Recording, attendance and chat: One Drive > https://ucsdcloud-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/jmwhite_ucsd_edu/Esw5TIm2FhtPmYMGR2GVKbYBKd5zGatlp48yrEgTU4_gwA?e=bMugd3

We attempt to record all of our meetings for users who cannot attend. We do pause the recording when requested when sensitive information is shared.

Time Tracking: ACOP-386

Requested Topics

Topic	Status
Demo of IBM Planning Tool	(Sarah working with IBM) OneDrive > Financial Analytics CoP
Links w/ passing parameters from Cognos into Tableau	Sarah putting together a demo
Links w/ passing parameters from Tableau into Cognos	Sarah putting together a demo
Cognos Dashboards vs Cognos Report Visualizations	Sarah working with IBM
Ask IBM for future demo of new dashboard / visualization in upgrade
Data Blending	Data blending idea: FinAH-project cost view + RAH-Award Details view. The goal is to show PI & Co-I of an award alongside the expenditures for the award. For Data Blending, Pull in EAH info into SAH Reports. Anthony would probably be writing this. Need from EAH name, email, dept to include for Mentors. Emp ID should be available. For data blending, EAH, SAH, and FinAH - I join these all together for the graduate student funding report and with the new Student Information System going in place in the next couple of years, the SIS reporting team could probably benefit from having these 3 blended
How to create report Views / Scheduling
Drill through with multiple values. Cross-tab example and list example. Chart example.

Ask IBM

Question

Note

Q: Is there a way to save layout options in a report view?

BIA: Report developer is not allowed in Cognos Production. We would need to change this policy to allow users to save their edited copy of the report.

A. Report views will let you save prompt values, but not from the display area.

Note: Oracle will let you change the report and save a copy for users to start with.

BIA - Ask IBM how can users best keep the changes that they are allowed to make?

Q: Why does Cognos not keep totals in the same row?

BIA - Ask IBM why does it stay in the same row sometimes and sometimes not?

Q: View filter limits

BIA - Ask IBM why does the viewer filter pull the entire list of values and not just the filtered values?

Cognos CoP 11-28-2023

Topic	Notes
Reminder	All Cognos COP meetings are recorded, you can find them on One Drive via the link at the top of this page.
Announcement	Cognos Prod downtime to adjust config setting in preparation for the Cognos Prod OS upgrade. Wednesday 11/29 from 4pm-5pm.
Uploaded Data	If you build a data module using uploaded data (Excel, CVS, data module directly connect to your data source) that uploaded data must in a place where the people using the data module can access it. They don't need to be able to modify (write) the uploaded data, but they do need to be able to run the data. FYI: This is true in all cognos environments. FYI 2: The data steward for all AH recommend setting up your Consumer access so that if you give a Consumer AD group access to run a report, they can automatically run the data with the report. BIA recommendation: If you have a data module / data package / data source folder, ask that it be set up so that the Consumer can automatically run the data for the reports they have been given access to. This way the consumers don't have to request access to data separately from access to reports.
Parameters within a field	Demo of Cognos Dev > Samples > Reports > Standard Reports > Customer Selects Crosstab Columns Create a field that will change based on what your customer selects: if (?p_DateSelection?='Date') then ([Invoice Date]) else if (?p_DateSelection? = 'No Dates') then (null) else if (?p_DateSelection?='Month') then ([Month]) else ([Year])

