoors_company].[Years].[Years].[Month] )

Result: 2004/Jan

Example 2

openingPeriod ( [great_outdoors_company].[Years].[Years].[Year] )

Result: 2004

Example 3

openingPeriod ( [great_outdoors_company].[Years].[Years].[Month] , [2006 Q 4] )

Result: 2006/Oct

order

Arranges the members of "set_expression" according to their "value_expression"

and the third parameter. ASC and DESC arrange members in ascending or

descending order, respectively, according to their position in the set hierarchy. Then

the children of each member are arranged according to "value_expression". BASC

and BDESC arrange members in the set without regard to the hierarchy. In the

absence of an explicit specification, ASC is the default.

Syntax

order ( set_expression , value_expression [ , ASC|DESC|BASC|BDESC ] )

Example 1

order ( members ( [Great Outdoors Company].[Product].[Product].[Product type] ) ,

[Quantity sold] , BASC )

Result: Returns the quantity sold for each product type in no particular order.

Product Line

-------------

Woods

Irons

Safety

...

Sunscreen

Insect Repellents

Lanterns

Quantity

-------------

13,924

14,244

22,332

...

215,432

270,074

345,096

236 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Example 2

order ( members ( [Great Outdoors Company].[Product].[Product].[Product type] ) ,

[Quantity sold] , ASC )

Result: Returns the quantity sold for each product type in ascending order.

Product Line

-------------

Woods

Irons

Putters

...

Tents

Cooking Gear

Lanterns

Quantity

-------------

13,924

14,244

23,244

...

130,664

198,676

345,096

parallelPeriod

Returns a member from a prior period in the same relative position as "member".

This function is similar to the cousin function, but is more closely related to time

series. It takes the ancestor of "member" at "level" (called "ancestor") and the

sibling of "ancestor" that lags by "integer_expression" positions, and returns the

parallel period of "member" among the descendants of that sibling. When

unspecified, "integer_expression" defaults to 1 and "member" defaults to the

current member.

Syntax

parallelPeriod ( level [ , integer_expression [ , member]])

Example 1

parallelPeriod ( [great_outdoors_company].[Years].[Years].

[Quarter] , -1 , [2006/Aug] )

Result: 2006/Nov

Example 2

parallelPeriod ( [great_outdoors_company].[Years].[Years].

[Quarter],1,[2006/Aug] )

Result: 2006/May

Example 3

parallelPeriod ( [great_outdoors_company].[Years].[Years].

[Year],2,[2006/Aug] )

Result: 2004/Aug

Appendix D. Using the expression editor 237

parent

Returns the member that is the parent of "member" or "measure".

Syntax

parent ( member|measure )

Example

parent ( [Cooking Gear] )

Result: Camping Equipment

periodsToDate

Returns a set of sibling members from the same level as "member", as constrained

by "level". It locates the ancestor of "member" at "level" and returns that ancestor's

descendants at the same level as "member" (up to and including "member").

Typically used with a time dimension. This function is displayed in the Rolling

and Moving Averages interactive sample report.

Syntax

periodsToDate ( level , member )

Example

periodsToDate ( [great_outdoors_company].[Years].

[Years].[Year] , [2004/Mar] )

Result: Returns values for [2004/Jan], [2004/Feb], [2004/Mar]

power

Returns "numeric_expression1" raised to the power "numeric_expression2". If

"numeric_expression1" is negative, then "numeric_expression2" must result in an

integer value.

Syntax

power ( numeric_expression1 , numeric_expression2 )

Example

power(3,2)

Result: 9

prevMember

Returns the member that immediately precedes "member" in the same level. This

function is displayed in the Sales Growth Year Over Year sample report in the GO

Data Warehouse (analysis) package.

Syntax

prevMember ( member )

Example 1

prevMember ( [Outdoor Protection] )

Result: Personal Accessories

238 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Example 2

prevMember ( [2005] )

Result: 2004

rootMember

Returns the root member of a single-root hierarchy. This function is displayed in

the Promotion Success sample report in the GO Data Warehouse (analysis)

package.

Syntax

rootMember ( hierarchy )

rootMembers

Returns the root members of a hierarchy.

Syntax

rootMembers ( hierarchy )

Example

rootMembers ( [great_outdoors_company].[Years].[Years] )

Result: By Time

_round

Returns "numeric_expression" rounded to "integer_expression" places to the right

of the decimal point. Notes: "integer_expression" must be a non-negative integer.

Rounding takes place before data formatting is applied.

