Query Tutorial

TRAINING SERVICES
Cognos 8 BI Ad Hoc Querying

Instructor Guide
COGNOS
BI
AD
HOC
QUERYING
Cognos 8 BI Ad Hoc Querying
Copyright (C) 2005 Cognos Incorporated.
C88150
Portions of Cognos(R) software products are protected

by one or more of the following U.S. Patents: 6,609,123
B1; 6,611,838 B1; 6,662,188 B1; 6,728,697 B2;
6,741,982 B2; 6,763,520 B1; 6,768,995 B2; 6,782,378
B2; 6,847,973 B2.
Part Number: 47996

Published December 2005
While every attempt has been made to ensure that the

information in this document is accurate and complete,
some typographical errors or technical inaccuracies may
exist. Cognos does not accept responsibility for any kind
of loss resulting from the use of information contained in
this document.
This document shows the publication date. The
information contained in this document is subject to
change without notice. Any improvements or changes to
either the product or the document will be documented in
subsequent editions.
U.S. Government Restricted Rights. The software and
accompanying materials are provided with Restricted
Rights. Use, duplication, or disclosure by the
Government is subject to the restrictions in subparagraph
(C)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer
Software clause at DFARS 252.227-7013, or
subparagraphs (C) (1) and (2) of the Commercial
Computer Software - Restricted Rights at 48CFR52.22719, as applicable. The Contractor is Cognos Corporation,
15 Wayside Road, Burlington, MA 01803.
This software/documentation contains proprietary
information of Cognos Incorporated. All rights are
reserved. Reverse engineering of this software is
prohibited. No part of this software/documentation may
be copied, photocopied, reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, transmitted in any form or by any means, or
translated into another language without the prior written
consent of Cognos Incorporated.
Cognos and the Cognos logo are trademarks of Cognos
Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
All other names are trademarks or registered trademarks
of their respective companies.
Information about Cognos Products and Accessibility can
be found at www.Cognos.com
IP-2
2005, Cognos Incorporated

Cognos Confidential. For internal use only.
This guide contains proprietary information which is protected by copyright.
No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated into another language.
INSTRUCTOR
PREFACE
Contents
PREFACE.............................................................................................................................. IP-1
CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................IP-3
COURSE OVERVIEW ..............................................................................................................IP-7
COURSE OUTLINE .................................................................................................................IP-8
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ..............................................................................................IP-10
GENERAL SETUP AND INSTRUCTOR PREPARATION ..............................................................IP-12
WORK WITH THE VMWARE WORKSTATION ........................................................................IP-13
DOCUMENT CONVENTIONS .................................................................................................IP-16
POWERPOINT TIPS ..............................................................................................................IP-17
VMWARE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS .....................................................................................IP-18
GET THE CLASS STARTED ...................................................................................................IP-20
POST-CLASS AGENDA .........................................................................................................IP-21
SUBMIT FEEDBACK AND LOCATE ADDITIONAL PRODUCT INFORMATION ...........................IP-22
COGNOS PRODUCT HELP .....................................................................................................IP-23
SETUP INSTRUCTIONS .....................................................................................................SI-1
IMPORTANT SETUP INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS COURSE ...........................................................SI-3
INSTALL MICROSOFT SQL SERVER 2000 ..............................................................................SI-4
MICROSOFT SQL SERVER 2000 SP3 .....................................................................................SI-7
MICROSOFT SQL SERVER KB815495...................................................................................SI-8
ENSURE THAT THE PROPER PATCHES FOR SQL SERVER 2000 ARE INSTALLED ......................SI-9
CREATE THE COGNOS 8 CONTENT STORE ...........................................................................SI-10
RESTORE THE SAMPLE DATABASES ....................................................................................SI-11
SET UP WEB ALIASES ..........................................................................................................SI-13
CONFIGURE COGNOS 8........................................................................................................SI-15
CREATE USERS IN THIRD-PARTY AUTHENTICATION PROVIDERS.........................................SI-17
DEPLOY COGNOS 8 SAMPLES AND SOLUTIONS ...................................................................SI-18
PUBLISH POWERCUBE AND ADD DATA SOURCES ...............................................................SI-19
SET SECURITY ON POWERCUBE...........................................................................................SI-21
RESTRICT ACCESS TO ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS ..................................................................SI-22
ADD SPECIFIC USERS TO QUERY USER GROUP .....................................................................SI-23
ADD SPECIFIC USERS TO AUTHORS USER GROUP .................................................................SI-24
REMOVE EVERYONE FROM COGNOS ROLES ........................................................................SI-25
ENSURE SIMPLE FILE SHARING IS OFF .................................................................................SI-26
STOP DEFAULT SMTP VIRTUAL SERVER ............................................................................SI-27
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................1
COURSE OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................................3

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OVERVIEW OF COGNOS 8 BI ........................................................................................... 1-1

OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................................... 1-3
REVIEW THE PROCESS FOR DECISION MAKING ...................................................................... 1-4
CORPORATE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ............................................................ 1-5
COGNOS 8 BI - INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1-6
EXAMINE THE STUDIOS IN COGNOS 8 BI ................................................................................ 1-7
OVERVIEW OF COGNOS 8 BI FEATURES ................................................................................ 1-8
REVIEW OPEN DATA ACCESS................................................................................................. 1-9
WORK WITH POWERCUBE DATA IN COGNOS 8 BI................................................................ 1-10
ANALYZE DATA FROM MULTIPLE DATA SOURCES .............................................................. 1-11
WHAT IS DIMENSIONALLY MODELED RELATIONAL METADATA?........................................ 1-12
QUERY OLAP DATA SOURCE .............................................................................................. 1-13
ACCESS ENTERPRISE PLANNING (EP) DATA SOURCES ......................................................... 1-14
IDENTIFY DATA SOURCE TYPES IN THE STUDIOS ................................................................. 1-15
DEMO 1: NAVIGATE DATA IN DIFFERENT STUDIOS .............................................................. 1-16
USE DEEP, LARGE DATA COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ............................................................ 1-24
DESIGN INFORMATIVE EXECUTIVE DASHBOARDS................................................................ 1-25
PERFORM SELF-SERVICE REPORTING................................................................................... 1-26
MANAGE THE EVENT LIFECYCLE ......................................................................................... 1-27
EXAMINE INTEGRATED METRICS ......................................................................................... 1-28
EXTENDED DATA TRANSFORMATION SERVICES IN DATA MANAGER................................... 1-29
PORTAL INTEGRATION AND SUBSCRIPTION .......................................................................... 1-30
SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 1-31
INTRODUCTION TO COGNOS CONNECTION ............................................................. 2-1
OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................................... 2-3
WHAT IS COGNOS CONNECTION ............................................................................................ 2-4
DISCUSS ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ................................................................................. 2-5
DEFINE REPORTS ................................................................................................................... 2-6
RUN A REPORT ....................................................................................................................... 2-7
SCHEDULE REPORTS .............................................................................................................. 2-8
SCHEDULE A SINGLE REPORT................................................................................................. 2-9
SCHEDULE MULTIPLE REPORTS ........................................................................................... 2-10
VIEW AND MANAGE SCHEDULES ......................................................................................... 2-11
VIEW THE RUN HISTORY OF REPORTS .................................................................................. 2-12
VIEW A REPORT ................................................................................................................... 2-13
VIEW REPORT OUTPUT VERSIONS ......................................................................................... 2-14
DEMO 1: RUN A REPORT AND RENDER THE OUTPUT IN A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE ............... 2-15
DEMO 2: SCHEDULE A REPORT ............................................................................................ 2-19
DEMO 3: SCHEDULE MULTIPLE REPORTS ............................................................................. 2-23
DISTRIBUTE REPORTS .......................................................................................................... 2-29
CREATE REPORT VIEWS ....................................................................................................... 2-30
SPECIFY PROPERTIES OF AN ENTRY...................................................................................... 2-31
SPECIFY HOW CONTENT APPEARS ....................................................................................... 2-32
DEMO 4: CREATE A REPORT VIEW AND SET PREFERENCES.................................................. 2-33
ACCESS EXTERNAL FILES WITH LINKS ................................................................................. 2-38
ORGANIZE CONTENT WITH FOLDERS ................................................................................... 2-39
ORGANIZE CONTENT WITH SHORTCUTS ............................................................................... 2-40
ORGANIZE ENTRIES ............................................................................................................. 2-41
SEARCH FOR ENTRIES .......................................................................................................... 2-42
DEMO 5: ORGANIZE CONTENT IN COGNOS CONNECTION ..................................................... 2-43
GROUP CONTENT INTO A SINGLE VIEW................................................................................ 2-48
EXAMINE PORTAL PAGE CONTENT ...................................................................................... 2-49
DEMO 6: PERSONALIZE A PORTAL........................................................................................ 2-50
ACCESS SHARED PAGES ....................................................................................................... 2-54
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INSTRUCTOR
PREFACE
DEMO 7: ACCESS A SHARED PAGE ....................................................................................... 2-55

ENABLE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PORTLETS .................................................................. 2-58
DEMO 8: ENABLE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PORTLETS ................................................... 2-59
SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 2-63
INTRODUCTION TO QUERY STUDIO ............................................................................ 3-1
OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................................... 3-3
EXAMINE QUERY STUDIO ...................................................................................................... 3-4
LIST THE PACKAGES AVAILABLE FOR REPORTING ................................................................. 3-5
UNDERSTAND REPORT TYPES ................................................................................................ 3-6
OPEN AD HOC REPORTS ........................................................................................................ 3-7
ADD DATA TO AD HOC REPORTS ........................................................................................... 3-8
VIEW DATA BY USING CHARTS ............................................................................................. 3-9
SAVE AD HOC REPORTS....................................................................................................... 3-10
DEMO 1: EXPLORE QUERY STUDIO ...................................................................................... 3-11
SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 3-15
CREATE REPORTS IN QUERY STUDIO ......................................................................... 4-1
OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................................... 4-3
CREATE AN AD HOC REPORT ................................................................................................. 4-4
DISPLAY DATA WITH LIST REPORTS ...................................................................................... 4-5
CREATE GROUPED LIST REPORTS .......................................................................................... 4-6
SORT DATA IN AD HOC REPORTS .......................................................................................... 4-7
DEMO 1: CREATE AND ENHANCE AN AD HOC REPORT .......................................................... 4-8
SPECIFY COLUMN ORDER IN AD HOC REPORTS ................................................................... 4-13
EXPAND AND COLLAPSE DATA GROUPS .............................................................................. 4-14
DISPLAY CROSSTAB REPORTS .............................................................................................. 4-15
DEMO 2: CREATE AN AD HOC CROSSTAB REPORT............................................................... 4-16
DISPLAY DATA GRAPHICALLY WITH CHARTS ...................................................................... 4-19
SPECIFY A CHART TYPE ....................................................................................................... 4-20
ENHANCE THE DISPLAY OF CHARTS..................................................................................... 4-22
ADD CALCULATED DATA TO AD HOC REPORTS .................................................................. 4-23
CREATE CALCULATED COLUMNS......................................................................................... 4-24
ADD SUMMARIZED DATA TO AD HOC REPORTS .................................................................. 4-25
CREATE NEW REPORT ITEMS WITH CUSTOM GROUPS .......................................................... 4-26
DEMO 3: CALCULATE DATA IN AN AD HOC REPORT............................................................ 4-27
EXAMINE DIMENSIONAL DATA............................................................................................. 4-30
CHANGE THE FOCUS OF A REPORT ....................................................................................... 4-31
VIEW RELATED DATA ........................................................................................................... 4-32
DEMO 4: NAVIGATE DIMENSIONAL DATA............................................................................ 4-33
DEMO 5: INSERT A CALCULATED COLUMN AND DISPLAY A CHART..................................... 4-36
VIEW DATA IN AD HOC REPORTS ........................................................................................ 4-39
PRINT AD HOC REPORTS ...................................................................................................... 4-40
SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 4-41
WORKSHOP 1: CREATE A RANKED REPORT ......................................................................... 4-43

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ENHANCE REPORTS IN QUERY STUDIO...................................................................... 5-1

OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................................... 5-3
HIGHLIGHT REPORT ITEMS USING CONDITIONAL STYLES ...................................................... 5-4
DEMO 1: USE CONDITIONAL FORMATTING ............................................................................ 5-5
FILTER DATA IN AD HOC REPORTS ........................................................................................ 5-9
FILTER DATA BASED ON REPORT DETAILS .......................................................................... 5-10
FILTER DATA BASED ON GROUP SUMMARIES ...................................................................... 5-11
FILTER DATA BASED ON INDIVIDUAL RECORDS .................................................................. 5-12
SPECIFY FILTER CRITERIA WITH PROMPTS ........................................................................... 5-13
USE ADVANCE FILTERS ....................................................................................................... 5-14
DEMO 2: FILTER AND CALCULATE DATA IN AN AD HOC REPORT ........................................ 5-15
DEMO 3: USE A PROMPT TO FILTER DATA ........................................................................... 5-20
DEMO 4: COMBINE FILTERS ................................................................................................. 5-24
SPECIFY ADVANCED OPTIONS.............................................................................................. 5-29
DEMO 5: RUN A REPORT USING ADVANCED OPTIONS ......................................................... 5-30
FORMAT A REPORT .............................................................................................................. 5-34
DEMO 6: FORMAT A REPORT ................................................................................................ 5-35
APPLY A REPORT TEMPLATE ................................................................................................ 5-39
DEMO 7: APPLY COMPANY REPORTING STANDARDS TO A QUERY STUDIO REPORT ............ 5-40
SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 5-44
WHAT'S NEXT....................................................................................................................... 1-1
END-TO-END WORKSHOP ................................................................................................A-1
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INSTRUCTOR
PREFACE
Course Overview
Course Overview
Cognos 8 BI Ad Hoc Querying is a one-day, instructor-led course designed
for business and professional authors who want to learn how to create, modify
and organize ad hoc reports. The course covers how to use different report
capabilities and the appropriate use of each, how to graphically display the
data, and how to create reports with the same look and feel through the use of
templates. The course also covers basic administrative tasks, such as
scheduling reports and delivering reports in different formats (HTML, PDF,
Excel, etc.).
Intended Audience
This course is intended for business and professional authors that want to
learn about the features offered in Cognos 8 BI Ad Hoc Querying.
Topics Covered
Topics covered in this course include:
view the different studios in Cognos 8 and highlight key capabilities of

Cognos 8 BI
use Cognos Connection to schedule, manage, and organize content
create and modify reports and charts
enhance reports by highlighting exceptions, filtering data and formatting a

report
customize ad hoc reports using templates
Course Prerequisites
Participants should have:
knowledge of your business requirements
experience using the Windows operating system
experience using a Web browser

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Course Outline
The following table outlines the high-level topics for each module, and the
number of slides, demos and workshops included, as well as the estimated
teaching time.
Module 1: Overview of Cognos 8 BI
Topics
Review Corporate Performance

Management
Introduce Cognos 8 BI
Examine the different studios in

Cognos 8 BI
Identify the different data sources

within the studios
Highlight key capabilities of

Cognos 8 BI
Slides
Demos
23
Workshops
Est.
Time
45 mins.
Module 2: Introduction to Cognos Connection

Topics
Identify the advantages of using

Cognos Connection
Schedule and manage reports
Organize content
Include dynamic Web pages
Slides
Demos
Workshops
Est. Time
35
1.5 hr.
Slides
Demos
Workshops
Est. Time
10
30 mins.
Module 3: Introduction to Query Studio

Topics
List the packages available for

reporting
Examine report types
Add and save data to ad hoc reports
View data by using charts
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INSTRUCTOR
PREFACE
Module 4: Create Reports in Query Studio

Topics
Create list, grouped list, and

crosstab reports
List the charts available and their

appropriate use
Calculate and sort report data
Define a custom group to create

your own report item
Slides
Demos
Workshops
Est. Time
28
2 hrs.
Slides
Demos
Module 5: Enhance Reports in Query Studio

Topics
Highlight report items using

conditional styles
Focus the scope of a report using

filters
Format report objects
Apply a report template
18
Workshops
Est.
Time
1.5 hrs.
Appendix A: End-To-End Workshop

Topics
Slides
End-to-end workshop reviewing all

topics
NA
Demos
Workshops

Est.
Time
1 hr
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Instructional Materials
Student Guide
The Student Guide contains material that helps to explain features of the
product, along with the presentation slides that are presented by the instructor.
Student demos and workshops are incorporated in the course to enrich the
learning experience through hands-on practice.
Demos
Demos appear after covering one or more topics or features of the application.
While not every product function is demonstrated, participants work with the
more important and complex features through a series of tasks. Demo tasks
contain a number of steps related to a specific action or feature of the product.
Workshops
In most of the modules, a supplementary workshop is included. If participants
followed the concepts in class without difficulties, they can probably complete
the workshop with no additional information. The second section for each
workshop contains a task table that identifies each task, where to work in the
application, and any applicable hints to help the participants. The third section
of the workshop contains screen captures of the expected results. The fourth
section contains a step-by-step solution to the workshop. Participants may
want to follow these instructions if they are not able to complete the workshop
or if they require a little more practice with the application.
VMware Image
The VMware image is located on C:\Vm_Images\Courses\C88150
If necessary, you can run Cognos 8 from the host environment. Simply enter a
cmd prompt in the Virtual Machine, type IPCONFIG /ALL and obtain the IP
Address.
Enter this IP Address in the browser of the host environment, as shown below:
http://<VMware IP address>/cognos8
NOTE: This is only available from the host computer and not available from the
classroom workgroup.
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INSTRUCTOR
PREFACE
Instructor Guide
The Instructor Guide contains the same content presented in the Student
Guide, along with additional notes to supplement and add value to the lecture.
The information can be generic, non-technical information, such as multiple
ways to perform the same command or a more in-depth discussion of a topic. It
may also be used to address more technical questions from participants or as
supplementary technical discussion, at the discretion of the instructor. It helps
to provide the appropriate level of information to a specific audience.
Instructor Data CD
The Instructor Data CD contains an executable (EXE) file that can install any or
all of the following files. By inserting the CD into your computer and following
the prompts as the auto install runs, these files will be installed in
C:\Edcognos\C88150.
Instructor Slides
These files contain the Microsoft PowerPoint slide presentation for each
module of the course as presented in the Student Guide:
StartC88150.ppt
Introduction.ppt
C8-01-Overview_of_Cognos8_BI.ppt
C8-02-Intro_to_Cognos_Connection.ppt
C8-03-Intro_to_Query_Studio.ppt
C8-04-Create_Rpts_in_Query_Studio.ppt
C8-05-Enhance_Reports_in_Query_Studio.ppt
C8-A-End_to_End_Workshop.ppt
PDF version of the Instructor Guide

These files are the Instructor Guide Microsoft Word documents in PDF.
Student Data
This course has no student data files.
Demos, Workshops, and Workshop Solutions

The course is designed to be easily customized for on-site training with
customer data. The files contain Microsoft Word files that you can use to
modify the demonstrations and workshops as required.

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General Setup and Instructor Preparation

Pre-Class Agenda
To ensure that the class runs smoothly, you should know the answers to the
following questions. If you need help in obtaining answers, contact the customer
or customer's sales representative (if the course is scheduled for a client site), or
the local office responsible for course logistics.
Who is the contact person for class setup?
What is the classroom setup? Is there a white board? Is there a flip

chart? Is there a computer for the instructor, a PC viewer, overhead
projector, and screen?
Will the physical environment be set up prior to your arrival (product

loaded and PowerPoint files on the computer)?
What time does the class start?
What hours are available for accessing the teaching site, copying the
files to the hard disk, tuning the color on the PC viewer, and so on?
What Cognos office is responsible for sending the Student Guides?
If the course has been previously taught on the computers you are
using, have the Preferences been reset to their defaults, and have
student files been deleted?
Prepare to Teach
After you have configured the instructor and student computers, consider the
following:
Run through the VMware Image.
Run through at least one module in a classroom with a PC viewer.
Run through the full course at least once on a computer.
Make sure you complete each of the demos before teaching the course
so that you become familiar with each step required.
Have a set of product reference manuals in the classroom.
Make sure that there is a Student Guide for each participant.
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INSTRUCTOR
PREFACE
Work with the VMware Workstation

This section includes steps to perform the following actions when working with a VM
Workstation:
Start a VMware workstation
Open a VMware image
Close a VMware image
Reset Course Image
VMware Image Settings
Add addition users to Outlook Express
Start a VMware Workstation.

1. From the Start menu, point to All Programs, VMware, and then click VMware
Workstation.
VMware Workstation opens.
Open a VMware Image.
1. From the File menu click Open and navigate to D:\Vm_images\Courses\
<Course Code>, or from the Favorites list click C88011
2. In the Commands list click Start this virtual machine.
The standard Windows logon appears.
Note: To maximize the VM screen, press Ctrl+Alt+Enter. If you no longer
want the virtual machine screen maximized, press Ctrl +Alt. (See page
Error! Bookmark not defined. for more VMware shortcuts.)
3. Log on as User name: Student, Password: Education1!.
The VMware image opens.
4. If you are prompted to create a new identifier click OK.
Close a VMware Image.
1. From the VMware Windows Start menu click Shut Down.
2. Click OK.

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Reset Course Image.

Note: You will not have to perform this step yourself after April, 2006.
If necessary, complete the following steps to return to the original VMware image:
1. Ensure that your VMware image is shut down.
2. From the VM menu, point to Snapshot, click Snapshot Manager and then
click <ClassBase Snapshot>.
3. Click Go To, to revert to this snapshot of the original image.

VMware Image Settings
See the list below for information about the VMware image settings:
1,536 MB RAM
Bridged
Hard disk 12 GB
Shared Folders: Enabled

Note: For information about the products installed on the VMware image and
the way these products have been configured, see the Readme files in
the ClassBase, Products, and Courses folders. (Folder locations:
D:\VM_image)
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Add Additional Users to Outlook Express.

If necessary, you can add additional users from the Cognos 8 BI security story to
Outlook Express. To add additional users:
1. Open Outlook Express, and then from the Tools menu, click Accounts.
2. Click Import.
3. Navigate to C:\Course_Setup\Outlook_Users, select the users you want to
add, and then click Open.
4. When you have added the users you require, click Close.

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Document Conventions
Conventions used in this guide follow Microsoft Windows application
standards, where applicable. As well, the following conventions are observed:
Bold
Bold style is used in demo and workshop

step-by-step solutions to indicate a user
interface element that is actively selected or
text that must be typed by the participant.
Italic
Used to reference book titles.
CAPITALIZATION
All file names, table names, column names,

and folder names appear in this guide exactly
as they appear in the application.
To keep capitalization consistent with this
guide, type text exactly as shown.
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INSTRUCTOR
PREFACE
PowerPoint Tips
Here are valuable keyboard commands you can use to improve your
presentation.
Command
Key(s)
Advance to next slide
Left-click, Page Down, Space, N, Right or

Down Arrow, right-click/Next, Enter
Return to previous slide
Backspace, Page Up, P, Left or Up Arrow,

right-click/Previous
Change pointer to a pen
Right-click/Pen or Ctrl+P
Erase drawings on screen
Make the screen white
W or ',' (toggle to restore)
Make the screen black
B or '.' (toggle to restore)
Help
End the slide show
Esc, Ctrl+Break, '-'
Move between PowerPoint and

the product
Alt+Tab or click the application name on the

status bar
You can also jump to a specific slide by typing its slide number and pressing
the Enter key. However the slide number is not the same as the printed page
number because a page may be built from several slides to produce an
animation sequence.
Important Tips:
A page containing an animation slide (multiple clicks to complete the

slide) will also include an Instructor Guide note indicating the number of
clicks needed to complete the slide.

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VMware Keyboard Shortcuts

Below is a list of shortcuts that can be used when in a VM image.
Shortcut
Action
Ctrl-B
Power on.
Ctrl-E
Power off.
Ctrl-R
Reset the power.
Ctrl-Z
Suspend.
Ctrl-N
Create a new virtual machine.
Ctrl-O
Open a virtual machine.
Ctrl-F4
Close the summary/console view for the selected virtual machine.

A confirmation dialog appears only if the virtual machine is powered on.
Ctrl-D
Edit the virtual machine's configuration.
Ctrl-G
Grab input from keyboard and mouse.
Ctrl-P
Edit preferences.
Ctrl-AltEnter
Go to full screen mode.
Ctrl-Alt
Return to normal (windowed) mode.
Ctrl-AltTab
Switch among open virtual machines while mouse and keyboard input are
grabbed.
Ctrl-Tab
Switch among open virtual machines while mouse and keyboard input are
not grabbed. VMware Workstation must be the active application.
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INSTRUCTOR
Shortcut
PREFACE
Action
CtrlSwitch among open virtual machines while mouse and keyboard input are
Shift-Tab not grabbed. VMware Workstation must be the active application.
Ctrl-AltFx
Linux hosts: Switch among open virtual machines while using full screen
mode. Fx is a function key corresponding to the virtual machine you want
to use. The key combination to use for a virtual machine is shown in the
VMware Workstation title bar when that virtual machine is active and in
normal (windowed) mode.
Windows hosts: For an additional similar functionality, see Using Full
Screen Switch Mode.

