Cognos ReportNet (TM) Readme

COGNOS (R) ENTERPRISE BUSINESS 

INTELLIGENCE 

COGNOS REPORTNET (TM) 

README 

ReportNet (TM) Readme 

01-10-2003 

Cognos ReportNet 

1.02MR1 

Type the text for the HTML TOC entry 



ReportNet (TM) Readme 

ReportNet (TM) Version 1.02 MR1 

1.02 MR1 

Readme 

THE NEXT LEVEL 

OF PERFORMANCE TM

Product Information 

This document applies to ReportNet (TM) Version 1.02 MR1 and may also apply to subsequent releases. To check for newer versions of this 

document, visit the Cognos support Web site (http://support.cognos.com). 

This edition published 2003. 

Copyright 

Copyright (C) 2003 Cognos Incorporated 

While every attempt has been made to ensure that the information in this document is accurate and complete, some typographical errors or 

technical inaccuracies may exist. Cognos does not accept responsibility for any kind of loss resulting from the use of information contained in 

this document. 

This document shows the publication date. The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. Any 

improvements or changes to either the product or the document will be documented in subsequent editions. 

U.S. Government Restricted Rights. The software and accompanying materials are provided with Restricted Rights. Use, duplication, or 

disclosure by the Government is subject to the restrictions in subparagraph (C)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software 

clause at DFARS 252.227-7013, or subparagraphs (C) (1) and (2) of the Commercial Computer Software - Restricted Rights at 

48CFR52.227-19, as applicable. The Contractor is Cognos Corporation, 15 Wayside Road, Burlington, MA 01803. 

This software/documentation contains proprietary information of Cognos Incorporated. All rights are reserved. Reverse engineering of this 

software is prohibited. No part of this software/documentation may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, 

transmitted in any form or by any means, or translated into another language without the prior written consent of Cognos Incorporated. 

Cognos and the Cognos logo are trademarks of Cognos Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other names are 

trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. 

Information about Cognos Products and Accessibility can be found at www.Cognos.com

Table of Contents 

Cognos ReportNet 1.02 MR1 Readme 5 

Installation and Configuration 5 

Product Limitations 8 

Known Issues - General 8 

Known Issues - Authentication 10 

Known Issues - Cognos Connection 12 

Known Issues - Report Studio 12 

Known Issues - Query Studio 13 

Known Issues - Framework Manager 13 

Known Issues - Third-Party Data Source Access 16 

Documentation Updates - Installation and Configuration Guide 16 

Documentation Updates - Administration and Security Guide 18 

Documentation Updates - Framework Manager User Guide 20 

Documentation Updates - Report Studio User Guide 20 

Documentation Updates - Using SAP BW Data Sources 22 

Index 31 

Readme 3

4 Cognos ReportNet (TM)

Cognos ReportNet 1.02 MR1 Readme 

This Readme contains late-breaking information, including installation issues, limitations, and 

known issues. 

The documentation included in this release is current as of October 1, 2003. 

To view a complete list of environments currently supported by Cognos products, such as 

operating systems, patches, browsers, Web servers, directory servers, and database servers, 

visit the Cognos support Web site (http://support.cognos.com). 

Installation and Configuration 

Upgrading from ReportNet 1.01 to ReportNet 1.02 

If you uninstalled ReportNet 1.01 and plan to install ReportNet 1.02 in the same location, before 

you install ReportNet 1.02, delete the file mdds_config.xml from the crn_location/configuration 

directory. 

Upgrade Message in Cognos Configuration 

After you upgrade to ReportNet 1.02, the first time you start Cognos Configuration, a message 

notifies you that an upgrade is occurring. This message appears each time you open Cognos 

Configuration until you save the configuration. This message does not cause any side effects. 

To remove the message, save the configuration. 

Upgrading WAR Files 

When you upgrade ReportNet from an earlier release, you must regenerate all .war files using 

the current version of ReportNet and the appropriate third party application server, such as 

WebLogic or WebSphere. 

All ReportNet Components Must Be the Same Version 

All components in a ReportNet installation must be the same version. If you upgrade ReportNet, 

you must upgrade all components. This applies to the following components: 

• report server 

• Content Manager 

• gateway 

• Framework Manager 

• Software Development Kit (SDK) 

Upgrading Tomcat 

ReportNet includes and uses Tomcat 4.1.18 as its application server. This version of Tomcat is 

normally shipped with the Xerces parser version 2.1.0. However, Cognos upgraded Xerces to 

version 2.3.0. If you download a different version of Tomcat, which isn't shipped with Xerces 

2.3.0 or later, you should manually upgrade the version of Xerces to version 2.3.0 or later. To do 

so, replace the Xerces files located in the crn_location/tomcat4.1.18/common/endorsed 

directory with the files for Xerces version 2.3.0 or later. 

Error in Cognos Configuration 

If you do not use Java version 1.3.1, Cognos Configuration generates an error. 

To avoid this problem, open the crn_location/configuration/crconfig.prefs file in an editor, type 

the following line of code 

JavaVersionCheck=1 



and then save the file and exit the editor. 

Starting Query Studio in Preview Mode 

You can configure Query Studio to launch in preview mode. This mode allows users to create or 

modify reports without retrieving actual data from the database. Instead, simulated data is 

shown. 

If you upgrade ReportNet, you must re-apply this configuration. 

Steps to Enable the Preview Mode 

1. Using Cognos Configuration, stop ReportNet. 

2. Rename the crn_location\templates\ps\async\system.xml.sample file to system.xml. 

3. Using Cognos Configuration, start ReportNet. 

Steps to Restore the Regular Mode 

1. Using Cognos Configuration, stop ReportNet. 

2. Rename the crn_location\templates\ps\async\system.xml file to system.xml.sample. 

3. Using Cognos Configuration, start ReportNet. 

Launching ReportNet With an Alternate Gateway Configuration 

If you configured ReportNet to use a gateway other than the default CGI program, to launch 

ReportNet, type the URL that corresponds to your gateway. 

ISAPI 

http://server_name/crn/isapi 

Apache Connector 

Win32: http://server_name/crn/cgi-bin/mod_cognos.dll 

Solaris and AIX: http://server_name/crn/cgi-bin/mod_cognos.so 

HPUX: http://server_name/crn/cgi-bin/mod_cognos.sl 

Gateway Servlet 

http://server_name:9300/ServletGateway/servlet/Gateway 

CGI 

http://server_name/crn 

ReportNet Temp Location 

To avoid errors, ensure that the report server computer has write permissions and sufficient disk 

space in the crn_location/temp directory. 

Netscape 4.7x Web Browser Not Supported 

This version of ReportNet does not support version 4.7x of the Netscape Web browser. 

Order to Start Servers in a Distributed Environment 

To ensure proper load balancing between all the ReportNet report servers in a distributed 

installation, the server that is specified in Cognos Configuration in the External Dispatcher URI 

property on the gateway server must be the last server that you start. 



No Response Error When Starting the ReportNet Service 

When you start the ReportNet service, by default, Cognos Configuration verifies the progress of 

the start request every half second over the course of three minutes. If Cognos Configuration 

doesn’t receive a response within this allowed time, the following error is generated while the 

ReportNet services continues to start: 

CFG-ERR-0106 Cognos Configuration received no response from the Cognos ReportNet 

service in the alloted time. Check that Cognos ReportNet service is available and properly 

configured. 

To avoid this error, you can change the amount of time that Cognos Configuration allows to 

receive a response from the ReportNet service. You do this by configuring the 

ServiceWaitInterval and ServiceMaxTries properties in the 

crn_location/configuration/crconfig.prefs file. 

The ServiceWaitInterval property represents the time interval, in milliseconds, that Cognos 

Configuration performs the verifications. By default, its value is 500, which is equivalent to half a 

second. 

The ServiceMaxTries property represents the number of times that Cognos Configuration 

performs the verifications. By default, its value is 360. 

Steps 

1. Using Cognos Configuration, stop the ReportNet service. 

2. Open the crn_location/configuration/crconfig.prefs file in an editor. 

Tip: If this file does not exist, create it. This file is created automatically the first time you 

open Cognos Configuration. 

3. Add the following code to the file: 

ServiceWaitInterval=500 

ServiceMaxTries=360 

Tip: Add the numeric values that correspond to your configuration needs. 

4. Save the file. 

5. Using Cognos Configuration, start the ReportNet service. 

BI Bus Server Processes Remains in Memory After a Shutdown 

On rare occasions, the processes for the BI Bus server, BIBusTKServerMain, may stay in 

memory after you perform a normal shutdown. If this occurs, terminate the processes manually. 

