Cog No s Connections Training Guide

7/30/2019 Cog No s Connections Training Guide

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Cognos 8Cognos Connection

HTTPS://POWAREHSE.MED.CORNELL.EDU/COGNOS8

Physician Organization Information ServicesReporting Group

Weill Cornell Physician OrganizationWeill Medical College of Cornell University

575 Lexington Avenue, 3rd floorNew York, NY 10022
https://powarehse.med.cornell.edu/COGNOS8https://powarehse.med.cornell.edu/COGNOS8https://powarehse.med.cornell.edu/COGNOS8


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Table of ContentsCognos 8 - Cognos Connection Overview...1

Cognos Welcome Page2Cognos Connection Navigator Screen.3

Tabs and Folders.3Public Folders.4

My Folders..4Folder Levels.......4Sorting.....5Document Count and Scroll Navigator....5

Cognos Connection Search and Preference Bar...6Search Bar...6Advanced Search.....7Home - Setting and Viewing the Cognos Homepage ......8Set up My Area Preferences.....8My Watch Items..8My Preferences.........9

General Preferences............9Personal Preferences........10Portal Tab Preferences10

My Activities and Schedules.......11Launch Menu....11Help Menu....11

Cognos Connection Toolbar (View, copy, order, sort, etc)12Set Properties(folders)...12Cut, Copy and Pasting a Report.....13Sort Order of folders and reports..13

To change the sequence of a folder or report..13

Reports: Formats, Distribution and Scheduling.....15Report Formats.15Report Action Items..16

Set Properties (reports)....18Saving a Report in Different Formats....23Distributing Reports..24Emailing to oneself....24

Emailing a report to others....25

Scheduling.27Automating and Scheduling a Single Report27Automating and Scheduling Multiple Reports..28

Managing Schedules.......29


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Weill Cornell Medical College Physician Organization Information Systems Cognos 8 Cognos Connection

Updated - August 2009 Page 1

Overview of Cognos 8Cognos Connection

Cognos Connection is the main interface in the Cognos 8 Business Intelligence software from which a user cannavigate public and private folders to access Cognos reports and software. It is a web portal that helps youorganize and collaborate reporting. Cognos Connection has many features and capabilities, some of whichinclude accessing Analysis Studio, reviewing, scheduling and emailing reports and setting preferences.

As a foldering system, Cognos Connection helps users manage their reports in a variety of formats that can be

shared among other Cognos users or shared with others by email. The flexibility of Cognos at Weill CornellMedical College can enhance your ability to manage data and reports.

Please utilize this document as a reference guide. As this is a live document, content is subject to change.

Back to Table of Content


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Cognos Welcome Page

This splash screen is the initial default page that appears when you log on to Cognos Connection.

My home - Goes to a Cognos homepage that you designate.

Cognos content Is a link to the Public Cognos Connection area where you can access reports, files,folders and other Cognos content.

Query my data - Lauches Query Studio to create simple queries and reports.

Analyze my business - Launches Analysis Studio to work with cube packages.

TIP: Analysis Studio must be launched in order to cube packages.

Manage my events - Tracks changes in underlying data and reports. This feature opens a software utilitythat Weill Cornell Medical College does not presently provide training for.

Checking this feature will keep the Cognos welcome page as the default screenwhen launching Cognos. Unchecking this will change the default screen to Cognos Connection screen.

TIP: If the check mark is unchecked and the Cognos welcome page is desired, click on within theCognos Connection page and select the and rechecking the Show this page in thefuture box to get the default Cognos welcome page back.

- This will launch the various tutorials from the Cognos website.

Log On screen notification - When logged on, the user log on information will bedisplayed with the department group first, followed by the user name. Cognos is set to use your MicrosoftWindows log on information (CWID) and is an automaticprocess. Selecting Log Off will exit Cognos.



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The Cognos Connection Navigator Screen

Tabs and Folders

On the upper left hand side of the screen, you see Public Folders and My Folders (private folders). You cannavigate to other folder and/or reports that you would like to access.



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New tab Selecting New Tab will give the option to add a new tab, remove a tabor modify the order of the tabs.

TIP: The default tabs should be adequate, however if you need assistance creating new tabs thencontact the POIS Reporting Team.

Public Folders You will find various shared and private folders, standard reports and Cognos packageslocated within this tab.

