Cognos Analytics

Data table

When the rest of the world calls an object with rows and columns a table, we named it a List. The List in Cognos reporting is more than just a list. It’s a HTML table where authors can insert different types of objects inside. It is a powerful data container for authors who need the flexibility to customize content. It renders on the Cognos server, which means any interaction a user performs on the List require the report to re-execute and to re-render. Not always ideal.

In order to provide better interactive user experience, I'm excited to announce a new data container that uses similar rendering technology as all the 11.1 visualizations. This time we named it what it is, a Data table.

After the initial execution of the report, data will be retrieved and stored in JSON format in a browser caching storage for Data table. Data table can interact with this data storage without re-executing queries against the datasource. Report authors and report consumers can interact with the data table through expand/collapse, filtering, reside column width, etc without needing the entire report to re-render.

Expand/collapse

This feature can be enabled by using "Grouping & summary" property. Expand & collapse is only available when group header is enabled. When group footer is enabled, expand & collapse will be disabled. Report authors can also customize the expand & collapse indicator shape and color.

Authors can also control the initial state of expand & collapse by using property called “Initially collapsed”. We are trying very hard to make property names self-explanatory, so I don’t have to explain them one by one in this blog 😊.

However, I do think it’s worth clarify this property “Collapsed values text”. When a group is collapsed, there needs to be a way to indicate to report users that multiple lines of data is hidden. This is where report authors can customize what text to display. This property also supports localization.

Show column filters

Another handy feature included in Data table is the ability to filter directly on column headers. Authors have the option to enable or disable this for report consumers. This is browser side filtering that effects Data table only. It uses data that’s cached in the data storage instead of re-querying the datasource.

Custom indicators

Instead of displaying actual measures, you can replace it with indicators. This is available from the properties when selecting a measure column. Currently we support when the condition is positive, zero, or negative. Going forward, we would like to expand this to more options.

You can absolutely get creative with using HTML indicators. For example, this example shows you how to use different images in the column.

The Data table only supports HTML format in the current release. We are investing ways to have this also render in other formats such as PDF in future releases.

Visualization improvements

Measure groups

Measure groups provide the ability to compare multiple measures in a visualization. In 11.1.6, we can support multiple measures for column and bar charts only. However, we will enable many more visualization types in 11.1.7.

There is no limit on the number of measures you can include in a measure group. When multiple measures are authored, we automatically create and place a data item for either the color slot or the categorical slot depending on the visualization.

Drill up and drill down

Drill up and down is also available in this release for 11.1 visualizations when using dimensional datasource. Users can perform drill up and down through the OnDemand toolbar. We understand that may not always be the quickest way to navigate, hence we’ve also made drill down available through double-click on the chart body. Drill up and down is supported for all visualization types except Boxplot, Bullet and Map.

Maps

Categorical color

We’ve always supported continues palette to show measures range from min to max. Another interesting usecase is to use different colors to color different regions categorically, such as the example showing below. This is a great way to group geographical locations. To use this feature, authors can simple drag categorical data onto the Color slot in a map visualization.

Invalid Latitude and Longitude

Prior to 11.1.6 version, we’ve always mapped invalid latitude and longitude points to [0,0] automatically, which is not technically correct. As of 11.1.6, we will no longer map invalid data points, and the legend will also be updated to reflect this. Authors should always check the warning message we provide to confirm data accuracy.

Multiple datapoints are mapped to a single location on a map
There has been a behavior change if your location data format is inconsistent. Please see this technote for details: 
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6199115