• On Windows, in the Windows Task Manager, click the Processes tab, click the 

BIBusTKServerMa processes, and then click End Process. 

• On Unix, use the ps command to find the orphan processes. For example, type ps -ef | 

grep BIBus. Then, use the kill -9 command to terminate the processes. For example, type 

kill -9 [BIBus pid], where pid represents the process identification. 

Changing the Location of Data Files 

In Cognos Configuration, if you change the value of the Data files location property, the new 

value is ignored. The data files are always created in the crn_location/data directory. 

Configuring an SAP BW Server as a Namespace 

You can use an SAP BW server as a namespace with ReportNet. To do so, depending on your 

environment, you may have to add the SAP router string to the SAP host name. When you 

configure the namespace, 

• in the Properties window, in the Value box next to the Host property, type the SAP router 

string. For example, type /H/sapgate1/S/3297/H/host_name 



Product Limitations 

Cognos Configuration 

The default value for the Dispatcher Maximum Memory setting may be set too low for a UNIX 

installation. In Cognos Configuration, in the Explorer window, expand Environment, 

ReportNet Service, click Cognos ReportNet, and change the Dispatcher Maximum Memory 

setting to 256MB or higher. 

When you view Series 7 entries in Cognos Connection, carriage returns and extra spaces in the 

Name and Description boxes for the entries are not shown. 

Report Studio and Query Studio 

When ReportNet concatenates strings locally and if any of the involved strings contain null 

values, the result of the concatenation is an empty cell or a null value. This occurs because 

ReportNet requires that an expression that involves a null value returns a null value. Many 

databases ignore null strings when they perform concatenations. For example, if you 

concatenate strings A, B, and C, and if string B is a null value, the database may concatenate 

only strings A and C. 

Query Studio 

In Query Studio, when filtering a column that contains date intervals, you cannot enter negative 

numbers in the range of values. For example, you are unable to filter from the lowest value to -2 

days. 

Known Issues - General 

Internet Explorer 6 Web Browser Hangs 

A known issue exists in the Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Web browser that can cause it to lock 

up, to fail to communicate with the Web server, or to fail to display Web pages properly. These 

problems cause the Web browser to hang when you perform certain operations in Report 

Studio, such as saving a report or loading metadata in the Insertable Objects pane. Also, the 

Web browser may not show icons properly. These problems occur mainly on Internet Explorer 6 

on Windows XP. 

To fix this problem, contact Microsoft customer support to obtain the fix and refer to the issue 

"Hot fix for incident SRX030415603670". You can also disable the HTTP Keep-Alives on the 

Web server using the Microsoft IIS administrator console. 

Incorrect Calendar Control in Netscape 7.x Web Browser 

The calendar control generates an incorrect calendar when using a Netscape 7.x Web browser. 

Although the correct date is highlighted and passed as a parameter, the calendar itself is 

generated for the wrong year. For example August 25, 2003 shows as a Saturday, when it 

should be a Monday. 

Using Non-7-bit ASCII Punctuation Characters in Expressions 

When you create expressions in Framework Manager and Report Studio, punctuation 

characters, such as the question mark (?), must be in 7-bit ASCII character code. If you type a 

punctuation character from a multi-byte enabled keyboard, ensure that you type the 7-bit ASCII 

representation of the character. For example, type ALT+063 for the question mark. 

Deploying the Entire Content Store 

When you export an entire content store, the export and import deployment specifications that 

exist in the source content store are exported. However, their deployment histories are not 

exported. When you later import the entire content store, you also import the export and import 

deployment specifications. However, you do not see any entries in the View the deployment 

history page for the imported specifications. 



In addition, if any of the import deployment specifications are used for an encrypted deployment 

archive, they are not usable. You can delete them. To import an entire content store the first 

time, you must create a new import deployment specification. 

These problems do not occur if you export and import selected packages and directory content. 

In this case, export and import deployment specifications are not deployed. 

Deployment Fails When Deploying a Large Volume of Content 

A deployment may fail or you may encounter performance issues when you deploy a large 

volume of content. To avoid these problems, we recommend that you deploy content in smaller 

groups. For example, deploy a single package rather than multiple packages. 

Deployment Fails When Entry Names Contain an Ampersand 

If the ReportNet content store uses an Oracle database, and if you deploy entries that contain 

the ampersand character (&) in their names, the deployment fails. Avoid using this special 

character in entry names. 

Characters Appear Incorrectly with Apache 2.0 Web Server 

By default Apache 2.0 adds a character set specification to the HTTP headers returned for static 

pages. The character set is specified with the AddDefaultCharset setting in httpd.conf. This 

header value forces Web browsers to interpret the characters on the page as belonging to that 

character set and overrides any character set specification sent as a tag in the page 

source. This can cause certain characters to render incorrectly when you use an Apache 2.0 

Web server with a default configuration. To avoid this issue, you may have to change the 

AddDefaultCharset ISO-8859-1 

directive in the Apache http.conf file to 

AddDefaultCharset Off 

Running ReportNet Under IBM WebSphere 

If you run ReportNet under IBM WebSphere 4, the BIBusTKServerMain process opens a new 

window on the server console. 

Non-English Characters Appear as Placeholders 

ReportNet and Framework Manager are Unicode applications. A Unicode application permits 

handling of content in any language, or any combination of languages. 

However, if your database contains non-English characters, and if the database client is not 

configured to receive these characters, some characters may appear as placeholder characters, 

such as boxes or inverted question marks. To avoid this problem, ensure that your database 

clients are properly configured. For more information, see your database vendor documentation. 

For Oracle 9, you can force the use of Unicode at the client by ensuring that there is a system 

environment variable NLS_LANG set to "xxx.UTF8", where xxx is whatever is needed for other 

applications on that computer. If there are none, the value can be simply ".UTF8". 

For more information about configuring your database for multilingual reporting, see the 

Administration and Security Guide. 

While enforcing the use of Unicode at the database client guarantees that it can handle 

multilingual data, certain characters in some character sets may still appear incorrectly, such as 

Japanese Shift-JIS. For more information about configuring Shift-JIS characters, see the 

Administration and Security Guide. 

Reports That Contain Oversized Images and Charts Do Not Appear 

If objects in a PDF report, such as images and charts, are sized higher than the page height, the 

report does not appear. To avoid this problem, set the height for such an object to equal or 

smaller than the page height. 



Viewing Report Outputs from Email Links 

When a report is distributed by email, no error message is displayed if the report output from 

the email link is not available, such as when the output is deleted or when the user does not 

have permissions to the report. Instead, a ReportNet SOAP response is returned. 

You are unable to view the report output from the email link when Allow Anonymous Access is 

set to true and when the Anonymous user does not have access to the report output. 

When you run a secured report from an email link and when Allow Anonymous Access is set to 

true, a passport is automatically issued to the Anonymous user. The Anonymous user is not 

prompted to log on and is unable to view the report output. 

Burst Reports Fail When Using Two Namespaces 

If you use two or more namespaces in your third-party authentication provider, you are unable to 

distribute a burst report when you use the email address stored in a user’s CAM ID. If you want 

to distribute a burst report by email when using multiple namespaces, use the actual email 

address in the recipient column instead of the CAM ID. 

Unable to Print PDF Reports When Printer Names Use Extended or Double-Byte ASCII 

Characters 

ReportNet uses the Adobe Acrobat Reader to print PDF reports. You may encounter problems 

when printing reports if the printer name contains characters other than the first 127 ASCII 

characters. This problem occurs even if the standalone Acrobat Reader is able to print to the 

printer. We recommend that you use only the first 127 ASCII characters for printer names. 

Known Issues - Authentication 

Unable to Use the Trusted Signon Plug-in to Authenticate in a Series 7 Namespace 

You can configure a Series 7 directory server to use a trusted signon plug-in to provide the 

authentication information for a user and to achieve a single signon. If a Series 7 namespace 

uses such a directory server, ReportNet users are still prompted for authentication when they 

select the Series 7 namespace. Users are not automatically logged on with the trusted signon 

plug-in. 

Unique User Identification 

To use an existing external authentication provider with ReportNet, you must ensure that users' 

display names or logical names are unique. Before integrating an external authentication 

provider with ReportNet, you should edit the values of the attribute in the authentication source 

that sets the display name, to make each display name unique. 

For this release, these are the supported authentication providers and their corresponding 

attributes. 

• Windows native security (NTLM), either your LAN security or users on your local computer - 

full name attribute 

• Active Directory namespace - name attribute 

• third-party LDAP server that supports version 3 of the LDAP protocol for user authentication 

- cn is the default attribute, but you can choose to use a different attribute 

If you use the namespace in the directory server that you used for your Cognos Series 7 

products, no changes are required. 