Cognos 8 Department NewsBoxes Public folders contained here are separated by departments.Only reports associated with your department will be accessable.

Cube Packages This folder houses the cube packages and they cannot be opened directly from thislocation. To access a cube package you must launch Analysis Studio.

DrillThrough This folder encompasses drill through files that are associated with a correspondingcube package. These files are intended for use with cubes only and are slow to respond whenaccessed directly. Please use Analysis Studio for any drill through features.

FM Packages - Contains data and fields used to compile cubes and reports. Please do not use.

My Folders Folders and reports located here can only be accessed by you or an administrator.

Folder Levels

As you navigate folders within Cognos Connection, the levels are displayed below the tabs. Clicking any folderlevel link will bring you to the contents of that folder.



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Sorting

To the right of the Name and Modified columns , there are arrows that can toggle files andfolders from ascending and descending order.

Clicking on the arrows will cycle three sorting schemes:

Default order (typically ascending order)Ascending orderDescending order

Document Count and Scroll Navigator

When navigating through the contents in each folder, items contained within a folder may exceed the amount

of viewable items per screen. To scroll to the next page(s) of items, use the scroll arrows

You can also find reports within a numerical range , enter those numbers and click

the right arrow icon. This will jump to the reports within that range.



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Cognos Connection Search and Preference Bar

On the upper right hand side of the screen is the Cognos Connection Search and Preference Bar. There areseveral options that you can use to search for reports, folders or other modules in Cognos. In this section youcan also set your preferences within Cognos, such as view preferences report output and format preferences.

User Log On department, Name indicator and Log Off option - Selecting Log Off willexit Cognos.

Screen refresh - Cognos navigator screen refresh.

Search bar

Typing key word(s) and clicking the magnifying glass will initiate asearch for reports, files or folders within the Public Folders or My Folders. Selecting the drop down arrow willbring you to another search bar with both simple or advanced search features.

TIP: The typical search default is on the name field, however the description fieldor both the nameand description fieldcan be chosen. Also note that this search occurs within the tab that is selected

(Public Folders).



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Advanced Search Additional filter settings can be applied to narrow or focus a search.

Method- Choose the exact string, Starts with the exact string, or Matches the exact string. Thedefault choice ofContains the exact stringis recommended.

Modified- Several last modification time frames are available. The default choice ofAnyisrecommended.

Type- There are many different file types that Cognos supports, however several types are notused. Some commonly searched files are documents, jobs, packages and reports. The defaultchoice ofAnyis recommended.

Scope- The folder search areas are at the discretion of the searcher, however the default optionofThis folder and its subfoldersis recommended.

TIP: The search feature will only search for items within the individual tabs. For example, when the

Public folders tab is in the foreground , the search will only search withinthe Public Folder tab. To search within the My Folders tab, the My Folders tab should be selected.



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Setting and Viewing theCognos Home Page

Home Select this icon or the downward pointing arrow to invoke the drop down list with Homeor Set

View as Home as a selection choice.

Clicking Home will navigate back to your Cognos homepage.

Clicking Set View as Home will set whichever page you are currently viewing to become your newhome page.

TIP: Any folder level within the Public Folder or My Folder tab can be set as a Cognoshomepage.

Set up My Area - Set Preferences

Preference and activity settings where personal activities can be monitored within Cognos.

My Watch Items Any report that is added to your watch list will be displayed on the Alerts tab screen. Anemail notification will be sent to you when new versions of reports that have been added to the watch listbecome available.

TIP: Toaccess watched files, locate the file in the appropriate folder in Cognos Connection.

Remove me from the alert list - By clicking the check box beside a watched report and clicking the ,the report will no longer appear on your watch list.

Note: Click to return to the previous page. When the My Area icon is selected again, only the twoother choices (My Preferences, My Activities and Schedules) are displayed. This is consistent for the MyPreferences or My Activities and Schedules sections.



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My Preferences - Personal preferences can be customized, such as: the number ofitems that can be viewed in public and private folders, report output formats, and portal view preferences.

General Preferences Set the view preferences and output format settings for Cognos Connection.

Number of entries in list view Displays the number of items to appear on the Cognos Connectionnavigator screen. The maximum number of 999 entries is recommended.

Separators in list view Displays files and folders in gridlines, alternating backgrounds, or noseparator screens.

Style Changes the style templates within Cognos.

