Refreshing report data and formatting

If the source data that a report is using changes, you can refresh it to ensure that you are working with the latest version. When you refresh a report or a report element, you are retrieving the latest changes and updates from the IBM® Cognos® Analytics content store.

There are two ways in which you can update your report content:

Refresh all the reports in a document
Retrieve the latest changes for all the imported reports in the Microsoft Office document by using the Refresh all Data button on the IBM Cognos toolbar.
Refresh a specific report, report element, widget, or workspace
Retrieve the latest changes for a report, report element, or widget by using the Refresh Data command from the pop-up menu, available from the IBM Cognos pane, on the Manage Data tab.

In Microsoft Excel, all worksheets in the workbook are updated with the most recent data. These updates include any imported reports, regardless of the application used. In Microsoft Word, IBM Cognos content on all pages of a document are updated. In Microsoft PowerPoint, IBM Cognos content on all slides of a presentation are updated.

Whether you are refreshing multiple reports in a document or a single report element, you can choose the scope of your updates. For example, you can refresh only the source data or the source data and report formatting:

refresh only the source data
Retrieve the latest changes to the source data for all reports in the document or a report element. Any formatting changes applied from the Microsoft Office application remain unchanged.

You can also automate this task by using the RefreshAllData method. For more information, see RefreshAllData.
refresh all data and formatting
Retrieve the latest changes to the source data and formatting characteristics, such as cell color and number formatting, as designed by the report author. Any customized formatting in the Microsoft Office document is changed or overwritten by the current report formatting.

You can also automate this task by using the RefreshAllDataAndFormat method. For more information, see RefreshAllDataAndFormat.

In Microsoft PowerPoint, certain formatting changes are applied when you refresh only the source data, as summarized in the following table.

Table 1. PowerPoint formatting results
Formatting status after source data is updated	Format type
Preserved	Any custom formatting applied in the presentation, such as borders, positioning, and resizing Any custom formatting applied in the presentation, such as the cell fill, cell borders, font size, and font style
Updated	Formatting applied to a chart in the report, such as the palette or legend Added columns or rows are overwritten Deleted columns or rows are displayed in the document

Refresh limitations and considerations

Following are some considerations or limitations that you might encounter when performing the refresh process:

Copying Microsoft Excel worksheets
While you can copy or move imported elements between worksheets by using Windows Copy and Paste commands, you cannot properly refresh the source data on the copied content. Similarly, you cannot refresh content on a new worksheet that was copied from an existing worksheet. The report elements on the copied worksheet are no longer linked to the source data. You must reimport the report or report element on the new worksheet to properly refresh the source data.
Increasing and decreasing number of rows in lists and crosstabs
When an imported list or crosstab is refreshed in Microsoft Excel, the number of rows can increase or decrease as a result of new source data or changes to prompt values. If new source data is returned, the new range of cells is inserted after the last row of the current list or crosstab. The new range of cells inherits the formatting style of the last row in the list or crosstab.

If new prompt values or updated source data result in a reduced number of rows, the spare cells are deleted from the list or crosstab in the Excel worksheet.