Saving report output files outside of IBM Cognos software

Report output files can be saved to a file system outside of IBM® Cognos® software. Users can choose the output format in which the reports are saved. HTML reports are saved as MHT files.

About this task

This option is useful when users want to share reports with an external application, such as a website. The reports are saved to this location every time they are updated so that current content is always available. You can also save reports on a local network for users who do not have access to IBM Cognos software.

Multiple locations can be specified for the dispatchers and services.

1. Create a directory in which to save your report outputs.
2. Enable saving report output to the file system.
   1. Start Cognos Configuration.
   2. Click Actions > Edit Global Configuration.
   3. On the General tab, enter the path to the directory you created in Archive Location File System Root.

      The path must be in the format of file://(file-system-path). For example, file://C:/reports.

   4. Click OK.
   5. In the Explorer window, expand Data Access, and click Content Manager.
   6. Set Save report outputs to a file system to True.
   7. In the Explorer window, click Environment, and ensure that the server name or IP address is used in the URI settings. Using localhost in the URI settings can cause errors if you are saving the report output to a shared directory.
   8. Click File > Save.
   9. Restart the IBM Cognos services.
3. Enable saving reports in IBM Cognos Administration.
   1. In IBM Cognos Administration, on the Configuration tab, click Dispatchers and Services.
   2. On the toolbar, click the Define File System Locations icon .
   3. Click New, and then type a name, description, and screen tip.
   4. In File systems location box, type the path to the directory you created in step 1.
   5. Click Finish.
4. Select the output location for a report.
   1. In the Team content or My content folder, select a report, click the ellipsis button, then select Properties.
   2. Click the Schedule tab.
   3. In the Options section, select Override the default values.
   4. In the Delivery section, enable Save to the file system, and click Edit the options.
   5. On the options page, in Location, select the output location.
   6. Click OK.

What to do next

When users select Save report as an external file as the report delivery method when they run or schedule a report, the report output files are saved to this location.