Unable to Authenticate in LDAP Namespace 

If more than one entry is returned from the directory server when ReportNet searches for the 

users’ DN for authentication, the first retrieved value is used. Therefore if the intended login is for 

any subsequent entry, that user is unable to log in. 



For example, the user logging into ReportNet enters scarter and the search performed for 

authentication returns uid=scarter, ou=GroupA, ou=People, o=company.com and uid=scarter, 

ou=GroupB, ou=People, o=company.com. All logon attempts for the user scarter will use the 

first entry. Therefore, the second user scarter is unable to log on and, while attempting to do so, 

may exceed the incorrect password limit and lock out the first user. 

A search is only performed for authentication when the User lookup property specifies a search 

filter. The User lookup property is defined in LDAP namespace configuration section of Cognos 

Configuration. 

Unable to Authenticate In a Netegrity SiteMinder(R) Namespace 

When you log on a Netegrity SiteMinder(R) namespace, you may encounter one of the following 

errors: 

Unable to authenticate. 

The provider is not initialized. The function call to ''Sm_AgentApi_Init'' failed with error code: 

''-1''. 

If you encounter the first error, the user session variables may be disabled for the Netegrity 

SiteMinder(R) agent. For information about how to re-enable them, see your Netegrity 

SiteMinder(R) documentation. The variable that ReportNet requires is 

SM_SERVERSESSIONSPEC. 

If you encounter the second error, ensure that, in Cognos Configuration, the agent name 

specified in the properties for the Netegrity SiteMinder(R) namespace is correct. Also, if you use 

Netegrity SiteMinder(R) version 5.x, ensure that the agent you use supports 4.x agents. For 

more information, see your Netegrity SiteMinder(R) documentation. 

Unable to Authenticate in an Active Directory Namespace 

If the Content Manager service runs under the local system account and runs on a computer 

that is not part of the Active Directory domain, you are unable to authenticate in an Active 

Directory namespace if you specify only a user ID. You encounter an error indicating that your 

credentials are invalid or that your password has expired and you need to change it. 

To avoid this problem, you must qualify your user ID with the domain name. For example, when 

you log on, type domain\user ID. 

Importing VeriSign Certificates Causes Error 

When you try to import a VeriSign certificate using the ThirdPartyCertificateTool command, and 

if the certificate file is saved in a DER encoding, you encounter the following error: 

Not able to generate CA certificate. Cannot determine encoding format. 

To successfully import the VeriSign certificate, you must save the certificate file in a base-64 

encoding. To do this, use the Internet Explorer Certificate Viewer to import the certificate. When 

asked to specify what format to use when exporting the certificate, select the option Base-64 

encoded X.509 (.CER). 

Unable to Use a Series 7 Authentication Provider with IBM WebSphere or BEA WebLogic 

If you use a Series 7 authentication provider and an IBM WebSphere or BEA WebLogic 

application server, you may encounter the following issues: 

• If you have only one namespace configured, and it is a Series 7 namespace, and if the 

property Allow anonymous access is set to false in the Cognos namespace, the Cognos 

ReportNet service does not start. 

• If you have only one namespace configured, and it is a Series 7 namespace, and if the 

property Allow anonymous access is set to true in the Cognos Namespace, when users 

click Log on, they encounter the following error: 

The user is already authenticated in all available namespaces. 

• If you have more than one namespace configured, including a Series 7 namespace, the 

Series 7 namespace is not available when users are prompted to select a namespace. 



To use a Series 7 authentication provider, 

On Windows, modify the crn_location/bin/series7provider.ini file, as follows so that it uses 

full paths: 

COGNLSTAB=crn_location/bin/series7_coglang.tab 

SRVCMSGS=crn_location/bin/srvcmsgs_en.msg 

• On Unix, modify the crn_location/bin/series7provider.ini file, as follows so that it uses full 

paths: 

COGNLSTAB=crn_location/bin/series7_coglangtab 

SRVCMSGS=crn_location/bin/srvcmsgs_en.msg 

Then, set the environment variable COGNOS_HOME to point to the crn_location/bin 

directory. 

Known Issues - Cognos Connection 

Yen Currency Symbol 

The Yen currency symbol cannot be entered by typing the backslash character (\). Instead, 

select the double-byte Yen symbol. 

Changes Made to Members of a Group, Role, or Distribution List Are Not Saved 

In the Directory tool, changes that you make to the members of a group, role, or distribution list 

are not saved if you use the Set members link. This problem occurs if, in the Actions column, 

you click More, and then click Set members. 

To avoid this problem and change the members of a group, role, or distribution list, in the 

Actions column, click the Set properties button, and then click the Members tab. 

Known Issues - Report Studio 

Error Message When Starting Report Studio 

When you start Report Studio in Internet Explorer, the following error message may appear: 

The download of the specified resource has failed. 

This problem may be caused by recent Microsoft XMLHTTP upgrades and because you do not 

have a language preference set in Internet Explorer. 

To avoid this problem, add at least one language preference in Internet Explorer. 

Conditional Style and Drill Through Parameters 

If you define a drill-through target and a conditional style for the same column by selecting the 

column, the conditional style is not applied. 

To avoid this problem, you must define the drill-through target and the conditional style 

separately. To do so, unlock the column, select the text item and define the conditional style for 

the text. Then, select the column and define the drill-through target. 

Chart Labels Overwrite Each Other 

If you define a chart and render it in HTML or PDF format using the default sizes, the axis labels 

of the chart may overwrite each other. 

To avoid this problem, make the chart wider or taller by modifying the height and width 

properties of the chart. 

Defining a Custom Palette for a Chart That Includes a Gradient 

If you define a custom palette for a chart that includes a gradient, when the chart is rendered in 

HTML format, the chart background appears grey. This is a Microsoft Web browser issue. 

To avoid this problem, select the chart and define the color white as the chart background. 



Empty Blocks and Tables Do Not Render Properly 

If a report uses empty blocks, table rows, or table columns to space the report components, the 

report may not render properly. The recommended way to add spaces between report 

components is to define the padding or margin properties for the objects. If you use empty 

blocks, table rows, or table columns, define a height or width for them. 

Conditional Expressions 

When you create conditional expressions, avoid using characters that are used for expression 

operators in the column names. When you use such characters, syntax errors can occur when 

the expression is evaluated. For example, a column named Margin * 10 causes errors when 

used in a conditional expression such as [Margin * 10] < 20. 

Tooltips for Charts Appear Slowly in Japanese Operating System 

If you use the Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 Web browser on the same machine as where 

ReportNet is installed, and you use a Japanese operating system, the tooltips for charts appear 

very slowly in Report Studio. 

This problem is a known Microsoft issue and affects tooltips for many software products. To 

avoid this problem, you can upgrade the Web browser on the ReportNet computer to Internet 

Explorer version 6.0 or later. 

Unexpected Join Results in Report Studio 

To ensure the best SQL is generated in Report Studio, you must augment the projection list in 

Report Studio when you use heterogeneous joins. 

Ensure you include all the keys that you want in your report in the SQL. If you do not want to see 

the keys displayed, you can hide them in your report. 

In Framework Manager, the modeler can do one of the following to make it easier for report 

authors to recognize unique IDs in Report Studio: 

• collect the unique IDs for a query subject in a query item folder labeled UniqueIDs 

• use the screen tip to label each key as a unique ID 

Known Issues - Query Studio 

Filtering Interval Calculations 

If you create a filter on an column that contains an interval calculation, such as "Date1 - Date2", 

and if you select the Prompt every time the report runs check box, you encounter the 

following error: 

Unsatisfied parameter values are preventing the report from running. It is possible that a 

query used to populate a prompt control depends on a parameter from either the report or 

the model. 

Previewing Reports With No Data 

In Query Studio, if a report contains a chart and you run the report with the Preview with No 

Data option enabled, some actions may fail. For example, you may be unable to change the 

report title. The workaround for this problem is to click Cancel on the error page and then redo 

the action. 

Known Issues - Framework Manager 

Adding Data Security 

When you create security filters, they restrict data only for the groups that you specify. If you 

want to restrict data for all other users, which are not referenced in the existing security filters, 

then you must create an explicit security filter to do this. 

For example, create a security filter, add the group Everyone to the filter, and create the 

expression 1 = 0 for the group. 



For more information about security filters, see the Framework Manager User Guide. 

Levels Are Not Deleted When the Associated Query Item is Deleted 

Deleting a query item does not delete any corresponding levels in the dimensional information. 

To avoid this problem, delete the levels manually. 

Errors When Upgrading a Framework Manager Project 

When you upgrade the metadata in an earlier version of Framework, you may encounter some 

problems. 