Cognos CoP 9-26-2023

Topic	Notes
Reminder	All Cognos COP meetings are recorded, you can find them on One Drive via the link at the top of this page.
Cognos 11.2.4	Cognos alternates casting null date fields as integers and varchar. The report developer can tell Cognos to set this field null values to a null date by using cast (NULL, date).
Q: Can I filter one prompt by another?	Yes, but you need to put the all the filters you wan to pass into the prompt queries you want to be affected
Drill through from Chart to List (or other chart)	defn: a link that passes parameters from one report to another why? You can have a summary report and a more detailed report for multiple audiences. management wants the summary numbers without the full list, also have the full list ready for their employees and for when they ask Performance - can break a long running report into a shorter report (can run the detail list / target report in the morning so it is not running ad hoc) how? You need to create your 2 reports - one is the source (summary information) and one is the target (detail information). Example: Cognos DEV > Samples > Reports > Drill-through reports Create filters to receive the parameter in the Target report - Save. tip: must pass matching values, even if the field names are different Same rules apply for optional and required Select field to pass values from > properties > drill-through definitions Create new drill-through. Select target report. Set the settings. Create parameter > Method: pass data item values > Value: field you want to pass. Save Run - test - change as needed. Move both reports to the customer facing folder. Repoint your source drill-through definition to the new target location. similar You can hyperlink to another report - this is like a drill through but without passing parameters Q&A: Q: Is there anything we have to keep in mind for drill-thrus on cross tabs? Or should they work the same as a regular table or list? A: They work the same. Cross-tabs allow you to pass 2 parameters a little easier.

Cognos CoP 7-25-2023

Reminder	All Cognos COP meetings are recorded, you can find them on One Drive via the link at the top of this page.
Cognos Upgrade	Announcement: Cognos 11.2.4 - August 4 to August 25, 2023 Impact: new look & feel for report developer Impact: DUO token users will need to connect using the method they do for signing into VPN The Cognos Sandbox environment has already been upgraded to 11.2.4 https://cog-dev01.ucsd.edu/ibmcognos/bi/ VPN required at this time
Upcoming Topic:	Demo of IBM Planning Tool OneDrive > Financial Analytics CoP Links w/ passing parameters from Cognos into Tableau Links w/ passing parameters from Tableau into Cognos Cognos Dashboards vs Cognos Report Visualizations Sarah working with IBM to do this training Drill though from Chart to List (or other chart) Ask IBM for future demo of new dashboard / visualization in upgrade Data Blending
ACOP Space now Public	Available to users w/out logging in Locked spaces: Employee Analytics CoP Meetings & Student Analytics CoP Meetings
Filters	Next time Difference in wizard and direct in Query, pros / cons
Prompt Page	Prompt properties > Size & Overflow Box properties > Padding
Permissions Cognos QA vs Cognos Prod	Not always set up the same. Email busintel@ucsd.edu to request that Cognos QA have the same as Cognos Prod
Drill Through to BFS Report?	Email Heather Sears to request permissions to drill down into one of their reports.
Why is the run button special?	Report page > Properties > Run with full interactivity = No Gives additional run options Shuts off ability for customers to sort, group, filter, etc... https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/how-see-reset-prompts-and-run-option-while-authoring-report Action Item: Ask IBM if can turn on the "Reset prompts and run" option in the drop down w/out losing interactivity

Cognos CoP 6-27-2023

Reminder	All Cognos COP meetings are recorded, you can find them on One Drive via the link at the top of this page.
Cognos Upgrade	Announcement: Cognos 11.2.4 - August 4 to August 25, 2023 Impact: new look & feel for report developer Impact: DUO token users will need to connect using the method they do for signing into VPN The Cognos Sandbox environment has already been upgraded to 11.2.4 https://cog-dev01.ucsd.edu/ibmcognos/bi/ VPN required at this time
Training	How many people are interested? What level of training? Intro or Intermediate or Advanced
Visualizations	Dashboards Report Visualizations When will we be able to sort on more than 1 field again in the charts?
Upcoming Topic:	Demo of IBM Planning Tool Links w/ passing parameters from Cognos into Tableau Links w/ passing parameters from Tableau into Cognos Cognos Dashboards vs Cognos Report Visualizations Drill though from Chart to List (or other chart) Ask IBM for July demo of new dashboard / visualization in upgrade