Report format Set the default report format for all reports (e.g., HTML, Excel 2002, Excel 2007).

Automatic refresh rate in seconds The period of time before the portal interface refreshes. Thedefault setting is recommended.

Show the welcome page at startup Choose to display or not to display the welcome page whenCognos starts.

Show a summary of the run options Display a summary of run options when executing reports.

Default view The list view stacks folders and files on top of each other. The detailed view createslarge icons separated in columns and provides details about an item whenever available.

Number of columns in detail view This will display the amount of columns in the display view.

Regional options Set your language preference. The default setting is recommended.

Time zone This setting sets your location time. The default settings should remain.

Back to Table of ContentBack to Table of Content


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Personal Preferences This page primarily describes the Cognos user information.The default setting is recommended.

Portal Tabs PreferencesSimilar to the Public Folders and My Folders tabs; adding, removing or changingthe order of the Cognos Connection tabs can be set here. Should you need assistance with creating additionatabs, please contact the POIS Reporting Group.



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My Activities and Schedules Is a central location to monitor scheduled Cognosreports. You can monitor current, past and upcoming report activities. Report schedules can also be enabled,disabled, and modified here. Within the past activities, you can monitor succeeded or failed scheduled reports

TIP: To alter report schedules (for example setting properties or modifying schedules) click the dropdown arrow to the right of each report in the Schedules section.

Launch Menu

As in the homepage menu, the Launch menu brings you to the various Cognos Studios. Please refer to theCognos homepagefor more information.

Help Menu

Access the Cognos help menu. The Quick Tourallows for a tutorial of Cognos Connection and AnalysisStudio.



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Cognos Connection Tool Bar

This tool bar is intended to help you organize Cognos reports and folders. You can create jobs or modify thedisplay settings of reports and folders. You can alter the general view preferences in the Cognos Connectionpage. Add, remove or move reports and folders with features like cut, copy and paste.

List View Displays files and folders in rows.

Detailed View Displays larger icons separated in columns and provides details about itemswhenever information is available.

New Folder Creates new folders.

New Job - Allows for the scheduling of multiple reports to run sequentially or at concurrently.

New URL Creates website links that can be shared with others. This feature is not used at WeillCornell Medical College.

New Page Creates a new portal page that can contain multiple Cognos web parts, such as: CognosNavigator, Viewers, or reports.

Cut Move files or folders to other public/private folders.

Copy Duplicates files or folders to be moved to other public/private folders.

Paste Place cut or copied items into a selected location icon.

Delete Removes selected files or folders.

Set Properties Property preferences for folders.

TIP: Preference options varybetween file types as well as public and private files and folders.

Order Display files or folders in specific sequences.



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Cut, Copy and Pasting a Report

To cut, copy and paste reports and folders:

1. Go to the Cognos Connection Navigator screen.

2. Check the checkboxes to the left of the report(s) or folder(s) desired.

3. Click the desired option, cut or copy.4. Navigate to the desired folder.

5. Click paste icon to place the cut or copied report(s) or folder(s).

Sort Order of Folders and Reports

To change the sequence of a folder or report:

1. Click the order icon in the main Cognos Connection screen.2. Click folder(s) or report(s) to highlight desired folder(s) or report(s), then click the right pointing arrow

to move the folder(s) or report(s) to the Shown first box.3. If the folders or reports do not appear in the sequence desired then highlight the item in the Shown

first box and click a desired action (Up, Down, To top, To bottom), then click OK.

TIP: Clicking the Ctrl button while selecting the folder(s) or report(s) will allow multiple folder(s)and report(s) to be chosen at the same time.



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Move selected report(s) or folder(s) to the Shown first box.

Move selected report(s) or folder(s) in the Shown first box back to the Shown in default order box.

Move all of the items in the Shown in default order box to the Shown first box.

Move all of the items in the Shown first box back to the Shown in default order box.



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Reports

When creating and saving Cognos reports they are added to Cognos Connection. The reports can be saved ina variety of formats, such as Excel, Adobe Acrobat Reader, or HTML. Once saved, there are additionaloptions that may be performed on each report that range from changing the formatting and properties of areport to automatically scheduling the report to be emailed to others.

Report Formats

When viewing reports, they can be viewed in several formats. The most common report view is in Excel orPDF. The following is a legend for the various report formats:

Excel 2007 The report is viewable in Excel 2007.