Here are some things to consider: 

• Upgrade will not upgrade the project (.cpf) file. We recommend that you 

manually upgrade the project file. 

If your model is not segmented, replace the existing project file with the version of the 

project file from the templates folder, by copying the project file from the templates/bmt/CR1Model to the project folder. 

If your model is segmented, the project file contains information on the different model 

segments. The Beta version of the project file contains references to two files, 

bmtmodelspecification.xsd and cr1 behaviors.xml. These references are lowercase. You 

must manually upgrade the project file by opening the project file, and replacing the 

lowercase references for those files with these mixed case names: 

BMTModelSpecification.xsd and CR1 Behaviors.xml 

• If source control was used in an earlier version, the Repository.xml file will not be upgraded. 

You may have to create repository information. 

• Action log files are not upgraded. For more information about upgrading action log files, see 

the ReportNet Upgrade Guide. 

• The UI.xml file is no longer used in the latest version of Framework Manager, but it is not 

removed from the folder during the upgrade process. 

Errors Copying Query Item Currency Properties 

In the Properties pane, if you copy a query item currency property from one query item to 

another, the currency property does not get modified until you open the Format property for that 

query item, and click OK. 

Steps 

1. In a project, click a query item you want to modify. 

2. In the Properties pane, in the Format property, click the ellipsis button. 

3. Change the Format Type to Currency. 

4. From the Currency Properties list, click the three letter currency code that you want, and 

click OK. 

5. Ctrl+click another query item, and in the Properties pane, copy the Currency property from 

the first query item to the second. 

A message confirming success appears. 

6. In the copied Format property of the second query item, click the ellipsis button. 

In the Properties window, you see the three letter currency symbol. 

7. To accept the new currency format, click OK. 

Error Applying Design Mode Only Filter to More Than One Filter 

A query subject can have only one preview, or Design Mode Only, filter. 

If you apply the preview filter to more than one filter, the last filter set to Design Mode Only will 

be the one that functions in design mode. All other filters will be set to Always, regardless of 

whether they were previously set to Design Mode Only. 



Application May Terminate If the Data Source Cannot Be Found When Playing an Action Log 

File on AIX 

When you are playing an action log file, if the FindorCreateDataSource action cannot find the 

data source, the application may terminate without warning. 

This happens only on AIX. 

To avoid this problem, you must: 

• Test your data source connection. Ensure that the data source connection has been set up 

in Content Manager. 

• Ensure that the correct name for the data source is referenced in the action log file. 

• Ensure that the correct location of the data source is referenced in the action log file. 

Hierarchy Version Unaffected by Assigning a Fixed Version 

When using Framework Manager to model SAP BW data, you cannot control which version is 

accessible by assigning a fixed date or current date to a time dependant hierarchy, or by 

assigning a fixed version to a non time-dependant hierarchy. 

However, for a time-dependant hierarchy, you can set the date for a variable in the Framework 

Manager to include only the version of the hierarchy applicable to that date. 

Importing from Secured InfoCubes 

When you import an InfoQuery from a secured InfoCube, user role restrictions can cause a 

leaf-level attribute to be replicated at each level of the hierarchy, even when the attribute only 

applies to the leaf level. Therefore, it is important to verify the properties listed in the Import 

Wizard before you finish importing. 

Importing Multiple Languages 

When you import multiple languages from an InfoQuery to a Framework Manager model, not all 

of the object names retrieved from SAP BW appear in the correct language. To avoid this 

problem, you can re-save the InfoQuery in each of the login languages in BEx, and the correct 

language texts will show correctly in Framework Manager. 

Modeling Default Characteristic Value Variables 

If an SAP BW characteristic value variable has an incorrect default value, the hierarchy node 

prompt that represents that variable in Framework Manager will not highlight any default values. 

Therefore, you should verify that all default values are displayed correctly in Framework 

Manager. 

Securing Access to SAP BW Data 

Currently, the only way to secure access to SAP BW data is by configuring the access rules in 

SAP BW. You will be able to define additional security in Framework Manager for SAP BW data 

sources in future releases of Cognos ReportNet. 

Unable to Use Preview and Security Filters with Stored Procedure-based Query Subjects 

When you create a stored procedure-based query subject in Framework Manager, preview and 

security filters are not supported. 

Unable to Use User Views with Imported SAP BW 

User views are not supported for SAP BW-based models. 

SAP BW Issues that Affect Framework Manager 

During the import of multiple languages into a Framework Manager model from SAP BW, not all 

of the object names retrieved from SAP BW appear in the correct language. 



Known Issues - Third-Party Data Source Access 

IBM DB2 AS/400 V5R1 

IBM DB2 MVS 7.1 

A number of issues were identified with software components of third-party data sources that we 

support. We are managing the status of these problems with the respective vendors, but, at the 

time of this release, the following issues are still unresolved in the product. 

Currently, we do not support Synonyms. 

A query that uses MIN and SUM functions against two dimensions and two measures, and with 

no sort specified, generates errors. 

Microsoft SQL Server 6.0 and Later (via OLEDB) 

Queries with Date Filters that Contain >= Expressions 

Date filters that contain the expressions ">=" may cause the query to return incorrect rows. This 

is caused by incorrect rounding operations. 

For example, the query 

select distinct ORDERHEADER."ORDERDATE" AS "OrderDate" 

from "GOSALES1"."dbo"."ORDERHEADER" ORDERHEADER 

where ORDERHEADER."ORDERDATE" >= '2000-01-02 00:00:00.000' and 

ORDERHEADER."ORDERDATE"


Configure ReportNet to Use Alternate Gateways 

Install ReportNet on UNIX 

The following steps to configure an apache_mod gateway should be changed: 

• Step 8 

Add the following to the aliases section: 

ScriptAlias /crn/cgi-bin "crn_location/cgi-bin" 

Alias /crn "crn_location/webcontent" 

Alias /crn/help "crn_location/webcontent/documentation" 

 

Options Indexes MultiViews 

 

The directive is optional. 

Tip: Ensure that you define the crn/cgi-bin alias before the crn and crn/help aliases. 

• Step 10 

Add the following to the user directory section: 

 

CGIBinDir "crn_location/cgi-bin" 

 

In the Install ReportNet on UNIX topic, step 6 should be changed to 

• For HPUX installations, append the crn_location/bin directory to the SHLIB_PATH 

environment variable. If you install only the gateway component, append the 

crn_location/cgi-bin directory to the SHLIB_PATH environment variable. 

Create Data Source Connections to the Samples Databases 

When you create data source connections to the samples databases that are provided with 

ReportNet, the DB2 database names that you type must be in uppercase letters. Also, in 

Framework Manager, the schema names that you type for the DB2 data sources must be in 

uppercase letters. 

Step 7 should be changed to 

Do one of the following: 

• If you restored the samples databases in SQL Server, in the Server Name box, type the 

name of the server where the restored databases are located. In the Database name 

box, type gosl. 

• If you restored the samples databases in Oracle, in the SQL*Net connect string box, 

type the Oracle connection string. 

• If you restored the samples databases in DB2, in the DB2 database name box, type 

GOSL. The database name must be in uppercase letters. In the DB2 connect string 

box, type the DB2 connection string. 


Repeat steps 4 to 9 for the goretailers samples database. For DB2, type goretailers for the 

data source name and GORT for the database name. For SQL Server and Oracle, type 

goretailers for the data source name and gort for the database name. 

These changes also apply to the Administration and Security Guide. 

Modify the Sample Model for Oracle and DB2 


Click the Schema property, delete any existing setting, and type the name of the schema for 

Oracle or DB2 that you specified when you set up the data sources. The schema name is 

the name of the database. 

This change also applies to the Administration and Security Guide. 



Documentation Updates - Administration and Security Guide 

This section contains additions and corrections to the ReportNet Administration and Security 

Guide. 

Distributing a Report by Bursting 

Set Up Printers 

The following information should be added to the Distributing a Report by Bursting topic: 

If the burst report contains a drill-through link to another report and the burst report is distributed 

by email, set the email options to include a link to the report. Otherwise, if you include the report 

in the email, the drill-through links in the burst report will not work. 

The following information should be added to the Set Up Printers topic: 

When you create a printer entry, ensure that the printer you define is setup on the computer 

where ReportNet is installed. If the printer is not setup, ReportNet users are unable to use it. 

To set up printers, you must have execute permissions for the Administration secured function 

and you must have write permissions for the Cognos namespace. 

On a Windows installation, the Cognos ReportNet service is configured to run as a Local 

System Account by default. To use a shared network resource, such as a printer, the service 

must be logged in as a valid network account. 

