Known issues for Cognos Dashboards

Upgrading from Cognos Dashboards Version 4.0.9 to 4.6.1 and earlier fails

The upgrade from 4.0.9 to 4.6.1 and earlier fails because the operator is stuck in InProgress after running the apply-cr command with --upgrade=true.

Diagnosing the problem

To verify the problem, run the following command:

oc describe cdeproxyservice cdeproxyservice-cr -n ${PROJECT_CPD_INSTANCE}

The following output error is received if the operator is stuck in InProgress:

    ccsStatus: InProgress
    cdeStatus: InProgress
      message: ""
      message: |-
        Requested operation is aborted as status for the current operation, install, is InProgress and requested version 4.6.x is not the version of the previously started operation
      message: Running reconciliation

Resolving the problem

Complete the following steps to restart the upgrade:

1. Log in to the cluster as a project administrator.

2. Run the following command to delete the cde-operator-config config map:

   oc delete cm cde-operation-configmap -n ${PROJECT_CPD_INSTANCE}
   

3. Run the following command to delete the cde-operator pod:

   oc delete pod -n ${PROJECT_CPD_OPS} $(oc get pods -n ${PROJECT_CPD_OPS} | grep ibm-cde | awk '{print $1}')
   

4. To verify the problem is resolved and that the upgrade has completed successfully, run the following command:

   oc describe cdeproxyservice cdeproxyservice-cr -n ${PROJECT_CPD_INSTANCE}
   

   You should receive the following response with status Completed.

    version: 4.6.x
    ccsStatus: Completed
    cdeStatus: Completed
      message: ""
      message: ""
   

Cognos dashboards can only use data connections created with username and password credentials

Cognos Dashboards requires that database connections and connected data assets added as data sources to a dashboard must include username and password credentials.

If these credentials are not specified in the connection and a token or API key is used instead, then Cognos Dashboards cannot use that connection or connected data asset as a data source.

Applies to: 4.6.0 and later

A Watson Query asset cannot be used without credentials and a Watson Query Administrator or Steward role

To use Watson Query assets, the following two conditions must be met:

• You must add your Cloud Pak for Data credentials to the Watson Query connection that is added to your project. You must add your credentials in the username and password fields, not by selecting the Use your Cloud Pak for Data Credentials to authenticate to the data source checkbox on the Platform connections page. For more information, see Connecting to data sources.

• You must have either the Watson Query Administrator or Steward role in the Watson Query service. For more information, see Managing users and roles (Watson Query).

Applies to: 4.6.0 and later

Non-English column names cannot end with underscore ( _ ) character

Columns that use non-English names cannot end with the underscore ( _ ) character. If the non-English column name ends with an underscore ( _ ) character, an error message is displayed.

Applies to: 4.6.0 and later

Unsupported special characters in CSV files

The source CSV file name can contain non-alphanumeric characters. However, the CSV file name can't contain the special characters / : & < . \ ". If the file name contains these characters, they are removed from the table name.

Important: Table column names in the source CSV file can't contain any of the unsupported special characters. Those characters can't be removed because the name in the data module must match the name of the column in the source file. In this case, remove the special characters in your column names to enable using your data in a dashboard.

Applies to: 4.6.0 and later

String values limited to 128 characters

String values in a column in your source CSV file can be only 128 characters long. If your CSV file has string columns with values that are longer, an error message is displayed.

Applies to: 4.6.0 and later

Date format limitations

There are date format limitations for CSV files used in visualizations. For details, see Resolving problems when using data from CSV files in Cognos Dashboard Embedded.

Applies to: 4.6.0 and later

Can't replace a data table in a visualization

When you add a visualization to a dashboard, you cannot add a data table to the visualization if you previously added (and then removed) data fields from another data table. This restriction applies to Db2, CSV tables, and other data sources.

Applies to: 4.6.0 and later

Update filters in Cognos Dashboards after name changes in reports

When using Cognos Dashboards based on Watson Knowledge Catalog reporting data, you may need to update the dashboard filters after renaming or removing objects. This applies to, but is not limited to, objects such as Projects or Catalogs.

If you have renamed or removed an object being used in a Cognos Dashboard filter, it will not be available to entirely disconnect from the dashboard unless the filter is removed and re-added. This means that while the value will not show up in the filter directly after removing the object, it will reappear if another object of the same name and type is created in Watson Knowledge Catalog.

Workaround

1. Open your dashboard and select the Edit icon.
2. Select the filtered widget.
3. If you want to add a renamed object, select Widget filter, then select the newly named object to add it.
4. If you want to re-add the filter, select Widget filter then Delete filter.
   1. After the filter is deleted, select the Fields option in the toolbar.
   2. Click Filter to add new filter values.
5. Save the dashboard.

Applies to: 4.6.0 and later

Publishing a Cognos Dashboard with more than one image creates multiple attachments with the same image data

When you publish a Cognos dashboard to a catalog and choose to add more than one preview of the dashboard, all attachments in the catalog show the image added last. This issue occurs when you select multiple images at a time and drag them into the publish page and when you add files one at a time.

In addition, when you browse for files in the publishing step, you can select only one file. To add further images, you must drag them to the publish page.

Whenever you publish the same dashboard again, it will have the images from the previously published assets as well as the newly added images. For example, if you publish dashboard A with images 1, 2 and 3, it will have 3 screen captures of image 3. If you publish dashboard A again with images 4, 5, 6, it will have 5 screen captures, 3 with image 3 and 2 with image 6.

Applies to: 4.6.0 and later

Asset preview of a Cognos Dashboard in a catalog initially shows the data in a table

In a catalog, when you go the the Asset tab of a dashboard to preview the asset, the data is shown in table format. When you switch tabs after applying the workaround, you'll have to re-apply the workaround to have the data properly displayed.

Workaround: Refresh the page at the browser level or within the preview table to have the dashboard displayed as expected.

Applies to: 4.6.0 and later

Cognos Analytics features that are not supported

The following functionality from IBM Cognos Analytics is not supported in dashboards:

• Data grouping
• Custom color palettes
• Custom visualizations
• Assistant
• Forecasting
• Insights in visualization
• Jupyter notebook visualization
• Advanced data analytics

Parent topic: IBM Watson Studio