Excel 2002 The report is viewable in Excel 2002.

Excel 2000 Single Sheet The report is viewable in Excel 2000.

HTML The report is viewable in an internet browser, such as, Internet Explorer.

Delimited text (CSV) The report can be viewed in many applications, but will not retain any formatting,such as, spaces or graphics.

PDF The report is viewable in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

XML - The report can be imported into an application. This option is mainly used by software developers.

Analysis Studio The report is viewable only in Analysis Studio.



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Report Action Items

Set Properties - Property settings for reports.

View all available output versions of report - Previously saved reports can be retrieved. They areviewable by date and report format (HTML, PDF, Excel). The reports captured will be as of when that reportwas run.

Run report with options Generate a report on a one time basis in any format with the options to view,save, print or email the report.

Open with Analysis Studio Opens a report in Analysis Studio.

Create a Report View Creates different versions of a report using the underlying structure of the originalreport, but display the view in a format you choose.

ScheduleSchedule reports to run once or repeatedly. Scheduled reports can be saved in one or multipleformats and/or emailed each time the schedule runs.

Displays all available actions that can be performed for a report. Inclusive of the options displayed inthe actions menu, the additional options contain useful features like modifying or removing schedules, alert meabout new versions or do not alert any about new versions.

TIP: Items in this list vary depending on saved versions of the report. Many of the availableactions repeat from theCognos Connection Toolbar.



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Icons Revisited

Shortcut Creates a shortcut to a report within a folder in Cognos Connection Screen

Bookmark - Creates a favorites link in the internet browser to point to the report via Cognos

TIP: Bookmarks will only work for individuals with access to Cognos.



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Set Properties (reports):

General Tab



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Zone 1

Type The type of entry the report is in, for example analysis or query.

Owner The owner of the report. This defaults to the creator of the report.

ContactThis is the person responsible for the entry.1. To change the contact person, click the Set the contact drop down and then click Select the

contact to set the contact for the entry

or2. Click Enter an email address to enter the contacts CWID email address (i.e.,

[email protected]).

LocationDisplays the directory path of the report.

CreatedThe date the report was created.

ModifiedThe most recent date that the report was modified.

Icon The icon for the report.

Disable this entry

When this is checked, users that do not have write permissions to the report willno longer be able to see the report in the portal. By default this setting unchecked.

Zone 2

Name Displays the report name. Any changes entered in the name caption will change the name ofthe report.

Screen tip Any caption entered in this area will appear on the main Cognos Navigator screen. Whenthe cursor is paused over the report icon the screen tip caption will appear.

Description Any caption entered in the description field will appear when viewing icons in the

detailed view on the main Cognos Navigator screen or in the property window.

Zone 3

Run History This setting displays the status of previous report runs, such as successful or failedreport deployments.

TIP: This is a good area to review, should an expected report result not appear.

Duration Amount of time to retain report run history. If blank the history will remain until deleted or itis overwritten.

Report output versions -The number of occurrences or period of time to keep report outputs.

TIP: The amount of versions can be set from 1 to 999 entries, however it is recommended tohave no more than 30 versions (less is usually appropriate).

Package - The package that is associated with the entry.



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Analysis Tab



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Default action Select the dropdown list to: View most recent report, Run the report or open with AnalysisStudio. Report icons will change depending on the drop down selection.

TIP 1: When the Run the report option is chosen, the will appear next to the report icon .This option will cause a report to run and re-compile.

TIP 2: When View most recent report option is chosen, reports are saved into memory onCognos 8. This allows for faster data retrieval for reports that were previously run.

Report options1. When this option is not checked, the default report format in which the report was saved will remain.2. Clicking this option will allow for other versions of the report to be created (HTML, Excel 2007, Excel

2002, Excel 2000, Delimited Text (CSV), XML)

TIP:When the Default action is changed to Run the report and the Override the defaultvalues checkbox is selected, the format version (HTML, Excel, and PDF) chosen will changethe report icon to commensurate with the format version.

Prompt values If you want to prompt for values to filter the data in the report, click select the Prompt forvaluescheck box under Prompt Values.

Note: You are prompted for values only if the report specification or model includes prompts or if youhave access to multiple data source connections or signons.

Run as the owner Checking this option will run the report using the owner log-on credentials. It isrecommended to keep this setting unchecked.