Access Permissions 

In the Access Permissions chapter, the exceptions to the following rule are incorrect and should 

be removed. 

• Most permissions do not imply other permissions. 

Managing Data Source Connections 

In the Managing Data Source Connections topic, step 1 should be 

• On each computer where ReportNet is installed, open the 

crn_location/bin/CQEConfig.xml.sample file in an editor and rename it to CQEConfig.xml. 

Also, the following information should be added to this topic: 

The report server computer also maintains a pool of active requests, which are controlled by the 

following parameters: 

• RequestCacheLength 

Specifies the number of requests to keep in the cache, so that requests waiting for user 

interaction, such as a request for the next page of a report, can be executed more efficiently. 

Each cached request uses an active data source connection. The default value is 10. 

• RequestReleaseTimeout 

Specifies the number of seconds that requests waiting for user interaction are kept in the 

cache. Upon reaching the timeout period, cached requests are released. Releasing a 

requests also releases a data source connection. The default value is 300 seconds. 

• RequestCleanupInterval 

Specifies the interval at which cached requests are examined and considered for release 

when the report server is idle. When the report server is busy, cached requests are 

examined and considered for release as new requests arrive. The default value is 60 

seconds. 



Steps to Modify the warpproperties.xml File 

1. On each computer where ReportNet is installed, open the 

crn_location/configuration/warpproperties.xml.sample file in an editor and rename it to 

warpproperties.xml. 

2. Find the RequestReleaseTimeout, RequestCacheLength, and RequestCleanupInterval 

parameters and edit them as follows: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Save the warpproperties.xml file. 

4. Using Cognos Configuration, stop and then restart ReportNet. 

For more information about stopping ReportNet, see the configuration tool online help. 

Data Sources 

Isolation Levels 

For SAP BW data sources, the isolation level is read-only. 

ODBC Data Sources 

In the Data Sources chapter, the information about ODBC data sources should be changed to 

the following: 

When you create data sources and you select ODBC as the database type, ReportNet uses the 

OD database code in the connection string. 

The OD database code is generic for all ODBC data sources. However, because ReportNet on 

UNIX does not support all ODBC drivers, when you create data source connections to IBM Red 

Brick, Microsoft SQL Server, or NCR Teradata databases, you cannot select ODBC as the type 

of data source connection. To create an ODBC connection to these database vendors, use the 

Other type instead. 

For the following database vendors, add the associated database codes when you type the 

connection string. When you use these database codes in the connection string, the data 

source can be used on both Windows and UNIX. 

Securing Functions and Features 

In the Securing Functions and Features topic, in the fourth paragraph, the following sentence 

should be removed: 

• The relevant features are User Defined SQL and Bursting. 

The run as owner property does not apply to report capabilities. It is only applied at the 

database level, such as for signons and user rights for a specific database instance. 



Documentation Updates - Framework Manager User Guide 

This section contains a correction to the Framework Manager User Guide. 

Hierarchy Version Unaffected by Assigning a Fixed Version 

When you use Framework Manager to model SAP BW data, any versions or dates applied to a 

presentation hierarchy in BEx are not imported into the model. Therefore, all versions of the 

hierarchy are accessible in Framework Manager. 

For a time -dependant hierarchy, if a variable is defined in BEx to establish the effective date for 

the hierarchy, you should assign a fixed date to the variable in Framework Manager and include 

only the query subject which corresponds to that date in the model. 

ODBC Data Sources 

In Framework Manager, if you import metadata from a model that was created against an IBM 

Red Brick, Microsoft SQL Server, or NCR Teradata data source that uses OD in its connection 

string, you should change the Interface property to the appropriate data source code. In the 

Properties pane, expand the Type property, and change the Interface property setting. 

Documentation Updates - Report Studio User Guide 

This section contains additions and corrections to the Report Studio User Guide. 

Sales Territories Folder Is Renamed to Countries 

In the 'Try It Yourself Exercises' chapter of the Report Studio User Guide, there is an exercise 

named 'Try It Yourself: Create a Multi-Page Report'. This exercise refers to a folder named 

'Sales territories'. The name of this folder has been changed in the sample model to 'Countries'. 

Functions Not Available When Creating a Report or Layout Expression 

When you create a report expression or a calculation based on a layout expression, 

unsupported functions do not appear in the Functions tab of the Expression Editor. Specifically, 

there is no Summaries folder, and some operators, constants, and constructs are also 

unavailable. These functions are not available because only the database can execute them. 

Report expressions and calculations based on layout expressions are executed in Report 

Studio. 

To see the complete list of functions available in the Expression Editor, except for report 

functions, create a detail or group calculation. All functions are available when you create a 

detail or group calculation because these calculations are executed in the database and not in 

Report Studio. 

Filtering Date Columns 

Database systems use several data types to represent date and time values: 

• Date 

• Time 

• Timestamp 

While a timestamp type holds a date and time component, an application may allow the RDBMS 

to default the time component. That is, when rows are inserted, updated, or queried, the 

application may only specify a date value and leave the RDBMS to extend the value to include a 

default time (usually 00:00:00.000). 

The challenge with a timestamp is when the application has no immediate interest in the time 

component. For example, the business question "How many orders were taken today?" implies 

all orders taken irrespective of what time in the day the order was booked. If the application 

defaulted the time component as it stored rows, the query used to answer the question will 

return the count of orders taken today. If the application stored the actual time component, then 

the query will likely return no data, since the number of orders entered at midnight is probably 

zero. 



Relying on dates defaulting the time is potentially dangerous in the event that the application 

changes and starts to capture actual times. There are several ways in which you can avoid this 

potential problem: 

• create a derived column using a calculated expression 

• use the CAST function to cast the timestamp to a date 

• create a hi-low filter 

Create a Derived Column Using a Calculated Expression 

In the Framework Manager model, create a derived column using a calculated expression that 

truncates the time from a timestamp, and returns a timestamp containing the original date and a 

default time. For example, if you are using an Oracle data source, the expression 

Select COL1,trunc(COL1) as DATEONLY from [SCOTT_TIGER].DATES 

creates the derived column DATEONLY from COL1, where COL1 contains the values as stored 

by the application while DATEONLY contains the dates with the default time of 12:00:00 AM. 

Tip: You can change the data format of the column to only show the date value by specifying 

Short for the Date Style property. 

You can then apply filters to the DATEONLY column that would return the correct results. If you 

create a parameter in Report Studio that filters on this column, the default prompt will present a 

date and time control because the data type is still a timestamp. 

Use the CAST Function to Cast the Timestamp to a Date 

In the Framework Manager model, define a calculation that uses the CAST function to convert 

the timestamp to a date. For example, the expression 

cast ([SCOTT_TIGER].[DATES].[COL1].DATE) 

converts the data type of the column COL1 to date. 

If you create a parameter in Report Studio that filters on this calculation, the default prompt will 

present a date control. 

Create a Hi-Low Filter 

In the Framework Manager model, create a filter in the form date-column between date-lowtime 

and date-hightime. For example, the expression 

[SCOTT_TIGER].[DATES].[COL1] between ?p1? and 

cast(substring(?p1?,1,10),’23:59.59.000’,timestamp) 

will return all values between 00:00:00:000 and 23:59:59:000 for a given day. 

Change the Default Class of a Report Object 

In Report Studio, objects in reports are assigned a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) class that 

provides a default style for the object. For example, when you create a new report, the report 

title has the class property Report Title Text. You can change the class of an object by clicking 

the Class property in the Properties pane and choosing a different style. 

The default styles are stored in the file default_layout.css, located in the \bin and 

\webcontent\cr1 directories where ReportNet is installed. You can add your own styles to the file 

or modify existing ones. Make the changes you want in one of the directories, and copy the 

modified file to the other directory. 

Note: Any changes you make to the file are lost if you reinstall or upgrade ReportNet. If this 

occurs, you must reapply your changes. 

You can also directly modify the style of an object in the report specification. For more 

information, see the ReportNet Developer Guide. 

Prompt Controls on Report Pages 

Prompt controls that are added to report pages will not appear in the following: 

• saved reports 

• PDF reports 

• reports that are sent to users by email 

• scheduled reports 



Prompt controls are by their very nature interactive. They are used to satisfy parameter values 

before running a report. As a result, prompt controls added to a report page only appear when 

you run the report in HTML format. When you run a report in HTML format, Report Studio allows 

users to select which values they want to see, and the report is refreshed, producing a new 

report. 

For the non-interactive reports listed above, prompt parameter values must be collected and 

satisfied before the report is run. You provide the parameter values you want using the Run 

options tab in Cognos Connection. If you do not provide all the required values, the report will 

fail to run. 