Syntax

_round ( numeric_expression , integer_expression )

Example

_round ( 1220.42369, 2 )

Result: 1220.42

set

Returns the list of members defined in the expression. The members must belong

to the same hierarchy.

Syntax

set ( member { , member } )

Example

set ( [Golf Equipment] , [Irons] , [TrailChef Cup] )

Result: Returns Golf Equipment, Irons, and TrailChef Cup.

siblings

Returns the children of the parent of the specified member.

Appendix D. Using the expression editor 239

Syntax

siblings ( member )

Example

siblings ( [Golf Equipment] )

Result: Returns the siblings of Golf Equipment.

Camping Equipment

Golf Equipment

Mountaineering Equipment

Outdoor Protection

Personal Accessories

sqrt

Returns the square root of "numeric_expression". "Numeric_expression" must be

non-negative.

Syntax

sqrt ( numeric_expression )

Example

sqrt(9)

Result: 3

subset

Returns a subset of members in "set_expression" starting at "index_expression1"

from the beginning. If the count "index_expression2" is specified, that many

members are returned (if available). Otherwise, all remaining members are

returned.

Syntax

subset ( set_expression, index_expression1 [ , index_expression2 ] )

Example 1

subset ( members ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products]

.[Products].[Product line]),2)

Result: Returns the members of the Product line set starting at the second member.

Mountaineering Equipment

Outdoor Protection

Personal Accessories

Example 2

subset ( members ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products]

.[Product line]),2,2)

Result: Returns two members of the Product line set starting at the second

member.

Mountaineering Equipment

Outdoor Protection

240 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

substring

Returns the substring of "string_expression" that starts at position

"integer_expression1" for "integer_expression2" characters or to the end of

"string_expression" if "integer_expression2" is omitted. The first character in

"string_expression" is at position 1.

Syntax

substring ( string_expression , integer_expression1 [ , integer_expression2 ] )

Example

substring ( ’abcdefg’,3,2)

Result: cd

tail

Returns the last "index_expression" elements of "set expression". The default for

"index_expression" is 1.

Syntax

tail ( set_expression [ , index_expression ] )

Example 1

tail (members ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products]

.[Product line] ) )

Result: Returns the last member of the Product line set.

Personal Accessories

Example 2

tail ( members ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].[Products]

.[Product line]),2)

Result: Returns the last two members of the Product line set.

Outdoor Protection

Personal Accessories

topCount

Sorts a set according to the values of "numeric_expression" evaluated at each of the

members of "set_expression" and returns the top "index_expression" members.

Syntax

topCount ( set_expression , index_expression , numeric_expression )

Example

topCount ( [great_outdoors_company].[Products].

[Products].[Product line],2,[Revenue] )

Result: Returns the top two revenues for the Product line set.

Appendix D. Using the expression editor 241

Product line

-------

Camping Equipment

Personal Accessories

Revenue

-------

$89,713,990.92

$31,894,465.86

topPercent

Sorts the set specified in "set_expression" in descending order and returns the

topmost elements from the sorted set whose cumulative percentage of the total is

greater than or equal to "percentage".

Syntax

topPercent ( set_expression , percentage , numeric_expression )

Example

topPercent ( set ( [Camping Equipment] , [Golf Equipment] ,

[Mountaineering Equipment]),40,[2006] )

Result: For the set of Camping Equipment, Golf Equipment, and Mountaineering

Equipment, returns the members with the largest Gross profit whose total for the

year 2006 is at least 40% of the overall total.

topSum

Sorts the set specified in "set_expression" in descending order and returns the

topmost elements from the sorted set whose cumulative total is greater than or

equal to "value".

Syntax

topSum ( set_expression , value , numeric_expression )

Example

topSum ( children ( [Products] ) , 16000000 , tuple ( [2006] ,

[great_outdoors_company].[Measures].[Gross profit] ) )

Result: For the Products members, returns the members with the largest Gross

profit whose total for the year 2006 is at least $16,000,000.

trim

Returns "string_expression" trimmed of leading and trailing blanks or trimmed of a

certain character specified in "match_character_expression". "Both" is implicit when

the first argument is not stated and blank is implicit when the second argument is

not stated.

Syntax

trim([[trailing|leading|both ] [ match_character_expression ]

, ] string_expression )

Example 1

trim ( trailing ’A’ , ’ABCDEFA’ )

Result: ABCDEF

242 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Example 2

trim ( both , ’ ABCDEF ’ )

Result: ABCDEF

tuple

Identifies a cell location (intersection) based on the specified members, each of

which must be from a different dimension. This function implicitly includes the

current member from all dimensions that are not otherwise specified in the

arguments. The current member of any dimension not specified in the evaluating

context is assumed to be the default member of that dimension. The value of this

cell can be obtained with the "value" function.

