FAQs for developers
This information relates to the UniSAinfo Reporting development environment.
Cognos and Publishing files - what files go where?
Cognos Reports - where do I get more information on how to set up Headers and Footers?
Cognos Software - where do I get the latest Cognos software?
Impromptu - how do I make a Report available for Excel or pdf output?
Impromptu - where do I get more information about hotfiles?
PowerPlay - how do I change a Dimension for both the cube and report?
PowerPlay - how do I re-publish a cube or report?
PowerPlay cube - save your model
PowerPlay Reports - how do I set Dynamic Prompts?
PowerPlay reports - how do I save a file in a ppx format rather than ppr (which is the default)?
PowerPlay
Reports - I lose the last measure in my Report?
Cognos and Publishing files - what files go where?
Under //itudev-bi1/cognos - locate the relevant Unit directory - which should contain the
following subdirectories.
the following gives a brief explanation of the purpose of each directory.
Cube Data Source
All data source files for cubes will need to be placed in this folder.
i.e. text files, Microsoft Excel spread sheets, Microsoft Access database
files, Impromptu *.iqd files etc.
Note: *.iqd files, “Impromptu Query Definition” are data source files
connecting to a database
Also cubes (.mdc files) that are not to be published but are a data
source for a Published Power Play Report.
Impromptu Source
All the files required to publish a report should be placed in this
folder
e.g. report file (.imr) catalog (.cat) plus any Picklist, hotfiles or
graphics files (eg med-left-blu.bmp) etc.
Make sure you remove any previously published files from this folder.
This folder acts as a temporary area for report development.
You will also require any .
The resultant reports will be published in the Published IWR Reportsets
folder.
PPCubes
All PP Models should be set up to generate cubes *.mdc files into this
folder.
This folder acts as a temporary area for cube development or refresh.
PPModels
All PP Models should be placed here. (*.mdl *.pyi)
PreProd
No longer used
Published Files
All ‘other’ files Published in Upfront will be placed in this folder.
Files formats include Microsoft Word documents and Excel spreadsheets,
text files, pdf files, etc.
Published IWR ReportSets
All report sets published in Upfront will be placed in this folder.
Published PP Cubes
All PowerPlay Cubes published in Upfront will be placed in this folder.
Published PP Reports
All PowerPlay Reports published in Upfront will be placed in this folder.
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Cognos Reports - where do I get more information on how to set up
Headers and Footers?
Click
on the link
Titles Headers and Footers.zip
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Cognos Software - where do I get the latest Cognos software?
If you are a new Developer and wish to install the Cognos software
first contact
ISTS
to obtain privileges to access the software and the 'itudev-bi1'
development environment.
Cognos software is currently on \\software\Cognos7
(the latest software for Impromptu, PowerPlay and Transformer is under the
'Cognos7v3 MR2' directory)
(February 2006)
Make sure you read any Installation instructions first - see the
appropriate InstallGuides directory and any readme files.
Then install the software.
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Impromptu - how do I make a Report available for Excel or pdf output?
Under Upfront
(you will need Administrator rights for the NewsBox)
Navigate to the target Report
Select Properties for that Report (RHS of screen)
Select Advanced Properties
Select the Report Tab
Select the General Tab
Tick the Excel box
Tick the PDF box as appropriate and Close
On running the Report you should now be able to view the report
in either excel or pdf format using the 'view as pdf' or 'view as excel' icons
(bottom LHS of screen)
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Impromptu - where do I get more information about hotfiles?
Click on the link hotfiles.doc
To read more about how to use hotfiles in Upfront refer to
SupportLink Vol13 No3 and go to page 7
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PowerPlay - how do I change a Dimension for both the cube and report?
I needed to change a dimension name in both a cube and also have it
reflected in an associated PowerPlay report.
The following steps work…
If you need to do the same make sure you take copies of the model (.pyi or .mdl)
and report (.ppx) files first
in Transformer changed the Dimension name as follows
Dimension Map>select the Dimension>right click>Properties>Dimension Name:
changed ‘All Schools’ to ‘All Schools – Secondary’
Rebuilt the cube and copied it to …Published PP Cubes
under Cognos Server Admin>OLAP Cubes & Reports
I then stopped and enabled the cube
the change was then visible in Upfront itudev-bi1.
