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IBM Cognos 8 Business IntelligenceReport StudioVersion 8.4.1Express Authoring User Guide

Product InformationThis document applies to IBM Cognos 8 Version 8.4.1 and may also apply to subsequent releases. To check for newer versions of this document,visit the IBM Cognos Information Centers r0m0/index.jsp).CopyrightLicensed Materials - Property of IBM Copyright IBM Corp. 2005, 2009.US Government Users Restricted Rights – Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp.IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, and Cognos are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., in many jurisdictionsworldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available onthe Web at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml.Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, and the Windows logo are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.Java and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both.

Table of ContentsIntroduction7Chapter 1: What's New?9New Features in Version 8.4 9Extended Suppression Capabilities 9Crosstab Measures Can be Formatted Based on Other Crosstab Measures 9Lineage Information for Data 9Extended Support for Dimensionally-modeled Relational Data Sources 9Support for Multiple Hierarchies per Dimension for IBM Cognos and SSAS Cubes 10Intersections (Tuples) Can Include Calculated Members and Measures 10Chapter 2: Report Studio11Planning Reports 11Working in Report Studio 11The User Interface 11Basic Report Layout 13Work in Preview or Design Mode 14Options 14Web Browser Settings 16Professional Authoring Mode vs. Express Authoring Mode 16Chapter 3: Creating a Report19Recommendation - Creating a Financial Report 19Specify the Package 20Refresh the Package 20Choose a Basic Report Layout 20Add Data to a Report 21Working with Crosstab Reports 22Save a Report 25Run a Report 25Running a Report Against a Dimensional Data Source 26Producing a Report in CSV Format 27Producing a Report in Excel Format 27Producing a Report in XML Format 28Set PDF Page Options 29Creating Accessible Reports 29Creating Reports for IBM Cognos 8 Go! Office 30The IBM Cognos 8 SDK 31Chapter 4: Working with Data33Working with Dimensional Data 33Extended Data Items 35Customize Your Source Tree 35Insert Members 35Insert a Hierarchy 36Licensed Materials – Property of IBM Copyright IBM Corp. 2005, 2009.3

Table of ContentsInsert a Member Property 37Search for Members 37Create a Set of Members 38Nest Members 38Create a Context Filter 39Define a Prompts Using a Context Filter 40Create Page Layers 40Sort Data 41Perform Advanced Sorting 42Create a Calculation 43Calculation Solve Order 44Limited Calculation Expressions in Express Authoring Mode 44Limitations When Summarizing Measures in Dimensionally-modeled Relational (DMR)Data Sources 45Insert a Calculated Member or Measure 45Create a Set Expression 47Create an Intersection (Tuple) 47Format Data 48Specifying the Number of Decimals in Numbers 49Locale-sensitive Properties 49Suppress Empty Cells 50Limitations When Formatting Empty Cells in SAP BW Data Sources 50Example - Suppress Zeros in Rows and Columns in an Existing Report 50View Lineage Information for a Data Item 51Chapter 5: Formatting a Report55Add a Header or Footer 55Add Borders 56Add Text 56Specify the Font 56Add Color 57Copy Object Formatting 58Insert an Image in a Report 58Insert Page Numbers in a Report 59Insert Other Objects 59Align an Object 61Use Tables to Control Where Objects Appear 61Apply a Table Style 61Apply Padding 62Set Margins 62Rename a Row or Column 62Swap Columns and Rows 63Specify Text Flow 63Specify Line Spacing and Breaking 64Specify the Height and Width 64Control How Objects Flow Around Other Objects 65Apply Style Classes 66Modifying the Default Layout Style Sheet 67Highlight Data Using a Conditional Style 674 Report Studio

Table of ContentsUse Visual Effects 71Chapter 6: Working with Existing Reports73Open and Save a Report Locally 73Open a Report from the Clipboard 74Managing Changes in the Package 74Create Drill-up/Drill-down Reports 74Chapter 7: Exploring Data75Analyze with Analysis Studio 75Chapter 8: Samples77Samples in the GO Data Warehouse (analysis) Package 77GO Balance Sheet as at Dec 31, 2006 77The Great Outdoors Company Samples 77Appendix A: Troubleshooting79Auto Correct Errors in Your Reports 79Problems Creating Reports 79Metadata Change in Essbase Not Reflected in Reports and in the Studios 79Relationships Not Maintained in a Report With Overlapping Set Levels 79Unexpected Summary Values in Nested Sets 80Limited Support for Relational Functions When Used with OLAP Data Sources 81Saving a Report Takes a Long Time 81Columns, Rows, or Data Disappear With SSAS 2005 Cubes 81Report Differences Between TM1 Executive Viewer and IBM Cognos 8 with TM1 DataSources 82Order of Metadata Tree Differs for TM1 Data Sources 82Problems Calculating Data 83Incorrect Results with IBM Cognos PowerCubes and Time Measures 83Appendix B: Limitations When Producing Reports in Microsoft Excel Format85Unable to Load Images from the IBM Cognos 8 Content Store in a Report 85Blank Worksheet Is Opened 85Warning Message Appears When Excel Opens an IBM Cognos 8 Report 85Error Message Appears in an Excel 2000 Single Sheet Report 85Spreadsheet Content Not Saved for Reports Saved in XLS Format 86Unable to Load Excel Report in Netscape 7.01 86Unsupported IBM Cognos 8 Formatting 86Cell Contains Series of # 87Excel Cannot Render Reports with More Than 256 Columns 87Table and Column Width 87Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Is Not Supported in Some Excel Formats and Versions 87Number Format Becomes Currency Format in Japanese Excel 88Report Shows Data in Wrong Columns 88Unable to Access a Report on a Remote Server 88Unsupported Excel Formatting 88Hyperlink Buttons Are Not Supported in Excel 89Unable to View Reports in Excel Format Sent as Email Attachments 89Express Authoring User Guide 5