Syntax

tuple ( member { , member } )

Example

tuple ( [Mountaineering Equipment] , [Fax] )

Result: Returns the Mountaineering Equipment sales by fax.

union

Returns data for "set_expression1" and "set_expression2". The result retains

duplicates only when the optional keyword "all" is supplied as the third argument.

Syntax

union ( set_expression1 , set_expression2[,all])

Example 1

union ( set ( [Camping Equipment] , [Golf Equipment]),set

( [Golf Equipment] , [Mountaineering Equipment] ) )

Result: Returns data for both sets as one new set, showing the Golf Equipment

column only once.

Example 2

union ( set ( [Camping Equipment] , [Golf Equipment]),set

( [Golf Equipment] , [Mountaineering Equipment] ) , all )

Result: Returns data for both sets as one new set, showing the Golf Equipment

column twice.

unique

Removes all duplicates from "set_expression". The remaining members retain their

original order.

Syntax

unique ( set_expression )

upper

Returns "string_expression" with all lowercase characters converted to uppercase.

Appendix D. Using the expression editor 243

Syntax

upper ( string_expression )

Example

upper ( ’abcdef’ )

Result: ABCDEF

value

Returns the value of the cell identified by "tuple". Note that the default member of

the Measures dimension is the Default Measure.

Syntax

value ( tuple )

Example 1

value ( tuple ( [great_outdoors_company].[Years].[Years].[Year] ->:[PC]

.[Years (Root)].[20040101-20041231] , [great_outdoors_company]

.[Measures].[Revenue] ) )

Result: $34,750,563.50

Example 2

value ( tuple ( [2004] , [Camping Equipment] , [Revenue] ) )

Result: $20,471,328.88

244 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

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246 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

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248 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

Glossary

This glossary provides terms and definitions for

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence software and

products.

The following cross-references are used in this

glossary:

v See refers you from a nonpreferred term to the

preferred term or from an abbreviation to the

spelled-out form.

v See also refers you to a related or contrasting

term.

For other terms and definitions, see the IBM

Terminology website (opens in new window).

“A” “B” “C” on page 250 “D” on page 251 “E” on

page 252 “F” on page 252 “G” on page 252 “H”

on page 252 “I” on page 252 “J” on page 252 “L”

on page 253 “M” on page 253 “N” on page 254

“O” on page 254 “P” on page 254 “Q” on page

255 “R” on page 255 “S” on page 255 “T” on page

256 “U” on page 256 “V” on page 257 “W” on

page 257

access permission

A privilege that permits the access or use

of an object.

accountability scorecard

A scorecard that Metric Studio

automatically builds for each user which

contains the metrics and projects they

own.

active report

A report output type that provides a

highly interactive and easy-to-use

managed report that users can consume

offline. Active reports are built for

business users, allowing them to explore

their data and derive additional insight.

agent A process that performs an action on

behalf of a user or other program without

user intervention or on a regular

schedule, and reports the results back to

the user or program.

alias An alternative name used instead of a

primary name.

AnalyticsZone

An IBM online community for business

analytics. Users can download products

and extensible visualizations, view

publications and training materials, learn

about upcoming IBM events, and perform

other functions.

anonymous access

A type of access that allows users and

servers to access a server without first

authenticating with it.

application tier component

For installation, the set of processors that

access the query databases to gather

information and then render the results as

PDF and HTML reports and metrics.

Application tier components also pass

requests to Content Manager and render

the results that Content Manager retrieves

from the content store.

attribute

In BI Modeling, a characteristic of an

entity which is descriptive rather than a

unique identifier or an aggregative

measure.

authentication (AuthN)

The process of validating the identity of a

user or server.

authentication provider

The communication mechanism to an

external authentication source.

Functionalities, such as user

authentication, group membership, and

namespace searches, are made available

through authentication providers.

AuthN

See authentication.

burst To create several report results by running

a single report once. For example, the

user can create a report that shows sales

for each employee, and run it once,

sending different results to regional

managers by bursting on region.

burst key

The dimension or level of a query in the

report specification that is used to create,

or burst, a set of report results.

CA See certificate authority.

calculated member

A member of a dimension whose measure

values are not stored but are calculated at

run time using an expression.

canvas

An area within a dashboard or workspace

that users interact with to create, view,

and manipulate content and data.

capability

A group of functions and features that

can be hidden or revealed to simplify the

user interface. Capabilities can be enabled

or disabled by changing preference

settings, or they can be controlled through

an administration interface.

cardinality

1. For relational data sources, a

numerical indication of the

relationship between two query

subjects, query items, or other model

objects.