Tip: If you are using the sample reports that come with Report Studio, the reports Consumer 

Trends, GO Media, Product Line by Year-prompt, and Sales Representative Contact List contain 

prompt controls on report pages. 

Documentation Updates - Using SAP BW Data Sources 

This section describes considerations related to creating reports against an SAP BW data 

source with Report Studio and Query Studio. 

Report Studio and Query Studio Considerations 

The following restrictions apply when working with both Query Studio and Report Studio using 

an SAP BW data source: 

• If a list report contains a sort on a query subject, a filter on a fact query item, and one or 

more query items from an unbalanced hierarchy, ReportNet may render additional rows. 

• Applying a sort order to a grouped column causes additional rows of data to be included in a 

report. 

• If you try to validate a report that is based on an SAP BW data source for which there is no 

signon defined, the validation fails. 

• In a crosstab report for which a column or row edge contains two or more query subjects, if 

one of the query subjects is filtered at a non-leaf level, ReportNet may encounter problems 

when running the report. 



Report Studio Considerations 

Consider the following when you author reports in Report Studio using an SAP BW data source: 

• When you author a report in Report Studio, you can use only a single hierarchy (or query 

subject) of a characteristic at a time in a report. In the default model created by Framework 

Manager, each query subject represents a single hierarchy of an SAP BW characteristic. 

• Creating queries using a mix of OLAP and relational data is not supported. SAP BW data 

sources are OLAP, therefore both the master and detail queries must be OLAP data. If you 

create queries using a database for which you do not know the type, consult your database 

administrator or modeler. 

• Tabular sets are not supported for OLAP data sources, and therefore cannot be used with 

SAP BW. 

• Tabular SQL is not supported for OLAP data sources, and therefore cannot be used with 

SAP BW. 

• The Select and Search prompt is not supported for SAP BW. 

• When you create a drill-through report, the target report must be based on a data source for 

which there is a signon defined. 

• If the target report of a drill-through link contains an SAP BW variable for a hierarchy node, 

values from the source report can only be values of the query item that represents the level 

identifier of the leaf-level of the hierarchy in question. 

• A master-detail link filter that uses an operator other than equals (=) may return incorrect 

values. 

• In a master-detail report, if the detail report is a crosstab and if an error occurs during the 

execution of the detail report, the entire report fails. 

• In a master-detail report, if the detail report contains a query subject that represents a 

ragged presentation hierarchy (contains a "not assigned" node), and a link on a query item 

for which there is a "not assigned" node, some fact values may be missing in the detail 

report. 

• When creating reports against a multi-cube model that includes conformed dimensions, if a 

report contains at least one conformed query subject and contains a non-conformed query 

subject from anything but the first data source, an error occurs. 

Query Studio Considerations 

The following restrictions apply when working with Query Studio and using an SAP BW data 

source: 

• In the Edit Data menu item, the Define Custom Groups feature is not available for SAP 

BW data sources. 

• Date arithmetic is not supported. For example, if you attempt to substract two dates, the 

following error is generated: 

OP-ERR-0065 Invalid context ( numeric required ) for arithmetic operators. 

Errors on Unsupported Functions and Features for SAP BW 

If you attempt to run a report that uses functions or features not supported for SAP BW, an error 

message appears that explains why the action is not supported with SAP. We recommend that 

you test your reports on an ongoing basis while you author them in Report Studio and Query 

Studio to ensure that you do not encounter multiple error messages when you run the report. 

Running a Report Against an SAP BW Data Source 

To save time when querying SAP BW database, which usually contain an enormous amount of 

data, a default prompt page appears when reporting against an SAP BW data source that 

contains hierarchical variables. The default prompt page that appears contains a tree selection 

prompt control and allows users to provide values for the variables before the report is actually 

run. 

If you want control over how the prompt page appears to users, such as by adding your own 

formatting, add your own prompt page to the report. Insert a generated prompt control in the 

prompt page, and when you're asked to create a new parameter or choose an existing one, 

select the parameter associated with the variable. Finally, add any formatting you want. When 

you run the report, the prompt page you created appears. 



For more information about generated prompts, see the Report Studio User Guide. 

Note: ReportNet supports up to 20000 nodes in the hierarchical node prompt. If the SAP BW 

database you are querying contains more than 20000 nodes, only the first 20000 will appear in 

the tree selection prompt control. 

Some SAP Variable Properties Not Supported 

When building a report using an SAP data source, the following SAP variable properties are not 

supported: 

• exclusionary ranges (appears as an inclusionary prompt in ReportNet) 

• mandatory not initial (appears as a mandatory prompt in ReportNet) 

When using BEx to define variables in your SAP data source, avoid using exclusionary ranges 

and the mandatory not initial property. 

Multi-Cube Queries 

When performing multi-cube queries using SAP BW data sources, the following restrictions 

apply: 

• Only basic operators (+, *, /,-) are available for cross-cube calculations. 

• Inner joins are not supported. All joins for multi-cube queries are outer joins. 

• You cannot sort or filter on a conformed dimension (query subject). Conformed dimensions 

are created in Framework Manager. 

Maintaining Hierarchy When Creating Group List Reports 

When creating group list reports using an SAP data source, you can group or sort in the order of 

the existing hierarchy only. If you change the order, an error occurs. You can omit columns from 

the grouping. 

For example, if one query subject represents a hierarchy with the levels Country, State, and City 

and another query subject represents a hierarchy with the level Product: 

• Country, State, City is valid. 

• Country, Product, State is not valid because a query item from another query subject was 

inserted between two query items from another query subject. 

• Country, City, Product is valid even though State is omitted. 

Charting Considerations 

Consider the following when you create charts in Report Studio and Query Studio using an SAP 

BW data source: 

• When creating a chart against an SAP BW data source, if the fact query contains currency 

values, the currency format may be lost in the chart. To restore the currency format, edit the 

Data Format property of the fact query item and set the Format type to currency. 

• In charts created against an SAP BW data source, if a fact query item contains values in 

multiple currencies, only the currency of the first value is applied to the chart. 



Filtering Considerations 

Consider the following when you create filters in Report Studio and Query Studio using an SAP 

BW data source: 

• When filtering on an SAP data source, the level identifier must be an exact value. Otherwise, 

the operators =, do not work. 

For example, for the filter [Office] > 'Chicago' to work, the value 'Chicago' must exist in the 

database. 

If you do not know the exact values, you can apply the filter to one of the attribute query 

items associated with the level, such as [OfficeLongName] > 'C'. 

Filters on non-identifiers are possible, but they are slower because SAP is optimized for 

queries based on level identifiers. 

• When using an SAP BW data source, in an unbalanced hierarchy, if you apply a filter to a 

query item value at a non-leaf level that has no children, an MDX error occurs. This error 

does not occur if the presentation hierarchy is recursive. 

For example, in a country, state, city hierarchy, if Toronto appears at the state level and had 

no children, the filter [State] = 'Toronto' fails. 

To avoid this problem, pad all unbalanced and non-recursive hierarchies in SAP BW with 

empty values so that the nodes as described above appear at the leaf level of the hierarchy. 

• If you apply a filter to a query item that corresponds to the leaf-level of a recursive hierarchy, 

siblings, which are characteristic values with the same parent of the filtered member, may 

appear in the report, although the aggregated values are correct. 

• All query items referenced in a filter on an underlying tabular query of a crosstab report 

must appear along the same edge of the crosstab. 

Considerations when Creating Expressions 

Consider the following when you create expressions in Report Studio and Query Studio using 

an SAP BW data source: 

• The functions available when creating expressions are restricted by functions available in 

SAP BW. 

• When using an SAP BW data source, the is_null and is_not_null expressions are not 

available in Report Studio and Query Studio. These functions are applicable only in an SAP 

BW environment to key figures and, because of the manner in which queries are issued to 

SAP BW, they do not affect the query results. 

You can control the inclusion of null values in a report by enabling or disabling the 

outerJoinsAllowed property in Report Studio. Setting this property to Deny removes rows 

that contain null values for all key figures. 

In Query Studio, this functionality defaults to what is defined in the package. 

• The case and if/then/else constructs are not supported in calculations and filters. 

• The query item identifier of the leaf-level of the 0CALDAY characteristic and its presentation 

hierarchies is of type "date". When the values for the query item identifier are presented in 

Report Studio and Query Studio, they are formatted as dates. These formatted values 

should not be used in filter expressions. The correct date constant format for use in 

expressions is 'YYYY-MM-DD'. 

