Create a parameter in the target

Set up drill through access in a source report to link two reports that contain related information. You can then access related or more detailed information in one report (the target) by selecting one or more data item values from another report (the source).

If you are using an SAP BW data source for the target report and the target report contains a variable for a hierarchy node, values from the source report can be values only of the data item representing the leaf-level identifier of the hierarchy.

Before you begin

Before you begin, ensure that you have a report that will serve as the source report and another report that will serve as the target report.

Procedure

  1. In IBM® Cognos® Analytics - Reporting, open the target report.
  2. Create a parameter that will serve as the drill through column or that will filter the report.

    For example, to drill through or filter Product line, create the following parameter:

    [Product line]=?prodline_p?

    Tip: Use the operators in or in_range to enable the target report to accept multiple values or a range of values.
  3. In the Usage box, specify what to do when a value for the target parameter is not passed as part of a drill through:
    • To specify that users must select a value, click Required.

      If a value for the target parameter is not passed, users are prompted to choose a value.

    • To specify that users do not need to select a value, click Optional.

      Users are not prompted to choose a value and so the value is unfiltered.

    • To specify not to use the parameter, click Disabled.

      The parameter is not used during the drill through. It will also not be used in the report for any other purposes.

      Tip: If the parameter is needed in the report for other reasons, then you can also specify not to use it in the drill through definition (Parameters table, Method, Do not use parameter).

    Example of how to set up a target report.