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Report Formats

You can choose the output format for a report. You may want to view reports in a browser, or you may want the report in a format that is easily imported into another application.

You can choose from the following formats:

You can specify the default format to be used when a report is run . All shortcuts to a report acquire the default format from the source entry.

You can specify the report format in the run options page , in the report properties , or in your preferences . When you run a report without specifying run options, the format specified in the report properties is used. When it is not specified in the report properties, the format specified in your preferences is used.

XHTML and some PDF formats are only available when you set advanced run options . You can also select multiple formats when you set advanced run options.

To specify the report format, you must have read and write permissions for the report and traverse permissions for the folder that contains the report.

HTML Formats

You can select from the following HTML formats:

To select HTML fragment and XMTML or the number of rows per web page, see Set Advanced Report Options for the Current Run.

XML Format

XML report outputs save the report data in a format that conforms to an internal schema, xmldata.xsd. You can find this schema file in c8_location/bin.

This format consists of a dataset element, which contains a metadata element and a data element. The metadata element contains the data item information in item elements. The data element contains all the row and value elements.

You can create models from reports and other data that conform to the xmldata.xsd schema. This is useful if you want to use a report as a data source for another report, or if you use a database that cannot be read by Framework Manager. In this case, export the data from the data source to an XML file, in conformance with the xmldata schema, and then open the XML file in Framework Manager.

For more information, see the Framework Manager User Guide.

PDF Format

Use the PDF format to view and distribute reports in an online book format.

You must have administrator privileges to specify the advanced PDF options.

For more information about setting advanced PDF options, see Set Advanced PDF Options for a Report

Set Advanced PDF Options for a Report

Using the advanced PDF options, you can control access to the PDF report output and the report contents.

You must have administrator privileges to the report to use the advanced options.

Steps

  1. In Cognos Connection, click the set properties button on the actions toolbar to the right of the report you want to run.

  2. Click the Report tab for a Report Studio report, the Query tab for a Query Studio report, or the Analysis tab for a Analysis Studio report.

  3. Click the Override the default values check box.

  4. Under PDF options, click Set.

  5. In the Set the PDF options page, select the PDF properties you want for the report, and click OK. Here is a list of the properties that are available.

    PropertyGoal
    OrientationWhether to have portrait or landscape for the report orientation.
    Paper sizeSet the paper size, such as legal or letter size.
    Requires a password to open the reportSet the password to open the report.
    Requires a password to access optionsSet the password to access report options, and then specify the options you want to make available to users, such as whether to allow printing, modifying the report contents, and copying text.

When you run the report, the PDF settings are applied. For example, if you specified a password to open the report, then users must enter the password before viewing the contents of the report.

Excel Formats

The Excel 2000 format can be viewed with versions of Excel 2000 and later. It supports up to 65,536 rows and multiple sheets. The Excel 2000 format is only available in Cognos 8 when Cognos Application Firewall validation is disabled.

Excel 2000 single sheet format offers improved security. Excel 2000 may have cookies in the URLs to spreadsheets, which could be used to illegally impersonate a user. Excel 2000 single sheet format does not use outgoing URLs. However, there is a limit of 65,536 rows, and page breaks for multiple-author pages are ignored.

Excel 2002 format and Excel 2000 single sheet format also offer the following benefits:

The Cognos 8 full date format does not always appear correctly in Microsoft Excel 2000 if it is on a system with a regional setting other than English. This does not occur with Microsoft Excel 2002 or 2003 versions. To fix this, reapply the proper format in Excel.

Excel 2007 format renders report output in native Excel XML format, also known as XLSX, that provides a fast way to deliver native Excel spreadsheets to Microsoft Excel XP, Microsoft Excel 2003, and Microsoft Excel 2007. Users of Microsoft Excel XP and Microsoft Excel 2003 must install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack, which provides file open and save capabilities for the new format. The output is similar to other Excel formats, with the following exceptions:

CSV Format

Reports saved in delimited text (CSV) format open in the application associated with the.csv file type, usually Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Windows Wordpad, or Star Office.

Reports saved in CSV format

You can modify the CSV output format to suit your environment. For more information about customizing the functionality of Cognos 8, see Modify Properties for the CSV Output Format.