Keyboard navigation

Cognos® Analytics uses mainly standard navigation keys and gestures, but there are some unique keyboard shortcuts.

On mobile devices, when the VoiceOver feature is enabled, it acts as a screen reader. You can then navigate by using an Apple Bluetooth keyboard.

Cognos Analytics uses the following keyboard shortcuts.

Table 1. Keyboard shortcuts in Cognos Analytics
Action Windows keyboard shortcut Mac keyboard shortcut Mobile keyboard shortcut
Save changes to a slide-out panel. Ctrl+S   Ctrl+S
Close slide-out panels (except for the modeling interface), drop-down lists, and toolbar menus. Escape   Ctrl+[
Type text in a dashboard or story text field. F12   Ctrl+1
Exit dashboard or story text field. Shift+F12   Ctrl+0
Filter all tabs in dashboard. Shift+Alt+F Shift+Option+F  
Filter current tab in dashboard. Shift+F Shift+F  
Expand a visualization for editing. F10   Ctrl+X
Go to the first row of a data grid. Ctrl+Home   Ctrl+H
Go to the last row of a data grid. Ctrl+End   Ctrl+E
Play or pause a data player.
  1. Tab to select the player
  2. F12 if the function keys are locked and Fn+F12 if the keys are not locked to move the focus to the play/pause button
  3. Spacebar or Enter to play or pause the player
  1. Tab to select the player
  2. F12 if the function keys are locked and Fn+F12 if the keys are not locked to move the focus to the play/pause button
  3. Spacebar or Enter to play or pause the player
  
Open the context menu. Shift+F10   Not applicable
Skip to navigation. Ctrl+Shift+1 Cmd+Shift+1  
Skip to main content. Ctrl+Shift+2 Cmd+Shift+2  
Skip to report navigation Ctrl+Shift+3 Ctrl+Shift+3  
Select year in the date picker in the Archive versions page Shift+Ctrl+ Up or Shift+Ctrl+ Down    
Select month in the date picker in the Archive versions page Shift+Ctrl+Left or Shift+Ctrl+Right    

Table 2. Keyboard shortcuts for navigating through tiles
Action Desktop keyboard shortcut
Navigate to different asset types Tab
Change active tile and navigate through the tiles Home/End/Up/Down/Left/Right
Open the context menu Shift-F10
Select the current tile (Shift/Ctrl behavior applies) Space
Navigate or activate the current tile Enter

Keyboard navigation in the modeling interface

To navigate the modeling user interface, use the standard Cognos Analytics keyboard shortcuts, and some additional shortcuts that are provided in the following table. Please note that the mobile keyboard shortcuts are not applicable to the modeling component.

Table 3. Keyboard shortcuts in the Cognos Analytics modeling interface
Action Desktop keyboard shortcut
Add metadata to a data module or to an expression. Shift+Right arrow
Expand or collapse the data tray. Enter
View columns in the data tray. Right and left arrow keys, or tab
View rows in the data tray. Up and down arrow keys
Increase or decrease the number of rows that you view in the data tray. Up and down arrow keys
Copy a selected item from the metadata tree or slots view. Ctrl+C
Paste a copied metadata tree or slot item into a new slot position. Tab to the desired insertion point:
  • Insertion point identified by a vertical bar to the left of the slot item. adds the copied item before Opening Inventory.
  • Insertion point identified by highlighting the slot item. replaces Opening Inventory with the copied item.
  • Insertion point identified by a horizontal bar under the slot item. adds the copied item after Opening Inventory.
 Ctrl+V

The following list provides examples of actions in the modeling interface, and the keyboard shortcuts to perform these actions.

  • Add tables to a data module

    In the Selected sources panel, select one or more tables, and press the Shift+Right arrow keys to add the tables to the Data module panel.

  • Use the context menu in the Data module panel

    Press the Shift+F10 shortcut to open the context menu for a module, a table, or a column. Use the up and down arrow keys to navigate between the menu options, and the Enter key to select an option. The Escape key closes the context menu without selecting any options.

  • Create a custom calculation

    Select a column in the Data module panel, and press the Shift+Right arrow shortcut to add the column name to the expression in the expression editor. To add a function to your expression, type the first letter of the function. In the drop-down list that is displayed, navigate to the function that you need to use, and press the Enter key.