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Set Up Drill-through Access in a Package

A drill-through definition in Cognos Connection is associated with a source package. You can define drill-through definitions between the reports created in the different Cognos 8 studios, and the reports based on different packages and data sources. The drill-through path defined in the drill-through definition is available to any report based on the source package.

A drill-through definition contains:

You can specify drill-through paths for packages using Drill-through Definitions in Cognos Connection. Any source report created in the package can drill through to targets defined in any other package if the users select information in their source report that is within the scope of the drill-through path. For example, all reports authored in the Great Outdoors Company sample package can access any drill-through definition created in this package.

You can create a new drill-through definition , or edit an existing one . Before you create a drill-through definition, you must understand some important concepts about drill-through access .

The target report must be created before you start creating the drill-through definition in Cognos Connection. Drill-through targets can be reports, analyses, report views, and queries. If you want the target report to be filtered with the values passed from the source, ensure that the target report contains parameters.

Drill-through definitions support both dimensional and relational packages, and are available to Analysis Studio, Query Studio, and Cognos Viewer.

Steps to Set Up Target Parameters
  1. Open the target report

  2. Create a parameter that will serve as the drill-through column, or that will be used to filter the report.

    For example, to drill through or filter on Product line, create a parameter that looks like this:

    [Product line]=?prodline_p?

    Tip: Use the operators in or in_range if you want the target report to accept multiple values, or a range of values.

  3. In the Usage box, specify the action to take when the target parameter is not fulfilled as part of a drill-through action.

Note: The drill-through definition controls when prompt pages or parameters are displayed.

Steps to Create a Drill-through Definition
  1. In Cognos Connection, in the upper-right corner, click Launch, Drill-through Definitions.

  2. Click a package name to create a new drill-through definition for that package.

    This package is considered the source package and the drill-through definition you are creating will be available by default to any report in this package.

  3. Click the new drill-through definition button  on the toolbar.

  4. Type a name for the drill-through and, if you want, a description and screen tip. Click Next.

  5. Set the scope and target, and click Next.

    The scope specifies whether the target report in the drill-through definition is available to the user in the Related Links page. If you want to make the target report available regardless of what is included in the report, in the Set the scope page, click Entire package, which is the default setting for scope. For more information, see Scope

    The target report can be based on any package in Cognos Connection, but when drill-through definitions cross packages, you must consider the data types used in both the source and the target, and ensure that the created parameters are appropriate for your scenario. For more information, see Conformed Dimensions and Business Keys.

    The target report can be located anywhere in Cognos Connection. The user must have execute permissions for the report to use it in a drill-through.

  6. Specify the target details.

Steps to Edit an Existing Drill-through Definition
  1. In Cognos Connection, in the upper-right corner, click Launch, Drill-through Definitions.

  2. Click a package name to view its drill-through definitions.

  3. Click the set properties button  on the actions toolbar to the right of the drill-through definition that you want to modify.

  4. Click the Target tab.

  5. Make the necessary modifications, and click OK.

Set Up a Drill-through Target in Analysis Studio

You can create a drill-through target analysis and add target parameters in the analysis by setting a dimension or a level as the Go To parameter. Set the dimension as the Go To parameter for drill-down and drill-through within the dimension. This will allow you to perform a drill-down or drill-through action, but only the level, which is currently in your view, is passed. This applies to any query, report, or analysis used in Cognos 8 drill-through action. A source report can then pass the current selection of values to the target analysis.

You can set multiple parameters in an analysis target. However, you cannot pass members within a selection set in Analysis Studio.

Steps
  1. In Analysis Studio, create a cross-tab analysis using the package that was set up for drill-through analysis.

  2. If you want, add as a row or column the data item that you want to be the prompt.

  3. Move or add the dimension or level that you want to be a target parameter to the Context area.

    Note: You cannot pass members within a selection set in Analysis Studio.

  4. View the list for the item in the Context area and click Use as "Go To" Parameter.

  5. Save this analysis as your target report in Cognos Connection.

    You can now create the drill-through definition under a source package.

When you create the drill-through definition and use the cross-tab analysis as a target, the Go To parameter item in the analysis appears as a drill-through parameter. You can map to this parameter the same way that you drill through to Report Studio or Query Studio reports.

Debugging a Drill-through Definition

Cognos 8 includes a debugging functionality that you can use to find problems with your drill-through definitions created in Cognos Connection, and to correct any drill-through errors. It can also help you understand how the drill-through functionality works, especially across different types of data sources. This functionality is also referred to as the Drill-through Assistant.

The Drill-through Assistant provides the following information:

Passed Source Values

Shows the values selected by the user when invoking the drill-through action that are available for passing to the target report. For example, if you drill through from a source in Analysis Studio, you see the values at the intersection you selected prior to the drill-through action, as well as any values in the context area. The values in the debug list are the values in the source report that were not transformed by any drill-through operation.

Target Mapping

Shows the name of the parameter that was mapped in the drill-through definition, and the values that the source is attempting to pass to that parameter.

Access the Drill-through Assistant

You can use the Drill-through Assistant for debugging purposes when you work with drill-through definitions in Cognos Connection.

To use the this functionality, you must have the required permissions for the Drill Through Assistant secured function in Cognos Administration.

Steps
  1. Select a link in your source report, right-click the link, and select Go To, Related Links.

    The Related links page is displayed with the list of available target reports. If your target report is not shown, review the scope settings in your drill-through definition.

  2. Click View passed source values to see the values that are available for passing by the source report.

  3. Next to the target report, click the down arrow and choose one of the following options:

Example - Debugging a Drill-through Definition

Your OLAP source has a Products dimension with the levels Line, Type, and Name. You have defined a parameter in your relational target to match each level of that OLAP source dimension. You can have a situation where you see all target parameters from a single dimension displayed in the View Mapped Target list. This is likely because the individual target parameters are mapped to a single dimension in the drill-through definition, in this case the Products dimension. In your OLAP data source, you have a business key value, or the source value used to create the members, that is duplicated in all three levels.

Parameter Name

Display Value

Use Value

Prod Line Param

Camping Equipment

1

Product Type Param

Cooking Gear

1

Product Name Param

Trail Chef Water Bag

1

Having all three parameters mapped to the Products dimension is correct if the use values are not duplicated in the dimension. In the above table, you can see that members from all three levels have the same use value. In this case the drill-through operation cannot determine which level is the correct one because the scenario indicates that all levels are valid. In this situation, the first level encountered with a valid business key or use value is fulfilled by the drill-through definition. This can result in unexpected behavior.

This example shows why it is important to always ensure that your data warehouses and OLAP sources are designed with unique business keys or source values. To correct this situation, the drill-through definition should have each individual target parameter mapped to each associated level in the source metadata rather than in the dimension.