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Get the Class Started

Welcome participants to the course. Use the slide show, STARTC88150.PPT, to
introduce yourself, the participants, and the agenda for the training (optional).
Use this slide to welcome the participants to the
course, to introduce yourself, and to mention your
background (for example, how long you have been
teaching the course, your teaching experience overall,
how long you have been working with the product, and
so on). Make sure you have customized the slide
ahead of time.
Instructor Introduction
Course Name
Instructor Name
Instructor Background
Have the participants take turns introducing

themselves with respect to the items listed on this
slide. The intent of the slide is to act as an icebreaker
and to encourage participation.
Student Introductions
Name
Company
Position
Product Experience
Personal objective(s) for
this course
Use this slide to go through the list of administrative

items that participants often ask about.
Administrative Items
Sign-in sheet
Smoking
Messages
Telephones
Washrooms
Refreshments
Turn off cell phones and pagers
Class Format
lecture with slides
student guides as
reference material
IP-20
hands-on demos to learn

and practice
independent workshop
exercises for more practice
Use this slide to explain the class format and

emphasize that participants are encouraged to actively
perform the hands-on demos while following along with
the instructor. Mention that the Student Guide contains
copies of the slides and further supporting notes for
the participants to use as reference material in the
future.

INSTRUCTOR
PREFACE
Post-Class Agenda
Have participants complete the Course Evaluation forms.
Hand out certificates.
Leave the classroom clean.
If you brought any hardware or course media, take them with you when
you leave. Erase any files copied to the hard disks of the computers in
the classroom. Change the Preferences back to their initial settings.
Complete the Instructor Feedback form, and return it to the Education

Coordinator. Ensure that the Coordinator receives the Course
Evaluation forms.
If you are at a customer site, thank the course administrator by letter.
List any outstanding questions, and ensure that participants receive

answers in writing.
Report any sales leads to your sales representative.
Make notes for yourself about what went well during the course and
what needs improvement. When you are preparing for your next teach,
you can refer to these.

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Submit Feedback and Locate Additional Product

Information
Submit Feedback
Instructional Designers from the Cognos Education Development team designed these
course materials.
Your feedback is important and valuable. We are interested in your comments or
questions. If you have feedback for a course, you may directly submit it to our online
database using the following link: http://ges/ges-feedback. The link to this feedback
database can also be found in the Instructor Support community on myCognos.
You may also send general comments or concerns to Global Education Services at
GES@cognos.com.
In the Instructor Support Community on myCognos, your suggested course corrections and
course-related supplementary information (e.g. additional demos you use, diagrams you
created) will be posted under Course Updates, and teaching tips and techniques will be
posted under Instructor Tips. This gives other instructors worldwide, immediate use of the
information. Instructional designers will also use this information when the course is
updated. Access the Instructor Support Community at http://myCognos. You will also find
additional course information (for example, course release status or course development
templates) in the Instructor Support Community, which you may find useful when preparing
for courses.
Suggestions for significant course enhancements will be reviewed for possible
implementation in future course updates.
Additional Product Information

You can research product information including issues, and advanced functionality using
the Knowledge Base. Access the Knowledge Base through the web at http://trakweb. If you
do not already have a user name and password to access the Knowledge Base, you can
send an email request to trakker.development@cognos.com.
You can also search the Customer Support website at www.cognos.com/support, for
further product information. To obtain a user name and password, send an email request to
webmaster.support@cognos.com.
Tip: To determine if you already have a user name and password for the Customer Support
website, visit http://support.cognos.com/support/.
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INSTRUCTOR
PREFACE
Cognos Product Help

Help type
When to use
Location
Taskoriented
You are working in the product and you need specific

task-oriented help.
Cognos Product - Help link
Books for
Printing
(.pdf)
You want to use search engines to find information. You

can then print out selected pages, a section, or the whole
book.
Start/Programs/Cognos
Product/Documentation
Use Step-by-Step online books (.pdf) if you want to

know how to complete a task but prefer to read about it
in a book.
The Step-by-Step online books contain the same
information as the online help, but the method of
presentation is different.
Cognos on
the Web
You want to access any of the following:
Services and Training Web site
http://support.cognos.com
Online support
http://support.cognos.com
Cognos Web site
http://www.cognos.com

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SI
Setup Instructions
Cognos 8 BI
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SETUP
INSTRUCTIONS
Important Setup Instructions for This Course

Instructor and Student Computer Checklist
Use the following checklist when configuring both the instructor and
student computers. The total time to set up the instructor computer is 82
minutes, and the total time to set up a student computer is 82 minutes.
Setup
Est. Time (per

computer)
Install Microsoft SQL Server 2000. See steps on page SI-4.
5 mins
Install Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP3. See steps on page SI-7.
5 mins
Install Microsoft SQL Server KB815495. See steps on page SI-8.
5 mins
Ensure that the proper patches for SQL Server 2000 are installed. See
steps on page SI-9.
2 mins
Perform a default installation of Cognos 8 Business Intelligence Modeling

and of Cognos 8 Business Intelligence Server. Install v.8.1.60.27 Nov
RTM.
15 mins
Complete
Note: Do not set up the database and do not configure Cognos 8.

Create the Cognos 8 Content Store. See steps on page SI-10.
2 mins
Restore the Sample Databases. See steps on page SI-11.
10 mins
Set up Web Aliases. See steps on page SI-13.
2 mins
Configure Cognos 8. See steps on page SI-15.
5 mins
Create Users in Third-party Authentication Providers. See steps on page

SI-17.
2 mins
Deploy Cognos 8 Samples and Solutions. See steps on page SI-18.
3 mins
Publish a PowerCube and Add Data Sources. See steps on page SI-19.
2 mins
Set security on the Great Outdoors Company PowerCube. See steps on

page SI-21.
2 mins
Restrict Access to Administrative Tools. See steps on page SI-22.
2 mins
Ensure Simple File Sharing is off. See steps on page SI-26.
1 min
Stop Default SMTP Virtual Server. See steps on page SI-27.
1 min

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Install Microsoft SQL Server 2000

Use these instructions as a guide to install the SQL Server component.
Ensure that you are logged onto the machine with a valid account, which is
the account that will be used to administer the machine.
Note: If SQL Server 2000 is already installed, go to the section Ensure you
have the right patches for SQL Server.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Start the install.

Click SQL Server 2000 Components.
Click Install Database Server.
Click Next.
5. Click Local Computer, and then click Next.
6. Click Create a new instance of SQL Server, and then click Next.
7. Edit the Name, Co., etc., and then click Next.
SI-4

SETUP
INSTRUCTIONS
8. Accept the License Agreement.

9. Enter the 25-digit CD Key.
10. Click Server and Client Tools, and then click Next.
11. Select Default as the Instance Name, and then click Next.
12. Select a Setup Type of Typical, and then click Next.
13. For Services Accounts, click Use the Local System.

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14. Click Next.
15. For Authentication Mode, click Mixed Mode, and type Education1! in
the Enter password and Confirm password boxes.
16. Click Next.
17. Click Next again.
The installation continues, and the Microsoft Data Access Components
are installed. The complete installation may take a few minutes.
18. Once the install is complete, click Finish.
SI-6

SETUP
INSTRUCTIONS
Install Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP3

Use these instructions as a guide to install the SQL Server Service Pack 3.
Ensure that you are logged onto the machine with a valid account, which is
the account that will be used to administer the machine.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Start the install.

Click Next on the Welcome page.
Click Yes on the Software Agreement License page.
Click Next on the Instance Name page.
On the page Connect to server, check The SQL Server system
administrator login information (SQL Server authentication).
Enter the Education1! password in the textbox below. Click Next to
continue.
6. Check Upgrade Microsoft Search and apply SQL Server 2000 SP3
(required), and then click Continue.
7. Click OK on the Error Reporting page.

8. Click Next on the Start Copying Files page.
9. Reboot the machine when prompted.

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Install Microsoft SQL Server KB815495

1. You have to install the next patch if you are inside the Cognos network.
This patch is required to eliminate the problem with a virus.
2. Start the program. The name of the file is SQL2000-KB8154958.00.0818-ENU.exe.
3. Click Next on the page Hotfix Installer.
4. Accept the Licensing agreement.
5. Select the Instance that you want to upgrade. The program usually selects
the local machine.
6. Click SQL Server Authentication on the page Authentication Mode
and type Education1! as the password in the text box.
7. Click Install.
SI-8

SETUP
INSTRUCTIONS
Ensure that the Proper Patches for SQL Server

2000 are Installed
Use the following instruction to verify that you have the proper patches
installed on the machine. Not having the proper patch level will prevent
Cognos 8 to create or use the content store. Also, a patch is mandatory due
to previous experience with a Virus.
1. From the Start menu, click All Programs, then click Microsoft SQL
Server and then click Query Analyzer.
2. Logon as sa on the database, with the password Education1!.
3. From the Query window, type select @@version (make sure there is a
space after select), and then press the F5 key to run the query.
4. Expand the column to see the version of MS SQL Server. The portion
that you are interested in is bolded below.
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 - 8.00.194 (Intel X86) Aug 6 2000
00:57:48 Copyright (c) 1988-2000 Microsoft Corporation Personal
Edition on Windows NT 5.1 (Build 2600: Service Pack 1)
If you have build 8.00.194 then you have to install SP3A and
KB815495.
If you have build 8.00.769 then you have to install KB815495.
If you have build 8.00.818 then you have the required patches.
5. Close SQL Query Analyzer.

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Create the Cognos 8 Content Store

Task 1. Create the Cognos 8 Content Store.
1. From the Start menu, point to All Programs, Microsoft SQL Server,
and then click Enterprise Manager.
2. Expand Microsoft SQL Servers and SQL Server Group.
3. Expand <servername>, and then expand Databases.
4. Rightclick Databases, and then click New Database.
The Database Properties dialog box appears.
5. In the Name box, type cm.
6. In the Collation name list, select Latin1_General_CI_AS, and then
click OK.
7. Leave Enterprise Manager open for the next step.
SI-10

SETUP
INSTRUCTIONS
Restore the Sample Databases

Task 1. Add the databases.
1. While still in Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise Manager, right-click
Databases, and then click New Database.
2. In the Name box, type GOSL, and then click OK.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to add two new databases called GORT, and
GOSLDW.
Task 2. Restore the databases.
1. Rightclick the GORT database, point to All Tasks, and then click
Restore Database.
2. In the Restore database dialog box, click From device.
3. Under Parameters, click Select Devices.
4. In the Choose Restore Devices dialog box, click Add.
5. In the Choose Restore Destination dialog box under File name, click the
Ellipsis and browse to <Cognos 8 install location>:\Program
Files\cognos\c8\webcontent\samples\
datasources\sqlserver\GORT, and then click OK.
6. Click OK, and then click OK again.
7. In the Restore Database dialog box, click the Options tab.
8. Select the Force restore over existing database check box.
9. In the Restore database files as pane, ensure the Restore as path for both
files in the Move to physical file name column points to the location of
the GORT database.
If you chose the default location when you created the database, the path
should read, <SQL Sever location>\MSSQL\Data\GORT.mdf for the
first file, and <SQL Sever location>\MSSQL\Data\GORT_log.ldf for
the second file.

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Please note: The GORT.mdf file may be called GORT_Data.mdf.

The result should appear similar to the one shown below:
In the screen capture, the data file is listed first in the logical file name
column, followed by the log file. If the positions are reversed (in other
words, if the log file is listed first), ensure that each logical file name
points to the correct physical file location.
10. Click OK.
A message appears saying the restoration was successful.
11. Click OK to close the message.
12. Repeat Task 2 to restore the databases for GOSLDW, and GOSL
ensuring the logical files are pointing to the GOSLDW, and GOSL
database.
13. Close SQL Server Enterprise Manager.
SI-12

SETUP
INSTRUCTIONS
Set up Web Aliases

Task 1. Set up alias for Cognos 8.
1. From the Control Panel, open Administrative Tools, and then open
Internet Information Services.
2. In Internet Information Services, expand <servername>, and then
expand Web Site.
3. Expand Default Web Site, rightclick Default Web Site, point to
New, and then click Virtual Directory.
The Virtual Directory Creation Wizard appears.
4. Click Next.
5. Under Alias, type cognos8, and then click Next.
6. Browse to <Cognos 8 install location>:\Program Files\
cognos\c8\webcontent, click OK, and then click Next.
7. Clear the Run scripts check box, so only Read is selected, and then click
Next.
8. Click Finish.
Task 2. Set up virtual directory for cgibin.
1. Rightclick the cognos8 virtual directory folder, point to New, and then
click Virtual Directory.
2. Click Next.
3. Under Alias, type cgibin, and then click Next.
4. Browse to <Cognos 8 install location>:\Program
Files\cognos\c8\cgibin, click OK, and then click Next.
5. Select the Execute check box and de-select Read and Run scripts and
then click Next. For security reasons, you should not leave Read on
cgi-bin alias.
6. Click Finish.

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Task 3. Set up virtual directory for help.

1. Rightclick the cognos8 virtual directory folder, point to New, and then
click Virtual Directory.
2. Click Next.
3. Under Alias, type help, and then click Next.
4. Browse to <Cognos 8 install location>:\Program Files\cognos\c8\
webcontent\documentation, click OK, and then
click Next.
5. Clear the Run scripts check box, so that only Read is selected, and then
click Next.
6. Click Finish.
Task 4. Give browse access to images.
1. Expand the samples folder.
2. Right-click images, and then click Properties.
3. In the images Properties dialog box under the Directory tab, select the
Directory browsing check box.
4. Click OK.
5. Close Internet Information Services and Administrative Tools.
SI-14

SETUP
INSTRUCTIONS
Configure Cognos 8
Task 1. Configure the NTLM provider.
1. From the Start menu, point to All Programs, Cognos 8, and then click
Cognos Configuration.
2. In the Explorer pane of Cognos Configuration, right-click
Authentication, point to New resource, and then click Namespace.
3. In the New Namespace dialog box, under Name, type Local NT, and
then from the drop-down list under Type, click NTLM.
4. Click OK.
The results appear as follows:
5. Click the cell in the Namespace ID row and the Value column, and type
Local NT ID, and then press Enter.
6. In the Explorer pane under Authentication, click Cognos.
7. To the right of Allow anonymous access, click True in the Value
column, and then click False to change the setting.
With Anonymous access now set to False, students will need to log in to
Cognos Connection and provide a user name and password.
8. Leave Cognos Configuration open.

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Task 2. Configure the Cognos 8 Components.

1. In Cognos Configuration, in the Explorer pane under Cognos 8 service,
click Cognos 8.
2. In the Maximum memory in MB row, change the value to 512.
This property specifies the maximum amount of memory in MB that can
be used by the ReportNet dispatcher. The value specified here
determines the amount of memory used by the Java Virtual Machine and
depends on how much memory is available. If you are using a computer
that has a lower amount of RAM, increasing this value will improve
performance.
3. Expand Content Manager, and click Content Store.
4. Click the User ID and password row, and then click the Edit button.
The Value - User ID and password dialog box appears.
5. In the Password field and the Confirm password field, type Education1!.
6. Click OK when the test is complete.
7. Click Save configuration
to save the new configuration.
8. Click Close to close the Cognos Configuration dialog box after the
configuration is saved and all items have green check marks beside them.
9. Click Start
to start the Cognos Series 8 service.
10. When all services are started, click Close.

11. Close Cognos Configuration.
SI-16

SETUP
INSTRUCTIONS
Create Users in Third-party Authentication

Providers
Task 1. Create users in the NTLM authentication provider.
1. From the Start menu, click Control Panel, and then click
Administrative Tools.
2. Click Computer Management.
3. Expand Local Users and Groups.
4. Right-click Users, and then click New User.
5. In the New User dialog box, in the User name box, type admin and then
in the password and confirm password boxes, type Education1!.
6. Clear the User must change password at next logon check box, select
the Password never expires check box, and then click Create.
7. Repeat steps 4 to 6 to create the following three users:
User id: brettonf, password: Education1!
User id: johnsone, password: Education1!
User id: kunzej, password: Education1!
User id: uragomek, password: Education1!
User id: wrightc, password: Education1!
8. Click Close to close the dialog box.
9. In the left pane, click Users to ensure that the users have been added.
10. Close Computer Management.
11. Close Control Panel.

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Deploy Cognos 8 Samples and Solutions

Task 1. Prepare for deployment.
1. Start Windows Explorer.
2. Navigate to <Cognos 8 install location>:\Program
Files\cognos\c8\webcontent\samples\content.
3. Copy the Cognos_Samples.zip file and Cognos_PowerCube.zip.
4. Navigate to <Cognos 8 install location>:\Program
Files\cognos\c8\deployment, and then paste the zip files.
Task 2. Import the samples.
1. Open your browser, and then in the Address box, type
localhost/cognos8, and press Enter.
2. In the User ID box, type admin, in the Password box, type
Education1!, and then click OK.
3. From the Cognos 8 welcome screen, click Cognos Connection.
4. From the Tools menu, click Content Administration.
5. On the toolbar, click New Import.
6. On the Select a deployment archive page, ensure the Cognos_Samples
archive is selected, and then click Next.
7. On the Specify name and descriptions page, click Next.
8. On the Select the public folders content page, click GO Sales and
Retailers, Query Studio Templates, GO Sales and GO Data
Warehouse.
9. Clear the Disable after import check box beside all of the folders
selected, and then click Next.
10. On the Specify the general options page, click Next.
11. On the Review the summary page, click Next.
12. On the Select an action page, click Save and run once, and then click
Finish.
13. On the Run with options page, ensure Now is selected , click Run, and
then click OK.
14. Repeat steps 4 to 13, selecting Cognos_PowerCube archive for import,
and Great Outdoors Company on the Select the public folders content
page.
15. Leave your browser open.
SI-18

SETUP
INSTRUCTIONS
Publish a PowerCube and Add Data Sources

Task 1. Create data sources.
1. In Cognos Connection, from the Tools menu, click Directory.
2. On the Directory page, click the Data Sources tab.
3. Click New Data Source
4. Under Name, type gosales, and then click Next.

5. Under Type, select Microsoft SQL Server (OLE DB), and then click
Next.
6. In the Server name box, type localhost, and then under Database name,
type GOSL.
7. Under Signon, select the Password check box.
8. In the User ID box, type sa, and in the Password and Confirm password
boxes, type Education1!, and then click Finish.
9. Repeat steps 3 to 8 to create the following data sources:
a. Data source name = go_data_warehouse,
Database name = GOSLDW
b. Data source name = goretailers, Database name = GORT
Task 2. Create cube data source.
1. Click New Data Source
2. Under Name, type Great_Outdoors_Company, and then click Next.

3. Under Type, select Cognos PowerCube, and then click Next.
4. In the Windows location box, type the following C:\Program
Files\cognos\c8\webcontent\samples\datasources\cubes\
PowerCubes\En\Great_Outdoors_Company.mdc

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5. Under Testing, click Test the connection, and then click Test.
If the test failed, ensure that you typed everything correctly in step 4 and
repeat testing your connection.
6. Click Close, and then click Close again.
7. Click Finish.
8. Click Return.
9. Leave Cognos Connection open.
SI-20

SETUP
INSTRUCTIONS
Set Security on the Great Outdoors Company

PowerCube
1. Click Set properties beside Great Outdoors Company.
2. Click the Permissions tab.
3. Select the Override the access permissions acquired from the parent
entry checkbox.
4. From the list of available entries, select the check box beside Authors.
5. On the Set properties page, ensure that under Grant, only the Read,
Write, Execute, and Traverse check boxes are selected.
If you had to make any changes, click Apply.
6. Under Option, select the Delete the access permissions of all child
entries check box.
7. Click OK.

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Restrict Access to Administrative Tools

The Directory page shows two namespaces, Cognos and Local NT.
2. Under the Name column, click Cognos, and then beside the System
Administrators role, click Set properties.
3. On the Set properties System Administrators page, click the Members
tab.
4. Click Add, select the Show users in the list check box, and then click
Local NT.
5. Select the Admin Person(admin) check box, click the green arrow and
then click OK.
6. Select the Everyone check box, click Remove, and then click OK.
SI-22

SETUP
INSTRUCTIONS
Add Specific Users to Query User Group

2. Under the Name column, click Cognos, and then beside the Query
Users role, click Set properties.
3. On the Set properties Query Users page, click the Members tab.
Local NT.
5. Select Corey Wright (wrightc) check box, and click the green arrow to
add the users to the Selected entries box.
6. Click OK.

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Add Specific Users to Authors User Group

2. Under the Name column, click Cognos, and then beside the Authors
role, click Set properties.
3. On the Set properties Authors page, click the Members tab.
Local NT.
5. Select Frank Bretton (brettonf), Jorg Kunze (kunzej), Kazumi
Uragome (uragomek) and Estelle Johnson (johnsone) and click the
green arrow to add the users to the Selected entries box.
6. Click OK.
SI-24

SETUP
INSTRUCTIONS
Remove Everyone from Cognos Roles

2. Under the Name column, click Cognos.
3. Beside the Analysis Users role, click Set properties.
4. On the Set properties Analysis Users page, click the Members tab.
6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 for the following roles:
Controller Users
Data Manager Authors
Metrics Authors
Metrics Users
Planning Users
7. Close Cognos Connection.

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Ensure Simple File Sharing is Off

1. From the Start menu, click Control Panel, and then click Folder
Options.
2. Ensure the View tab is selected, and then deselect the Use Simple File
Sharing (recommended) check box.
Instructional Tips
Note: Use Simple File Sharing
(recommended) may already be
deselected.
3. Click OK.
4. Close Control Panel.
SI-26

SETUP
INSTRUCTIONS
Stop Default SMTP Virtual Server

1. From the Start menu, right-click My Computer, and then click
Manage.
The Computer Management dialog box opens.
Instructional Tip
Note: the Default SMTP Virtual
Server might already be stopped.
2. Expand Services and Applications, expand Internet Information

Services.
3. Right click Default SMTP Virtual Server and click Stop.
4. Close Computer Management.

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Introduction
Cognos 8 BI
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INTRODUCTION
Course Objectives
In this course, we will:
view the different studios in Cognos 8 and highlight key

capabilities of Cognos 8 BI
use Cognos Connection to schedule, manage, and

organize content
create and modify reports and charts
enhance reports by highlighting exceptions, filtering data

and formatting a report
customize ad hoc reports using templates

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Overview of Cognos 8 BI
Introduction to Cognos Connection
Introduction to Query Studio
Create Reports in Query Studio
Enhance Reports in Query Studio
End-to-End Workshop
Throughout this course, Query Studio concepts and procedures are grouped into
modules that are presented in a logical and structured manner. The hands-on
demonstrations and workshops provide the knowledge and skills you will require
to create and modify reports in Query Studio.
Audience:
business and professional authors
Prerequisites:
knowledge of your business requirements
experience using the Windows operating system
experience using a Web browser
Intro-4

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OVERVIEW
OF
COGNOS
BI
Objectives
In this module, we will:
review Corporate Performance Management
introduce Cognos 8 BI
examine the different studios in Cognos 8 BI
identify the different data sources within the studios
highlight key capabilities of Cognos 8 BI

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Additional Information
When you ask the question, "How
are we doing?," you are really asking
"Am I on or off track?" We can
answer that question with a
scorecard or dashboard to provide
you with an aggregate view of the
necessary information.
Review the Process for Decision Making
How are we doing?
Why are we doing

it?
What should we be
doing?
When you want to find answers to

the question "Why?," you are really
asking "Why am I on or off track?".
You require reports and the ability to
analyze to find the answers.
Scorecarding &
Dashboarding
Reporting &
Analysis
The question "What should we be

doing? means "How do we plan to
get where we want to be?" We set
objectives and targets so that we can
get back on course when changes
occur.
High-frequency
Planning
Single Platform for Decision Making
1-4
When decision makers want to find answers, they ask questions in three
fundamental areas:
How are we doing?
Why are we doing it?
What should we be doing?
Most companies use many different tools and systems to provide the
answers to these questions. The result of this fragmented approach is a
slow, disconnected decision-making process with low end-user
satisfaction and high costs to the organization.
The answers to these three questions need to feed into a single platform
to allow for a better decision-making process. Finding this single
platform has been a challenge until Cognos 8 Business Intelligence (BI).

OVERVIEW
Corporate Performance Management System

PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT
SOLUTIONS
Industry Solutions
Enterprise Performance Solutions
BEST PRACTICES
How are we
doing?
Why are we
doing it?
What should
we be doing?
PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT
PLATFORM
Metrics
Management
Dashboarding
Query &
Reporting
Analysis
Event
Management
Planning
PLATFORM
SERVICES
Portal
Security
Configuration
Administration
Information
& Business
Modeling
Data
Integration
Operational or
Star Schema
OLAP
Enterprise
Applications
OF
COGNOS
BI
Having all the critical capabilities to
manage performance means that we
can look at a single set of metrics
across all processes. When we look
at a metric, it is based on the same
calculation, the same roll up, the
same assumptions as the plans and
the reports - they are the same
numbers. The metrics are completely
interrelated so decision-makers can
quickly and consistently find answers
to critical questions that drive
performance.
Enterprise applications can cover a
wide variety of enterprise software,
some of which could be considered
relational data sources (for example,
Oracle Financials).
Flat, Modern
and Legacy
The Cognos Corporate Performance Management (CPM) system lets

you answer all three questions from one single platform (Cognos 8 BI).
This single platform includes:
World-class scorecarding and dashboarding (Metric Studio and

Report Studio), which answers "How are we doing?"
Reporting and analysis (Report Studio, Query Studio, Analysis Studio

and Event Studio), which answers "Why are we doing it?"
Planning (Contributor, Analyst, Controller), which answers "What

should we be doing?"

