2015
Arkansas Department of Education
Data & Reporting Conference
Cognos Query Studio
SMS Workshop
August 7, 2015
Arkansas Public School Computer Network
CREATING REPORTS USED TO GENERATE DATA FILES
1. Create a List Report. From the Cognos Connection screen, open Query Studio.
2. Select eSchoolPLUS Admin – Arkansas from the ‘Recently used packages’ box or by going to
Packages > Student Management System.
2
After selecting the desired package, Query Studio will open with the selected package displayed in the
Insert Data menu.
3. Click on the plus symbol next to the package, which expands the package making Query Subjects,
Query Items, Facts, and Filters visible for selection.
3
4. Select and insert all needed data items onto the workspace.
By default, items placed in the work area will display the actual data from all records matching any
filter that has been set. As new items are added to the work area, the report being displayed will
reflect the changes. This setting can be changed to Preview with Limited Data or Preview with No
Data within the Run Report menu option.
Data items can be added to the work area by….
A. Clicking on the desired item and dragging it onto the designated work area. If items currently are
displayed in the work area, and a new item is dragged on to the work area, a dark vertical line will
appear at any point where the new item can be dropped.
B. By double clicking on the item. Additional items added to the workspace in this way appear to the
left of any highlighted column. If no column is highlighted, the new data item will be inserted at
the end of the list report.
C. By highlighting an item and clicking the Insert button at the bottom of the list of data items.
Multiple items can be inserted by holding the control key down while clicking each item. This
keeps the previous choices highlighted while making more selections. When the Insert button is
clicked all items will be added to the work area in the order in which they were selected. If
additional items are added to the workspace using this method, the data items will be inserted to
the left of any highlighted column. If no column is highlighted, the new data items will be inserted
at the end of the list report.
Warning: With option “C”, do not use the scroll wheel on the mouse when the control key is
pressed. This is a feature of the Internet browser that changes the font size of the
browser window.
4
Common Issues Creating Data File Reports
A. Files that contain multiple rows for the same student record – many times this issue is centered
on student contact records or contact phone numbers. Contacts can have multiple phone
numbers each with a different phone type. Just pulling in the phone number field will result in a
separate row for the contact for each phone type. If a specific phone type is needed a filter can
be applied to the report which can limit the number of records pulled into the report.
This issue has been somewhat resolved with the addition of the AR Student Center Custom
Fields located at the bottom of the Student Center section of the Cognos model. Data items have
been created for specific guardian and student contacts (mailing and physical) with different
phone types individually identified. This allows multiple guardian contacts and multiple contact
phone numbers to be pulled into the report without creating multiple rows in the file.
5
B. Date Fields in a CSV file – date fields in the eSchool program are stored as date/time fields.
Typically this is not an issue as the time is hidden in most file formats. However the time does
appear when a file is saved in a CSV format.
With the Birth Date field this problem can be avoided by selecting the custom Birth Date field from
the AR Student Center Custom Fields > Demographics > General Demographics folder. This
field retains the MM/DD/YYYY format when in a CSV file.
For any standard date fields the following steps outline how to remove the time from the field.
Dates changed by this process will be in the YYYY-MM-DD format when viewed in a CSV file.
Step 1: Convert the date field to an alphanumeric string by using the Define Custom Groups…
option located under the Edit Data menu.
 Highlight the column heading of the date field by clicking the heading.
 Select Define Custom Groups… from the Edit Data menu.
6
 In the new window create one new range as seen in the graphic below (suggest using the
current date) then click the green arrow to move it into the “Ranges” box. Make sure to
enter the new range in the YYYY-MM-DD format.
1. Use the YYYY-MM-DD format
when typing the New Range Name.
2. Select the radio buttons beside
the “To” and “From” dates. Any
single date can be selected but
must match the date in the New
Range Name box.
3. Click the green arrow once the
range information is complete.
