Query items

A query item is the smallest object in the model that can be placed in a report. It represents a single instance of something, such as the date that a product was introduced.

For relational metadata, you can modify the properties of query items by

Setting Usage and Regular Aggregate properties to reflect the intended use of the query item
Formatting query items to control how data displays in a report
Identifying a column as a prompt, and controlling how your users see the prompt information

You can also modify the properties for multiple query items at the same time. For more information, see Replacing multiple property values.

You can rename a query item in the Calculation Definition dialog box. Renaming the query item updates references to this query item.

Because reports can contain different query items from one or more objects in the model, query item properties control many aspects of the final report. When you create a model dimension or model query subject, the query items inherit the properties of the data source query items on which they are based.

The properties for query items or measures include the following.

Query item property	Description
Name	The name of the query item or measure.
Description	A description of the query item or measure.
Last Changed	The date that the query item or measure was last changed. The property is automatically updated with the current date time.
Last Changed By	The user who last changed the query item or measure. This property is automatically updated when the item is changed. The value is the current logon username.
Model Comments	Used to add internal comments about the model. The information is used on the Analyze Publish Impact dialog and in the Model Report. Comments are not accessible to package users.
Screen Tip	A description that can display in the published package for your users.
Expression	Used to create embedded calculations that provide your users with calculated values that they regularly use. This property is for measures only. Note: The Expression property is not used by SAP BW.
External Name	The name that displays in the data source.
Is Hidden	Whether to hide or show the query item or measure in the published package. Even when Is Hidden is set to True and the query item or measure is invisible to your users, it is always present in the published package because the query item or measure may be needed by other objects in the model. You do not see the query item or measure in the Package Publish wizard. For example, a calculation may make use of a hidden query item.
Usage	The intended use for the data represented by the query item. This property is for query items only.
Format	How information displays in a report.
Currency	Which currency is used. This property cannot be changed in the Property pane. Use the Format property to change the currency.
Data Type	The data type that was set in the data source. Because this property is set in the data source, it is read-only in Framework Manager.
Precision	The total number of digits. Because this property is set in the data source, it is read-only in Framework Manager.
Scale	How many digits are represented in the scale. For example, you can show numbers in thousands so that 100,000 means 100,000,000. Because this property is set in the data source, it is read-only in Framework Manager.
Size	The size of the query item or measure. Because this property is set in the data source, it is read-only in Framework Manager.
Is Nullable	Whether the query item or measure can contain a null value. Because this property is set in the data source, it is read-only in Framework Manager.
Display Type	How the query item is shown. The column value can display in the IBM® Cognos® studios as a picture, as a link, or as a value. The default is value. This property is for query items only.
MIME Type	The format that the column value uses. For example, if Display Type is set to picture, MIME Type could be jpeg. This property is for query items only. Note: The MIME Type property is not used by SAP BW.
Prompt Info	Prompt behavior.
Regular Aggregate	The type of aggregation that is associated with the query item, measure, or calculation in the published package.
Aggregate Rules	For dimensionally modeled relational metadata, the rules for semi-additive aggregation. For SAP BW metadata, the Aggregate Rules property is read-only.
Allocation Rule	Specifies the type of allocation defined for the measure. A value of default specifies that constant allocation is used in list queries and once-only allocation is used in crosstab queries. A value of constant specifies that constant allocation is used in all queries.
Is Unsortable	Whether the values of this query item can be sorted. This property is for query items that contain large objects such as BLOBs.