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Cognos 8 BI - Introduction
Cognos 8 BI is a complete enterprise business intelligence software
solution with integrated reporting, analysis, scorecarding, and event
management capabilities.
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Cognos 8 BI leverages a modern single architecture using open Web

services standards that meet the combined demands of IT and key
business stakeholders.
Cognos 8 BI takes decision-making to the next level of efficiency,

simplicity, and cost effectiveness, which makes your job easier to
perform.
Cognos 8 BI provides you with
business intelligence across multiple
applications and data sources, and
provides IT with solution control,
security, and management.

OVERVIEW
Examine the Studios in Cognos 8 BI

Metric Studio helps you manage the performance of your
organization by monitoring and analyzing metrics at all levels.
Query Studio helps you quickly answer a focused question.
Analysis Studio performs simple to complex analyses and
comparisons of data to discover trends, risks, and opportunities.
Report Studio builds sophisticated reports, including multi-page,
multiple-query reports against multiple data sources.
Event Studio notifies users of key operational or performance-related
events that may affect their business.
In Metric Studio, you can easily track your business by viewing metrics,
assigning tasks for poorly performing metrics, and linking to reports
containing related information.
In Query Studio, you can create simple queries and reports, and apply
basic formatting and templates.
In Analysis Studio, you can analyze large volumes of data from all
business dimensions through ranking, complex filtering, and so on,
regardless of the data source.
In Report Studio, you can create professional reports, including visually

engaging dashboards with gauges, charts, maps and other graphical
elements. Fully automated drill-through capabilities are available in the
reporting interface.
In Event Studio, you can create agents that check the data. When an
agent detects a particular condition, Event Studio takes action by
generating emails, running reports, updating a portal news channel, or
communicating with other software.

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Dimensionally modeled relational
metadata is data taken from a
relational source and modeled as a
star schema, as well as having
hierarchies applied to allow for drill
behaviour.
Cognos 8 BI delivers basic drill down
and drill up functionality to all users
in Query Studio, Analysis Studio, and
Report Studio, so they are not
restricted to one studio over the
other to perform fundamental tasks.
Use these studios in conjunction to
effectively monitor performance at all
levels of your organization.
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Cognos 8 BI supports normalized
and relational OLAP data, OLAP
servers, and modern XML-based
data sources. All of our end user
functionality is equally available for
all data sources.
Overview of Cognos 8 BI Features

Cognos 8 BI features include:
open data access
integrated enterprise planning and consolidation
dimensional reporting and dashboarding
deep, large data comparative analysis
extended self-service reporting
process integration and Event Lifecycle Management
actionable scorecards in Metric Studio
extended data transformation services in Data Manager
integrated portal
Cognos Enterprise Planning and

Cognos Controller are integrated
with the full Cognos 8 BI platform.
This integration enables you to
create reports, analyses, and
scorecards, based on the data in
your plans and your consolidated
ledgers.
Through dimensional reporting and
dashboarding, Cognos extends the
market-leading ReportNet with
dimensional reporting and
dashboarding.
The key capabilities of Cognos 8 BI let you effectively and efficiently

query, analyze, and report on your business data.
Enhanced PowerPlay Web

functionality for direct exploration
and analysis allows for deep, large
data comparative analysis.
Enhancements in Query Studio to
extend the scope of use, such as
formatting, conditional formatting,
and templates, to provide an
extended self service reporting.
Event Lifecycle Management
provides notification to facilitate
required actions to closed-loop
decision-making.
You can now edit the individual
metrics to add action items to
facilitate keeping the metric on track.
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OVERVIEW
Report
Studio
Cognos
Viewer
Analysis
Studio
Event
Studio
Metric
Studio
Data Access
SQL
Relational
MDX
XML
Files
Cubes
ODBC
Composite
Metric
Database
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Framework Manager is the metadata
modeling tool at the data access
layer that facilitates accurate and
predictable access to the underlying
data sources.
Review Open Data Access
Query
Studio
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Cognos 8 BI offers full BI capabilities regardless of how your data is

stored. These include reporting support for OLAP sources and analysis
support for relational sources.

Some of the data sources supported

include:
Oracle
IBM (DB2, UBD, Informix,
Intelligent Minor)
Microsoft (SQL Server, SAS)
Sybase
ODBC
Siebel
SSA
SAP BW
Note: You can analyze relational
data in Analysis Studio but it
must be modeled
dimensionally (as discussed
later in this module).
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Work with PowerCube Data in Cognos 8 BI

You can work with your PowerCube data in all the studios in
Cognos 8 BI.
Query
Studio
Report
Studio
Cognos
Viewer
Analysis
Studio
Event
Studio
Metric
Studio
Data Access
Cognos PowerCube
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Cognos 8 BI lets you make the most of the multi-dimensional data stored
in your organizations PowerCubes.

OVERVIEW
Analyze Data From Multiple Data Sources

Use Analysis Studio to analyze data in dimensional data sources (for
example, PowerCubes, MSAS, and SAP BW) or relational data sources
that are modeled dimensionally.
OLAP data
source
Relational data
modeled
dimensionally
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With multidimensional analysis, your
corporate data is organized in the
way you think about your business,
so that you spend more time on
value added analysis, rather than on
data retrieval.
You can find answers to your
business questions by navigating
through the data to determine
successes and failures, uncover
trends, discover opportunities, and
find weaknesses.
Multidimensional analysis is a
process where you selectively
extract and evaluate multiple aspects
of your business against your key
performance indicators for the
purpose of decision support.
Other industry standard OLAP
sources that are supported are:
Analysis Studio has native access and extended features support for
Cognos OLAP sources and other industry standard OLAP sources.
MSAS (Microsoft Analysis

Services) attributes, named sets,
actions
Cognos 8 BI allows relational data to be modeled dimensionally in the

Cognos 8 metadata modeling tool, Framework Manager. This extends
analysis to relational data sources.
IBM DB2 OLAP substitution

variables, member properties
Essbase substitution variables,
member properties
The key concern with ROLAP is performance. Will the database respond fast enough to
really support analysis?
Typically ROLAP performance requires use of technology called aggregate tables (or
materialized views) and an aggregate aware query optimizer
Cognos 8 BI does not provide that technology, but is designed to work with that technology
being supplied as part of your database system.
Our open data access strategy allows you to choose ROLAP as a storage technology
independent of your end user interface.
High performance in a ROLAP environment usually requires the use of aggregate tables and
a query optimizer that chooses which is the best aggregate table to use for each query.
Some BI tools include this capability of aggregate awareness. Cognos 8 BI doesn't, but
modern releases of Oracle, IBM DB2 and others do, and we work with them.
One of the main aspects of Cognos 8 BI is the ability to not only model relational data but to
also manipulate the metadata to form hierarchies, dimensions, and levels within Framework
Manager. This gives the end user drill up and drill down functionality within AS/RS/QS.

SAP BW multi-currency,
variables, alternative hierarchies,
InfoQuery, InfoCube, MultiProvider, RemoteCube
Use ROLAP (relational online
analytical processing) if you want to
use aggregate and hierarchical
awareness in relational sources.
ROLAP is a form of OLAP that
performs dynamic multidimensional
analysis of data stored in a relational
database rather than in a
multidimensional database (which is
considered the OLAP standard).
For ROLAP to work effectively, along
with a quick response time, the
responsibility must be shared
between the Framework Manager
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What is Dimensionally Modeled Relational Metadata?

Dimensionally modeled relational data is data you take from a
relational data source and model as a star schema.
The following features were added to
Framework Manager for dimensional
modeling of relational data sources.
Regular dimensions include the
concepts of hierarchies and levels
which support the definition of
alternate hierarchies on a single
dimension.
Measure dimensions provide the
ability to define a list of measures
as well as a hierarchy to control
the rollup of measures.
Scope relationships control rollups
by defining the scope of a measure
with respect to existing
dimensions.
Framework Manager is the metadata modeling tool that lets modelers

model relational data dimensionally.
You can apply hierarchies to allow drill behavior.
When working with dimensionally modeled relational data, you can

perform OLAP-style querying such as drill up and drill down, navigate
hierarchies, and leverage member functions.
Member functions allow you to manipulate members (that is, getting the
children for the parent member).
A member is an instance of an object in a level of a dimension. Members

are organized hierarchically.
Members of a level can be further described by a value called an attribute.
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With the dimension map, you can

view the measures and dimensions
you have created, and view or
modify the scope from a wholemodel perspective.
In Cognos 8 BI, all studios can
provide the user with a dimensional
data view on top of relationallystored data as long as the data view
has been dimensionally modeled.
A member was previously called a
category in PowerPlay.
For example, Joe Smith is a member
of the Employees level.
Examples of attributes are: age and
gender. Age and gender are
attributes of the member Employees.

OVERVIEW
Query OLAP Data Sources

Multidimensional Expression (MDX) is the language used to query
OLAP data sources.
Original report
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Instructional Tips
You may want to view MDX
language in Report Studio to help
debug queries. To edit the MDX
language, in Report Studio, go to the
Query Explorer bar, and then select
the query. In the Properties pane,
click the ellipsis beside Generated
SQL/MDX. The dialog box that
appears allows you to edit the text
and then validate it. Any changes
made to this cannot be reversed.
For most purposes, Cognos 8 BI will
generate SQL or MDX on your behalf
and you will not need to understand
them.
Generated MDX
SQL is the language used to query relational data sources. MDX is the
multidimensional equivalent of SQL. Like SQL, it is a recognized
standard.
In Cognos 8 BI, you can only view and edit SQL and MDX in Report
Studio.
If you are querying against an OLAP data source, Cognos 8 BI uses

MDX language.

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Access Enterprise Planning (EP) Data Sources
Query
Studio
Report
Studio
Cognos
Viewer
Analysis
Studio
Event
Studio
Metric
Studio
Cognos Planning Analyst is a
flexible tool used by financial
specialists to define their business
models. These models include the
drivers and content required for
planning, budgeting, and forecasting.
The models can then be distributed
to managers using the Web-based
architecture of Cognos Planning Contributor.
Data Access
MDX
SQL
MDX
Views
Publish
Tables
Cognos
Contributor
MSAS
Cognos
Analyst
Cognos Planning - Contributor

streamlines data collection and
workflow management. Users have
the option to submit information
simultaneously through a simple
Web or Excel interface. Using an
intranet or secure internet
connection, users review only what
they need to review and enter data
where they are authorized.
SQL
Metric
Database
Published
mart
Controller
You can integrate a Cognos Enterprise Planning data source with

Cognos 8 BI to report on financial data.
Cognos 8 BI integrates with Cognos Enterprise Planning data sources to

provide enterprise reporting with true dimensional awareness through
automatic drill capabilities and hierarchy awareness.
You can access your current plan (Cognos Contributor) directly for
querying, reporting and analyzing, as well as the published plan.
You can also access Cognos Controller consolidated financial data in

Cognos 8 BI.
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Use Cognos Controller to enter,

consolidate, and analyze your
financial data, regardless of the
complexity of your organization. With
Cognos Controller, you can secure a
single, accurate view of key
corporate information and shorten
consolidation, close, and financial
reporting cycles which support better
planning and forecasting.
Cognos Finance and Cognos
Contributor data sources can now
feed into the data access layer of
Cognos 8 BI using MDX language.
You can publish data from Analyst
and Contributor data sources to
relational tables and then feed the
data access layer from these tables
using SQL. Finally, Controller can
also feed the data access layer by
going through a cube (namely,
MSAS) using MDX or by publishing
views using SQL.

OVERVIEW
Identify Data Source Types in the Studios

Relational model
Dimensional model
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Instructional Tips
A regular dimension consists of
descriptive information.
A measure dimension consists of
measurable values.
Relational models can not be used in
Analysis Studio.
An end user can not easily tell if a
dimensional model represents a
cube or a relational database. This is
intentional.
A relational model lets users interact with query subjects and query items.
There are no visible hierarchies.
With a dimensional model, users interact with dimensions, (consisting of

hierarchies, levels, and members), and measures. This allows for OLAPstyle querying in the studios.
Only dimensional models allow drill up and drill down behavior in

analyses and reports.

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Demo 1
Navigate Data in Different Studios
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OVERVIEW
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Demo 1: Navigate Data in Different Studios

Purpose:
As new users to Cognos 8 BI, we will explore various models
in Query Studio, Analysis Studio, and Report Studio to
familiarize ourselves with the reporting environment. In Report
Studio we will create a dashboard report containing key
company data.
Task 1. Explore a relational data source in Query Studio.
1. Start your browser. In the address box, type
http://<servername>/cognos8, and then press Enter.
Public Classroom
Because of the use of the VMware
image, students will not have to type
in the address.
2. On the Log on screen, in the User ID box, type brettonf, in the

Password box, type Education1!, and then click OK.
3. On the Welcome page, click Cognos Connection.
Cognos Connection starts and we see the studios listed in the top right
corner. Notice that there is one single interface to access all studios.
4. Click Query Studio.
5. On the Select a package page, click GO Sales and Retailers.
Query Studio starts. We see a relational data source in Query Studio. The
data tree on the left displays the available query subjects. Notice the query
subject icon .
6. Expand the Orders query subject.
The available query items display in the data tree. Notice the query item
icon .
7. Under Orders, drag Order number to add it to the query.
8. Under Orders, drag Quantity to the end of the query.
This is a measure. Notice the icon
9. Collapse the Orders query subject.

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10. Expand Retailers.

A list appears containing all the retailer query items in the Insert Data
menu, as shown below:
Instructional Tips
We are expanding Retailers because
it is a data item found in multiple
packages (for example, Go Sales as
well as Go Sales and Retailers). It
will be easier to compare how the
data appears in multiple studios.
Notice that this model could not be
opened in Analysis Studio as it is not
dimensionally modeled relational
data.
11. Drag Retailer name to the end of the query.

Notice there are no hierarchies, only query subjects and query items.
12. Click Return, and click No when prompted to save the report.
We return to Cognos Connection.
Task 2. Explore a dimensionally modeled relational data
source in Query Studio.
2. In the Select a package page, click GO Sales.
Query Studio starts. We are now looking at a relational data source that
has been modeled dimensionally. The data tree on the left displays the
available namespaces. Notice the namespace icon .
3. Expand the Retailer activity namespace.
The available dimensions and measures folders display in the data tree.
Notice the dimension icon and the measures folder icon .
4. Expand the Retailer site dimension.
The available levels display in the data tree. Notice the level icon
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OVERVIEW
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5. Expand the Retailer name level.

The available query item displays in the data tree. Notice the query item
icon , as shown below:
These query items are attributes to the retailer name level.

6. Drag the Retail name level to add it to the query.
Because this is dimensionally modeled relational data, we can drill down
on Retailer name. You cannot do this in a relational model.
7. Click Return, and then click No when prompted to save the report.
Task 3. Explore an OLAP data source in Query Studio.
2. In the Select a package page, click Great Outdoors Company.
Observe the dimensional data in Query Studio. The data tree on the left
displays the available dimensions and measures. Notice the dimension
icon and the measures icon .
Instructional Tips
The Great Outdoors Company
package is a PowerCube; it contains
dimensional data.
3. Expand the Retailer dimension.

The available hierarchies display in the data tree. Notice the hierarchy
icon .

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4. Expand Retailer.
The available levels display in the data tree. Notice the level icon
5. Drag the Retailer name level to add it to the query.

6. Expand Products.
The Retailer dimension has multiple hierarchies, but the Products
dimension has only one hierarchy and therefore displays the levels at the
root of the dimension.
7. Drag Products to the end of the query.
8. Expand Measures.
Different dimensional sources allow measures to be organized in
different ways.
Notice the measures folder icon . A measures folder is used to
organize the measures logically, as shown below:
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OVERVIEW
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9. Drag Revenue to the end of the query.

We can drill down on Products and Retailer name, as we did when we
were using dimensionally modeled relational data.
10. Click Return, and then click No when prompted to save the report.
Task 4. Explore an OLAP data source in Analysis Studio.
Now we want to explore an OLAP data source (dimensional data) in
Analysis Studio.
1. Click Analysis Studio.
2. In the Select a package page, click Great Outdoors Company.
Instructional Tips
Here we will build a simple analysis
so that we can show the same
PowerCube data being passed to
Report Studio.
This task shows how we can use the
same data in different studios.
We are looking at an OLAP data source in Analysis Studio.

The data tree on the left displays the available dimensions. Notice the
folders icon. A folder indicates multiple hierarchies are available for
the dimension.
3. Expand the Retailer folder.
The available hierarchies display in the data tree.
4. Expand the Retailer hierarchy.
The available members are displayed in the data tree. Notice the member
icon . All of the retailers appear in the tree. Notice that the tree
contains the same data items as in Query Studio, except that in Query
Studio, Products appeared as a dimension icon, and it now appears as the
top member of the Products hierarchy in the Products dimension.
5. From the data tree, drag the Retailer hierarchy onto the rows area in the
crosstab.
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6. From the data tree, expand the Years folder, and then drag the Years
hierarchy onto the columns area.
7. In the data tree, expand Measures, and then drag Revenue onto the
measure area.
We have created a simple analysis.
Task 5. Open the analysis in Report Studio and create a
dashboard.
1. From the File menu, click Open in Report Studio.
We want to see all of the members, so we will change a setting in Report
Studio to make all members visible.
2. From the Tools menu, click Options, select the Show members folder
check box, and then click OK.
3. In the Insertable Objects pane, expand the Retailer dimension.
4. Expand the Retailer level hierarchy, and then expand the Retailer level.
5. Expand the Members folder, and then expand Retailer.
All of the retailer types we saw in Analysis Studio appear in this tree.
We want to create a dashboard report displaying a crosstab and a gauge
chart which contain different data. We will look at the year-to-year
performance of Retailer types and Product lines.
6. Click the Toolbox tab, and then drag a Chart to the far right of the
crosstab.
7. In the Insert Chart dialog box, click Gauge, and then click OK.
8. Click the Source tab, expand Measures, and then drag Quantity sold
to the Measure drop zone on the gauge chart.
9. Expand the Products dimension and the Products level hierarchy.
10. Drag the Product line level to the Needles (series) drop zone.
11. Expand the Years dimension, and then expand the Years hierarchy.
12. Drag the Year level to the Gauges drop zone on the gauge chart.
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OVERVIEW
13. On the toolbar, click Run Report
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The report appears in Cognos Viewer containing the information that we

originally selected in Analysis Studio, as well as the gauge chart we added,
as shown below:
14. Close Cognos Viewer.

15. From the Tools menu, click Options, clear the Show members folder
check box, and then click OK.
16. Close Report Studio and Analysis Studio without saving.
17. Click Log Off, and then close your browser.
Results:
We ensured that there are no limitations as to what data we
can use in each studio. We explored Query Studio, Analysis
Studio and Report Studio. We saw that in Query Studio we add
metadata to reports, in Analysis Studio we add members to
reports, and in Report Studio we can use both methods. In
Report Studio we created a dashboard report containing a
crosstab and a gauge chart containing different company data.

We need to reset the default for
Report Studio for future demos;
therefore we change the Show
members folder option here back to
what it was prior to Task 5, step 2 of
this demo.
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Instructional Tips
Anything you create in Analysis
Studio (or Query Atudio) can be
moved into Report Studio. Through
analysis and exploration, you can
evolve a large report into a managed
report.
Use Deep, Large Data Comparative Analysis

Data in cubes can contain vast amounts of records making an
analysis very large.
Analysis Studio can control how much of the data in cubes is rendered in
the data tree and in the crosstab.
By reducing the number of records rendered in an analysis, cube

performance improves.
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OVERVIEW
Design Informative Executive Dashboards

You can design informative dashboards using Report Studios
extensive capabilities.
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Report Studio adds:
maps
gauges
more combination charts
more chart design control
access to cubes
high levels of graphic design
control over charts
Cognos Viewer adds:
drill up and drill down on text
drill up, drill down and through on
charts
A dashboard displays multiple aspects of your business in a consolidated

view using visual aids (such as gauges, and charts).
Dashboards provide users with:
the ability to drill up and drill down to see higher or lower levels of
detail
the ability to navigate to other linked targets, including Report Studio

reports, Query Studio queries, and Analysis Studio analyses
special chart styles, such as gauges, charts, and maps
the ability to include multiple charts in a single report, derived from

multiple data sources

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Perform Self-Service Reporting

Cognos 8 BI provides extended formatting, filtering, and calculations
for ad hoc reports.
Highlight
Exceptional Data
Query Studio offers templates and style formatting, multiple summaries

in group and footer calculations, and AND/OR filters.
You can use this studio when seeking specific answers to your business
questions.
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OVERVIEW
Manage the Event Lifecycle

Notify users of key operational or performance events which impact
the business.
You use Event Studio to define rules to detect and deliver critical
business information to key stakeholders within an organization. Users
can react to the information in a timely manner to improve performance.
This is a valuable tool that allows you to automate event detection,

allowing information to be sent only to the appropriate people when an
event occurs.

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OLAP data sources tend to be static
and not live data. Having an event
run against static data would not be
very relevant as the information the
users would receive would be based
on 'old' data. It would be best to run
against live data when working with
Event Studio, although you can run
agents on a weekly basis after the
cube has been refreshed. This would
not be as timely as live data, but it
depends on what your needs are.
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Metric Studio supports objectives,
projects, and counter-measures, and
distributed application management.
Examine Integrated Metrics
You can create integrated plans,

forecasts, reports, analyses, and
scorecards that show how your
organization is performing, why it is
performing that way, and what you
can do to improve performance.
Metric Studio is fully integrated into Cognos 8 BI.
Note: Metric Studio was previously

called Cognos Metrics
Manager. Metric Studio is a
major upgrade from Cognos
Metrics Manager.
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Metric Studio:
uses the Cognos 8 BI scheduler,
content store, security, and report
service.
UI appears as a studio or alternate
portal.
can pick Cognos 8 BI reports as
drill targets and displays.
has actionable scorecards.
Benefits of Metric Studio include:
the ability to work with multiple applications
a flexible calendar
navigation features including a tabbed interface, search function, and

configurable navigation options
graphing, charting, and diagram creation capabilities
activity monitoring
the ability to include email notifications on changes to metrics in the

Watch list
actionable scorecards and metrics
The Watch list can be imported as a

portlet into Cognos Connection.

OVERVIEW
Extended Data Transformation Services in Data

Manager
The Data Manager engine is based on
the Cognos 8 BI architecture:
query subject data access (designed

using Framework Manager)
same data type support
Unicode support
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Instructional Tips
Cognos 8 BI Data Manager was
previously called DecisionStream.
There have been some customer
enhancements to allow easier large
project management (such as,
improved support for unbalanced
hierarchical structures).
Cognos 8 BI has integrated data transformation capabilities, making it

easier to build data foundations for BI.

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Some features might not be covered
in this course as they are available
only to administrators.
Portal Integration and Subscription
Administrators can now manage and

deploy portal pages, customize the
Welcome page, create and modify
styles, import WSRP portlets into
Cognos Connection, and manage
user profiles.
A portal is a location where users can share and distribute their reports, as
well as a place to consolidate all of their pertinent information.
Cognos 8 BI offers Cognos Connection as a consolidation tool for all

your reporting needs.
Cognos 8 BI also provides portlets to enable Cognos 8 BI reports to

appear inside enterprise portals (such as Plumtree).
Portlets are technology pieces that enable reports or other "content"

from one vendor to appear inside portal pages from another vendor.
In Cognos 8 BI, you can define, publish, and subscribe to shared portal
pages.
Cognos 8 BI supports WSRP conformant portlets. It also includes 'outof-the-box' portlets to facilitate managing your content.
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Summary
In this module, we have:
reviewed Corporate Performance Management
introduced Cognos 8 BI
examined the different studios in Cognos 8 BI
identified the different data sources within the studios
highlighted key capabilities of Cognos 8 BI

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Cognos 8 BI
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INTRODUCTION
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Objectives
identify the advantages of using Cognos Connection
schedule and manage reports
organize content
include dynamic Web pages

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What is Cognos Connection?