• If you apply a comparison expression with an operator other than equals (=) to a query item 

that represents a level identifier, an error occurs indicating that you should use another 

query item, such as KEY or NAME. Level identifiers are efficient for identifying specific 

values, but range comparisons against them must be performed on the ReportNet 

application server, which slows down the performance of the report. Therefore, ReportNet 

directs you to use another, more appropriate query item. 

Sorting and Filtering Time-Related Data 

Only the identifier query items of all the time-related characteristics in SAP BW, such as 

0CALDAY and 0CALMONTH, should be used for sorting or performing anything other than 

equality filters. 

All other (attribute) query items in these hierarchies are formatted string representations of the 

characteristic values with which they are associated. These formatted values sort 

alphanumerically and not chronologically. 



Interpreting Error Messages 

When using an SAP BW data source, you may encounter the following error: 

BAP-ERR-0002 BAPI error occurred in function module BAPI_MDDATASET_CHECK_SYNTAX. 

Error occurred when starting the parser 

This error is usually an indication of an overloaded SAP BW server. Possible workarounds are to 

restart the ReportNet server or to close all open connections from the SAP BW Administrator 

Workbench. 

Aggregation Considerations 

Consider the following when you aggregate data in reports in Report Studio using an SAP BW 

data source: 

• If a fact query item has a value for its semiAggregate property other than "unsupported", 

you must set the aggregator for the query item to "automatic" in Report Studio to enable the 

semi-aggregate behavior. Any other value for the aggregator in Report Studio explicitly 

overrides any semi-aggregate behavior. If the modeler redefined the regular aggregator in 

the model, the same effect occurs. 

In Query Studio, a fact query item as described above is assigned an aggregator of 

"automatic". 

• If a report defines different aggregation rules for each level in a report dimension for a fact 

query item, this overrides any semi-aggregate behavior defined by the SAP BW server. 

Languages Installed on the SAP BW Server 

When a report is executed, the report server must connect to the underlying SAP BW data 

source. If the language associated with the user's content locale is not installed on the SAP BW 

server, the connection defaults to the default language installed on the system. ReportNet does 

not attempt to verify for a content locale mapping. 

Access to Metadata and Data 

Users' access to SAP BW InfoCube or InfoQuery metadata does not necessarily imply that they 

also have access to data within those objects. To ensure that users have proper access 

permissions, verify the permissions assigned to the users' roles. 

Error When Creating Sectioned Reports 

When creating a sectioned report using an SAP BW data source, you may encounter an error 

indicating that it is not possible to support a grouping that breaks the hierarchical order of query 

items. 

A result of the sectioning is that the query items that were initially part of a single dimension are 

placed in separate dimensions. To solve this problem, place the query items back into a single 

dimension with two levels. 

Unable to View SQL in Report Studio 

Viewing SQL for SAP BW in Report Studio is not supported. 

Query Items Containing non-ASCII Text Values 

If range filters are defined on non-ASCII text values, such as city names, the query may take 

longer to execute. This occurs because the filter must be performed on the application server 

and not on the SAP BW server, since SAP BW 3.0B only supports queries posed in ASCII. 

Master or detail filters that refer to columns containing non-ASCII values in the master report are 

not supported in this release. 

Outer Join Governors 

By default, governors in Framework Manager models are set to deny. If you set a governor to 

allow, dimension to fact relationships are changed from inner joins to outer joins. 



Sorting an Arbitrary Collection of Query Items 

Sorting query items from different dimensions that are intermixed is not supported for SAP BW. 

For example, you cannot sort on QI1_DIM1, QI1_DIM2, QI2_DIM1, where QI = query item and 

DIM = dimension. If you do, an exception error occurs. 

Units of Measure Notation and Values 

In an SAP BW data source, units of measure are included in the same column as the data 

values, separated by one space. For example Celsius and Fahrenheit notations are appended to 

the end of the value. This format is maintained in Framework Manager and shows in Report 

Studio and Query Studio. 

Also note that an asterisk character (*) designates 

• an unknown currency 

• a value of unknown or questionable unit of measure, for example a mixed currency 

calculation or rollup 

Creating Burst Reports 

You can burst a report based on an SAP BW data source by using burst information stored only 

within an SAP BW reporting object. We assume that you do not want to append bursting 

information to existing SAP BW InfoCubes. 

In the SAP Administrator Workbench, the characteristic should contain the burst information and 

the values should represent a form of user identification, such as SAP BW user IDs. If you use 

email addresses to burst, add an attribute that contains the user's email address to the 

characteristic. 

For each characteristic that is used as a burst key in Report Studio, add a presentation hierarchy 

to the burst characteristic based on the burst key characteristic. The child nodes of each of the 

presentation hierarchy nodes are the intended recipients of the reports that are burst by that 

particular burst key value. 

For example, the burst information is contained in a characteristic called BurstInfo and the 

values of the characteristic are 

• Tom 

• Fred 

• Mary 

• Liz 

You want to burst reports by the values of the Country characteristic. Therefore, you define the 

presentation hierarchy BurstByCountry for the BurstInfo characteristic as follows: 

• USA 

• Tom 

• Fred 

• Canada 

• Mary 

• Germany 

• Liz 

In Framework Manager, the modeler must include both the InfoCube that is the basis for 

reporting, and the burst InfoCube, which is BurstInfo in the example above, in the model. 

In Report Studio, the report author must create a master-detail report in which the master query 

drives the report of interest and the detail query contains the burst information. 

The master report must be grouped by a characteristic for which exists a corresponding 

presentation hierarchy in the burst InfoCube. 

The detail report is authored against the burst InfoCube and contains two columns: the query 

item corresponding to the one used in the master report for bursting, and the query item that 

contains the value on which bursting is performed. The value can be an email address or an 

expression used to obtain address information based on the underlying authentication 

mechanism used by Cognos Access Manager. 



The detail report should not be visible, but must be evaluated by ReportNet when the report is 

executed. To do this, in Report Studio, place the detail report in a conditional block for which the 

box type is set to None. 

Then, link the master and detail reports with the expression [Master Burst Key] = [Detail Burst 

Key]. 

When setting the burst options for the report, the master query provides the query items for the 

burst key and the detail report provides the query items for the burst recipients. 

Canceling Report Requests 

You can cancel a query issued to an SAP BW data source only during the initial portion of its 

execution. After this time, the query runs to completion on the SAP BW server. 



SAP BW Issues That Affect ReportNet 

The following issues were identified in SAP BW SP 15 and affect authoring reports in Report 

Studio and Query Studio. 

• You can filter on an identifier query item in a non-date query subject with the equal or 

non-equal operator as long as the value to which you compare the query item exists. If you 

filter using other operators, such as less than or greater than, you may receive unpredictable 

results depending on the SAP BW cube model that is used. 

In addition, if you filter on a non-identifier query item associated with the identifier, such as 

the key or name query item, the filter may be slow to execute on the SAP BW server. 

• The following functions do not work: 

• closingPeriod 

• openingPeriod 

• parallelPeriod 

• Inconsistent results may occur when an expression contains ranking functions, such as 

TOPCOUNT or BOTTOMPERCENT, and results in ties. 

• If data appears incorrectly in a variety of reports, verify if caching is enabled on the SAP BW 

server. If caching is enabled, consider disabling it since the cache can produce incorrect 

results to queries. 

• If a filter is applied to a query item within a recursive hierarchy in a crosstab report, some 

fact values may be missing in the cells of the crosstab. 

• Some aggregation values show rounding errors of 0.01. 

• If a report contains the highest level query item from a query subject and two or more 

aggregations of a single fact, the aggregation values may be incorrect. 

Note: This problem appears to be fixed in SAP BW SP15. 

• Link members of a presentation hierarchy do not appear in ReportNet reports. 

• Filters applied to level attributes execute slowly. 

• Multiplying a positive query item (fact) value by a constant negative number results in 

incorrect values. 

• Adding a positive query item (fact) value with a constant negative number with a decimal 

portion results in incorrect values. 

• The more query subjects that are referenced in a query, the slower the performance. 

• Key figure values may not be returned when accessing a secured InfoCube. 

• The application of filters to a grouped list report can result in incorrect aggregations of 

calculations. 

• Applying a group filter to a calculated measure may result in no data being returned. 

• A crosstab with query items from an unbalanced hierarchy on one edge, along with at least 

one aggregation applied to the fact, may result in an SAP error. 

• No data is returned if the count aggregate is applied to a fact in a grouped list report if the 

hierarchy underlying a query subject in the query is ragged or unbalanced. 

• If a date variable is used to assign a date to a hierarchy with time-dependent nodes, the 

variable has no effect. The query key date is applied instead. 