Cognos CoP 5-30-2023

Reminder	All Cognos COP meetings are recorded, you can find them on One Drive via the link at the top of this page.
Cognos Upgrade	Announcement: Cognos 11.2.4 - August 4 to August 25, 2023 Survey results: Friday, August 4 Cognos DEV upgrade + 2 weeks of testing, then Friday, August 18 Cognos QA upgrade + 1 week of testing, then Friday, August 25 Cognos PROD upgrade The Cognos Sandbox environment has already been upgraded to 11.2.4 https://cog-dev01.ucsd.edu/ibmcognos/bi/ VPN required at this time BIA will be identifying any heavy Cognos users that also have DUO tokens and contacting them directly as part of the upgrade communication. BIA will update Cognos 11.2.4 - August 4 to August 25, 2023 with the new dates.
Cognos Upgrade Questions	Should we finish development of a large report before August 4? Yes. Migrations will freeze on August 4 so we recommend any large projects go to Prod prior to that.
Can Cognos compare the results of one day to the results of the next day?	Unfortunately, not out of the box. Cognos can compare 2 files so you would need to make a database snapshot of yesterday or a file download of yesterday.
Things Cognos can do:	Highlight thresholds. Color change of font or background. Compare 2 sets of data.
Upcoming Topic:	Demo of IBM Planning Tool Links w/ passing parameters from Cognos into Tableau Links w/ passing parameters from Tableau into Cognos Cognos Dashboards vs Cognos Report Visualizations Drill though from Chart to List (or other chart) Ask IBM for July demo of new dashboard / visualization in upgrade

Cognos CoP 4-25-2023

Reminder	All Cognos COP meetings are recorded, you can find them on One Drive via the link at the top of this page.
Cognos Upgrade	ETA still TBD, currently troubleshooting in a parallel environment Why upgrade? New features and new security patches: Cognos 11.2.4 - August 4 to August 25, 2023 Is the sandbox still open? Yes: Cognos 11.2.4 - August 4 to August 25, 2023 Next attempt: Friday, May 19
Demo: How to set up your own row level security	What is row level security? Your report recognizes the person who has logged in to run the report, and your report has a map of what data rows that see. How do you identify the user? Cognos DEV > Cognos Audit Reports & Package > Session Parameters Cognos Emp ID (aka EAH UCPath Employee ID) = #$account.parameters.EmplID# Cognos Employee ID (aka EAH Employee PPS ID Current) = #$account.parameters.EmployeeID# Cognos User ID = #sq ($account.personalInfo.userName)# Cognos Default Name = #sq($account.defaultName)# Cognos Name - First = #sq($account.personalInfo.givenName)# Cognos Name - Last = #sq($account.personalInfo.surname)# How do you know what rows the user gets to see? Create an excel that maps the Cognos Username / Cognos Emp ID to the information they should have access to. Example: Row Level Security Example.xlsx How do you connect the Row Level Security Excel to the data in Cognos? Create a data modules that contains your excel and the view you want to use Create a join between the excel and the view Create a filter to set the Cognos Username / Cognos Emp ID equal to the person running the report See example in Cognos DEV > Team Content > Samples > Reports > Report with Row Level Security Be Aware Not all employees have a Cognos Employee ID (aka EAH Employee PPS ID Current) or a Cognos Emp ID (aka EAH UCPath Employee ID) Not all Cognos User ID may match what you expect. Watch out for users with multiple AD accounts. Issues? Have the customer run this report: Cognos DEV > Cognos Audit Reports & Package > Session Parameters Demo: Cognos DEV > Team Content > Samples > Reports > Report with Row Level Security
Permissions	UCSD Policy: Permissions are set at the folder. At the report level is too much maintenance for ITS and for report developers. If you have reports that need separate security then please save them to separate folders.