Cognos Connection is a web page that provides a single access point
to all corporate data available in Cognos 8 Business Intelligence (BI).
Access data sources
and saved content.
Access different studios for report

authoring, analysis, scorecarding and
event management.
Administrators use Cognos
Connection to administer servers,
optimize performance, set access
permissions and modify user profiles.
They also use it for entry
administration, which includes
scheduling and distributing reports,
analyses, agents and metrics.
If you use a customized user
interface, you may not have access
to all the features documented.
Cognos Connection allows you to quickly access reports created in

Report Studio, queries created in Query Studio, analysis created in
Analysis Studio, agents created in Event Studio, metrics created in Metric
Studio and different data sources called packages.
Reports accessed from the Cognos Connection Web portal page can be:
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scheduled to run at a time and frequency that is convenient for your

organization
generated in multiple formats and languages
distributed using shared folders and email
Because of the inclusion of Metrics

Manager into the Cognos 8 BI
architecture, you can choose Metrics
Manager (MM) to be your home
page. The top two lines of the MM
and Cognos Connection UIs are
identical and allow quick access to
common UI tools.
Instructional Tips
You may want to define RSS as a
format for syndicating news, as it is
used by many Web sites.
Before moving on to the next slide,
tie the two slides together by
mentioning that the ability to perform
tasks depend on the users roles and
responsibilities.
You can personalize Cognos Connection for your own use by:
creating shortcuts to reports
including links (that is, bookmarks)
including Web pages called portlets (that is, Real Simple Syndication
(RSS) news feeds, stock market pages, or Cognos Watch List to show
performance metrics created using Metric Studio)
changing the appearance of the content so that it is meaningful to

you (that is, change all text to your preferred language)

INTRODUCTION
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Discuss Roles and Responsiblities

Roles represent a collection of users that perform similar tasks, or
have a similar status in an organization.
The ability to perform tasks depends on the default permissions
described for the predefined Cognos roles.
There are ten predefined Cognos roles.
The use of the predefined Cognos roles is optional. An administrator
can create a new role that is named according to users businessspecific roles. For example, your company may have a group of users
called Finance Report Authors.
The administrator could create a role to reflect this name.
Cognos Role
Responsibility
Consumers
Read and run reports.
Query Users
Same as Consumers, but they also use Cognos Query Studio.
Authors
Same as Query Users, but they also use Cognos Report Studio.
Report
Administrators
Administer reports; use Cognos Report Studio and Cognos

Query Studio.
Server
Administrators
Administer servers, dispatchers, and jobs.
Directory
Administrators
Administer groups, accounts, contacts, distribution lists, data

sources and printers.
Metrics
Administrators
Administer Metric packages and tasks in Cognos Connection.
Metrics
Authors
Create and edit scorecard applications in Metric Studio.
Metrics Users
Monitor performance in Metric Studio.
Portal
Administrators
Administer the Cognos portlets and third-party portlets in

Cognos Connection.

Instructional Tips
Throughout the module, emphasize
that the ability to perform tasks is
dependent on the default
permissions described for the
predefined Cognos roles. By default,
a member of the Consumers role
cannot administer content in Public
Folders. For example, a member of
the Consumers role cannot save a
report to Public Folders, however
they can save reports to My Folders.
An author or an Administrator can
save reports to both Public Folders
and My Folders.
A key benefit of Cognos 8 is that
predefined Cognos roles can be
modified to reflect your organization's
security infrastructure.
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Define Reports
A report can refer to either:
a specification that says which information to include in a report
the information itself
Instructional Tips
Emphasize that in this module,
reports refers to any of the
following:
report studio reports
ad hoc queries
analyses
A report specification is an XML
representation of the queries,
prompts, layouts, and styles in a
report. You create report
specifications using Report Studio or
Query Studio, or by writing your own
report specifications in XML.
You can also create report views,
which are references to other
reports. Each report view has its own
properties, such as prompt values,
schedules and results. Report views
are useful if you want to share a
report specification instead of making
copies of it.
You can access reports from Cognos Connection.
In Cognos Connection, a Query Studio report is also called a query, a

Report Studio report is also called a report and an Analysis Studio report
is called an analysis.
You can create an ad hoc report

using Query Studio or you can use
Report Studio to define layouts,
styles and prompts for your report.
You can also create Analysis Studio
reports.
Report Studio and Query Studio
report specifications can have saved
results or you can run a report to
produce new results. In PowerPlay,
reports are always run against the
latest data in the cube.
After a report is published to the
portal, you can view, run, and open
it, view report output, and run reports
in various formats.
You can distribute reports by saving
them, sending them by email,
printing them or bursting them.
You can create drill-through
definitions to create links to target
reports using a set of parameter
values defined by a drill path and
determined by the context of a
source report.
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Run a Report
If you click a report with the edit icon,
the report opens in the authoring
tool, where you can edit it.
When you run a report, the report retrieves data from a data source
Click a report that has a report run
You can:
icon
to open the report in
Cognos Viewer, based on the report
format (HTML, PDF, CSV, and so
on) specified in the report properties,
the Run with options page, or the
Preferences page.
view live data and edit the report by clicking the report name
run a report with options to change the report output format,

language, delivery method and prompt values
schedule reports to run individually or simultaneously in a job
Run a report to view live data.
Run a report
with options.
Schedule
a report.
Default options are set by the report author.
When you run a report with options, you override the default run
options.

If you choose not to view the report

now, the report is run in the
background. A report is run in the
background when it is:
set to run later
has multiple formats or languages
has a delivery method of save,
print or email
is a burst report
If the Prompt for values box is
selected, and the report contains
prompts, you will be prompted to
provide prompt values.
On the Run with advanced options
page, if you choose to View the
report now, you cannot choose
multiple output formats. As well, you
can use the Run with advanced
options page to:
specify a time for running the
report later
choose multiple output formats
and languages
add email as a delivery method
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Schedule Reports
You can schedule reports to run:
at a time that is convenient for you, such as during off hours

when demands on the system are low
individually or by using a job
by minute, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly
After you create a schedule, the report or job runs at the date and
time specified.
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You coordinate schedules using the Schedule Management tool.
Instructional Tips
The Schedule Management tool is
covered later in this module.
Only one schedule can be associated with each report or job. If you
require multiple schedules for the same report, create multiple report
views and create a schedule for each report view.
A job is used for multiple reports.

Jobs are covered later in this
module.
Once you create a schedule, you can modify it as necessary.

INTRODUCTION
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Schedule a Single Report

You can schedule a single report to run at a later time or at a
recurring date and time.
This report runs

every Wednesday
at 2:57 p.m.
You can view the run history of a
scheduled report to see how many
times the report ran and the success
or failure of each run.
If you no longer require a schedule, you can permanently delete it or

temporarily disable it.

Instructional Tips
In the slide example, we are
scheduling a report to run every
Wednesday at 2:57pm, with no
specified end date. Every time the
report runs, a report output is
generated in HTML format.
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Schedule Multiple Reports

You can set the same schedule for multiple reports by creating a job.
A job identifies a collection of reports, report views, and other jobs.
Steps in a job:
are scheduled to run together
share the same schedule settings
When you execute the steps in a job
all at once, all the steps are
submitted at the same time and the
job is successful when all steps are
completed successfully.
When you execute the steps in a job
in sequence, you can specify the
order in which the steps run. Each
step is submitted only after the
preceding step ran successfully.
When a scheduled job runs, all the reports in the job run.
Jobs are composed of steps. Each job step is a reference to an individual

report, job, or report view.
The steps in a job can be executed in two ways:
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all at once
in sequence

INTRODUCTION
View and Manage Schedules

You can use the Schedule Management tool to view and manage the
schedules you have created.
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You can specify that you only want to
see activities that occurred in a
specific time period; for example, in
the last four hours.
You can also filter by status. For
example, you may only want to view
scheduled reports that failed to run.
View the
schedule
and status.
View the
run history.
You can view reports of a specified

status such as pending, running, or
failed. You can then permanently
cancel reports that are running or
pending, or delay the running of a
pending report. This is useful when
several reports are pending, but you
need a specific report to run
immediately. You can then cancel or
suspend reports that are scheduled
to run first.
You can use the Schedule Management tool to:
change the properties of a job
modify a scheduled report
view the run history of a report
run a scheduled entry once
delete a schedule

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The run history is saved when a
report runs in the background.
View the Run History of Reports
To view the run history for a single

report:
1. Under the Actions column, click
the More link beside the report you
wish to view.
2. Click View Run History.
3. Under Status, click the status filter
to apply.
You can view the run history of a report to examine:
when the report was requested
the start time and completion time for the report
whether the report ran successfully
To view the run history for many

reports:
1. In the tools list, click Schedule
Management.
2. Click the Activity tab and select
the filter options to apply. A list
containing all reports and jobs that
meet the filter options is shown.
You can check whether reports ran successfully or determine how often
a report ran.
The run history for a report includes information such as the request
time, start time, completion time, and whether the report ran successfully.
You can run a report in the background without viewing it. When a
report runs in the background, a run history is saved.
You can filter the items listed on the run history page by the run status. If
a report has failed to run, click the Failed link in the Status column to
view the reason.
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Consider the example below of when

to use the run history:
A report in Public Folders is
scheduled to run daily and render the
most up-to-date information. You
access this report and notice that the
information is not up to date. (No
hyphens when it follows the noun.)
Even though you were not the author
of the report, you can view its run
history to see the request time,
completion time and status. If the
report Status was not successful,
you may want to notify your
Administrator.
If we click the View the output
versions for this report icon under the
Actions column, we can view the
versions that were produced during
this run cycle.

INTRODUCTION
View a Report
Click a report name to view the most recently saved copy of the
report in Cognos Viewer.
Cognos Connection
CSV
PDF
HTML
Cognos Viewer
A report output is a snap shot of the data that is current only up to the
time that the report is saved.
When you view a report, you are opening a report that contains a report
output. This report opens in Cognos Viewer.
Actions available in Cognos Viewer include save, save as report view,

email and run the reports, and drill capabilities, view in HTML, PDF,
CSV, XML and multiple Excel formats.
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You can identify a report that is a
saved copy by:
Viewing the icon next to the report
name. This icon is derived from
the format type of the most
recently saved copy of the report,
for example HTML
Using the View the output versions
of this report icon, under the
Actions column
In the slide example, there are
reports that have saved report
outputs. For example:
Expand and Collapse report,
which has a format type of CSV
High Margin Product Types, which
has a format type of PDF
Low Revenue Products, which has
a format type of HTML
If you click the name of a report that
is the report output, you will view the
most recently saved copy of the
report.
When a report is saved, multiple
outputs can be generated at the
same time (different formats,
languages). You view these other
versions by clicking More next to the
report under the Actions column, and
then clicking View report output
versions. You can also click the View
previous report output versions icon,
which is also next to the report under
the Actions column.
If you are viewing a report in Excel or
CSV format, you can only save the
output of the report to the file system.
You cannot save it to Cognos
Connection from Cognos Viewer. In
this case, the only way to save the
report output in either of these two
formats is to close Cognos Viewer
and rerun the report in the
background using the Run with
options or Run with advanced
options pages.

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You may want to view older data, for
example, when you compare two
reports with monthly sales volume for
a product. The first report contains
data before new features were
added to the product. The second
contains data after new features
were added.
View Report Output Versions

You can analyze older data in a report by viewing previous report
output versions.
You can also view the report output

versions of a report by clicking the
More link under the Actions column,
and then clicking View report output
versions.
Clicking the Download PDF icon
allows you to save a PDF version of
the report on your hard drive.
Previously saved versions of the Low
Revenue Products report in PDF and
Excel and HTML.
When you run a report, the specification is run against the data source so
that the report reflects the most recent data. However, this data may not
meet your needs. You may want to view older data.
You can use the View report output versions page to view all versions of
a report output, including the date, format, and language of each report
output.
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Demo 1
Run a Report and Render the Output in
a Different Language

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Demo 1: Run a Report and Render the Output in a

Different Language
Purpose:
Business analysts in North America have created an ad hoc
query that would be meaningful to share with business
analysts in other regions. Our affiliates in France would like to
see the report. We will run this report and save the output as
an HTML report in French.
Public Classroom
in the address.
Task 1. Open Cognos Connection.

1. Start your browser, in the address box type
Cognos Connection opens.
Task 2. Run a query.
1. Click the Public Folders tab, click Go Sales and Retailers, and then
click Query Studio Report Samples.
2. From the list of reports, go to Returns by Order Method and click Run
with options Returns by Order Method
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3. From the Run with options dialog box:
ensure the Format is HTML
click Language and select French (Canada)
click Save the report
The Run with options dialog box appears, as shown below:
4. Click Run.
5. On the Cognos 8 information screen, click OK.
The report is saved in Cognos Connection.
6. Click Refresh
until the View the output versions for this report
appears in the actions tool bar.

Notice that the icon next to the report name changed to show the query
is now an HTML report.

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7. Click the file Return by Order Method.

The report opens in Cognos Viewer and appears in French, as shown
below:
8. Click Home and leave Cognos Connection open for the next demo.
Results:
We ran a report from Cognos Connection and rendered the
output in a language different from the default language.
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Demo 2
Schedule a Report

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Demo 2: Schedule a Report

Purpose:
Management wants to compare the revenue by order method
and sales territory. We already have an Analysis Studio report
that makes this comparison, so we will schedule the report to
run every two minutes so that the data can be analyzed
frequently. To accommodate the needs of various managers,
we will render the report outputs in both HTML and PDF
formats.
Instructional Tips
You may want to mention that it is
unrealistic in a business environment
to schedule a report to run every two
minutes. We scheduled the report to
run every two minutes for this demo
so that the students can see the
results immediately.
Task 1. Schedule the report to run on a regular basis.

1. From the Public Folders tab, click Great Outdoors Company, and
then click Analysis Studio Samples.
Analyses created in Analysis Studio are displayed as shown below:
2. Beside Revenue by Order Method and Sales Territory analysis, under

Actions, click Schedule - Revenue by Order Method and Sales
Territory
The Schedule - Revenue by Order Method and Sales Territory page

appears. Here we can specify when we want the report to run, how
frequently we want to create report outputs, and the format and language
of these report outputs.
3. In the Frequency section, click the By Day tab, then click the button
beside Every 1 minute(s), and type 2.
4. In the Options section, select the Override the default values check
box, and then select the PDF check box.
Both HTML and PDF are selected.
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5. In the Delivery section, ensure that the Save check box is selected, ensure
that the button beside Save the report is selected, and then click OK.
The report is scheduled to run every two minutes. Because we specified
that we wanted to save the report, PDF and HTML report outputs will be
created after each two-minute interval.
6. After two minutes have passed, click Refresh
Beside Revenue by Order Method and Sales Territory, under Actions, the
View the output versions for this report - Revenue by Order Method and
Sales Territory
icon shows that the Schedule Management tool has
generated report outputs.
Task 2. View the report outputs and disable the schedule.
1. Beside Revenue by Order Method and Sales Territory, under Actions,
click View the output versions for this report - Revenue by Order
Method and Sales Territory.
The View report output versions - Revenue by Order Method and Sales
Territory page appears. We can see that two report outputs have been
generated (both in English): one in HTML format, and the other in PDF
format.
2. Click PDF
The PDF report output opens in Cognos Viewer, as shown below:

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3. Click the Back button on your browser, and then click HTML
The HTML report output opens in Cognos Viewer as shown below:
4. Click Return, click Close, and beside Revenue by Order Method and
Sales Territory, under Actions, click Schedule.
5. Select the Disable the schedule check box.
6. Click OK.
Results:
We scheduled a report to run on a regular basis. Report
outputs were rendered in both PDF and HTML every two
minutes. After viewing the results, we disabled the schedule to
prevent the output of further reports.
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Demo 3
Schedule Multiple Reports

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Demo 3: Schedule Multiple Reports

Purpose:
Management now wants to see data about the cost of goods
sold across different product lines and product types. They
also want to analyze general sales data from all global
territories. We already have two reports that include this data.
We will now combine them into a job and schedule this job to
run every two minutes and render in Excel format so that
management can analyze these reports at the same time.
Instructional Tips
You may want to mention that it is
unrealistic in a business environment
to schedule a report to run every two
minutes. We scheduled the report to
run every two minutes for this demo
so that the students can see the
results immediately.
Task 1. Create a job containing two reports.

1. On the toolbar in Cognos Connection, click New Job
The New Job Wizard opens.

2. In the Name box, type Sales Performance, under Location, click Select
another location.
3. Click GO Sales and Retailers, click the button beside Query Studio
Report Samples, click OK, and then click Next.
4. In the Select the steps window, under Steps, click Add.
5. Select the High Margin Product Types and Low Revenue Products
check boxes, and then click Add
The two reports are added to the job.
6. Click OK, and then under Defaults for all steps, click Set.
We want to specify options for the entire job. The choices that we make
on this screen will apply to both of the reports in the job.
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7. Click Report Options, then select the Specify default values for all the
reports of this job check box, clear the HTML check box, and then
select the Excel 2000 Single Sheet check box.
When this job runs, we want it to generate an Excel version of each
report.
8. Click OK, and then in the Submission of steps section, click In
sequence.
We want the report outputs to be generated one after the other, rather
than all at once.
9. Click Next, under Action click Save and Schedule, and then click
Finish.
Now we can schedule how frequently we want the job to run. Each time
the job runs, two Excel report outputs (one for each report) will be
created.
10. Click the By Day tab, click the button beside Every 1 minute(s), and
then in the box, delete 1 and type 2.
11. Under End, click the End by button, and then set the End by time to be
4 minutes later.
The Sales Performance job will be executed every two minutes. In the
process, the job will generate two report outputs, both in Excel format.
12. Click OK, click the GO Sales and Retailers link if its not already
selected, and then click Query Studio Report Samples.
The Sales Performance job is added to the Query Studio Report Samples
subfolder as shown below:

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Task 2. View the report outputs generated by the Sales

Performance job.
1. After two minutes have passed, click Refresh.
Beside the High Margin Product Types and the Low Revenue Products
links, the View the output versions for this report icon shows that the
Schedule Management tool has generated report outputs.
2. In the top right corner of Cognos Connection, click the Tools link, and
then click Schedule Management.
The Schedule Management tool opens. The Activity tab shows the
reports and jobs that have been scheduled and the times they were
requested, and also indicates whether they executed successfully. We can
see that the Sales Performance job was requested and executed
successfully.
3. Click the Refresh button, and then beside the first Sales Performance job,
under Actions, click View run history details - Sales Performance.
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4. Beside the High Margin Product Types report, under Actions, click View
outputs - High Margin Product Types.
The View report output versions screen appears. We can see that output
for this report was generated in Excel.
5. Click the Excel
icon.
6. If the File Download dialog box appears asking if you want to open or
save the file, click Open.
The report opens in Microsoft Excel format as shown below:
7. Close Excel.
8. Click Close, then click Close again, and then click the Schedule tab.
We can see the Sales Performance job that we created and scheduled
previously. We now want to disable the schedule so that it does not run
anymore.
9. In the Actions column for Sales Performance, click More, and then click
Modify the schedule.
The Schedule - Sales Performance screen appears.

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10. Select the Disable the schedule check box, and then click OK.
The schedule for the job is disabled. No more report outputs will be
created by this job until we enable the schedule again or run the job
manually.
Results:
We created a job that includes two reports. We then scheduled
this job to run every two minutes and rendered both reports in
Excel.
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Distribute Reports
You can share information with other users by distributing reports.
You can distribute reports by:
saving them where other users can access them
sending them to other users by email
printing them
If you want to share a report that is
currently in My Folders and you do
not want to save it to Public Folders,
you can:
copy the report
move the report
create a shortcut to the report
Instructional Tips
To send a report by email, both you
and the recipients must have valid
email addresses.
Public folders typically contain reports that are of interest to many users:
To print the report from Cognos

Connection rather than directly from
the browser, you must first add a
printer. In the top right corner of the
Home page, from the Tools menu,
click Directory, click the Printers tab,
and then specify the location of the
printer.
you can create a subfolder on the Public Folders tab to hold reports
that everyone can view
Sending a report by email is useful when a group of people do not have

direct access to the report authoring tool. You can:
attach one copy or multiple copies of the report to the email
specify multiple formats and languages
include a link to the report as an email attachment
To obtain a hard copy of the report, you can print a PDF version of it.
You can add a printer in Cognos Connection by specifying a name and a

network address.

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Create Report Views
A report view shares the same report
specification as the source report,
but other properties, such as prompt
answers, are independent of the
source report.
If you consistently use a specific
view, format, or language for a
report, create a report view in My
Folders to easily access your view of
the report.
Create a report view to produce a customized version of a report.
The report view properties page

provides a link to the properties of
the source report. If the source report
was deleted or moved to another
location, the report view icon
changes to indicate a broken link and
the link to the properties of the
source report is removed.
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Create a report view if you want to keep the underlying report

specification but want the choice of another format, language, delivery
method or run option.
Instructional Tips
Report Authors can create a report
view in Public Folders to share a
specific view of a report with multiple
users.
For example, there may be a
requirement for German employees
to have access to a report saved in
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INTRODUCTION
Specify Properties of an Entry

In Cognos Connection, you can set the default properties for an
entry.
Use an entrys Set Properties page to set general properties, default run
options and permissions.
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General Properties include contact
person, name, description, screen
tip, run history and report output
versions.
Default run options determine how
the report executes, including format,
language, and prompt values. You
can set one of the following actions
as the default when a report is run:
view the most recent report or run
if it has not been previously run
(default)
run the report
open the report in the authoring
tool that was used to create it
(Query Studio, Report Studio, or
Analysis Studio)
In the slide example, the second tab
is called Query because this report
was created in Query Studio. If the
report was created in another studio,
the tab would read Report for Report
Studio and Analysis for Analysis
studio.
Through Permissions, Administrators
can specify which users have access
to the entry and what actions can be
performed on it. You can specify
access permissions for all entries in
Cognos 8. Some examples of such
entries are reports, queries,
analyses, packages, agents, metrics,
namespaces, groups, users or
dispatchers. You can reference
entries from different namespaces.
The user who creates the entry is its
owner and sets the default properties
of the entry.
You can set multilingual properties
including name, screen tip and
description for each of the entries in
the portal.

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Specify How Content Appears

You can personalize the way data appears in Cognos Connection by
changing your preferences.
The portal preference was set to display all content in German.
Refer to the Cognos 8 online Help for
a list of preferences that may be
changed.
Administrators can set access
permissions on styles to grant/deny
access based on users, groups, or
roles. They can also set user profiles
to deploy specific styles to specific
users.
Preferences are available for all
users. However, depending on a
users permissions, they might not
see all of the preference options.
You can modify Portal tabs settings if
you have read permissions for your
account. You can add, remove, and
modify the sequence of tabs in your
portal.
You can change your portal to view data in your own language.
Your preferences pertain to the style of the user interface (UI), the report
format, and the language of the content or the output.
Preference changes take effect immediately in the current session. They

are stored and used for future sessions.
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Demo 4
Create a Report View and Set
Preferences

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Demo 4: Create a Report View and Set Preferences

Purpose:
The Global Sales (1) report shows the expected volume of
each product type for each quarter of a sales year.
We are responsible for creating language-specific versions of
this report, to be distributed to our German and French sales
offices. As well, we would like to create Excel versions of the
report to be distributed to the German and French accounting
department.
To accomplish this, we will create a copy of this report (report
view) in My Folders, and then modify the run options of the
report so that it produces an Excel and PDF version of the
report in French and German.
We will then view a report output to ensure that we have
achieved the desired results.
Task 1. View a report in Cognos Viewer.
1. From the Public Folders tab, click Go Sales and Retailers, and then
click Report Studio Report Samples.
2. Click Global Sales (1).
Now we would like to see a view of this report in Excel format to see
how the report will look for the German and French accounting
departments.
3. On the toolbar, click the View in Excel 2000 Single Sheet Format
icon.
4. If the File Download dialog box appears asking if you want to open or
save the file, click Open.
The report runs and displays in Excel format. The result appears as
shown below:
5. Close the Excel window.

6. In the top right corner, click Return to return to the Report Studio
Report Samples folder.
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Task 2. Create a report view.

1. Beside Global Sales (1), under Actions, click More.
The Perform an action - Global Sales (1) page appears.
2. Click Create a report view of this report.
The Specify a name and description - New Report View Wizard page
appears.
3. In the Name box, type Demo 4_Introduction to Cognos Connection,
under Location, click Select My Folders, and then click Finish.
The report view is saved to My Folders.
Task 3. Specify a different language for the report view.
1. Click the My Folders tab, and then click Demo 4_Introduction to
Cognos Connection.
The report view opens in Cognos Viewer. This view is currently identical
to its source report, Global Sales (1).
2. In the top right corner, click Return.
We return to the My Folders tab.
3. Beside Demo 4_Introduction to Cognos Connection, under Actions,
click Set properties - Demo 4_Introduction to Cognos Connection.
The Set properties - Demo 4_Introduction to Cognos Connection page
appears.
4. In the Description box, type The Global Sales (1) report shows the
expected volume for each product type for every quarter of a sales
year.
5. In the Language list, click French, in the Name box, type Vue
personnalise de ventes globales (1), and then in the Description box,
type Les ventes globales (1) rapportent des expositions le volume
prvu pour chaque type de produit pour chaque quart d'une anne
de ventes.
If the portal content is viewed in French, this title and description will be
used instead of the English version. This distinguishes it from the source
report, which does not have values set for French.
6. Click OK, and then in the top right corner, click Preferences.
The Set preferences page appears.
7. In the Default view section, click the button beside Details.
This displays the details of each entry in the portal rather than showing a
list view.
8. In the Content language section, click Use the following language, and
then click French.