• In a grouped list or crosstab report that involves two query subjects, if one query subject 

represents a characteristic and another an unbalanced presentation hierarchy of another 

characteristic (unbalanced means that at least one characteristic value occurs at a non-leaf 

level), and if the report contains the aggregation of a calculation defined in ReportNet, the 

report may contain incorrect values. 

• Applying a group filter to a calculation may cause a query to execute for a long period of 

time and return no data. 

• The count aggregate may return no data when it is applied to query subjects that represent 

ragged or unbalanced hierarchies. 




Index 

Symbols 

.war files 

upgrading, 5 

A 

action log files 

data source, 15 

Administration and Security Guide 

updates, 18 

aggregating data 

considerations when using SAP BW data sources, 26 

AIX 

data source error, 15 

Apache Web servers 

issues, 9 

apache_mod gateways 

configuring, 17 

application servers 

upgrading 

Xerces parsers, 5 

applying 

design mode only filters, 14 

preview filters, 14 

asterisk character 

used for units of measure, 27 

authentication 

errors, 11 

known issues, 10 

authentication providers, 10 

users identified in, 10 

B 

backgrounds 

charts, 12 

BEA WebLogic 

using a Series 7 authentication provider, 11 

BEx 

defining variables, 24 

BI Bus server, 7 

bursting 

reports against SAP BW data sources, 27 

reports containing drill-through links, 18 

using two namespaces, 10 

C 

calendars 

incorrect when using Netscape 7.x, 8 

capabilities, 19 

cascading style sheets 

classes, 21 

certificates 

errors when importing, 11 

characters 

appearing incorrectly, 9 

charts 

creating using SAP BW data sources, 24 

gradient backgrounds, 12 

labels, 12 

classes 

changing the default for a report, 21 

Cognos Configuration, 8 

data files location, 7 

errors, 5 

upgrade message, 5 

Cognos Connection 

issues, 12 

Cognos samples 

modifying the sample model, 17 

setting up for DB2 databases, 17 

conditional styles, 12 

configuring 

apache_mod gateways, 17 

issues, 5 

preview mode for Query Studio, 6 

copying 

currency properties, 14 

copyright, 2 

cross joins, 14 

currencies 

Japanese Yen, 12 

currency properties 

copying, 14 

D 

data 

filtering date columns, 20 

data files location, 7 

data security 

adding, 13 

data source problems, 16 

data sources, 19 

not found, 15 

databases 

configuring to use Unicode, 9 


DB2 databases 

setting up the Cognos samples, 17 

default characteristic value variables 

modeling, 15 

deploying 

entire content store, 8 

entries containing ampersand character, 9 

failing with large volume of content, 9 

deployment specifications, 8 

design mode only filters 

applying, 14 

dispatchers 

maximum memory setting for UNIX, 8 

distributed installations 

starting servers, 6 


distribution lists 

modifying members, 12 

document 

version, 2 

documentation updates 

Administration and Security Guide, 18 

Framework Manager User Guide, 20 

Installation and Configuration Guide, 16 

Report Studio User Guide, 20 

using SAP BW data sources, 22 

drilling through, 12 

distributing reports by bursting, 18 

E 

emailing 

viewing report outputs, 10 

error messages 

SAP BW data sources, 23, 26 

errors 

running reports, 6 

exclusionary ranges, 24 

export deployment specifications, 8 

expressions 

conditional, 13 

functions not available, 20 

issues when using SAP BW data sources, 25 

typing punctuation characters, 8 

F 

features 

securing, 19 

filtering 

date columns, 20 

intervals, 13 

issues with SAP BW data sources, 25 

time-related data using SAP BW data sources, 25 

filters 

As Needed, 14 

FindorCreateDataSource action, 15 

Framework Manager 

creating expressions, 8 

issues, 13 

Framework Manager User Guide 

documentation updates, 20 

functions 

securing, 19 

G 

gateways 


configuring alternates, 17 

group list reports 

maintaining hierarchy when grouping and sorting, 24 

grouping 

maintain hierarchy, 24 

groups 


H 

hierarchies,versioned, 15 

I 

IBM WebSphere, 11 

import deployment specifications, 8 

importing 

multiple languages, 15 

secured InfoCubes, 15 

InfoCube 

permissions for accessing metadata, 26 

InfoQuery 

multiple languages, 15 

permissions for accessing metadata, 26 

Installation and Configuration Guide 

updates, 16 

installing 

issues, 5 

Internet Explorer 

hanging, 8 

issues, 13 

isolation levels, 19 

J 

joins, 14 

unexpected results, 13 

K 


authentication, 10 

Cognos Connection, 12 

databases, 16 

Framework Manager, 13 

Query Studio, 13 

Report Studio, 12 

L 

LDAP namespaces 


limitations, 8 

load balancing, 6 

logging on 

errors, 11 

M 

mandatory not initial, 24 

modeling 

default characteristic value variables, 15 

models 

modifying the samples, 17 


multi-cube queries 

with SAP BW data sources, 24 

multiple languages 

importing, 15 

InfoQuery, 15 

N 

namespaces 

Microsoft Active Directory, 11 

Netegrity SiteMinder, 11 

SAP BW Server, 7 

using trusted signon plug-in for Series 7, 10 

Netegrity SiteMinder, 11 

Netscape 

incorrect calendars in version 7.x, 8 

version 4.7x not supported, 6 

O 

ODBC data sources, 19 

P 

packages 

renaming, 12 

preview filters 

applying, 14 

in stored procedure-based query subjects, 15 

printers 

setting up, 18 

printing 

PDF reports in mixed locales, 10 

processes 

BI Bus server remaining after shutdown, 7 

processes remain after shutdown, 7 

product 

version, 2 

product limitations, 8 

projects 

upgrading, 14 

prompt controls 

not appearing, 21 

prompts 

tree selection prompt controls, 23 

properties 

copying currency, 14 

Q 

queries 

multi-cube queries with SAP BW data sources, 24 

Query Studio 

issues, 13 

issues when using SAP BW data sources, 22, 23 

product limitations, 8 

SAP BW issues, 29 

starting in preview mode, 6 

R 

Report Studio, 8 

changing default classes, 21 

creating expressions, 8 

issues, 12 

issues when using SAP BW data sources, 22, 23 

SAP BW issues, 29 

starting, 12 

Report Studio User Guide 

documentation updates, 20 

ReportNet 

launching with alternate gateways, 6 

reports 

bursting, 18 

bursting against SAP BW data sources, 27 

bursting with two namespaces, 10 

empty blocks, rows, and columns, 13 

errors when running, 6 

not displaying, 9 

previewing in Query Studio, 13 

prompt controls, 21 

running against SAP BW data sources, 23 

unable to print PDF, 10 

repositories 

creating, 20 

roles 


S 

SAP BW 

configuring as a namespace, 7 

SAP BW data 

securing access, 15 

SAP BW data sources 

charting, 24 

considerations when using, 22 

creating burst reports, 27 

filtering, 25 

languages installed on server, 26 

restrictions when creating expressions, 25 

units of measure, 27 

SAP variables, 24 

sectioned reports 

errors when using SAP BW data sources, 26 

secured InfoCubes 

importing, 15 

securing 

access to SAP BW data, 15 

security filters 

adding, 13 

in stored procedure-based query subjects, 15 

Series 7 

formatting of entry descriptions, 8 

namespaces, 10 

setting up 

printers, 18 

signons, 10 


Index 

single signons, 10 

sorting 

maintaining hierarchy, 24 

time-related data using SAP BW data sources, 25 

SQL 

unable to view in Report Studio, 26 

starting servers 

order, 6 

T 

tabular sets 

not supported for SAP BW data sources, 23 

tabular SQL 

not supported for SAP BW data sources, 23 

Tomcat application servers 

upgrading, 5 

tooltips 

appearing slowly, 13 

transform stored procedure to functions, 20 

trusted signon plug-ins, 10 

U 

Unicode 

configuring databases, 9 

upgrading 

from version 1.01 to version 1.02, 5 

message in Cognos Configuration, 5 

projects, 14 

regenerating .war files, 5 

Tomcat application servers, 5 

users 

identifying in authentication providers, 10 

using 

preview filters in stored procedure-based query subjects, 

15 

security filters in stored procedure-based query subjects, 

15 

using a Series 7 authentication provider, 11 

V 

variable properties 

exclusionary ranges, 24 

mandatory not initial, 24 

VeriSign certificates 

errors when importing, 11 

version 

product, 2 

versions 

hierarchy, 15 

Visual SourceSafe repositories, 20 

W 

Web browser 

hanging, 8 

Web browsers, 6 

WebSphere, 9 

Y 

yen currency symbol, 12

Cognos ReportNet (TM) Readme

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?