- Launch Query Studio
- Query Studio High-Level Interface
- Report Types
- Open an Existing Report
- Create a List Report
- Run the Report
- Change Layout
- Create a Crosstab Report
- Create Filters
- Summarize Report
- Sort Data
- Create Calculations
- Create Charts
- Define Conditional Styles
- In a Nutshell: Reviewing by IBM Cognos BI Audience
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Report Types
You can create both relational and dimensional reports using Query Studio. You should choose to create a relational report if you do not require drill-up and drill-down capability. Dimensional reports are appropriate if you need to drill up and drill down the data. The package type, relational or dimensional, is designed by the metadata modeler for you. Figure 5.2 illustrates the different options available to you in the relational and dimensional model, and how they appear in the user interface.
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Figure 5.2. Relational and dimensional model structures.
Relational Style
Relational style reports use relational data sources. You can create List, Crosstab, and Charts using relational data.
In the Insert Data menu the metadata tree is organized in Namespaces, which contain Query Subjects, as shown in Figure 5.2. Query Subjects are like tables in a database that contain logically related items together. Query Subjects are made of one or more Query Items. You can compare Query Items to columns in a table. You may either drag and drop an entire Query Subject in to your List report or selected query items.
Dimensional Style
To work with dimensional style reports, you should work with dimensionally modeled relational data sources or an OLAP data source. When working with the dimensional style, the Insert Data menu shows in the data tree: dimensions and members.
Before you build your report in Query Studio, you should become familiar with the objects available to you in the dimensional model. Listed next are objects you can use to build your Query Studio report. These options are also illustrated in Figure 5.2.
Namespaces are logical or functional groupings of dimensions and measures.
Dimensions are logical groupings of descriptive data that aligns with a business function, for example, Branch, Order Method, Products, as demonstrated in Figure 5.2. Dimensions are further made up of levels, members, and hierarchy. Levels and members provide detailed information about the dimension.
Hierarchy is the further grouping of data within the dimension and determines the navigation paths available for the dimension.
Members contains members for the hierarchy or level.
Level defines the position within the dimensional hierarchy that contains information at the same level of detail with common attributes. Each level has its own set of items that show up as rows or columns in a crosstab report. This information is derived from the underlying data source.
The data tree may appear as shown in Figure 5.2, for example, Package > Folder > Namespace > Fact > Measure. In the same namespace you can have Dimension > Hierarchy > Level > Level Attribute > Member.
Dimensions, Measures, hierarchies, and more are explained in further detail in Chapter 11, “IBM Cognos Framework Manager.”
Using Query Studio you can build List, Crosstab, and Chart reports. One report type is not better than the other; the choice is typically guided by the preference of the report audience and purpose of the report.
List, Crosstab, and Chart Reports
A List report is a good option when you want to display detailed information in a tabular format. By default, repeated information displays multiple times until you group the data on one or more repeated columns as needed for your reports. Use the Group or Ungroup option from the toolbar. You can define Headers, Footers, and Summaries using a List report.
Crosstab reports are ideal for matrix type reports where you can have data items in rows and columns and numeric value, that is, a measure or metric, in the intersection cells. You can nest a Crosstab report by adding rows and columns or even measures. Crosstab reports enable you to enhance the reports and broaden the perspective using nested rows and columns. You can also display multiple measures in the same report to provide a comparison between different key performance indicators or metrics.
Use Charts to display data graphically. These are best-suited for showing key information quickly. There are many chart types available to you for use. Some of them are discussed later in this chapter. Query Studio supports Column, Line, Column and Line, Area, Bar, Pie, and Radar chart types. When working with charts you can choose the chart to be Standard, Stacked, 100 Percent Stacked, or 3-D Axis.