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9. Click OK.
The content of the report is set to French. Notice that the title and
description of the report view that we created is in French instead of
English (which is the language of the other report titles and descriptions).
10. In the top right corner, click Preferences, in the Default view section,
click the button beside List, in the Content language section, click
English.
11. Click OK.
The portal content reverts to English.
Task 4. Create multiple outputs of a report.
click Run with options - Demo 4_Introduction to Cognos
Connection .
The Run with options - Demo 4_Introduction to Cognos Connection
page appears.
2. Click Advanced options.
The Run with advanced options page appears.
3. In the Delivery section, click the button beside Save the report, print it,
or send an email, and then ensure that the Save box is selected.
4. In the Time section, ensure that the button beside Now is selected, and
then under Formats, clear the HTML check box, and then select the
PDF and the Excel 2000 Single Sheet check boxes.
5. Click Select the languages.
The Select the languages screen appears.
6. In the Available languages box, Ctrl+click French and German, click
the Add
icon, and then click OK.
We want to generate report outputs in English, French and German.
7. Click Run, and then click OK.
The report outputs will be generated at the specified time.
Task 5. View report output versions.
1. On the toolbar, click Refresh .
click View the output versions for this report - Demo
4_Introduction to Cognos Connection .
The View report output versions - Demo 4_Introduction to Cognos
Connection page appears.
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Instructional Tips
You may have to click Refresh more
than once if the reports do not
appear the first time.

INTRODUCTION
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3. Click the arrow beside Languages, and then click All languages.
The result appears as shown below:
The six report outputs were generated at once. There are three PDF
documents and three Excel documents. There are English, French and
German versions of each output type. You can also download a PDF
version of each report using the Download - PDF
icon.
4. In the French row, click the PDF icon .

A French version of the report view opens as a PDF report in Cognos
Viewer. From here, we can print the report or save a version to a
different location.
Instructional Tips
You may have to launch the Adobe
Reader program to initialize it before
you click the PDF icon.
Results:
We created a customized report view of the Global Sales (1)
report in My Folders.
We then ran the report with options to create PDF and Excel
versions of the report in French and German. To ensure that
we achieved the desired result, we viewed the French PDF
output version of the report.

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Access External Files with Links

Use the New URL wizard to create a
new Uniform Resource Locator, also
known as a Web link.
Create links to make external files and Web sites easily accessible
from Cognos Connection.
New URL
For example, you may want to create

a link in My Folders that is specific to
you, or an Administrator may want to
create a link in Public Folders to
make it accessible to all users.
A URL is a standard way of
identifying the location of any
external file or Web site.
Click the URL to open it in your
browser. Clicking the URL does not
open a new browser window. Click
the Back button to return to Cognos
Connection.
A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a standard way of identifying the

location of any external file or Web site.
Create URLs to keep the files and Web sites that you most frequently use
easily accessible.
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INTRODUCTION
Organize Content with Folders

You can organize reports and other content in Cognos Connection
by creating folders.
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Folders within Public Folders are of
interest to and can be viewed by
many users. Administrators and
Authors organize content in Public
Folders to make it accessible to
other users.
Folders within My Folders can be
organized according to your
preferences. These are personal and
only accessible when you are logged
on.
You must have write access to a
folder to create entries in it.
A new folder is created in

My Folders location.
Ensure that your folders are logically labeled and organized to make
locating reports quick and easy.
Folders can contain entries and are

now considered content objects.
To create a new folder:
1. Click either the Public Folders or
My Folders link.
2. On the portal toolbar, click New
Folder.
3. Type the name of the new folder.
4. Optionally, you can add
description and tool tip text.
5. Choose where you want the folder
to be located.
The new folder has the same access
permissions as the parent folder in
which it was created.
In the slide example, weve created a
subfolder in My Folders called "My
New Folder."

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Organize Content with Shortcuts

Create a shortcut to point to another entry in Cognos Connection,
such as a report or Web link.
Shortcut to a
report is
created in My
Folders.
A shortcut is a pointer to another entry such as a report, report view,

folder, job, agent, page, or URL.
Use shortcuts to organize information that you use regularly.
The main benefit of a shortcut is that updating the source entry updates
the shortcuts in all locations.
If a source report has been deleted or moved to another location, the

shortcut icon changes to indicate a broken link and the properties link to
the source report is removed.
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In the slide example, weve created a
shortcut to a Low Revenue Products
and it is stored in My Folders so a
user can access it in either place.
If you want to make a new report, it
may be easier to make a copy of an
existing report, modify it and resave
as something else. If you want to run
an existing report with a different
format, language, or delivery
method, create a report view.
You cannot update the source entry
by clicking the shortcut. Updating the
source updates all shortcuts to the
entry (for example, the "Shortcut to
Low Revenue Products" that we
created).
You can change access permissions
for a shortcut entry, but this will not
change the access permissions for
the source entry.

INTRODUCTION
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Organize Entries
To organize content in Cognos Connection, you can copy and paste
entries to create a replica of the entry in another location in the
portal.
COGNOS
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Instructional Tips
If an author wants to use a generic
report in Public Folders as the basis
for another report, they can make a
copy of the generic report and modify
it without affecting the original report.
Copy
contents
from
Public
Folders.
Review entries regularly and attempt
to group them logically. Consider
grouping the entries by type or
frequency of use.
Paste
contents
to My
Folders.
You may decide to create a folder

hierarchy of nested folders. Ensure
that the folder structure is logical and
that it supports the chosen method of
grouping.
You can organize folders, reports, analyses, agents, and packages in a

meaningful way so that you can easily locate them.
You can also rename, move, disable, delete, or specify the order of entries
within Cognos Connection.
If you want to see the latest version

of the data, you should create a
shortcut to the report instead of
creating a copy of the report.
Disable an entry to prevent users
from accessing it. Disabling is useful
when Administrators and Authors
want to modify an entry in Public
Folders. To disable an entry:
1. Beside the entry you want to
disable, under actions, click Set
properties.
2. On the General tab, select Disable
this entry, and then click OK.
Delete an entry to permanently
remove it from the portal. For
example, you may want to remove
entries that are outdated.

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Search for Entries

You can search for entries in Cognos Connection whose name,
description, or both, match the string entered in the search criteria.
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You can determine if the entry you are looking for:
contains the specified string
starts with the specified string
matches the specified string
The search ignores capitalization.
You can find types of entries by
leaving the search string empty and
selecting an entry type in the
advanced search criteria.
Entries for which you have access
permissions are included in the
search results.
Instructional Tips
To perform a search:
1. Select the highest level folder you
want to include in your search.
You can increase or limit the
folders to include in your search
by changing the Scope when you
enter the search criteria.
2. On the toolbar, click Search.
3. Type the phrase you want to
search for.
4. Choose the type of match
(contains, starts, or matches).
5. In the Scope box, click the folders
you want to include in the search.
6. In the Find text in box, click the
field you want to search.
7. In the Type box, click the type of
entry to search for.
8. In the Modified box, click the date
that the entry was last modified
(for example, click In last week if
you want to see the entries that
were updated in the last week).
9. Click Search. To open an entry
returned by the search, click its
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Demo 5
Organize Content in Cognos Connection

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Demo 5: Organize Content in Cognos Connection

Purpose:
Our manager has asked us to re-arrange some of the contents
in the Public Folders so the content details are displayed.
Management also wants the report view created for Global
Sales (1) copied into a subfolder called Reports.
To accomplish this task, we will change the user interface
preferences and create a folder to hold reports. Since we are
changing the preferences and folders on Cognos Connection,
we will create a shortcut of the Reports subfolder that
management asked for and put it into our personal folder tab.
We will also add a URL link to the Cognos corporate site to
give us quick access to news releases related to Cognos 8.
Task 1. Explore the folders.
1. From Cognos Connection, click the Public Folders tab, if not already
selected.
By default, entries on the Public Folders tab are accessible to all users.
2. Click GO Sales and Retailers.
Instructional Tips
Authors can also open Query Studio,
Report Studio, Analysis Studio,
Event Studio, and Metric Studio to
create and manage reports, events,
and analyses.
This folder contains subfolders that contain reports previously created in

Query Studio and Report Studio.
3. Click the My Folders tab.
My Folders are only accessible by a user when that user is logged on. The
folder contains a report called Demo 4_Introduction to Cognos
Connection.
Task 2. Change general preferences.
1. In the top right corner, click Preferences.
2. Select Details.
3. In the Number of Columns list, select 2 columns, and then in the
Automatic refresh rate in seconds box, type 20.
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4. Click OK, and then click the Public Folders tab.

The portal reflects the options that we specified in the Preferences
section. The entries in the Public Folders tab are divided into 2 columns,
as shown below:
Task 3. Create a folder to hold reports.

1. Click New Folder
2. In the Name box, type Reports, and then in the Description and Screen
tip boxes, type Reports created for General Manager.
3. Click Finish.
The subfolder is added to Public Folders tab, as shown below:
Task 4. Copy the report view to the Reports folder.

1. Click the My Folders tab, and then select the Demo 4_Introduction to
Cognos Connection check box.
2. From the toolbar, click Copy.
3. Click Public Folders, and then click Reports folder.

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4. Click Paste.
The report is copied to the Public Folders, Go Sales and Retailers,
Reports location as shown below:
Task 5. Create a shortcut of the Reports folder.

1. Go back to the location Public Folders > Go Sales and Retailers by
clicking on GO Sales and Retailers.
2. Under Reports, click More, and then click Create a shortcut to this
entry.
The Specify a name and description - New Shortcut Wizard page
appears.
3. Under Location, click Select My Folders, and then click Finish.
4. Click My Folders tab.
A shortcut to the Reports folder was added to the My Folders. Notice
icon that appears beside the folder name.
the shortcut
5. Click Shortcut to Reports.
The entry Demo 4_Introduction to Cognos Connection is displayed.
Task 6. Create a URL link.
.
1. From the Shortcut to Reports folder, click New URL
2. In the Name box, type Cognos Corporate Site, and then in the
Description and Screen tip boxes, type Web site for Cognos Inc.
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3. In the URL box, type http://www.cognos.com, and then click Finish.

The URL is added to the Shortcut to Reports folder, as shown below:
Instructional Tips
The entries displayed Step 3 have a
locked icon
beside them.
Please disregard this icon since it
does not have any significance to the
demo. You may not see this icon
after completing step 3.
4. Click the Cognos Corporate Site link.

The Cognos Corporate Web site appears.
5. Click the Back button on the browser to return to Cognos Connection.
Instructional Tips
For step 4, students may not be
connected to the network and
therefore may not be able to see the
Cognos Corporate Web site.
Results:
We created a subfolder on the Public Folders location to hold
the Demo 4_Introduction to Cognos Connection report view.
We then created a shortcut of the subfolder, so that the
contents exist on the My Folders location too. Finally, we
changed how entries in the folders appear on our screen and
added a URL link to Cognos corporate Web site.

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Group Content into a Single View

Add your own pages to the portal to group different types of content
into a single view.
The new page appears as a new tab in Cognos Connection.
You can edit a page to change its
content, layout and style, and access
permissions. For example, changes
may be required when the portlets
initially added to the page are no
longer available, or the list of users
who can access the page has
changed.
You can delete pages in Cognos
Connection if you have the required
access permissions for the pages.
Deleting a page may affect your
portal tabs.
You choose the information that is most important to you and make it
available from personalized pages.
After you create the page, you can edit it to modify its content, specify its
layout and style, and set access permissions.
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You can modify the content of an

instance of a portlet in a page. You
will retain the custom settings even if
the administrator resets the portlet. If
other users have access to the page
that contains this portlet instance,
they will also see the changes.
However, if the administrator locks
the portlet, your configured content
will not be available until the portlet is
unlocked.

INTRODUCTION
Examine Portal Page Content

Cognos Connection pages consist of a collection of dynamic
portlets that provide customized content.
This page contains five portlets.
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Each page can include portlets from
the following groups:
Cognos Content:
Cognos Navigator: Select Cognos 8
content:
Cognos Search: Use the search tool
to find Cognos 8 content and open it.
Cognos Viewer: The content
selected in Cognos Navigator or
Cognos Search.
Cognos Extended Applications:
Custom content created by extended
applications toolkit or the SDK.
Metrics Manager:
Cognos Watch list. You can create
pages with scorecards to help
complement reports and content.
Also you can Integrate MM into 3rd
party portals IBM, WebSphere,
SAP EP, and Plumtree portals.
A portlet is a component of a portal Web page that provides access to a

specific information source or application, such as news updates,
technical support, or an email program.
You can add Cognos Content and Cognos Utility portlets to your portal
pages. You can also add any other portlets that have been imported by
your administrator (that is, Cognos Watch list, RSS news feeds).
Page content can include:
Cognos Utility:
Bookmark Viewer: active URLs that
represent specified Web sites.
Image Viewer: Images
HTML Viewer: Specified Web pages
RSS Viewer: A really simple
syndication (RSS) news feeds
represented by URL addresses. RSS
is a format summarizing news and is
used by many Web sites.
Cognos BI content from Cognos Series 7 PowerPlay Web, Cognos

Query, Upfront, and Visualizer
Third Party Portlets: Non-Cognos

portlets that conform to the WSRP
standard.
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) news feeds, Web sites, and stock
market and quotes
metrics and reports
When users log on to Cognos

Connection for the first time, they
can access the pages an
administrator has made available.
Pages are cached in a Cognos
Connection session. When the state
of a page changes during the current
session, users who have access to
the page are affected. For example,
when the page is deleted or
disabled, it cannot be accessed any
longer and its tab is deleted or not
functional.

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Demo 6
Personalize a Portal
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Demo 6: Personalize a Portal

Purpose:
We want to create a new portal page to add content that is
relevant for us. We will then personalize our page by adding it
as a new tab on our portal for quick access to it. We will also
change its appearance and add some Cognos navigation and
viewing portlets to our page.
Task 1. Create a page.
1. Click Log Off, and then click Log on again.
2. On the Log on screen, in the User ID box, type uragomek, in the
3. If the Cognos 8 Welcome page appears, click Cognos Connection.
4. Click New Page
on the toolbar.
The New page wizard opens.

5. In the Name box, type Resources, and then under Location, click Select
another location.
6. Click GO Sales and Retailers button, and then click OK.
Public Folders/GO Sales and Retailers will appear under Location.
7. Click Next.
8. Under Number of columns, click 2 columns
Two columns appear on our screen.

Task 2. Add and modify portlets in the new page.
1. Change the left column width to 30%.
2. Under the left column, click Add.
3. Click Cognos Utility.
4. Select the Bookmarks Viewer check box, and then click Add
so that the Bookmarks Viewer portlet will appear in the selected entries.
5. Under Available entries in the top left, click Portlets.
6. Click Cognos Content, and then select the Cognos Navigator and
Cognos Search check boxes.
7. Click Add
so that the Cognos Navigator and the Cognos
Search portlets appear in the selected entries, and then click OK.
8. Change the right column width to 70%, and then under the right column,
click Add.
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9. Click Cognos Content and select the Cognos Viewer check box.
10. Click Add to add the Cognos Viewer portlet to the selected entries, and
then click OK.
11. Click Next.
We have finished adding the portlets. Now, we will complete the wizard
by adding this page to a tab.
Task 3. Add the page to the portal tab.
1. On the Set page style New page wizard dialog box, under Title, type
Resources, and then click Next.
2. On the Select an action New page wizard dialog box, select the Add
this page to the portal tabs and View the page check boxes, and then
click Finish.
Instructional Tips
There is another way to add a page
to the portal tab. In Cognos
Connection, locate the page you
wish to add as a tab, then under
Actions, click the add page button
. The page will appear as a tab.
The Resources tab now appears as the last tab, as shown below:
Task 4. Modify the portlets.

We want to edit the Bookmarks Viewer to contain a link so that we can
access the Cognos Web site directly from our portlet. As well, we want to
modify the Cognos Navigator to change its appearance to make it easier
to view.
Public Classroom
For this demo we are only modifying
the Bookmarks Viewer and the
Cognos Navigator portlets, but note
that any portlets available to you can
be edited.
1. On the Resources tab, in the Bookmarks Viewer title bar, click

Edit .
2. On the Set the properties page, in the Title box, type Web Links.
3. In the Bookmarks area, in the first URLs box, type
http://www.cognos.com, and in the Aliases box, type Cognos site,
and then click OK.
The Cognos Web site is now added to our bookmarks area.
4. In the Cognos Navigator portlet, click Edit.
5. Under Features to expose in the Navigator views, under Normal mode,
clear the Actions check box.
6. Near the bottom of the page, in the Separators list, click Alternating
backgrounds.
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7. Click OK.
In the Cognos Navigation pane that the Action column is no longer
visible and the background appears in alternating colors.
Task 5. Modify the appearance of the portal.
2. On the General tab, under Style, click Contemporary.
3. Click Preview.
The Contemporary style template appears.
4. Click Close.
5. Clear the Show the Welcome page at startup check box, and then
click OK.
The portal tab appears with the new style along with the new portlet
views, as shown below:
6. Leave Cognos Connection open for next demo.

Results:
We created a new portal page. We personalized it by adding it
as a new tab on our portal and we changed its appearance. We
also added some Cognos navigation and viewing portlets to it.

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Instructional Tips
Note: In ReportNet 1.1, pages were
personal items only. Once
created, they appeared in a
users portal tab, which meant
that only individual users
could see their own pages.
The problem with this is that
you are not able to share your
pages with other users. This is
not the case with Cognos 8.
Access Shared Pages

By sharing pages you can share your reports with other authors
without having to distribute reports by email or in paper format.
The pages take on the characteristics of content objects.
The pages can be:
copied and shared
In Cognos 8 BI, the pages are "real"
content objects, the same as folders,
reports and URLs.
secured to select users, groups or roles

navigated to and cosumed from a content listing
If a page is copied, all changes that

are made to the source will not be
brought over to the copy. As well, all
changes made to the copy will not be
copied over to the source.
To access pages created by other users or to have your page accessed,

pages need to be saved to a shared location (for example,Public Folders).
Other users who have access to these pages can choose to view them,
edit them (if they have write access), or even save a local copy to their
personal folder. Any modifications made to the page by the owner of the
page is circulated out to all users.
Users can set security on individual pages to grant or deny access to

certain users or groups of users.
Pages can be included in user tab

bars but instead of being the only
way to navigate to the page, these
tabs are actually shortcuts to the
page. You will get the same
experience clicking on the tab bar
entry for the page as you would
finding it in the content tree and then
viewing the page.
The page is a consumable piece of
content, therefore it can be selected
as the entry that you want to put into
a Viewer portlet. If your page has a
viewer portlet on it and the entry you
select is a page itself, then the
selected page is embedded on a
page. You can assemble compound
pages and mix and match
dashboards.
You can configure it so that users
only have read: access, therefore
they can only view the page. The
administrator can save pages in a
shared folder, and assign security
permission, so that users can see a
subset of those pages.
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Demo 7
Access a Shared Page

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Demo 7: Access a Shared Page

Purpose:
Jorg and Kazumi are report authors and managing directors in
their designated countries. They want to share information
with each other. Kazumi has set up a page that Jorg can
access. As Jorg, we will access Kazumis page and will place it
as a tab on our main page to make it easily accessible.
Task 1. Access a shared page.
1. Click Log Off, and then click Log on again.
2. On the Log on screen, in the User ID box, type kunzej, in the Password
box, type Education1!, and then click OK.
We want to view and select the portal tab created by Kazumi.
4. Click Preferences.
5. In the Set preferences dialog box, click Portal Tabs.
6. Select the Public Folders check box.
7. Click Add.
8. Click Public Folders, and then click Go Sales and Retailers.
9. Select the Resources check box.
10. Click Add
11. Click OK and then click OK again.

The Resources tab will now appear beside My Folders.
12. Click the Resources tab.
The Resources portal that Kazumi created appears in Jorgs portal with
the portal style that Jorg has chosen.
Task 2. Modify a shared page.
We want to set up our portal page with 3 columns. The layout will have
our left column set to 30%, the middle column set to 50% and the right
column set to 20%.
1. In the top left hand corner, click Tab Menu
portal tab.
, and then click Edit this
2. Under Number of columns, click 3 columns.

3. Change the middle column width to 50%.
4. Change the last column width to 20%.
We want to have Cognos Search appear in the right column.
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5. In the left column, click Cognos Search.

6. To the right of the left column, click Move one item right
Cognos Search appears in the middle column.

7. With Cognos Search still selected, click Move one item right to the right
of the middle column.
8. Click OK.
Cognos Search appears in the last column.
As Jorg, we changed the look of Kazumis page on our portal. Kazumis
page will still look the same when she logs on to her portal because these
pages are being saved with each users individual preferences, as shown
below:
Instructional Tips
The preference settings from Jorgs
page are not carried over to
Kazumis page. However, all other
layout changes do affect Kazumis
page. If students seem interested in
viewing the differences, then log
back on as Kazumi and go to the
page.
9. Click Log Off, and leave Cognos 8 open for the next demo.
Results:
As Jorg, we accessed Kazumis page and placed it as a tab on
our main page as a reference.

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You can enable portlet-to-portlet
communication on all Cognos
Content portlets and Utility portlets.
Enable Communication Between Portlets

Portlet-to-portlet communication allows for actions in one portlet
to appear in other portlets.
For example, Cognos Navigator and

Search portlets can populate the
Cognos Viewer portlet.
In Cognos 8 BI, Portal Services
allows for portlets to interact with one
another. This allows you to keep
browsing and consuming all in one
browser instance, whereas before
you opened content in a new
browser window.
The report
displayed in
Cognos
Viewer was
selected from
the list of
reports
displayed in
Cognos
Navigator.
Any object that is run in the

Navigator or Search (including
pages) can be displayed in the
Cognos Viewer.
You can set up portlet-to-portlet communication so that when you click

an entry in one portlet (for example, Cognos Navigator), the output is
rendered in another portlet (for example, Cognos Viewer). This saves
time as you do not have to look at a generated report outside of your
portal page.
Having portlet-to-portlet communication allows users a quick way to
search, find, and then report on information.
For the Cognos utility portlets, users

can direct their output of the Image,
Bookmarks, and RSS Viewer to the
HTML Viewer.
With portlet-to-portlet
communication, you can click on any
report and have that report run in
many Cognos Viewers on many
pages in your portal tabs. The report
will be displayed in any portlet that
has the correct channel name.
This functionality applies only to
Cognos portlets and works only for
portlets of the same group. In each
group, one portlet is a target portlet,
and the remaining portlets are
source portlets. The results of
actions in the source portlets are
shown in the associated target
portlets.
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INTRODUCTION
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Demo 8
Enable Communication between Portlets

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Demo 8: Enable Communication between Portlets

Purpose:
We want to be able to navigate and search for reports easily,
and view the results within the same page for convenience. To
do this, we will configure portlet-to-portlet communication.
Task 1. Link the Cognos Navigator portlet to the Cognos
Viewer portlet and personalize the appearance.
1. Click Log on again.
2. On the Log on screen, in the User ID box, type uragomek, in the
Password box, type Education1!, and then click OK..
4. Click the Resources tab.
5. In the top left hand corner, click Tab Menu
portal tab.
, and then click Edit this
We want to have Cognos Search appear in the left column.

6. In the right column, click Cognos Search.
7. Click Move one item left
Cognos Search appears in the middle column.

8. With Cognos Search still selected, click Move one item left to the left of
the middle column.
9. Under Number of columns, click 2 columns.
10. Change the left column width to 30%.
11. Change the right column width to 70%.
12. Click OK.
13. In Cognos Connection, on the Cognos Viewer title bar, click Edit.
We want Cognos Viewer to be the receiver of actions made in the
Cognos Navigator portlet; therefore, we will specify the same name in the
Cognos Viewer portlet as in the Cognos Navigator portlet.
14. In the Channel name box, type reportviewer.
This will enable the portlet to receive actions from other portlets.
15. Under Portlet action, click Run the report.
We want to set the window height fairly high to be able to see most of
the report in Cognos Viewer. We will limit the height to 450 pixels.
Instructional Tips
In the channel name box and the In a
destination portlet box, no spaces
are accepted. (that is, reportviewer is
accepted, but report viewer would
not be accepted).
16. Under View options, in the Portlet height in pixels box, type 450 and
then click OK.
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17. On the Cognos Navigator title bar, click Edit, and then in the In a
destination portlet box, type reportviewer.
With limited space on our page, we want to limit the number of entries
visible in our Cognos Navigator to 4.
18. Under number of entries, type 4 and then click OK.
19. On Cognos Search, click Edit.
20. In the In a destination portlet box, type reportviewer and then click OK.
This lets us browse in one page and not keep opening new browser
instances.
Task 2. Locate a report and render it in Cognos Viewer.
1. In Cognos Search, under Search string, type revenue, and then click
Search.
2. Click Low Revenue Products.
Instructional Tips
Note: It will take approximately 1
minute for the report to appear.
If a message appears saying "Click
the button to run the report" in the
Cognos Viewer, select the run icon
to run the report. This will only need
to be done the first time.
Click the button to run the report.
The report runs and displays in Cognos Viewer.

3. In the Cognos Search portlet, click Clear the search results.
4. In Cognos Navigator portlet, click Public Folders, and then click Go
Sales and Retailers.
5. Click Query Studio Report Samples.
6. Click Expand and Collapse.
The report runs and displays in Cognos Viewer, as shown below:

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Task 3. Remove all portal headers.

We want to remove all editing icons from our page to make it cleaner.
1. In Cognos Connection, click Edit
to edit the page.
2. Click the Page Style tab.

