Cognos Direct URL Usage

Business Intelligence

Using URLs

Cognos 8 can be utilized directly with parameterized URLs.

These URLs can send users directly to an object.– View an archived report– Run a report

Passing prompts Specifying output

– View a specific page in the Cognos portal– Open a studio

Users must still authenticate or already be authenticated

View an Archived Report

The first use of a parameterized URL is to view a previously run report archive.

This is useful for example if you have financial reports that explain details behind a line in a statement.

Embed the URL in the number and have it send the user directly to the detail report that was run previously.

The user never has to wait for a report, but can have an explanation show up immediately to describe what they are seeing.

Archive Report Search Path

To view a save report, find the report object with an archive.

Open the properties for the object, then click on View the search path, ID and URL

Copy the Search path and append it to the URL fragment: https://reportingdev.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/launch.xts&ui.tool=CognosViewer&ui.action=view&ui.object=defaultOutput(enter search path)

Archive Report URL

https://reportingdev.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/launch.xts&ui.tool=CognosViewer&ui.action=view&ui.object=defaultOutput(CAMID("CognosLDAP:u:authid=3179095188")/folder[@name='My Folders']/report[@name='Logon operations by time stamp'])

Run a Report

This technique allows a user to execute a report from a URL link.

This can be useful if a user is in another portal and wants to view a report that may describe some information in this 3rd party portal.

This URL can specify what report to execute, any prompts to pass through, and what format to return the report.

Report Search Path

Just as in the Archive, the search path needs to be obtained. This is the same report, so the path is the same.

Open the properties for the object, then click on View the search path, ID and URL

Copy the Search path and append it to the URL fragment: https://reportingdev.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/launch.xts&&ui.tool=CognosViewer&ui.object=enter search path &ui.action=run

Report URL

https://reportingdev.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/launch.xts&&ui.tool=CognosViewer&ui.object=CAMID("CognosLDAP:u:authid=3179095188")/folder[@name='My Folders']/report[@name='Logon operations by time stamp']&ui.action=run

This is the result after running the report URL above. It did run the report, but this is a prompted report. Next, let’s add the prompts so that the user goes directly to the report.

Add Prompt Parameter to URL

The report URL does run the report, but returns the prompt page.

Add &p_prompt name=prompt value Multiple prompts can be added using the

above format Finally, append &run.prompt=false to the

end of the URL to keep the prompt page from displaying.

Report URL with Prompt

https://reportingdev.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/launch.xts&&ui.tool=CognosViewer&ui.object=CAMID("CognosLDAP:u:authid=3179095188")/folder[@name='My Folders']/report[@name='Logon operations by time stamp']&ui.action=run&p_Logon Time=2009-04-21T00:00:00&p_End Date=2009-04-21T23:59:59&run.prompt=false

&p_Logon Time=2009-04-21T00:00:00&p_End Date=2009-04-21T23:59:59These two items are the two prompts that the report uses.

&run.prompt=falseThis command suppresses the prompt page from generating.

Finally, this run defaults the report output to HTML, let’s now generate the PDF output of this report.

Report Output Format

https://reportingdev.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/launch.xts&&ui.tool=CognosViewer&ui.object=CAMID("CognosLDAP:u:authid=3179095188")/folder[@name='My Folders']/report[@name='Logon operations by time stamp']&ui.action=run&p_Logon Time=2009-04-21T00:00:00&p_End Date=2009-04-21T23:59:59&run.prompt=false &run.outputFormat=PDF

&run.outputFormat=PDF&run.outputFormat=PDFThis command specifies the output type, in this case PDF.

Outputs can be:CVSPDFMHTsingleXLSXLSHTML

View a Specific Page

As well as showing reports and report outputs, the URL can directly send a user to a specific page.

This would be useful if there is a specific portal page designed for an application.

This is also useful for sending a manager directly to a dashboard page, or embedding the dashboard in a 3rd party portal.