Went to run an associated report – but it returned a ‘No data’ error
so under \\itudev-bi1\cognos\...\Published PP Reports I opened the .ppx file
using Notepad
changed the Dimension name
<Dimension DimIdx="0" Code="All Schools"/> to
<Dimension DimIdx="0" Code="All Schools - Secondary"/> and saved
Then republished the Report and now returns the correct data...
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PowerPlay
- how do I re-publish a cube or report?
you wish copy an updated .mdc file to \\itudev-bi1\cognos\[your_unit]\Published
PP Cubes
eg \\itudev-bi1\cognos\Planning and Assurance Services\Published PP Cubes
1. Start Cognos Server Administration
click Olap Cubes and Reports (aka PowerPlay Enterprise Server or PPES)
select itudev-bi1
2. go to the appropriate target folder
eg UniSA Public>Performance Monitoring>KPIs
3. ensure the appropriate object is highlighted
Click the 6th from last icon 'stop'
Select 'Immediately' from the List of Values in the popup box
then OK
this will unlock the object
the status column will show a red 'stop' cube against the item
4. copy the .MDC file to \\itudev-bi1\cognos\[your_unit]\Published PP Cubes
eg \\itupdev-bi1\cognos\Planning and Assurance Services\Published PP Cubes
5. highlight the appropriate object
Click the 7th from last icon 'enable'
the status column will show a green 'enable' triangle against the item
the changed cube should show up on Upfront itudev-bi1 without even
republishing ...
note you will still need to raise a Publication Form if you wish it to be
moved to ituprod-bi1
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PowerPlay cube - I get an error 'Cannot copy cube_name. It is being used by
another person or program'
The cube is in use - see
PowerPlay - How
do I re-publish a cube or report
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PowerPlay cube - save your
model
whenever
you make major model changes save a backup model as a .mdl file
(the
default model is saved as a .pyi - actually saved as py? - py? has changed
as the Cognos versions moved - pyg, pyh, pyi)
Why?
the py? is compiled and quicker to execute but can become corrupt
especially when using it with automation over and over again.
If you
change the model in any way be sure to save it as mdl so it matches your
production py?
or you
will end up having to recreate the cube from scratch.
Notes
the py?
is compiled and stores the password
the mdl
is in plain text, the password is not stored
mdl is
'cleaner' and never contains junk
py? is
more forgiving in some respects (because it can contain history and
associated junk)
Generally accepted practice is
Develop
using mdl, and saving as py? as required.
Production wise, py? is usually used to avoid having to include the password
in a text file.
If you work with py? and delete/clean house etc, the file size won't reduce.
Save the py? as a mdl, close the mdl then reopen the mdl and type in the password and
resave as py?.
The py? file should now be almost as small as the mdl
Also, if you use the mdl as a quick backup, ensure you can reopen it before deleting
the py?.
If you have been manually adding categories etc or other things that can cause a
corruption
(and this could be anything in reality), if you have a problem like a duplicate code,
the mdl will give an error message and fail to open but the py? will usually error
message but then open.
(thanks to Andrew R. Horne via cognos-l distribution list)
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PowerPlay
Reports - how do I set Dynamic Prompts?
Running PowerPlay Client
Open up a PowerPlay Report
click
File > Deployment Options
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PowerPlay reports - how do I save a file in a ppx format rather than ppr
(which is the default)?
Running
PowerPlay Client
Open up PowerPlay Report
When saving …
File>Save
As - select
Save as Type PowerPlay Portable Report (.ppx)
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PowerPlay Reports
- I lose the last measure in my Report?
if you use multiple Measure
folders in Transformer, there seems to be a bug that drops the last folder
when you publish to a pdf
(as at PowerPlay client version 7.1.707.12).
The workaround is to have a
dummy measure folder at the end of your measures (just calculated fields).
Note that if you have a
report where the user can switch between Reporter and Explorer modes the
last measure folder appears and disappears depending on which mode you are
in.