3. Under Portlet style, select the Hide title bars check box.
Instructional Tips
The user has the option to hide just
the edit buttons, and/or hide the title
bars. Users can also, hide the
borders should they wish. Whatever
makes the page cleaner for their
personal use.
The Hide Edit buttons on the title bar check box is automatically selected
after the Hide title bars check box is selected.
4. Click OK.
The titles of the portlets and the edit buttons are no longer visible on the
page, as shown below:
Results:
We navigated, searched for, and viewed report results within
the same page by configuring portlet-to-portlet
communication.
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Summary
identified the advantages of using Cognos Connection
scheduled and managed reports
organized content
included dynamic Web pages

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Cognos 8 BI
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INTRODUCTION
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QUERY
STUDIO
Objectives
list the packages available for reporting
examine report types
add and save data to ad hoc reports
view data by using charts
Public Classroom
If you intend to teach this module,
students should be familiar with:
Cognos Connection
Suggested module to reference:

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Examine Query Studio

Query Studio is the ad hoc querying tool.
Use Query Studio to:
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explore the corporate information that is available to you
create ad hoc reports that can be viewed by others
customize ad hoc reports that have been saved
compare and analyze data

INTRODUCTION
List the Packages Available for Reporting
Packages use corporate

business rules to define
and group the data to be
used for business
reporting.
Relational
Dimensionally
modeled
Packages can be based on

models that are:
relational
dimensionally modeled
relational (DMR)
online analytic
processing (OLAP)
a combination of the
above
The modeled data appears as a package (the set of published metadata),

that has been created by your administrator and published to Cognos
Connection.
A relational model contains query subjects and query items.
A dimensional model contains dimensions organized in hierarchies and

levels.
Unlike relational packages, DMR and OLAP packages are dimensionally

modeled data and therefore:
organize the information in a hierarchy, from the highest level of

granularity to the lowest
allow you to view all levels of granularity by clicking on a item

directly on the report
TO
QUERY
STUDIO
Framework Manager publishes XML
based packages to the Cognos 8
server. The server compiles XML
into binary run-time information after
each publish. There may be a short
delay at first use due to compile time.
A model is a physical or business
representation of the structure of the
data from one or more data sources.
A model describes data objects,
structure, and grouping, as well as
relationships and security.
A model, called a design model, is
created and maintained in
Framework Manager. The design
model or a subset of the design
model must be published to the
Cognos 8 server as a package for
users to create and run reports.
Instructional Tips
DMR and OLAP models are
dimensionally modeled and allow
you to use drill capabilities,
specifically drill up, drill down and
drill through.
DMR model means that you can take
a relational data source and model
as a star schema, and then apply
hierarchies to allow drill behavior.
When working with DMR data, you
can perform OLAP-style querying.
OLAP models perform dynamic
multidimensional analysis of data.
Multidimensional analysis is a
process where you selectively
extract and evaluate multiple aspects
of your business against your key
performance indicators for the
purpose of decision support.
The different models are discussed
in module "Introduction to Cognos 8".
The drill capabilities are discussed in
module "Create Ad Hoc Reports in
Query Studio".

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Understand Report Types

Use different report types to look at data in different ways or to
answer different business questions.
Grouped List Report
List Report
Crosstab Report
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Each report type has its advantages:
list reports show detailed data
grouped list reports eliminate duplicate rows
crosstab reports show a number at the intersection of each row and

column (for example, between the United States and the Golf
Equipment product line)

INTRODUCTION
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QUERY
STUDIO
Open Ad Hoc Reports

From Cognos Connection, you can open a report in Query Studio by
clicking:
the link for that report
the Open with Query Studio icon in the Actions column
You can open an existing report to:
view the most current data in the report
make changes to the report
use it as the basis of a new report

A report always uses the most
recently published version of the
package.
If the administrator has republished
the package since the report was last
opened, you will be notified that the
report will use the most recent
version of the package. You must
then save the report to complete the
update.
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Instructional Tips
Before creating the report, consider
the following questions:
What business question(s) do you
want to answer?
What type of report will most
effectively address these
questions?
Who is the target audience?
What data items and calculations
do you require in the report to
answer your business questions?
Add Data to Ad Hoc Reports

You can add data to an empty report by inserting report items from
the package.
You can expand the scope of an existing report by inserting
additional report items, or you can focus on specific data by
removing unnecessary report items.
The grouped list report in the slide
example, contains four report items
that were added from the package.
The report also includes one
calculated column (Revenue
Percent) that was created by the
report author.
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The items you add from the package to your report are called report
items.
Report items appear as columns in list reports, and as rows and columns
in crosstab reports. By default, each new report item (column) follows
the last report item, but you can reorder the items. You can also click and
drag an item from the package to where you want it in the report.

INTRODUCTION
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QUERY
STUDIO
View Data by Using Charts

Use charts to present the report graphically.
A report requires at least one measure and one non-measure to
produce a chart.
Column Chart (Standard)
Pie Chart (100% with 3D visual effect)
Instructional Tips
Charts are discussed further in the
"Create Reports in Query Studio"
module.
This chart contains one non-measure
(Product line).
This chart contains two non-measures

(Product line and Order method).
A qualitative data item, such as golf equipment, is referred to as a nonmeasure. A quantitative data item, such as sales, is referred to as a
measure.
How the data is plotted in the chart depends on the chart type.

In the slide example:
the pie chart shows each value in
proportion to the whole (in other
words, as pieces of a pie)
you can have a maximum of two
non-measure in your column
chart, such as Product line and
Order method
you can include an unlimited
number of measures in your chart,
such as Quantity
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Save Ad Hoc Reports

Save your reports to:
preserve any changes to the report structure
use as the basis of a new report
Reports may be saved in your personal folders or in the Public Folder

depending on your access rights.
When you save a report in Query Studio, you are actually saving the
report specification: a set of instructions for extracting and formatting a
particular set of data.
You do not save a snapshot of the data when you click the Save or Save
As button. However, you can generate and save reports in other formats,
such as PDF, that reflect the state of the data at a particular time.
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Demo 1
Explore Query Studio

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Demo 1: Explore Query Studio

Purpose:
As new authors for The Great Outdoors Company, we need to
familiarize ourselves with the Query Studio tool.
We will open a report in Query Studio, examine the
characteristics of the report, and perform some basic
modifications using Query Studio functionality.
Task 1. Open and examine the Low Revenue Products
report.
Public Classroom
in the address in Task 1, Step 1.

4. Click the Public Folders tab, click the GO Sales and Retailers
package, and then click Query Studio Report Samples.
5. Under Low Revenue Products, click Open with Query Studio - Low
Revenue Products.
The report opens in Query Studio. The result appears as shown below:
This is an example of a grouped list report. Notice that, in the menu on

the left side, the Edit Data section is selected by default.
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Task 2. Examine the menu functionality.

1. In the menu on the left side, click Insert Data.
The report items contained in the GO Sales and Retailers package are
shown. Some of these items are organized into folders to make them
easier to locate. These items can be added and removed from the report
as required.
2. In the menu on the left side, click Change Layout.
The various layout options are shown. We can add a chart, set page
breaks, and perform other modifications.
3. In the menu on the left side, click Run Report.
The various run options are shown. We can run the report with all data,
preview limited amount of data, or preview no data. We can also view the
report in formats other than HTML, such as a comma-separated values
(CSV), or and Excel (XLS) file.
4. Click the Advanced Options link.
The advanced query options are shown at the bottom of the screen. We
can specify that we want to include footer summaries for measures, such
as Revenue in the current report. We can also automatically summarize
detail values, suppressing duplicate values in the process. Both of these
advanced options are selected by default.
5. Click Cancel, and then in the menu on the left side, click Manage File.
The file management options are shown. From here we can save the
report, create a new report, or view the report definition.
6. Click the Report Definition link.
The expressions for each of the six items in the report are shown at the
bottom of the screen. The result appears as shown below:
For example, we can see that the Revenue Percent column is a

calculation, while the Product line column is derived directly from a
query item in the underlying GO Sales and Retailers package.

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7. Click the Query Information link.

The details of the underlying query are shown. These details are useful
for troubleshooting.
8. Click OK.
Task 3. Add data to the Low Revenue Products report.
1. In the menu on the left side, click Insert Data.
The contents of the package are displayed.
2. Expand the Orders query subject.
The query items in the Orders query subject are displayed. This query
subject also includes a folder called Returned Items, which contains query
subjects specific to returned product data.
3. Double-click Quantity to add it to the report.
The Quantity column is added to the right of the Revenue Percent
column.
4. On the toolbar, click Save As
The Save As page appears.

We can add a description that is meaningful to us and save the report in
different locations.
5. Click Cancel.
6. In the top right corner, click Cognos Connection.
7. Close Internet Explorer.
8. Click Log off, and then close Cognos Connection.
Results:
We opened a report in Query Studio, examined the
characteristics of the report and performed some basic
modifications using Query Studio.
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INTRODUCTION
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Summary
listed the packages available for reporting
examined report types
added and saved data to ad hoc reports
viewed data by using charts

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Create Reports in Query Studio
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CREATE
REPORTS
IN
QUERY
STUDIO
Objectives
create list, grouped list, and crosstab reports
list the charts available and their appropriate use
calculate and sort report data
define a custom group to create your own report item
Public Classroom
Suggested modules to reference:

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Create an Ad Hoc Report

You can create a new report by inserting items from a package into
an empty report.
The modeler creates the package in
Framework Manager and publishes it
to the Cognos Connection portal.
Packages can also be deployed by
the administrator.
You create reports to answer specific business questions, for example

how much growth in a product line can be attributed to advertising.
Before you can create a report in Query Studio, you must have access to
a package that is available in the Cognos Connection portal.
Instructional Tips
You can tell that this report uses a
package built on a relational model,
because of the icons used to identify
query subjects and query items. The
query subject corresponds to the
table name in the data source. The
query item represents either a
column of qualitative (for example,
products name) or quantitative data
(or measure, for example revenue)
from the database.
In the slide example, we have a
package called GO Sales and
Retailers that contains data that we
can use in our ad hoc reports.
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CREATE
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Display Data with List Reports

Create a list report to show information in a list, such as products or
customers.
A list report shows data in rows and columns.
Instructional Tips
The slide example shows a list report
with three columns. Each column is
derived directly from the package.
When you add report items to an empty report, you create a list report by
default.
By default, each column that you add gets its name from the
corresponding item in the package. You can rename the columns if you
want.
Recall that with a list report every

non-zero combination of country and
product line is listed, so both the
country and the product line are
repeated. For example, in the slide,
Germany is listed several times, and
Golf Equipment is listed several
times. However, the combination of
Germany Golf Equipment is only
listed once.
Items added from the package to
your report are called report items.
Report items appear as columns in
list reports, and as rows and
columns in crosstab reports.

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Create Grouped List Reports

Group a list report to suppress duplicate values.
You can organize the grouped data by row headings or section
headings.
Data Grouped by Row Headings
Data Grouped by Section Headings
You can only group report items containing text data or non-measure
numeric data, such as order numbers. You cannot group by measures,
such as Quantity.
When you group by row headings,
you:
reorder the rows of the selected
report so that identical values
appear together
suppress the display of duplicate
rows
show footer values for each
grouped report item that has
summarization turned on (such as
Product line in the slide example)
When you group by section
headings, you:
show the value of a selected
report item (such as Product line)
as the heading of a section
create a chart for each section, if
you specified charting
Grouping a report by measures
(such as individual quantities of each
product sold) would produce too
many groups that are useless for
data analysis.
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Sort Data in Ad Hoc Reports

You can sort your data in either ascending or descending alphabetical
or numeric order.
When sorting grouped data, you can choose to sort the detail values
or you can sort the summary values in the footers.
Before you can sort data, you must first select the column that you wish
to sort. You can then sort data by either:
clicking the Sort button on the toolbar.
selecting Sort from the Edit Data section of the menu.
When you select Sort, you can choose how you want the data to be
sorted.

You may want to sort the data in
descending (highest to lowest) order
instead of ascending (lowest to
highest) order.
When you sort on a numeric column,
the sort page appears, whether you
select the Sort icon or the menu
option.
When you sort on text, the sort page
appears only when you select the
menu option. If you select the Sort
button, the column will be sorted in
alphabetical order.
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Demo 1
Create, Sort and Group an Ad Hoc
Report
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CREATE
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Demo 1: Create, Sort and Group an Ad Hoc Report

Purpose:
Management wants to find out more about product sales and
returns. Specifically, they want to see the total sales of each
product type and how many items in each product type have
been returned. They also want to see the product returns
grouped by order method. We will create a list report that
includes this information, group the data, create a section for
each group, and then sort the report. We will then save the
report to My Folders, in Cognos Connection.
Task 1. Add report items to the report.
Public Classroom
3. On the Welcome page, click Query Studio, and then on the Select a
package page, click Go Sales and Retailers.
Query Studio opens with the Insert Data section of the menu selected.
4. In the menu on the left side, expand Products, and then
double-click Product type.
Product type is added as the first column of the report.
5. In the menu on the left side, expand Orders, and then double-click
Quantity and Revenue to add them to the report.
6. Under Orders, expand the Returned items folder, and then
double-click Return quantity to add it to the report.
7. Under Orders, double-click Order method to add it to the report.

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Task 2. Group the report data by Order Method.

1. Click the Order method column header, and then on the toolbar, click
Group
The data in the list report is grouped by each order method. For
example, we can see that 6,854 binoculars were sold by email.
2. Click the Order Method column header, and then on the toolbar, click
Create Sections
The report is divided into sections. Each section of the report contains
data specific to an order method (such as email).
3. At the bottom of the report, click Page Down.
The next page of the report is shown. This page contains data about sales
made by fax.
4. At the bottom of the report, click Bottom.
The last page of the report is shown. This page contains data about sales
made over the Web.
5. At the bottom of the report, click Top.
We are returned to the first page of the report.
Task 3. Sort the data.
1. In the menu on the left side, click Edit Data.
The editing options are shown.
2. Click the Return quantity column header, and then on the toolbar, click
Sort.
The Sort page appears.
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Instructional Tips
The sort page appears because this
is a numeric column.

CREATE
REPORTS
IN
QUERY
STUDIO
3. In the Sort Order area, click the button beside Descending (9 to 1), and
then click OK.
The data in each section is sorted by return quantity, in descending order

(highest to lowest). We can see that, with orders made by email, the
Lantern product type experienced the most returns. Some product types,
such as First Aid, experienced no returns at all.

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Task 4. Save the report.

1. On the toolbar, click Save As.
2. In the Name box, type Demo 1_Create Reports in Query Studio.
3. Under Location, click Select My Folders, and then click OK.
The report is saved to My Folders.
4. Leave Query Studio open for the next demo.
Results:
We created a list report that includes this information, grouped
the data, created a section for each group, and then sorted the
report. We then saved the report to My Folders, in Cognos
Connection.
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Specify Column Order in Ad Hoc Reports

You can delete one or more columns from a report.
You can re-order columns in a report by using cut and paste
functionality.
When you paste a column that you have cut to the clipboard, the column
is moved to the left of the column that you have selected.
Instructional Tips
In the slide example, we permanently
deleted the Revenue Percent column
from the report.
If you delete a column that
references a filter, you will be
prompted to delete the filter as well.
If you delete the column without
deleting the filter, the data in the
report will still be filtered by the
criteria you set previously.

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Expand and Collapse Data Groups

You can expand or collapse grouped data in a report to show more or
less detail.
Fully expanded grouped report
Grouped report collapsed two levels
Grouped report collapsed one level
Grouped report collapsed three levels
Instructional Tips
Collapsing a report removes a level
of detail. In the slide example, we
collapsed the report one level, which
removed the Product name column
from the report. Product type
became the lowest level.
We then collapsed the report a
second time, which removed the
Product type column, to make the
lowest level of detail Product line.
When we collapsed the report one
last time, we removed all detail from
the report. All we can see is the total
number of products sold (2,215,354)
and the total revenue generated by
these product sales
($171,576,387.88).
After collapsing the report three
times, we cannot collapse it any
further. However, if we want to see
how Quantity and Revenue break
down by Product line, Product type,
and Product name, we can click the
Expand Group button on the toolbar
to see the detail again.
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Display Crosstab Reports

Create a crosstab report to present data more clearly.
You create a crosstab report by rotating the values in a selected
column of a list report to produce column headers.
A crosstab report shows a summary value at the intersection of each
row and column.
In a crosstab report, the selected
column produces the column
headers. The remaining columns
become the rows of the report.
List Report Before Pivoting

Crosstab Report after Pivoting on Country Column
You can create a crosstab report to display summary data.
You can pivot on more than one non-measure column to create a nested
crosstab.
Instructional Tips
The report on the right side of the
slide example displays the total
number of products sold in each
country, broken down by product
line. The intersection of each row
and column displays a summary
value.
For example, we can add Cities
underneath the Country column
headers at the top of the report.
Adding this report item will further
subdivide sales by individual cities in
each country.
However, if we have data about
many cities, the resulting nested
crosstab will contain a large amount
of data, forcing the user to scroll
back and forth to see everything. In
fact, this type of nested crosstab
may contain too much data to be
useful for analysis.

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Demo 2
Create an Ad Hoc Crosstab Report
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Demo 2: Create an Ad Hoc Crosstab Report

Purpose:
We are approaching the end of the fiscal year. Business
analysts at The Great Outdoors want to see which product
lines are the least popular, aggregating the data over three
years, in order to determine which need more attention in the
marketing budget. We have been asked to create a report that
includes revenue data summarized at the product line level,
rather than the product type level. We have also been asked to
summarize the data by order method.
To accomplish this, we will create a crosstab report that
includes this data.
Task 1. Create a new list report and add report items.
1. On the toolbar, click New Report
2. In the menu on the left side, under Orders, double-click Order method
to add it to the report.
3. In the menu on the left side, under Products, double-click Product line
to add it to the report.
4. In the menu on the left side, under Orders, double-click Revenue to add
it to the report.

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Task 2. Pivot the data to create a crosstab report.
Instructional Tips
This demo does not have to be
saved.
1. Click the Product line column header.

2. On the toolbar, click Pivot (creates a crosstab)
By pivoting a column of the list report, we create a crosstab. Each of the

values in the pivoted column (Product line) becomes a column, while
each of the values in the remaining non-measure column (Order
method) becomes a row. The Revenue numbers are located between
each row and column intersection (for example, $641,666.40 worth of
Outdoor Protection products were sold on the Web).
3. Click Cognos Connection at the top right corner, and click OK to
navigate away from this page.
Results:
We created a crosstab report that includes product revenue
data summarized by order method.
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Display Data Graphically with Charts

Create a chart to present information graphically.
Charts are useful for seeing patterns and trends in data.
You must have at least one measure and one non-measure in your report
to create a chart.
When you create a chart, Query Studio plots data that has been
summarized at the highest level of detail.
When you create the chart, you can specify that you want to see both the
chart and the actual values in the report. In the slide example, we are only
viewing the chart.

Instructional Tips
In the slide example, the measure is
Quantity, and the non-measures are
Product line and Country. For
example, 103,412 units of camping
equipment were sold in Germany.
You can focus the chart by
eliminating unnecessary measures
from your report and by reordering
the columns.
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Specify a Chart Type

Consider what you want the chart to illustrate before you choose a
chart type.
Use a pie chart to highlight proportions rather than actual values.
Use a column chart to show how data changes over time.
Use a bar chart to place less emphasis on time and focus on comparing
values.
Your situation
Chart type
You want to show the relationship of parts to the whole.
Pie
You want to highlight values for easy comparison and plot your
numbers vertically.
Column
You want to highlight values for easy comparison and plot your
numbers horizontally.
Bar
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Instructional Tips
In charts based on a dimensionally
modeled package, the pointer
changes to a hand when you pause
over a drillable item, and a tooltip
indicates what you are drilling on.

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Specify a Chart Type (Contd)

Consider what you want the chart to illustrate before you choose a
chart type.
Use a line chart to

plot many measures.
Use a column line

chart to compare two
different measures in
the same chart.
Use an area chart to

show how much the
value of a measure
changes over time.
Use a radar chart to

compare measures
using a radial figure.
Your situation
Chart type
You want to view trends by plotting data at equidistant points

connected by lines.
Line
You want to emphasize the magnitude of change over time.
Area
You want to compare two different measures.
Column line
You want to compare data by integrating multiple axes into a

single radial figure.
Radar
The data markers in a line chart take
up little space. When you move the
pointer over a data marker in a line
chart, a screen tip appears
containing the label and value of the
data marker.
When using an area chart, you can
select a stacked configuration
(covered later in this module) to
show the relationship of parts to the
whole.
In a column line chart, the second
quantitative axis appears on the right
side of the chart. As a result, the line
that tracks the second measure (for
example, gross margin) crosses the
columns that track the value of the
first measure (for example, revenue).
The columns that track the first
measure are aligned along the
bottom axis.
A radar chart plots the values of
measures along multiple axes.
These values are then joined to
adjacent axes by connecting lines.

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Enhance the Display of Charts

Consider what you want the chart to illustrate before you
choose a chart variation.
Use the standard

variation to distinguish
each measure by a
differently colored data
marker.
When you create standard charts using
multiple measures, you can distinguish
each measure by the color of its data
marker.
Use the stacked and 100%

stacked variations to
distinguish the value of each
measure by a differently
colored section in each stack.
For example, a standard column chart that

has multiple measures plots the sales for
each region to emphasize the actual value
that each region achieves in sales.
In the 100% stacked variation,

the top of each stack represents
100%.
Use the 3D display to

enhance the chart with a
three-dimensional visual
effect.
Note: In area and radar charts that use a

standard configuration and multiple
measures, the data markers for
some measures can hide others.
Your situation
Chart variation
You want to plot the actual value of each measure from a

common baseline.
Standard
You want to plot the relative value that each measure

contributes to the total.
Stacked
You want to plot the relative contribution of each measure

to the total, and express this value as a percentage.
100% Stacked
You want to plot measures in three dimensions.
3-D Axis
In a stacked chart, you can distinguish

each measure by the color of its section in
the stack. The top of each stack represents
the accumulated totals for each category.
For example, a stacked column chart that
plots the sales for each region will
emphasize the proportion that each region
contributes to the total.
Note: In line charts that have multiple
measures, it is difficult to distinguish
between standard and stacked
configurations.
In a 100% stacked chart, you can
distinguish each measure by the color of its
section in the stack. The top of each stack
represents 100 per cent.
For example, a 100% stacked column chart
that plots the sales for each region will
emphasize the percentage that each region
contributes to total sales.
100% stacked charts highlight proportions,
not figures. If the actual values are
important, use another chart configuration.
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Add Calculations to Reports

You can perform many types of calculations in Query Studio. For
example, you can:
add calculated columns
add a summary row to the footer
Calculation results are not stored in the underlying data source.

Instead, Query Studio runs the calculation each time you run the
report.
The functions available when
creating calculations are restricted by
functions available in the data
source.
You can create calculations directly in an ad hoc report, or add

predefined calculations from the package.

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Create Calculated Columns

You can add value to your analysis by inserting calculations that
derive numeric, text, and date values from your report items.
Instructional Tips
In the slide example, we are
calculating the percentage that each
countrys sales of camping
equipment contributed to the total.
We can see that the United States
represents the largest contributor, at
20.71%.
Numeric calculations include arithmetic, percentage, or analytic

operations, and can use multiple columns.
Some examples of text calculations are to remove trailing spaces and to

concatenate more than one column.
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Add Summarized Data to Ad Hoc Reports

You can use predefined summaries to calculate values in individual
report items.
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Instructional Tips
You can only get a count of
individual text data values, not an
average or sum of these values.
You have to know what summary
function you have applied to a
column. It is not indicated in the
summary line.
On average, each
order in 2004
contained 140,426
items.
Function
Description
Total
Count
Maximum
Returns the sum of a set of values.

Returns the total number of records.
Returns the maximum value. When applied to date or time
data, this returns the latest value.
Returns the minimum value. When applied to date or time
data, this returns the earliest value.
Returns the average of a set of values.
Specifies that the summary is defined within the expression
that is used to populate the column. It is expected that the
expression itself is an aggregation function and should not
require modification to provide summary values.
Summarizes values based on the data type.
Removes footers. This applies only to footer values, not
details.
Minimum
Average
Calculated
Automatic
None

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Create New Report Items with Custom Groups

Create custom groups to produce new report items that contain
values that are meaningful to you.
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You can create a custom group to:
convert a list of numeric results into broader categories (for example,

sales below and above $100,000)
reduce the number of values into a smaller, more meaningful sets
You can define a group based on individual items (such as countries in

North America), or a range of values (such as sales below and above
$100,000).

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Demo 3
Calculate Data in an Ad Hoc Report

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Demo 3: Calculate Data in an Ad Hoc Report

Purpose:
In Demo 1, we created an ad hoc report that included data
about revenue and returns, organized by product type.
Business analysts want to highlight the sales of specific
product types in Canada. We will add a calculation that shows
the percentage of revenue that each product type contributed
to the whole. We will then sort the data to see which product
type contributed the greatest to the total revenue.
Task 1. Open an existing report and add a new column to
the report.
1. In Cognos Connection, click My Folders tab, and click Demo_1 Create
Reports in Query Studio.
We want to make the report less complex. Therefore, we will remove the
Order method sections.
2. Click the Order method: E-mail section header, and then on the
toolbar, click Delete.
The order method report item is removed from the report, and the
report no longer contains sections.
Task 2. Add a calculation to the report.
1. Click the Revenue column header, and then on the toolbar, click
.
Calculate
The Calculate page appears.
2. In the Operation Type list, click Percentage, and then in the Operation
list, click % of total.
3. In the New item name section, click the radio button beside the empty
box.
4. In the box, type Percentage of Total Revenue, and then click Insert.
The calculated column is added to the report, and the data is formatted
as a percentage.
Instructional Tips
If you Ctrl+click more than one
column (for example, Revenue and
Quantity), you can only choose one
column in the Report item box of the
Calculate page to create the
Percentage of Total Revenue
calculation.
Task 3. Sort the calculated column.

