Save Report Output Inside IBM Cognos Analytics with Watson

If you configure a file system location that is inside IBM® Cognos® Analytics, you can then use the report output again. This may also be useful for archive purposes, because files that are saved in the content store may be deleted regularly due to retention rules.

To use this feature, you must first enable the Save report outputs to a file system property in IBM Cognos Configuration. An administrator must then configure the file location using the CM.OutPutLocation parameter in IBM Cognos Administration. For more information, see the topic about setting a file location for report output saved inside IBM Cognos Analytics, in the IBM Cognos Analytics Administration and Security Guide.

Report outputs will always be written to the directory configured for each Delivery Service instance. In order to avoid having report outputs written to multiple locations, ensure that you are either running only one instance of the Delivery Service, or configure all service instances to use a shared network file location. Any Dispatcher running the Delivery Service must have access to the file system or be disabled on all systems not intended to save report output.

To protect the security of the report output when using this feature, the file system must have third-party encryption.

Procedure

  1. Create a directory for your file system.
    Tip: Ensure that the directory is accessible to authorized users only.
  2. On the Content Manager computer, start IBM Cognos Configuration.
  3. In the Explorer window, click Data Access > Content Manager.
  4. For the Save report outputs to a file system property, click True.
  5. To test the connection to the report output directory, from the Actions menu, click Test.
  6. From the File menu, click Save.

Results

The administrator must now configure the file location using the CM.OutPutLocation parameter. For information, see the topic about setting a file location for report output saved inside IBM Cognos Analytics with Watson, in the IBM Cognos Analytics with Watson Administration and Security Guide.