Table of ContentsAppendix C: Using the Expression Editor91Using Quotation Marks in Literal Strings 91Operators 91( 91) 91* 91, 91/ 92 92- 92Summaries 92aggregate 92average 92count 93maximum 93minimum 93total 93Common Functions 94tuple 94value 94GlossaryIndex6 Report Studio9995

IntroductionThis document is intended for use with Report Studio. It provides step-by-step procedures andbackground information to help you create statement-style reports. Report Studio is a Web productfor creating reports that analyze corporate data according to specific information needs.AudienceTo use this guide, you should have knowledge of your business requirements experience using a Web browser and writing reportsRelated DocumentationOur documentation includes user guides, getting started guides, new features guides, readmes, andother materials to meet the needs of our varied audience. The following documents contain relatedinformation and may be referred to in this document.Note: For online users of this document, a Web page such as The page cannot be found may appearwhen clicking individual links in the following table. Documents are made available for your particular installation and translation configuration. If a link is unavailable, you can access the documenton the IBM Cognos Resource Center (http://www.ibm.com/software/data/support/cognos crc.html).DocumentDescriptionIBM Cognos 8 Getting Started Teaching new users how to use IBM Cognos 8IBM Cognos Connection User Using IBM Cognos Connection to publish, find, manage, organize,Guideand view IBM Cognos content, such as scorecards, reports, analyses, and agentsIBM Cognos 8 Administration Managing servers, security, reports, and portal services; and setand Security Guideting up the samples, customizing the user interface andtroubleshootingReport Studio ProfessionalAuthoring User GuideAuthoring reports that analyze corporate data according to specific needsAnalysis Studio User GuideExploring, analyzing, and comparing dimensional dataQuery Studio User GuideCreating self-service business intelligence reportsLicensed Materials – Property of IBM Copyright IBM Corp. 2005, 2009.7

IntroductionFinding InformationProduct documentation is available in online help from the Help menu or button in IBM Cognosproducts.To find the most current product documentation, including all localized documentation andknowledge base materials, access the IBM Cognos Resource Center (http://www.ibm.com/software/data/support/cognos crc.html).You can also read PDF versions of the product readme files and installation guides directly fromIBM Cognos product CDs.Using Quick ToursQuick tours are short online tutorials that illustrate key features in IBM Cognos product components.To view a quick tour, start IBM Cognos Connection and click the Quick Tour link in the lowerright corner of the Welcome page.Getting HelpFor more information about using this product or for technical assistance, visit the IBM CognosResource Center (http://www.ibm.com/software/data/support/cognos crc.html). This site providesinformation on support, professional services, and education.Printing Copyright MaterialYou can print selected pages, a section, or the whole book. You are granted a non-exclusive, nontransferable license to use, copy, and reproduce the copyright materials, in printed or electronicformat, solely for the purpose of operating, maintaining, and providing internal training on IBMCognos software.8 Report Studio

Chapter 1: What's New?This section contains a list of new features for this release. It will help you plan your upgrade andapplication deployment strategies and the training requirements for your users.For information about upgrading, see the Installation and Configuration Guide for your product.To review an up-to-date list of environments supported by IBM Cognos products, such as operatingsystems, patches, browsers, Web servers, directory servers, database servers, and application servers,visit the IBM Cognos Customer Service Centre Web site (http://www.ibm.com/software/data/support/cognos crc.html ).For an overview of new features for this release, see the New Features Guide.New Features in Version 8.4Listed below are new features since the last release. Links to directly-related topics are included.Extended Suppression CapabilitiesYou can now suppress rows, columns, or rows and columns based on zero, null, divide by zero,and overflow values in reports created with relational, dimensionally-modeled relational, and OLAPdata sources. For more information, see "Suppress Empty Cells" (p. 50).Crosstab Measures Can be Formatted Based on Other Crosstab MeasuresYou can apply conditional styles to crosstab cells based on an adjacent value in the crosstab. Forexample, you can conditionally color the bubbles in a bubble chart based on any combination ofthe measures, and you can conditionally color an entire row of the crosstab based on any measurein the columns. For more information, see "Highlight Data Using a Conditional Style" (p. 67).Lineage Information for DataYou can now view lineage information of a data item to see what the item represents before youadd it to a report. A data item's lineage information traces the item's metadata back through thepackage and the package's data sources. Viewing lineage information ensures that you add thecorrect data items to a report. For example, you can view the lineage information of a model calculation to see how it was created.You can view this information from Report Studio, Query Studio, Analysis Studio, and CognosViewer. For more information, see "View Lineage Information for a Data Item" (p. 51).Extended Support for Dimensionally-modeled Relational Data SourcesThere is now support for multiple hierarchies of a single dimension for dimensionally-modeledrelational data sources.Licensed Materials – Property of IBM Copyright IBM Corp. 2005, 2009.9