1. Click Percentage of Total Revenue header, then on the toolbar, click
Sort
The calculated column is sorted in ascending order, because it is a

numeric column.
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2. Click Sort, a second time.

This time the calculated column is sorted in descending order. We see
that tents make up over 27% of the total revenue, over all years.
3. Click Cognos Connection, and click OK to navigate away from this

page.
Instructional Tips
saved.
Results:
We added a calculation that shows the percentage of revenue
that each product type contributed to the whole. We then
sorted the data to see which product type contributed the
greatest to the total revenue.

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Examine Dimensional Data

In Query Studio, when working with dimensional data, a metadata
view of the dimensional model appears in the data tree.
Dimension
A cube is a physical data source

containing a multidimensional
representation of data. A cube
contains information organized into
dimensions and optimized to provide
faster retrieval and navigation in
reports. Cubes created through
Cognos Transformer are also known
as PowerCubes.
Hierarchy
Level
Measures Dimension
Instructional Tips
For example, if you add the root level
from the Products dimension,
(Products) to your query, a Products
item will appear in the column. This
item is the parent and rollup of all
items in the Products dimension and
can be drilled down on to view the
next level of detail (Product lines).
Instead of query subjects and query items, dimensional data contains

dimensions, hierarchies, and levels.
When adding dimensional data to reports, the level you select within a
hierarchy or dimension determines the level of detail that will appear in
your report.
In the above slide, the underlying

data source is a PowerCube. The
structure of the data is retained when
you create a package from it.
Dimension - used to reflect the
natural hierarchies in your business
like time (year, quarter, month) or
organization (VP, Director,
employee)
Hierarchy - a collection of
dimensional members organized into
a tree structure, with each member
having one or more parent members
and an arbitrary number of child
members.
Level a set of members that have
common attributes. For example, a
geographical dimension might
contain levels for country, region,
and 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.
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Change the Focus of a Report

When working with dimensional data, you can drill up and drill down
within a report.
Before Drill Down
After Drill Down
Drill Down on 2004
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Drill Up and Drill down options are
only available when working with a
dimensional model.
You can access the drill options
using the toolbar button or the rightclick menu.
You can disable drill up and drill
down. From the Run Report menu,
click Advanced Options, and then
clear the Enable drill up and drill
down in the report output check box.
You can drill down or drill up on both
rows and columns at the same time
by right-clicking an intersection cell,
and then clicking Drill Down or Drill
Up.
Drilling down lets you narrow the focus of your report by displaying a
more detailed level of data.
In lists and crosstabs, hyperlinks identify drillable items.
You can also expand the focus of your report by drilling up.

For example, a column chart shows

revenue by product line by year. You
can drill on a single axis, such as
product line or year. You can also
drill on both axes, such as Camping
Equipment and 2005. In this case,
you are drilling on the intersection of
Camping Equipment and 2005.
Instructional Tips
In the above example, we have
drilled down on the year 2004, to
view more details about each
quarter.
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View Related Data

You can navigate from a Query Studio report to another target to
view additional information about related data.
Query Studio Report
Query Studio
Report
Target Containing Related Data

Go to
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Instructional Tips
The target report only shows data for
the Americas, which is why the
Revenue for 2004 Camping
Equipment is much lower than in the
Query Studio report.
Drill-through definitions are created
in Cognos Connection and allow
users to navigate to a specific target
from any query, report, or analysis
that uses a specific package.
You can navigate to targets such as:
another Query Studio query
a Report Studio report
an Analysis Studio analysis
Before you can navigate to another target, you must create a drill-through
definition for the package you are using.

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Demo 4
Navigate Dimensional Data

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Demo 4: Navigate Dimensional Data

Purpose:
We want to create a report to examine product line revenue for
2005. We will create a list report and drill down on Years to
examine data for 2005. We will then convert the list to a
crosstab, add a chart to the display and then drill down on the
chart and crosstab simultaneously.
Task 1. Explore dimensional objects and hierarchies.
1. Click Query Studio, and then on the Select a package page, click Great
Outdoors Company.
Here you are using Drag whereas
before you used 'double-click'
The Great Outdoors Company package is based on the information in

the Great_Outdoors_Company.mdc, a PowerCube.
2. In the data tree, expand the Years dimension, and the Years hierarchy,
and then drag the Year level to the report.
3. Expand the Products dimension, and then drag the Product line level
to the right of the Year column.
4. Expand Measures, and then drag the Revenue measure to the right of
the Product line column.
5. Click the Year column heading, and then on the toolbar, click
Group
We want to examine the revenue for the Camping Equipment only.

6. Click Camping Equipment to drill down.
The report displays revenue camping equipment data items for all years.
Task 2. Convert the list to a crosstab report.
1. Click the Year column header, and then on the toolbar, click Pivot
(creates a crosstab)
The Year level corresponds to the column headers. Product types

(corresponding to camping equipment) are the rows.
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2. Click the Cooking Gear row header (not the label), and then on the
toolbar, click Drill Up
3. On the toolbar, click Chart
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Instructional Tips
Row header = area around the text
in the box. Row label = text
4. Click OK to accept the default Column chart.

Notice that a chart has been added to the report, above the crosstab. We
want to view only data for 2005. We can drill down in the chart.
5. In the chart, click the 2005 column label to drill down.
Notice that we drilled down on 2005. We also drilled down in the
crosstab and the chart at the same time, as shown below:

Results:
We created a list report to examine product line data. We
drilled down on Years to examine revenue data for 2005. We
then converted the list to a crosstab, added a chart to the
display, and then drilled down on the chart and crosstab
simultaneously.
Instructional Tips
If you want to drill down on only one
dimension, you can click an item in
the legend.
Instructional Tips
saved.
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Demo 5
Insert a Calculated Column and Display a
Chart
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Demo 5: Insert a Calculated Column and Display a

Chart
Purpose:
We have been asked to modify an already existing report to
determine the percentage of revenue that is profit, in January
2005. We will need to add a calculation and to display the
results graphically.
Task 1. Add a calculation.
OK.
, click None for Chart type then click
2. On the toolbar, click Swap Rows and Columns
Swapping rows and columns on a crosstab allows you to see the same
level of detail, but with the rows as columns, and vice versa. If you have a
chart, you have the option of swapping rows and columns in the chart as
well.
3. Click the Camping Equipment column header (not the label), and then
on the toolbar, click Delete.
4. From the Insert Data menu, expand Measures, and then drag Gross
Profit to the right of Revenue.
Instructional Tips
Notice that when you are editing an
existing report, the Edit Data menu is
opened.
5. Shift+click the column header Revenue and column header Gross

Profit, and then on the toolbar, click Calculate.
6. In the Operation Type list, click Percentage, then in the Operation list,
click %, then below Order select Gross profit as a percentage of
Revenue.
7. In the New item name section, click in the empty box and type % Profit
per Revenue, and then click Insert.
You have added a calculated column which indicates the Percentage of
gross profit per revenue. Since we do not want to summarize our %
Profit per Revenue, we will delete the summary cell.
8. Click the % Profit per Revenue column header.
9. Click Edit Data from the menu.
10. Click Summarize.
11. Clear the "Show Summaries For footers" checkbox and click OK.

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Task 2. Create a chart.

2. In the chart type list, select Column-Line and Standard, keep the other
defaults, and then click OK.
3. In the chart, drill down on 2005 Q1.
We are working with
dimensional data again in this
model. Note how drill options
work with a chart.
By hovering over a data points in the graph, you can see the values that
are reflected in the table below.
From the graph, we see that in Jan 2005, the Gross profit was
$3,063,274.66.
page.
5. Log off and close Cognos Connection.
Results:
We modified an existing report, added a calculation and
displayed the results graphically.
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View Data in Ad Hoc Reports

You can open a report in Cognos Viewer to look at the most recent
data from the data source.
You can also look at the most recent data while you are editing the
report in Query Studio.
HTML Report in English
PDF Report in German
When you are editing a report in Query Studio, you can run the report in
Cognos Viewer to see how it will look to end users.
In the menu on the left side, click Run Report, and then specify whether
you want to view the report in PDF, CSV, XML, or XLS format.
You can also preview the data in edit mode. You can choose to view all
the data, some of the data, or none of the data.

Instructional Tips
In the slide example, when you look
at a report in Cognos Viewer, you
can specify the language and the
format. For example, you can
examine a German translation of the
data in PDF format.
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Print Ad Hoc Reports

Print your report to obtain a paper copy.
You can print a report directly from Query Studio, or from Cognos
Connection.
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You may also choose to generate and print the report in PDF format.
Instructional Tips
In the slide example, we are printing
a report directly from the browser.
However, instead of selecting the
Print option from the File menu, we
are right-clicking a frame of the
report and then selecting the Print
option. By using this method, we
avoid printing out a hard copy
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Summary
created list, grouped list, and crosstab reports
listed the charts available and their appropriate use
calculated and sorted report data
defined a custom group to create your own report item

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Workshop 1
Create a Ranked Report

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Workshop 1: Create a Ranked Report

Business analysts at The Great Outdoors are aware that some products sell better
than others. However, they want to know which specific products have sold the
best over the past three years. In addition, they want to know the percentage that
each of these products has contributed to total revenue.
The District Manager has asked you, Frank Bretton, the Business Analyst to
create a report that shows a ranking of the top selling products, including the
revenue that each product generated. Then enhance the report to include the
percentage that each product contributed to total revenue.
To accomplish this:
Create a new report in Query Studio that includes Product name and
Revenue.
Add a calculated column called Rank that returns the ranking of each
product. The operation type is Analytic and the operation itself is Rank.
Move the Rank column to the far left side of the report and sort the data
ascending (lowest to highest values).
Add a calculated column called Percentage of Total that returns the

percentage of revenue that each product contributed to the whole. The
operation type is Percentage and the operation itself is % of total. Move
the Rank column to the far left of the report. Sort the data in the Rank
column in ascending order.
Save the report to My Folders as Wkshp 1_Create Reports in Query

Studio.
For more detailed information outlined as tasks, see the Task Table on the next
page.
For the final query results, see the Workshop Results section that follows the
Task Table.
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Workshop 1: Task Table

Task
Where to Work
Hints
1. Add report items to a new

report.
Insert Data menu
Product name, Revenue.
2. Add a calculated column

to return the rank of each
product.
Calculate page
Revenue column.
Call the new item Rank.
Operation type: Analytic.
Operation: Rank.
Revenue column.
Call the new item Percentage

of Total.
Operation type: Percentage.
Operation: % of total.
Move the Rank column to

the far left of the report.
Sort on the Rank column.
My Folders >
Wkshp1_Create Reports in
Query Studio.
3. Add a calculated column

to return a percentage.
Calculate page
4. Save the report.
If you need more information to complete a task, see the Step-by-Step

Instructions that follow the Workshop Results section.

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Workshop 1: Results
When complete, the report appears as shown below:
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Workshop 1: Step-by-Step Instructions

Task 1. Add report items to a new report.
Public Classroom
4. In the menu on the left side, expand Products, and then
double-click Product name to add it to the report.
5. In the menu on the left side, expand Orders, and then
double-click Revenue to add it to the report.
Task 2. Add a calculated column to return the rank of each
product.
Calculate.
2. In the Operation type list, click Analytic, and then in the Operation list,
click Rank.
3. In the New item name section, type Rank.
4. Click Insert.
Each product is ranked by the revenue it has generated. We can see that
Star Dome, with over 14 million dollars in revenue, is the highest-ranking
product.
5. Click the Rank column header, and then on the toolbar, click Sort.
The data is sorted according to rank. Star Dome is at the top of the list.
Task 3. Add a calculated column to return a percentage.
Calculate.
2. In the Operation type list, click Percentage, and then in the Operation
3. In the New item name box, type Percentage of Total.

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4. Click Insert.
The calculated column is added to the report. We can see that Star
Dome, the highest-ranking product, represents over eight percent of the
total sales of all the products.
5. Click the Rank column header, on the toolbar, click Cut, and then click
the Product name column header.
6. On the toolbar, click Paste (before the selected report item).
The Rank column is moved to the far left of the report.
1. On the toolbar, click Save As.
2. In the Name box, type Wkshp 1_Create Reports in Query Studio.
3. Under Location, click Select My Folders, and then click OK.
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Objectives
highlight report items using conditional styles
focus the scope of a report using filters
format report objects
apply a report template

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Highlight Report Items using Conditional Styles

You can define conditional styles to highlight key information in a
report.
You can use conditional styles with numeric data, text data, and date
values.
You can use a predefined style, or you can create your own style.
Instructional Tips
In the above example, we use
conditional styles to highlight all
revenue greater than five million in
green.
To create your own style, click the
Edit button beside the appropriate
range.
If you attempt to change a
predefined style, Query Studio
automatically creates a custom style
rather than change the predefined
style.
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Demo 1
Use Conditional Formatting

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Demo 1: Use Conditional Formatting

Purpose:
Your manager needs a report that displays revenue by order
method. Your manager has asked that revenue greater than
$160,000 and revenue less than $50,000 be highlighted so that
they are easily identified.
Task 1. Open Query Studio.
Public Classroom

Task 2. Add columns to the report.
1. Under Orders, double-click Order method.
The Order method column is added to the report
2. Under Products, double-click Product type.
The Product type column is added to the report.
3. Under Products, double-click Product name.
The Product name column is added to the report.
4. Under Orders, double-click Quantity.
The Quantity column is added to the report.
5. Under Orders, double-click Revenue.
The Revenue column is added to the report. The result appears as shown
below:
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Task 3. Highlight all revenue greater than $160,000 in

green, and less than $50,000 in red.
1. From the menu, click Change Layout.
2. Click the Revenue column header, and then click Define Conditional
Styles.
The Define conditional styles dialog box appears.
3. In the New value box, type 160000, and then click Insert
We now have two ranges: the lower is 160,000 and below, and the upper
is above 160,000.
4. In the New value box, type 50000, and then click Insert.
Notice three ranges:
Greater than 160,000
Greater than 50,000 and less than or equal to 160,000
Less than or equal to 50,000
5. In the highest value range, in the dropdown list, click Excellent (has a
default color of green).
6. In the lowest value range, in the dropdown list, click Poor (has a default
color of red).

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7. Click OK, and then click in the white space to clear the Revenue column.
We can see all values greater than 160,000 highlighted in green, and all
values lower than 50,000 highlighted in red, as shown below:
Leave Query Studio open for the next demo.

Results:
We created a report that displays revenue by order method,
and highlighted high and low revenue amounts in different
colors so they are easily identified.
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Filter Data in Ad Hoc Reports

Create a filter to retrieve a subset of records in a report.
Any data that does not meet the criteria of the filter is eliminated
from the report.
Original report
Filter on country
Filtered report
You can create custom filters or use filters that are included in the
published package (model filters).
When you filter on a numeric report item or date report items, you
specify a range of acceptable values.
When you filter on a non-numeric column, you specify particular values

that will be returned when the report is run (for example, Spain and
United States only).
When you filter data, you have the option to query:
On missing values.
leaving out missing values
including missing values

You must have a column selected before
you can select the filter option. You can
either click the Filter button on the toolbar
or select the Filter option from the Edit Data
section of the menu.
When you filter on dimensional data, you
have the ability to see the parent. This is a
useful feature if you have duplicate entries,
for example, two staff members with the
same name, reporting to different
managers.
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Filter Data Based on Report Details

You can filter the values that appear in the detail rows of your report.
This filtering eliminates detail rows that do not meet the specified
criteria.
Detail rows with quantities less than

or equal to 30,000 are displayed in
the filtered report.
Filtering on detail rows affects the summary values in your report.
If you remove detail rows that contribute to a summary value, the

summary value is decreased.
Instructional Tips
In the screen capture on the left side
of the slide example, the company
sold 224,110 camping equipment
products. This summary value is
made up of three detail values:
103,412 from Germany, 3,562 from
Japan, and 117,130 from United
States.
We created a filter to exclude
countries that sold more than 30,000
items in a particular product line.
After applying this filter, the Germany
and United States rows were
removed from the Camping
Equipment section of the report,
because more than 30,000 items
were sold in these countries.
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Filter Data Based on Group Summaries

You can filter on values in the footers of your ad hoc report. This
filtering eliminates groups from your report that do not meet the
specified criteria.
If the Product Line group summary is less than or

equal to 100,000, then all the detail rows for that
product line are displayed in the filtered report.
You can filter on the group summaries, such as the total number of
camping equipment products sold.

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Filter Data Based on Individual Records

You can use a filter based on individual records in the underlying
data source, even if the report contains only aggregated data.
Original report
Records in
the data
source that
have
quantities of
50 or more
are
summed.
Filtered report
Data source
A report may contain only aggregated (summed) data, such as the total
number of camping equipment products sold in the United States.
However, each summary row is the result of aggregating data from

individual records in the underlying data source. You can filter on the
data in these underlying records.
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Instructional Tips
In the slide example, 117,136
camping equipment units were sold.
This value is calculated by
summarizing the values from
individual orders.
In the filter, we are specifying that we
only want to see data from orders
where 50 or more units were
purchased at one time. Orders of
less than 50 units are removed from
the report, and the summary value
for the product lines is re-calculated.
As we can see from the slide
example, the re-calculated summary
values are lower in the filtered report.

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Specify Filter Criteria with Prompts

Create a prompt if you want to use different criteria for the same
report item each time the report is run.
Using prompts is faster and easier than repeatedly changing the
filter.
Prompts are based on filters.
To create a prompt, you:
select the query item you want to include in the filter
indicate that you want to prompt the user to select values from the
query item included in the filter, every time you run the report
The contents of the report reflect the one or more values selected in the
prompt.

Instructional Tips
In the slide example, the user must
select one or more countries to
determine what data they want to
see in the report. The user selected
Australia, Canada, and Germany, so
the resulting report only contains
data for those countries.
You select items to include in your
prompt filter and run the report. The
next time the report is run, the items
that you selected previously are
selected by default in the prompt.
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Use Advanced Filters

You can combine two or more filters to do more complex filtering in
your reports using AND/OR conditions.
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Demo 2
Filter and Calculate Data in an Ad Hoc
Report

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Demo 2: Filter and Calculate Data in an Ad Hoc Report

Purpose:
In Demo 1, we created an ad hoc report that included data
about revenue organized by order method. Business analysts
want to highlight the sales of specific products in Canada. We
will enhance the existing report by including returned
quantities. We will then add a calculation that shows the
amount of revenue (as a percentage) that each product
contributed to the whole. Lastly, we will create a filter to
retrieve only Canadian data.
Task 1. Add a new column to the report.
1. Click Insert Data, expand Orders and then expand Returned items.
2. Under Returned items, double-click Return quantity.
The Return quantity column is added to the report.
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3. Click the Product type column header, and then on the toolbar, click
Group
4. Click the Order method column and click Delete.

The Order method report item is removed from the report. Recall that
the conditional style from Demo 1 is still active. Amounts that are
greater than 160,000 are highlighted in green. Since Order method is
deleted, the revenue is summed by Product name in the Product type
group.
Task 2. Add a calculation to the report.
Calculate

2. In the Operation Type list, click Percentage, and then in the Operation
3. In the New item name box, type Percentage of Total Revenue, and
then click Insert.
The calculated column is added to the report as a percentage.

Instructional Tips
If you Ctrl+click more than one
column (for example, Revenue and
Quantity), you can only choose one
column in the Report item box of the
Calculate page to create the
Percentage of Total Revenue
calculation.
At this point, you may want to show
the model filters that have been
included with the package. The
model filters are located in the Filters
folder at the bottom of the menu on
the left side.
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Task 3. Add a filter to include Canadian data only.

1. In the menu on the left side, click Insert Data, if not already selected,
and then expand Sales branch address.
2. Double-click Country to add it as a column to the report.
3. Click the Country column header, and then on the toolbar,
click Filter
The Filter (Pick values from a list) screen appears.

4. In the Show only the following list, select the Canada check box, and
then click OK.
The report now contains data relating to Canadian sales only. Since we
no longer require the data in the Country column, we can delete it.
5. Click the Country column header, and then on the toolbar, click Delete.
The Delete Filter screen appears, asking if we want to delete the filter as
well as the column.
6. Click No.
The Country column is removed from the report, but the filter remains.
We can see the filter near the top of the report.
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1. On the toolbar, click Save As

2. In the Name box, type Demo 2_Enhance Reports in Query Studio.
3. Under location, click Select My Folders, and then click OK.
Results:
We enhanced the report by including a return quantity column
and a calculated column. The calculation shows the amount of
revenue (as a percentage) that each product contributed to the
whole. Lastly, we created a filter to retrieve only Canadian
data.

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Demo 3
Use a Prompt to Filter Data
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Demo 3: Use a Prompt to Filter Data

Purpose:
Your manager is pleased with the report created in Demo 2
that highlighted sales for specific products in Canada.
However, management wants a report that will quickly
highlight sales data for specific products for any country they
are interested in, not just Canada.
Task 1. Remove an existing filter and add a prompt to filter
data.
1. Click on Country: Canada filter at the top of the report
2. From the Filter (Pick values from a list) dialog box:
select the Prompt every time the report runs check box
from the Show only the following list, clear the Canada check box

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3. Click OK.
The report appears as shown below:
Notice that the filter at the top of the report, is not specific to any
country. We will be prompted to select a country every time the report
runs. Since we can select multiple countries, we will add a country
column to the report so that the country specific sales are easily
identified.
Task 2. Add the county column to the report.
1. In the menu on the left side, click Insert Data, if not already selected,
and then expand Sales branch address.
2. Double-click Country.
Country column is added to the report.
Task 3. Run the report.
1. On the toolbar, click Run with All Data (and re-prompt)
The Prompt screen appears, prompting us to specify a country as shown

below:
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2. Click Italy and then Ctrl+click Belgium.

3. Click Finish.
The focus of the report is narrowed down to sales from Italy and
Belgium as shown below:

Results:
We edited a report so that the report allows us to view country
specific sales data for any country we chose.

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Demo 4
Combine Filters
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Demo 4: Combine Filters

Purpose:
In Demo 2, we created a report that highlighted the sales of
specific products in Canada. Management wants to enhance
this report so that the report shows sales data for specific
order year and month. The order year and month is determined
by the person running the report. Management is interested in
sales of binoculars in Canada or sales of golf accessories in
Canada.
Task 1. Add order year, order month and order date to the
report.
page.
2. From My Folders, click Demo 2_Enhance Reports in Query Studio.
The report opens in Query Studio.
3. Click Insert Data and expand Orders.
4. Double-click Order year, then Order month, and then Order date to
add columns to the report.
Task 2. Add an order year prompt filter, an order month

prompt filter, a product type filter and group
selected filters.
1. Click the Order year column, and then on the toolbar, click Filter.
The Filter screen appears.

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2. Select the Prompt every time the report runs check box, and then
click OK.
Since a filter on Country already exists, the Combine filters screen
appears as shown below:
3. Click OK.
4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 for Order month.
5. Click the Order year column and click Delete.
The Delete Filter screen appears, prompting us to delete the associated
filter as well as the column.
6. Click No.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for the Order month column delete the order
month column.
8. Click the Product type column, and then click Filter.
9. From the Filter dialog box, select Binoculars, and then click OK.
The Combine filters screen appears as shown below:
for Country: Canada, Order year and Order

10. Crtl+click Select line
month filters, and then click Group.
11. Click OK.
When this report is run, it will display data for binocular sales in Canada
for the order year and order month we are prompted to enter. This is
not exactly what we want, so we will modify the existing filters and then
combine them again.
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Task 3. Modify the filters to include sales of golf equipment

in Canada.
1. Click the Edit Data menu, and then click on the Product type column.
2. Click Combine Filters and then click Add a filter line.
3. Select Golf Accessories and then click OK.
4. Ctrl+click Product type: Binoculars and Product type: Golf
Accessories filters and then click Group.
5. Change the AND operator between the second grouped filter
(binoculars and golf accessories) to an OR operator as shown below:
6. Click OK.
Note: The report displays data for all years and all months. After
running the report and selecting the prompt values for year and
month, the reported data will change.

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Task 4. Run the report.

1. On the toolbar, click Run with All Data (and re-prompt)
The Prompt screen appears, prompting us to specify a year and month

range. We want to see July statistics for 2004 and 2005.
2. In the order year From box type 2004 and the order year To box, type
2005.
3. In the order month From and To boxes, type 7, and then click Finish.

Results:
We enhanced the report by adding new filters and combining
the filters so that sales in Canada for specific month and year
are displayed for binoculars or golf accessories.
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Specify Advanced Options

When you run a report, you can change the way the data is
processed by automatically:
summarizing measures in the footer
summarizing detail values and suppressing duplicates
We are not summarizing detail

values. Each sale of every product is
shown in the report.

