Running reports

This section describes how to run a report.

About this task

To run a report using Report Studio:

  1. Make sure that you have validated the report.
  2. Click Run > Run Options. Set the following options in the Run Options window or leave the default values unchanged:
    • Format, which defines whether the report is generated in HTML, PDF, Excel, CSV, or XML format
    • Paper size, which you need to specify only if the output format is PDF
    • Paper orientation, to be specified if the output format is PDF
    • Data mode, which specifies how much data is returned by the report query. You can select All data to ignore the design mode filters set in the package, Limited data to limit the data depending on the design mode filters defined, and No data to return dummy data instead of data from a real data source.
    • Language, which specifies the language in which the report is displayed
    • Rows per page, which defines the number of rows to be displayed on a report page. You can override this option by using the Rows per page option in the Properties pane.
    • Prompt, which you can use to make sure that you are prompted for each run defined in the report.
  3. To continue, click OK. Note that these options are only valid for the current session. When you close Report Studio, the options return to the default settings.
  4. On the toolbar, click the Run icon. You can produce a report in HTML, PDF, CSV, various Excel formats, and XML formats. You cannot produce a report in CSV format if you have more than one query defined in the report unless the additional queries are used for prompts. The report runs in IBM® Cognos® Viewer.
If you run the report again in CSV or XLS format, the report opens in a new browser window. The options available in IBM Cognos Viewer depend on the permissions set for the user by the administrator.
You might find the following additional features useful while running reports:
  • You can save report outputs to a file system.
  • You can specify not to render a report page if it does not contain any data.
  • If you run a report that uses functions or features not supported by the data source, an error message is displayed.
  • If you want to clear parameter values stored on the IBM Cognos 8 server, click File > Clear Parameter Values. Parameter values stored by the Cognos 8 server include signon, validation, and prompt information. For example, if you define two data source connections in IBM Cognos Connection that point to the same data source, you will be prompted to choose one when you run a report. This information is stored so that you will not be prompted each time you run the report.
  • If you want to view only the tabular data, click Run > View Tabular Data. If the report contains multiple queries, you must first click an object, such as a list or crosstab, that uses the query for which you want to view the tabular data. Use this command to make sure that the correct results are displayed.
    Note: You can also view tabular data in Query Explorer, which is useful when you are building queries.

For more information, see the Report Studio Professional Authoring User Guide.


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