Cognos CoP 02-28-2023

Reminder	All Cognos COP meetings are recorded, you can find them on One Drive via the link at the top of this page.
Cognos Upgrade	ETA still TBD, currently troubleshooting in a parallel environment Why upgrade? New features and new security patches: Cognos 11.2.4 - August 4 to August 25, 2023 Is the sandbox still open? Yes: Cognos 11.2.4 - August 4 to August 25, 2023
Q. What's the difference between null and blank?	null - can be used with dates, string, number data types blank = '' - can be used in string ' ' - can only be used with string data types All three look the same in the Cognos/Tableau output but are physically different values in the data base. If you are looking for these values or trying to filter out these values then you may have to try looking for all 3. The Activity Hubs only reflect what value the data source is using and there is no standard field type that data sources use. Some data sources use all three. hint: count the number of characters in the field to determine if there are more than one spaces hint: use the trim function hint: look for anything else in your report that is requiring the empty field to be shown
Q. Data Types	3 data types Date aka date time. Cognos always formats this as YYYY-MM-DD in the filter. or YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.###### String aka character. Cognos always wants your filter to be surrounded by single quotes Number aka interger, decimal. Cognos does not required any formatting or quotes.
Cognos 11.2.4 demo	Cognos 11.2.4 - August 4 to August 25, 2023
Q. How do I include a few values plus null in a filter?	A. filter for [Field Name] in ('ValueA', 'ValueB', NULL)
Q. How can I replace a package with a data module?	You don't have to if you are going to display the data in separate lists/crosstabs/charts. Only when you want to use multiple packages in the same query/list/crosstab/chart do you need a data module. You can replace a package with a data module in two ways: You can repoint the package by clicking on package name in the report, right click, select replace package and select the new data module. You will need to update every field with the new address for the field in order for the report to work. If the report is not that complicated, you can rebuild it with the data module.

Cognos CoP 01-31-2023

Reminder	All Cognos COP meetings are recorded, you can find them on One Drive via the link at the top of this page.
ACOP Day 2022	https://blink.ucsd.edu/technology/bi/communities/acop-day/index.html
New Collab Link	Analytics Community of Practice (ACP)
System Slowness	keep an eye on status.ucsd.edu for more details, causing slowness in the Cognos interface when navigating Email will go out later today
Cognos Upgrade to 10.2.4	Key Dates - Email will go out later today. Monday, February 6: Sandbox open for preview Friday, February 10: Cognos Dev upgrade at 5pm PT Friday, February 24: Cognos QA upgrade at 5pm PT Friday, March 3: Cognos Prod upgrade at 5pm PT Main change is the Developer interface so we've added an extra week for you all to preview the changes in Cognos Sandbox. Notes the dates b/c migrations will be frozen. New Features: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/cognos-analytics/11.2.0?topic=whats-new Video Preview:
Q: How to set up a multi-value, multi-line prompt	Scenario: What to type in 2 IDs into 1 box and send the 2 values. But it's not working. A: Text box prompts send one value to the query. The multi-line only lets you see the full name if it is really long, like wrapping text. Cognos doesn't see the 2 words as separate values, Cognos only sees 1 string and sends that. Look for a prompt where you can confirm that you are selecting 2 values, that will tell Cognos they are separate values. Macro option, make this your filter: [Field You Are Prompting On] in (#csv (split (' ', prompt ('PromptName', 'token')))#) Macro option2, make this your filter: [Student PID] in ( #csv (split(' ', split(',', split(' ,', split(' , ', split(', ', prompt('Parm_Pid','token')) ) ) ) ) ) # )
Q: Zero suppression, why is it not suppressing?	Q: Applied zero suppression to all measures. A: Ask Rehan, he has the most experience with this. A. Try removing data formatting. You might see a $0.0000004 value that is preventing the suppression.
Next Time Q: Is there a way to save layout options in a report view?	BIA: Report developer is not allowed in Cognos Production. We would need to change this policy to allow users to save their edited copy of the report. A. Report views will let you save prompt values, but not from the display area. Note: Oracle will let you change the report and save a copy for users to start with. BIA - Ask IBM how can users best keep the changes that they are allowed to make?
Next Time Q: Why does Cognos not keep totals in the same row?	BIA - Ask IBM why does it stay in the same row sometimes and sometimes not?
Next Time Q:	BIA - Ask IBM why does the viewer filter pull the entire list of values and not just the filtered values?

2023 Cognos CoP Meetings