 Under All remaining values (including future values)… and verify the option “Use the
individual values as range names” is selected. Enter a name that distinguishes this as a
new field in the New item name box and click OK.
Step 2: Remove the time using the First Characters feature under the Calculate option (
 Select the new date field and click the Calculate icon (
screen or from the Edit Data menu.
7
).
from the menu at the top of the
 Select First Characters from the Operation drop down menu and enter 10 in the
Number of characters text box.
 Select the second option under New item name and enter the name of the field to be
used in the data file then click the Insert button.
 Delete the original date field and the date field with the time displayed by highlighting the
column headings and clicking the Delete option ( ).
8
5. Arrange the data items on the workspace as needed. If a field is not inserted into the desired
location, it must be cut, and then pasted into the desired location. If multiple columns are cut and
pasted, the columns will be inserted in the order in which they were cut.
To rearrange columns in the report, highlight the field to be moved by clicking on the field heading.
Click the Cut icon ( ).
To place the field back in the report, click on the column heading just to right of where the field that is
being moved should be placed. Click the Paste icon ( ). If no fields are highlighted when the
Paste icon is clicked, the field that was cut is placed at the end of the list report.
9
6. Apply filters to the report. Filters that exist in the package can be inserted into the report or new filters
can be added for the report. New filters are generally created on fields that exist in the report. Once
the filter has been created, the field used in generating the filter can be deleted without losing the
filter.
Pre-defined filters are preceded by the filter icon ( ) in the list of data items and can be inserted into
the report in much the same manner as report items.
To create a custom filter highlight the heading of the field to be filtered then select the filter icon ( )
from menu at the top of the window or from the Edit Data menu. After selecting the filter option one of
the following windows will typically open…
A pick list is available for alphanumeric fields (limit 5000 rows)
10
A range filter is available for numeric fields such as building
A date field will open with the range filter option
Date filters can also be defined by “Last number of days”
11
The ‘Prompt every time the report runs’ checkbox should be checked if the filter should be defined
each time the report is run. If the filter should ALWAYS be applied as is, leave the box unchecked.
If multiple filters exist the Combine filters window opens to determine how the filters should function
together.
Within the Combine filter window multiple lines of criteria can be joined with AND/OR, filters can be
grouped or ungrouped, filters can be modified to apply NOT or to remove NOT from the filter, and
filters can be added or deleted.
To group the filters, click the first Select line ( ) icon, and then control-click the remaining filters to
be grouped. Once all the filters to be grouped are selected, click Group from the menu at the bottom
of the screen. The combined filter will change to show one filter line rather than multiple filter lines.
12
By grouping multiple lines of criteria, filters can be combined differently within the group than they are
between groups. For example the filters within the group may need to be joined with AND, but the
different groups can be joined with OR. To change AND to OR, click the dropdown symbol (
next to AND which opens up an option for OR to be selected, and click on OR.
)
Click OK to save and apply the combined filter.
7. Define the sort order for the report by highlighting the field to be sorted and selecting the sort icon ( )
from the menu at the top of the window or from the Edit Data menu. If the report is sorted on multiple
fields, the primary sort will be based on the first sorted field in the report (going from left to right), the
secondary sort will be based on the next sorted field and so on. This guideline still applies on fields
that are used as part of the sort order but have been deleted from the report.
As data items are selected for the sort order, a triangle (
,
) will appear next to the heading
of the field being sorted. The up triangle means the data will appear in ascending order while the
down triangle means the data will be appear in descending order. The sort can be removed by
clicking the sort link at the top of the report or by highlighting the data item and clicking the sort icon (
) until the sort is cleared.
13
8. Using the Calculate option (
), remove trailing spaces from any alphanumeric fields that contain
spaces after the field value. First select the field to be updated by highlighting the column then click
the Calculate Icon from the menu at the top or from the Edit Data menu.
Once the Calculate Window is open make sure “Remove trailing spaces” is selected from the
Operation drop down menu.
Enter the desired name for the field and click Insert. The name in the Expression window is used as
the default name of the field if no new name is entered.