2. For OLAP data sources, the number of

members in a hierarchy. The

cardinality property for a hierarchy is

used to assign solve orders to

expressions.

cascading prompt

A prompt that uses values from a

previous prompt to filter the values in the

current prompt or pick list.

certificate

In computer security, a digital document

that binds a public key to the identity of

the certificate owner, thereby enabling the

certificate owner to be authenticated. A

certificate is issued by a certificate

authority and is digitally signed by that

authority. See also certificate authority.

certificate authority (CA)

A component that issues certificates to

each computer on which components are

installed.

CGI See Common Gateway Interface.

cipher suite

The combination of authentication, key

exchange algorithm, and the Secure

Sockets Layer (SSL) cipher specification

used for the secure exchange of data.

class style

A combination of formatting

characteristics, such as font, font size, and

border, that the user names and stores as

a set.

CM See Content Manager.

Common Gateway Interface (CGI)

An Internet standard for defining scripts

that pass information from a web server

to an application program, through an

HTTP request, and vice versa.

compatible query mode (CQM)

The query processing mode that is

consistent with version 8.4.1 of Cognos

Business Intelligence, and that is

maintained for upgrade success. See also

dynamic query mode.

condition

An expression that can be evaluated as

true, false, or unknown. It can be

expressed in natural language text, in

mathematically formal notation, or in a

machine-readable language.

constraint

1. A security specification that denies

one or more users the ability to access

a model component or to perform a

modeling or authoring task.

2. A restriction on the possible values

that users can enter in a field.

contact

A named email address to which reports

and agent e-mails can be sent. Contacts

are never authenticated.

content locale

A code that is used to set the language or

dialect used for browsers and report text,

and the regional preferences, such as

formats for time, date, money, money

expressions, and time of day.

Content Manager (CM)

The service that retrieves information

from the content store, and saves

information to the content store.

250 IBM Cognos Workspace Advanced Version 10.2.2: User Guide

content store

A repository that is used to hold

specifications of reports, models, and data

sources.

CQM See compatible query mode.

credential

A set of information that grants a user or

process certain access rights.

cube A multidimensional representation of data

needed for online analytical processing,

multidimensional reporting, or

multidimensional planning applications.

custom set

In Analysis Studio, a named object which

can include filter rules, calculations, and

sort rules. Custom sets can define a set of

members that is different from any set

originally defined in the cube model. See

also predefined set, set.

dashboard

A web page that can contain one or more

widgets that graphically represent

business data.

data source

The source of data itself, such as a

database or XML file, and the connection

information necessary for accessing the

data.

data source connection

The named information that defines the

type of data source, its physical location,

and any sign-on requirements. A data

source can have more than one

connection.

data tree

See metadata tree.

deployment

The process of moving an application

(such as a report or model) to a different

instance. For example, reports are often

created in a test environment and then

deployed to production. When an

application is deployed, it is exported,

transferred, and imported.

deployment archive

A file used for deployment. A deployment

archive contains the data from the content

store that is being moved.

deployment specification

A definition of what objects to move

(deploy) between a source and target

environment, the deployment preferences,

and the archive name. Deployment

specifications are used for import and

export.

derived index

A calculated metric that provides a status

and a score based on other metrics.

details-based set

A set based on an item and its immediate

details. See also set.

dimension

A broad grouping of descriptive data

about a major aspect of a business, such

as products, dates, or locations. Each

dimension includes different levels of

members in one or more hierarchies and

an optional set of calculated members or

special categories.

dimensional data source

A data source containing data modeled

using OLAP multidimensional concepts,

including dimensions, hierarchies, and

measures.

dimensional modeled relational data (DMR)

Metadata that has been modeled to

present relational data (tables, columns,

joins) as dimensions (members,

measures).

DMR See dimensional modeled relational data.

DQM See dynamic query mode.

drill down

In a multidimensional representation of

data, to access information by starting

with a general category and moving

downwards through the hierarchy of

information, for example from Years to

Quarters to Months.

dynamic cube

An in-memory multidimensional

representation of a subset of a data

warehouse.

dynamic query mode (DQM)

A Java-based query execution mode that

provides native access to data sources. It

optimizes queries to address query

complexity and large data volumes. It

provides advanced query capabilities,

such as in-memory caching, that benefits

Glossary 251

query planning, execution, and results.