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Demo 5
Run a Report Using Advanced Options
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Demo 5: Run a Report Using Advanced Options

Purpose:
As business analysts for the Great Outdoors Company, we
want to create a quick report that shows how much revenue
E-mail orders generated for 2005. We also want to further our
analysis to determine how many E-mail orders were done for
January 4, 2005.
Task 1. Create a report.
1. In Query Studio, on the toolbar, click New Report
prompted to save, click No.
and when
2. In the data tree, expand Orders if not already expanded, and then
double-click Order year, Order method, and Revenue.
Task 2. Add a year filter for 2005.
1. Click the Order year column header, and then on the toolbar, click
Filter.
2. In the From box, type 2005, in the To box, type 2005, and then click
OK.
We can see that E-mail orders produced over nine million in revenue for
2005. We now want to verify how many E-mail orders on January 4,
2005 contributed to total E-mail revenues.
Task 3. Add a new column and add a new filter for
January 4, 2005.
1. From the Orders list, double-click Order date.
2. Click the Order date column header, and then on the toolbar, click
Filter.

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next to From Date box and select Jan 4, 2005.
4. Click the calendar next to To Date box and select Jan 5, 2005.
5. Click OK.
6. From the Combine Filters dialog box, click OK.
We can see that on January 4, 2005 E-mail revenue was $10,408.08 of the
total revenues for 2005. We can run the report and choose to not
suppress duplicates in order to view how the $10,408.08 E-mail orders
are broken down.
Task 4. Run the report with advance options.
1. In the menu, click Run Report and then click Advanced Options.
2. Clear the Automatically summarize detail value, suppressing
duplicates check box as shown below:
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3. Click OK.
Duplicate values for E-mail orders are not suppressed. The report
appears as shown below:
Notice that there were three E-mail orders for January 4, 2005. The
summary total for January 4, 2005 is the same as the summary total in
task 3 step 6 of this demo.
Results:
We created a report to examine revenue for order methods by
order year. We filtered the report on the year 2005 to identify
total revenue generated by E-mail orders. We also added
another filter for January 4, 2005 and ran the report again to
verify how many E-mail orders occurred on January 4, 2005.

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Format a Report
The formatting
options available to
you depend on the
type of data you
want to format.
You can format text,
numbers, currency,
percentages,
scientific
expressions, date
and time.
Format a
percentage
column with
decimal places
and negative
signs.
Format text
with font,
size,
weight,
style and
alignment.
Use the Style toolbar or the Change Layout menu to format a report.
When inserting a new column in a list report, the column inherits the
formatting of the column to its left. If you insert the new column to the
left of the first column, it inherits the formatting of the first column.
When inserting a new column in a crosstab report, the column inherits

the formatting of the column above it. If you insert a new column above
the topmost column, it inherits the formatting of the column under it.
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Demo 6
Format a Report

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Demo 6: Format a Report

Purpose:
Management wants a report to examine revenue for order
methods by order year 2005. To make the report more visually
appealing, we will add a report title and formatting such as
font colors and background colors.
Task 1. Create a report and format the column titles.
1. In Query Studio, on the toolbar, click New Report and when prompted
to save, click No.
2. In the data tree, expand Orders if not already expanded, and then
double-click Order year, Order method, and Revenue.
3. Shift+click the Order year and Revenue column headers to select all of
the column headers.
4. On the toolbar, click Change Font Styles
5. In the Font color list, click Blue.

6. In the Background color list, click Silver.
Instructional Tips
If students cant see the Change
Font Styles button on the toolbar,
ensure the style toolbar is visible.
To make it visible, click Show Style
Toolbar
located at the end of the
Standard Toolbar.
7. In the Size list, click 14 pt.

8. In the Weight list, click Bold.
9. Click OK, and then click the white space to the right of the report.
This deselects the column headers so we can see the new formatting, as
shown below:
The column headers display the new formatting. We now want to add a
title and a filter to the report.
Task 2. Add a title and filter to the report.
1. Click Title at the top of the report.
2. In the Title box, type Order Report, and then click OK.
The new report title displays at the top of the report. We want to filter
the report on the year 2005.
Filter.
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4. In the From box, type 2005, in the To box, type 2005, and then
click OK.
The report displays data only for the year 2005, as shown below:
We will format the new report title and the filter text that displays at the
top of the report.
Task 3. Format the report title and filter text.
1. On the toolbar, click Change Font Styles.
2. Change the font properties to the following:
Font color: Default
Background color: Default
Style: Italic
The Size and Weight are still set to 14 pt Bold.

3. Click Advanced options.
4. Click Apply styles only to the selections below.

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5. Select the Title, and Filters check boxes, and then click OK.
The report title and filter text are formatted, as shown below:

Results:
We created a report to examine revenue for order methods by
order year. We filtered the report on the year 2005. To make
the report more visually appealing, we added a formatted
report title, and we also formatted the column headers and the
filter text with color.
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Apply a Report Template

You can apply a template to your report pages and prompt pages to
give them the same look.
Query Studio uses templates that are
authored in Report Studio of
Cognos 8.
Templates provide a mechanism to
easily format a report and support
images and other objects.
The Query Studio templates can be
used to customize page headers and
footers and to re-style layout objects.
Templates make it easy to convert reports to corporate-standard layouts

and color schemes.
For items that you can normally

format within Query Studio, you can
override the template format.
The template is applied to the report when you run the report, therefore
changes to the template are applied to the report immediately.
To remove a template, in the Apply

Template dialog box, click Do not
apply a template.
Within the page header and footer, many layout objects can be used in a
Query Studio template:
Image
Table
Date
Block
Time
Text item
Hyperlink
Layout calculations, depending on the

functions and parameters
Page number

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Demo 7
Apply Company Reporting Standards to a
Query Studio Report
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Demo 7: Apply Company Reporting Standards to a

Query Studio Report
Purpose:
Management needs a product line report that will show sales
by e-mail, fax and standard mail for 2005. Using the report
created in the previous demo, we will add a product line
column and filter by order method. Since the report will be
viewed at the next sales management status meeting, the
report must display the company report layout standards such
as company logo. To accomplish this, we will apply a template
to the report. Lastly, we will override the column header font
color and make it bold and white so that it is easier to read.
Task 1. Add another column and filter to the report.
1. Using the report created in the previous demo, click Insert Data if not
already selected, expand Products, and then drag Product line to the
report, between Order method and Revenue.
The new column picks up the formatting of the column to the left of it.
2. Click the Order method column header, and then on the toolbar, click
Filter.
We want to filter the report on the E-mail, Fax, and Mail order methods.
3. In the Show only the following box, select the E-mail, Fax, and Mail
check boxes, and then click OK.
4. From the Combine Filters dialog box, click OK.
5. Change the report title to Product Line Report, and ensure the Show
filters check box is selected.

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6. Click OK.
We are ready to apply a template to the report.

Task 2. Apply a template.
1. From the menu, click Change Layout, and then Apply Template.
2. Click Apply a template, and then click Select a template.
3. Click Query Studio Templates.
4. Click QS Template II, click OK, and then click OK again.
Notice that the report has a company logo in the header. The colors and
fonts have been changed to that of the template.
If we want to change the format of the column headers, we can override

the template.
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Task 3. Override the template formatting.

1. Shift+click the Order method and Product line column headers.
2. On the toolbar, click Font Color
to clear bolding.
, click White, and then click Bold
3. Click the white space to the right of the report.

The column headers are easier to read in the new font style, as shown
below:
4. In the top right corner, click Cognos Connection.

Results:
We applied a template to a report because the template
contains many of the company report formatting standards.
We changed the column header font to make it easier to read.

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Summary
5-44
highlighted report items using conditional styles
focused the scope of a report using filters
formatted report objects
applied a report template

Whats Next
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On-Site Training
When you have 8 or more

people to train
On-Site Training
Cognos offers on-site training, a cost-effective, flexible solution when you have
eight or more people to train at one time on a common topic. Courses can be
delivered when you need it, customized with your data, and delivered by
Cognos experienced instructors.

WHAT'S
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Custom Training
Custom Training
All our classroom and e-Learning courses can be customized to highlight your
business, with your data. Creating a custom course that includes personally
relevant topics makes it easier to learn, leading to greater productivity.

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Certification
The Cognos Customer Certification program recognizes individuals
who have obtained superior knowledge and skills with Cognos
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End-to-End Workshop
Cognos
Confidential
Cognos 8 BI
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END-TO-END
WORKSHOP
Workshop 1
End-to-End Workshop

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End-to-End Workshop
Management and business analysts at The Great Outdoors have a number of
questions that they want to answer. For example, they want to see which sales
reps have achieved sales of over $500,000 in 2004. You, Estelle Johnson, a
business analyst can help provide answers to these business questions by creating
several ad hoc reports. Once you have created these reports, customize and
schedule them as necessary.
To accomplish this:
A-4
Log on to Cognos with user ID of johnsone and password of

Education1!.
Customize Cognos Connection by creating a new subfolder in My

Folders called Ad Hoc Analysis. Set the home page to My Folders, and
then specify grid line separators for the list view.
Create a grouped list report that includes Staff name, Revenue, Date
hired, Position and Order year. Group the report on Order year and sort
the report in ascending order by Revenue. Run the report with no data
and with all data.
Filter the report to include only those sales reps that have achieved more
than $500,000 in sales in 2004.
Add a third filter that includes a prompt, which allows the report
consumer to see data regarding a selected employee. View information
about Anders Nilsson, and then adjust the filter so that it again selects
four specific employees with sales over $500,000 in 2004.
Format the report data as British pounds, and then change the title to
"Sales Rep Revenue Report". Re-order the columns so that Revenue is to
the left of Staff name, and then save the report to the Ad Hoc Analysis
subfolder as Sales Rep Revenue Report.
Create a new report with Product line, Order method and Revenue
columns, and then pivot the data on the Product line column.
Add a column chart to the report (include both the chart and the report
data) and then save the report to the Ad Hoc Analysis subfolder as
Product Line Crosstab Report.

END-TO-END
Create a new report with Product line, Product type, and Quantity.
Group the report by Product line and average the quantity values for
each product type. Sort the data by Quantity in ascending order and then
save the report to the Ad Hoc Analysis subfolder as Average Product
Sales Report.
Generate HTML and PDF report outputs for the Average Product Sales
Report in English, French, and German. View the German HTML
output and the French PDF output in Report Viewer.
Create a job for the three reports called Ad Hoc Reports. Schedule the
job to run every Tuesday at noon effective immediately with no end date
specified.
WORKSHOP
For more detailed information outlined as tasks, see the Task Table on the next
page.
For the final results, see the Workshop Results section that follows the Task
Table.

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End-to-End Workshop: Task Table

Task
Where to Work
Hints
1. Customize Cognos
Connection.
Cognos Connection
Click arrow beside Home.
Click Preferences.
Staff name, Revenue, Date

hired, Position and Order
year.
Group Order Year and Sort

Revenue in ascending order.
Preview with no data
Run with all data.
Revenue is over $500,000.
Order year is 2004.
Select Anders Nilsson.
Adjust filter to select Bjorn

Winkler, Donald Chow, and
Maria Laponder.
United Kingdom, pound.
Thousands separator.
Title is Sales Rep Revenue

Report.
Move Revenue to the left of

Staff name.
My Folders > Ad Hoc

Analysis > Sales Rep
Revenue Report.
Product line, Order method,

Revenue.
Pivot on Product line.
2. Create a grouped list

report.
3. Filter data based on

revenue and order year.
Query Studio Menu
Filter Page
4. Add a prompt to view

sales of a selected sales
rep.
Filter
5. Format data in the report.
Edit Data
6. Create a crosstab report.
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Pivot (creates a crosstab)

button

END-TO-END
Task
Where to Work
Hints
7. Add a chart to the

crosstab report.
Chart button
Column chart, standard

configuration.
Include both chart and

report data.
My Folders > Ad Hoc

Analysis > Product Line
Crosstab Report.
Product line, Product type,

Quantity.
Group by Product line.
Summary for cells is Average

and summary for footers is
Total.
Sort Quantity ascending.
My Folders > Ad Hoc

Analysis > Average Product
Sales Report.
Average Product Sales

Report.
Click Refresh after the

reports have started running
to view the report outputs.
View the German HTML

and the French PDF
outputs.
8. Create a list report with

calculated data.
9. Generate report outputs.
Edit Data menu

Advanced link
Run with options button,

Advanced options link

WORKSHOP
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Task
Where to Work
Hints
10. Create and schedule a job.
New Job wizard
Call the job Ad Hoc Reports.
Schedule Management tool
Sales Rep Revenue Report,

Product Line Crosstab
Report, Average Product
Sales Report.
Under the By Week tab,

ensure that only Tuesday is
selected.
Schedule has no specified

end date.
If you need more information to complete a task, see the Step-by-Step

Instructions that follow the Workshop Results section.
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END-TO-END
WORKSHOP
End-to-End Workshop: Results

After formatting, the Sales Rep Revenue Report appears as shown below:
After adding the chart, the Product Line Crosstab appears as shown below:

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After calculating the data, the Average Product Sales Report appears as shown
below:
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END-TO-END
WORKSHOP
End-to-End Workshop: Step-by-Step Instructions

Task 1. Customize Cognos Connection.
2. On the Log on screen, in the User ID box, type johnsone in the
Public Classroom
3. On the Welcome page, click Cognos Connection, and then on the

Cognos Connection opens.
The Set preferences page appears.
5. In the Separators in list view box, click Grid lines, and then click OK.
The portal reflects your changes.
6. Click the My Folders tab, and then click New Folder.
The New Folder wizard opens.
7. In the Name box, type Ad Hoc Analysis, and then click Finish.
The subfolder is added to My Folders.
8. Click the arrow beside the Home icon (at the top right), and then click
Set View as Home.
Task 2. Create a grouped list report.
1. In the top right corner, click Query Studio.
2. Click the Go Sales and Retailers package.
Query Studio opens.
3. In the Insert Data menu, expand Sales reps, and then double-click Staff
name to add it to the report.
4. In the menu, expand Orders, and then double-click Revenue to add it
to the report.
5. Under Sales reps, double-click Date hired and Position to add them to
the report.
6. Under Orders, double-click Order year to add it to the report.
Group.
The data is grouped by Order year values.
8. Click the Revenue column header, and then on the toolbar, click Sort.
The Sort page appears.

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9. Click Ascending (1 to 9), and then click OK.

The data in the Revenue column is sorted in ascending order.
10. In the menu on the left side, click Run Report, and then click Preview
with No Data.
The report is populated with artificial data.
11. In the menu on the left side, click Run with All Data.
The report is populated with all the required data.
Task 3. Filter data based on revenue and order year.
1. Click the Revenue column header, and then on the toolbar, click Filter.
The Filter page appears.
2. Under Show only the following, in the From box, type 500,000, and then
click OK.
The data is filtered so that only sales reps with at least $500,000 in sales in
a given year are shown.
Filter.
The Filter screen appears.
4. Under Show only the following, in both the From and To boxes, type
2004, and then click OK.
The Combine filters dialog box appears containing a filter for order year
2004.
5. Click OK.
Both filters appear at the top of the page.
Task 4. Add a prompt to view sales of a selected sales rep.
1. Click the Staff name column header, and then on the toolbar, click
Filter.
The Filter page appears.
2. In the Show only the following box, select the check box beside
Anders Nilsson.
3. Select the Prompt every time the report runs check box, and then click
OK.
The Combine filters dialog box appears.
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END-TO-END
WORKSHOP
4. Click OK.
Data for Anders Nilsson appears in the report. The report runs and
contains data pertaining to Anders Nilsson only. This sales rep generated
$514,498.38 in revenue in 2004.
You can test the prompt by re-running the report.
5. On the toolbar, click Run with All Data (and re-prompt).
The Prompt page appears.
6. Scroll through the values in the Provide a value box.
You can see that Anders Nilsson is pre-selected because of the filter that
you created previously. If you click Finish at this point, data for Anders
Nilsson will be shown.
7. Ctrl+click Anders Nilsson, Bjorn Winkler, Donald Chow, and Maria
Laponder, to select these sales reps.
8. Click Finish.
The report displays data for the four employees that they have generated
more than $500,000,000 in revenue.
Task 5. Format data in the report.
1. Click the Revenue column header, in the menu on the left side, click
Edit Data, and then click Format Data.
The Format page appears.
2. In the Category list, click Currency, and then in the Currency list, click
(GBP) - United Kingdom, pound.
3. In the Thousands separator box, click Yes, and then click OK.
4. At the top of the report, click Title.
The Edit Title page appears.
5. In the Title box, type Sales Rep Revenue Report, and then click OK.
The new title is added to the report.
6. On the toolbar, click Save.
7. In the Name box, type Sales Rep Revenue Report, click Select
another location, and then click the button beside Ad Hoc Analysis.
8. Click OK twice to save the report to the subfolder.

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Task 6. Create a crosstab report.

1. On the toolbar, click New Report, in the menu on the left side, expand
Products, and then double-click Product line to add it to the report.
2. Under Orders, double-click Order method and Revenue to add them
to the report.
3. Click the Product line column header, and the on the toolbar, click
Pivot (creates a crosstab).
The data is pivoted to create a crosstab report.
Task 7. Add a chart to the crosstab report.
1. On the toolbar, click Chart.
The Chart page appears.
2. In the Chart type box, ensure that Column is selected, ensure that
Standard is selected, and then click OK.
The chart is added to the report. The report data is included below the
chart.
4. In the Name box, type Product Line Crosstab Report, and then click
OK.
Task 8. Create a list report with calculated data.
1. On the toolbar, click New Report, in the menu on the left side, under
Products, double-click Product line and Product type, and then under
Orders, double-click Quantity.
2. Click the Product line column header, and then on the toolbar, click
Group.
The data is grouped by Product line.
3. Click the Quantity column header, in the menu on the left side, click
Edit Data, and then click Summarize.
The Summarize screen appears.
4. In the right corner, click Advanced, and then in the Summary for cells
box, click Average.
5. Click OK.
The data in the Quantity column for every product type is averaged,
while the data for every product line remains totaled.
6. Click the Quantity column header, and then on the toolbar, click Sort.
The Sort screen appears.
A-14

END-TO-END
WORKSHOP
7. In the Sort Order section, click Ascending (1 to 9), and then click OK.
The data in the report is sorted by the average quantity of each product
type sold.
The Save As screen appears.
9. In the Name box, type Average Product Sales Report, and then
click OK.
Task 9. Generate report outputs.
1. In the top right corner, click Cognos Connection, click the My Folders
tab, then click the Ad Hoc Analysis folder, and then beside the Average
Product Sales Report, click Run with options - Average Product Sales
Report.
The Run with options page opens.
2. Click the Advanced options link, in the Delivery section, click Save the
report, print it, or send an email, and then ensure that the Save
checkbox and the Save the report button are selected.
3. In the Formats section, ensure that the HTML box is selected, and then
select the PDF checkbox.
4. In the Languages section, click Select the languages.
The Select the languages page opens.
5. In the Available languages box, Ctrl + click French and German, and
then click Add.
6. Click OK, click Run, and then click OK.
The report runs and report outputs are generated in HTML and PDF
formats.
7. After a few moments, on the Cognos Connection toolbar, click Refresh,
and then beside Average Product Sales Report, click View the output
versions for this report.
8. Click the downward pointing arrow beside Languages, and then click
(All languages).
The View report output versions page opens. Six report outputs were
generated in three languages and two formats.
9. Click the HTML icon to the left of German.
The German HTML report output opens in Cognos Viewer.
10. Click the Return button on your browser, and then click the PDF icon
to the left of French.
The French PDF report output opens in Cognos Viewer.
11. Click the Return button at the top of the report, and then click Close.
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Task 10. Create and schedule a job.

1. On the Cognos Connection toolbar, click New Job.
The New Job wizard opens.
2. In the Name box, type Ad Hoc Reports, and then click Next.
3. Below Steps, click Add.
The Select entries page opens.
4. Click the boxes beside Average Product Sales Report, Product Line
Crosstab Report, and Sales Rep Revenue Report, click Add, and then
click OK.
5. Click Next, click Save and Schedule, and then click Finish.
6. Ensure that the By Week tab is selected, and then Under every 1 week(s)
on, ensure that only the Tuesday box is selected and that all the other
boxes are deselected.
7. In the Start section, ensure that the date is current, and then in the time
box, type 12:00 PM.
8. In the End section, ensure that No end date is selected, and then click
OK.
The scheduled job is added to the Ad Hoc Analysis subfolder.
A-16

INDEX
Index
A
activity monitoring, 1-28
analysis in Analysis Studio, 1-24
Analysis Studio, 1-7
C
calculate data, 4-23, 4-24, 4-27, 4-36
charts, 3-9, 4-19, 4-20, 4-22, 4-36, A-14
Cognos 8 Business Intelligence, 1-4
Cognos Connection
accessing external files, 2-38
accessing shared pages, 2-54, 2-55
folders, 2-39
introduction, 2-4
preferences. See Cognos Connection:specifying
properties
roles and responsibilities, 2-5
searching entries, 2-42
shortcuts, 2-40
specifying properties, 2-31, 2-32, 2-33
Cognos Planning, 1-5
conditional styles, 5-4, 5-5
Corporate Performance Management, 1-41-5, 1-7
creating a report view, 2-30
crosstab, A-14
pivoting, 4-15, 4-16
cube, 1-24
custom groups, 4-26
D
dashboard, 1-25
dashboarding, 1-5
data
expand and collapse, 4-14
reordering columns, 4-13
sorting in reports, 4-7, 4-27
summarizing, 4-25, 5-29, 5-30
data foundation, 1-29
Data Manager, 1-29
dimensional, 1-15, 4-30
drilling up and drilling down, 4-31, 4-33
go to related data, 4-32
dimensionally modeled relational, 1-11, 1-12, 3-5
E
Enterprise Planning, 1-14
event detection, 1-27
Event Studio, 1-7
M
MDX, 1-13
member, 1-12
Metric Studio, 1-7
modeling, 1-9
O
OLAP, 1-9, 1-11, 3-5
open data access, 1-9
P
packages, 3-5
portal, 1-30
portlets, 1-30, 2-48, 2-49, 2-50, 2-58, 2-59
PowerCube, 1-10
PowerPlay, 1-10
Q
Query Studio, 1-7
introduction, 3-4
R
relational, 1-15, 3-5
Report Studio, 1-7
reports, 3-6
adding data, 3-8
creating, 4-4
defining, 2-6
distributing, 2-29
formatting, 5-34, 5-35, A-13
job. See reports:scheduling
opening, 3-7
printing, 4-40
ranking, 4-43
running, 2-7, 2-15
saving, 3-10
scheduling, 2-8, 2-9, 2-10, 2-11, 2-19, 2-23
viewing, 2-12, 2-13, 2-14, 4-39, A-15
ROLAP, 1-11
S
scorecarding, 1-5
single architecture, 1-6
single platform, 1-4, 1-5
T
F
filtering, 5-9, 5-10, 5-11, 5-12, 5-14, 5-15, 5-24, A-12

with prompts, 5-13, 5-20
templates, 1-26, 5-39, 5-40

transformation, 1-29
W
watch list, 1-28
list reports, 4-5, 4-8

grouped, 4-6, 4-8, A-11

No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated into another language..
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TRAINING SERVICES

Cognos 8 BI Ad Hoc Querying

Cognos 8 BI Ad Hoc Querying

Copyright (C) 2005 Cognos Incorporated.

Portions of Cognos(R) software products are protected

Part Number: 47996

While every attempt has been made to ensure that the

2005, Cognos Incorporated

2005, Cognos Incorporated

OVERVIEW OF COGNOS 8 BI ........................................................................................... 1-1

2005, Cognos Incorporated

DEMO 7: ACCESS A SHARED PAGE ....................................................................................... 2-55

2005, Cognos Incorporated

ENHANCE REPORTS IN QUERY STUDIO...................................................................... 5-1

2005, Cognos Incorporated

view the different studios in Cognos 8 and highlight key capabilities of

use Cognos Connection to schedule, manage, and organize content

create and modify reports and charts

enhance reports by highlighting exceptions, filtering data and formatting a

customize ad hoc reports using templates

knowledge of your business requirements

experience using the Windows operating system

experience using a Web browser

2005, Cognos Incorporated

Review Corporate Performance

Examine the different studios in

Identify the different data sources

Highlight key capabilities of

Module 2: Introduction to Cognos Connection

Identify the advantages of using

Schedule and manage reports

Include dynamic Web pages

Module 3: Introduction to Query Studio

List the packages available for

Examine report types

Add and save data to ad hoc reports

View data by using charts

2005, Cognos Incorporated

Module 4: Create Reports in Query Studio

Create list, grouped list, and

List the charts available and their

Calculate and sort report data

Define a custom group to create

Module 5: Enhance Reports in Query Studio

Highlight report items using

Focus the scope of a report using

Format report objects

Apply a report template

Appendix A: End-To-End Workshop

End-to-end workshop reviewing all

2005, Cognos Incorporated

2005, Cognos Incorporated

PDF version of the Instructor Guide

This course has no student data files.

Demos, Workshops, and Workshop Solutions

2005, Cognos Incorporated

General Setup and Instructor Preparation

Who is the contact person for class setup?

What is the classroom setup? Is there a white board? Is there a flip

Will the physical environment be set up prior to your arrival (product

What time does the class start?

What Cognos office is responsible for sending the Student Guides?

Run through the VMware Image.

Run through at least one module in a classroom with a PC viewer.