NOTE: Student ID, State Reporting ID and SSN are all numeric fields that are setup as
alphanumeric in Cognos and should have the ‘Remove trailing spaces’ calculation applied to
them within a file. A true numeric field will display operation types of “Arithmetic”,
“Percentage” and “Analytic” when the Calculate option is selected.
14
9. Delete field columns no longer needed in the file. This would include the original fields that had
trailing spaces removed, fields needed for sorting or filtering but were not needed in the report detail,
or fields that were used to build ‘Custom groups’.
To remove a field highlight the heading of the field to be deleted and click the delete icon ( ). If a
sort or filter is associated with the field a warning box will appear giving the option to keep or delete
the associated sort/filter.
Warning: The check MUST be removed from any sort order and/or filter checkbox that should
be retained. If the check is not removed, the sort order and/or filter will be deleted
with the field.
10. Change column headings. The headings that appear at the top of each column can be changed by
either double clicking the column heading or by highlighting the column heading and selecting the link
“Rename Column Heading…” from the Edit Data menu. Either option will open a window at the
bottom of the screen where a new name for the column can be entered.
11. Remove the heading for the report by clicking on the word Title or selecting Edit Title Area from the
Change Layout menu and clearing the text box for the title. By default filter, sort and suppression
definitions appear in the report heading. Remove the check from the “Show filters”, “Show sorts” and
“Show suppression” checkboxes.
15
12. Save the report in My Folders or another personal folder for future use. Click the Save (
) icon to
save changes to a previously saved report, or click the Save As icon ( ) to save the report under a
new name. The Save and Save As options can be selected from the standard tool bar or from the
Manage File menu.
Warning:
Reports that need to be saved to the District Shared folder (located under the Public
Folder of ADE APSCN-Student Management System), to be viewed and/or copied by
others, should first be saved in the report author’s My Folders. All users have full access
to the District Shared folder, so it is possible that any user can delete or remove a report
from the District Shared folder even though the report was created by another user.
13. Set the desired property settings of the report item within Cognos Connection. When a report
created in Query Studio is saved, it is saved as “View most recent report” by default. If this setting is
kept the report will always open in Query Studio each time it is run by clicking the report name link.
This setting can be changed to “Run the report” by selecting the property settings ( ) of the report
once it is stored in Cognos Connection.
Note: As items created in Query Studio are saved, the icon displayed next to the item is the Query Studio
icon ( ), which indicates the item will open in Query Studio when the report item link is clicked.
When the property settings are changed to “Run the report” the item icon will change to display the
run icon ( ) next to the default report format icon (for example, the icon for a report set to run in
PDF would display as
). Reports created in Query Studio can still be modified by clicking the
“Open with Query Studio” icon (
) located under the Actions menu.
16
Within the property settings select the Query tab and change the Default action to “Run the report” and
click OK.
If the report needs to default to a specific format (CSV for example), check the Override the default values
checkbox and select the desired format. Click OK when finished.
14. When running CSV file reports from Cognos ALWAYS select “Save As” and change the file extension
to .csv before saving the file. By default these reports attempt to save or open in an excel format
which affects the formatting of the file.
17
First indicate where the file should be saved.
MAKE SURE TO CHANGE THE FILE EXTENSION FROM .xls to .csv (if so desired, change the file
name also, making sure to keep the .csv extension.) The ‘Save as type’ option can be changed to All
Files if so desired but should be okay to leave as is.
18
“Point in Time” Crosstabs
Crosstabs are useful in analyzing the summary or count of total records in a report. Crosstabs present
the data more clearly in a matrix format. Rotating the values of a list report creates a crosstab report.
The list report used to create a crosstab must contain at least one measure.
Data that is date tracked, such as program or entry/withdrawal data, allow for seeing information for a
particular point in time. For example it is possible to see race/gender breakdown of students enrolled on
a particular date. This section will focus on setting filters on date tracked data in a crosstab format in
order to see the demographic breakdown of a group of students on a particular date.