Portal Page URL

https://reportingdev.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/cc.xts&m_page=iF96291F35CF9474EB0E12BD60937DC9F

This URL sends the user directly to a page, in this case an audit dashboard. This could be embedded in another portal to show the basic gauges to a user without going to Cognos directly.

This URL needs the ID of the page object to display. The ID can either be copied from the URL when going to the page, or again by going to the properties of the page and getting the ID there.

Analysis Studio URL

A URL can also be used to directly send a user to a studio.

This would be a good way to send a user directly into analysis studio to look at the data for their department.

A user can be sent directly to query studio for ad hoc capabilities. The URL can point to either a package or a query studio report to use.

Analysis Studio URLs

Open Analysis Studio - https://reportingdev.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/launch.xts&ui.gateway=/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll&ui.tool=AnalysisStudio&ui.object=/content&ui.action=new – Add the &ui.action command and set it to New to specify a new analysis. If you don’t

use New it will return an error.

Open Analysis Studio to a package - https://reportingdev.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/launch.xts&ui.gateway=/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll&ui.tool=AnalysisStudio&ui.object=/content/package[@name='Granite Cube']&ui.action=new – Add the search path for the package object to open.– Make sure the ui.action command is set to New to specify a new analysis . If you

don’t use New it will return an error. Open Analysis Studio to an analysis report - https://reportingdev.northwestern.edu/cgi-

bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/launch.xts&ui.gateway=/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll&ui.tool=AnalysisStudio&ui.object=/content/folder[@name='CCM Cost Accounting Drill Through']/analysis[@name='Cost Tracking Drill Through for Expense Class by Location Analysis']&ui.action=edit– Add the search path for the analysis object to open.– Make sure the ui.action command is set to Edit to specify editing the current analysis.

If you use New, it will proceed just like opening a new analysis object.

Hiding Headers and Toolbars

There may be times when calling a Cognos URL, the user does not need to see the headers and toolbars.

With specific calls in the URL, the headers and toolbars can be removed.

This can be especially useful when displaying a Cognos portlet in another portal.

Hiding Objects

The list of headers that can be hidden: h1, h2, h3, h4

The list of titles that can be hidden: t1, t2, t3, t4

The list of menus that can be hidden: m1, m2, m3, m4

Append the &ui=List of objects to hide, to the end of a Cognos Connection or Cognos Viewer URL.

When hiding objects, h1 is the same as m1 and t1, so &ui=h1 would result in the same as &u1=tim1.

The URL to show the dashboard portal page without any headers would be:https://reportingdev.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/cc.xts&m_page=iF96291F35CF9474EB0E12BD60937DC9F&ui=h1h2h3h4

Hiding Objects Examples

This page has had h1h2h3h4 removed.https://reportingdev.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/cc.xts&m_page=iF96291F35CF9474EB0E12BD60937DC9F&ui=h1h2h3h4

This page has had t3m4 removed.https://reportingdev.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/cc.xts&m_page=iF96291F35CF9474EB0E12BD60937DC9F&ui=t3m4

Dissect URL

https://reportingdev.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/launch.xts&&ui.tool=CognosViewer– This section of the URL request a call to the Cognos Dev portal and to launch the

Cognos Viewer tool that is used to view reports, either saved outputs or active report runs.

&ui.object=CAMID("CognosLDAP:u:authid=3179095188")/folder[@name='My Folders']/report[@name='Logon operations by time stamp']– This command in the URL tells Cognos what object to run, this is obtained from the

search path of the object. &ui.action=run

– This command tells Cognos what action to do on the object with the Cognos Viewer tool.

&p_Logon Time=2009-04-21T00:00:00– This passes the value to the prompt “Logon Time” in the report.

&p_End Date=2009-04-21T23:59:59– This passed the value to the prompt “End Date” in the report.

&run.prompt=false– This command tells Cognos Viewer to not render the prompt page to the user. For this

to work, the required prompts must be answered in the URL. &run.outputFormat=PDF

– This command tells Cognos Viewer to render the output in PDF. &ui=h1h2h3h4

– This command removes all the headers from the Cognos Viewer