Advanced options

Number of rows per Web page in HTML reports Clicking the drop down list enables the amount ofrows to be displayed or adjusted when a report is viewed in HTML format.

Enable selection-based interactivity in HTML reports Allows features like drill up and drill down,drill through, Cognos Search when the report is viewed in Cognos Viewer.

Enable alerts about new versions Allows users to receive alerts when new report output isgenerated.

Enable enhanced user features in saved output versions This feature is used for othercomponents of Cognos, which isnt being used at Weill Cornell Medical College.



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Permissions TabThe permissions should generally remain as the default settings and should not be changed.



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Saving a Report in Different Formats

To save a report other than the default format within Cognos Connection, such as HTML, PDF or Excel:

1. In the Cognos Connection screen, next to the report name, select the Run with Options icon in theAction menu.

2. Choose the desired Format in the drop down list and click the Save the report check box and click Run.

3. The icon of the original file will then be saved in the format selected.

Notice the change in icons, representing the change in report format.

TIP: The refresh icon will need to be clicked for the change to be seen in the CognosConnection screen.



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Distributing reports

There are several ways to share information within Cognos. Reports can be placed within folders that youhave access to or emailed.

Emailing a Report

A convenient way to share reports is to email reports from Cognos. Cognos data can be emailed toyourself or others. There are several ways to distribute reports via email.

To email a report (self):

1. Go to the desired report that you would like to email and choose the Run with Options icon .2. Click the Send me the reportby email check box.3. Click Run to email a report to your CWID account.



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To email reports to others:

1. Click the Run with Options icon of the desired report that you would like to email2. Click advanced options on right upper right hand side.3. Click Run in the background selection.4. Click Now or Later (scheduled date and time) to schedule when the report should be

run/emailed.5. Click Send the report by email box and click the Edit the options list to create the email.

6. Type CWID/s in the To:or CC: section of the email (semi-colons are needed to separate theemails).



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TIP: Selecting the Include a link to the report requires recipients to have Cognos accessto launch and view the report via a link.

TIP: It is good practiceto select the Attach the report check box to provide the mostflexibility to whomever the reports are shared with (both Cognos users and non-Cognosusers).



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Scheduling

The Cognos Scheduling tool enables you to automate reports as well as distribute them (to both Cognos usersand Non-Cognos users). Reports can be saved in one or multiple formats.

Automating and Scheduling a Single Report:1. In the Cognos Connection Navigation Menu, click the check box of a desired report.

2. Click the scheduling icon under the Actions menu.

3. Select time interval for when you would like the report to be scheduled.Go to Start and click on the date icon and select the desired date and time.

Go to End and click on the date icon and select the desired date and time.4. ClickOverride the default values checkbox and select the desired report format(s) [HTML, PDF,

Excel]5. Under the Delivery option, click on the emailcheckbox and clickthe Edit the options link to send to

multiple recipients. Please follow the To email to others section in this manual for emails settings.6. Click OK.

TIP: If a daily schedule is desired, remember to select an end by date and time.



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Automating and Scheduling Multiple Reports via Jobs:

In addition to scheduling a report within Cognos, multiple files can be scheduled simultaneously via a job. Ajob identifies a collection of reports, report views, and other jobs that are scheduled together and share thesame schedule settings. When a scheduled job runs, all the entries within the job run.

1. Click the New Job icon2. Enterthe Name, a Description and Screen tip (optional).

TIP: Ensure that the destination of the scheduled job created is in the My Folders location.

3. Click Add and select the reports desired to be scheduled.



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4. Once the reports are selected, click OK and click next on the following screen.

TIP: Within the Selected entries box (upper right hand side); the reports scheduled willappear in the Selected entries box.

5. Choose Save and schedule and click Finish.6. The Schedule screen will appear. Select the intervals desired. Please follow the Schedulingand To

email to others section in this manual for assistance.

7. Click OK to confirm.

TIP: The new job should automatically appear in the Cognos Navigator screen, but you may

need to select refresh to see the newly created Scheduled Job.

Managing schedules

For ease of managing the various reports, Cognos has a centralized location to access the scheduled reportsto the My Activities and Schedules please refer to theMy Activities and Schedulessection.



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Weill Cornell Medical College Physician Organization Information Systems Cognos 8 CognosConnection

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Documents

Cog No s Connections Training Guide