Procedures for creating a crosstab
1. Create a basic list report including all fields needed in the display and those fields needed to create
filters. Make sure to include the appropriate “count” data item as one of the fields in the report. There
are two student counters located under Student Center > AR Student Center Custom Fields >
Demographics folder.
The Student Counter
provides a count of
records to be used in
the Crosstab.
The entry and withdrawal dates (or program start and end dates) are included to create filters that will
produce a “point in time” view of the data.
2. Define filters on the entry and the withdrawal date to determine the single date or “point in time” that
should be reflected in the report. This is done by highlighting the column heading and clicking the
filter icon ( ).
19
Entry Date Filter
Leave From Date set to
“Earliest date”
Set the desired “Point in
Time” in the To Date box
Withdrawal Date Filter
Enter the date for one day
AFTER the desired “Point
in Time” in the From Date
Leave the To Date set to
“Latest Date”
After creating the Withdrawal Date filter the combine filter box opens. Group the Entry Date and
Withdrawal Date filter combined with “And”.
20
Click the icon to the left of the first filter
then control-click the icon to the left of the
second filter to highlight both. Once both
filters are selected click Group.
Grouped filters separated by “And”
Build a second filter on each of the date fields. When building a filter on a field that already has a filter
attached to it the following window will appear. Select the option of “Add a filter to….” in order to build
another filter on the same field.
The second Entry Date filter should be built exactly the same as the first Entry Date filter. For this
filter click OK once the Combine Filters window opens.
When building the second Withdrawal Date filter ignore the From and To section and click on the link
labeled Missing Values near the bottom of the screen. Select the option of “Show only missing
values” from the drop down menu and click OK.
When the Combine Filters window opens after building this filter, group the second Entry and
Withdrawal date filters together as was done with the first two filters. This will create two filter rows as
seen in the following graphic.
21
The last step in setting up these filters is to group the two sets of filters together. Highlight the two
sets of filters and click Group. Once the two sets of filters are grouped on together change the
separator between the two groups from “And” to “Or” and click OK.
Create any other filters needed for the report.
3. Delete any data items, such as the Entry and Withdrawal Date fields, used for filtering that do not
need to be reflected in the report. Highlight the field(s) and click the Delete icon ( ). Since these
fields have filters associated with them another box appears asking if the filter should be removed
with the fields. To keep the filters UNCHECK the boxes next to each filter and click OK.
Leaving the boxes checked will cause the filters to be deleted.
22
4. To present the data in a Crosstab format highlight the field or fields (multiple fields can be selected
using Control Click) that should appear as the columns in the crosstab and click the Pivot icon ( )
from the top menu or the Pivot menu item from the Change Layout menu. If multiple fields are
selected the first field selected will be at the highest level of the crosstab. Any unselected fields other
than the counter field will be displayed as rows in the crosstab.
Note the selected fields from the list are now the columns on the crosstab.
5. Unless previously sorted the rows and columns of the crosstab may not be sorted correctly as seen in
the grade field of the previous graphic. To sort a field in the crosstab just highlight the values of that
field and click the Sort icon ( ).
23
6. Once a crosstab has been created, the rows and columns can be “swapped” by clicking the Swap
Rows and Columns icon ( ) or by selecting Swap Rows and Columns from the Change Layout
menu.
7. Sections can be applied to a crosstab to provide a breakdown of information into smaller groupings of
data displayed in multiple crosstabs by clicking the Section icon ( ) or the Create Sections menu item
under the Change Layout menu. Each individual crosstab will have a section title of the data item by
which the report was sectioned. Page breaks (located under Change Layout menu) can be applied to
the sections.
8. Complete the Crosstab by entering a title and determining if filters/sorts should appear in title area.
The column name on the section can be updated by double clicking the sectioned field. The
Crosstab intersection name can be changed by double clicking it and renaming the Counter column.
24