Q&A from 5/30/2013 Webinar
- We have data in Oracle, SQL server, people soft and access. Would we be able to create widgets from all these data sources?
- Yes. Widgets are created using any of the Cognos Studios. Assuming you have implemented a framework model against any of these sources you would implement your widgets against the framework.
- What software do you use to create the widgets used in the workspace?
- Widgets are created using any of the Cognos Studios such as Report Studio, Cognos Workspace Advanced, Query Studio, Analysis Studio.
- Can workspace run on an IPad?
- Yes. Runs in Safari and Chrome. For the IPAD App Workspaces are not interactive.
- Review the ways workspace content can be delivered to the desk top, Web, Ipad, ect...
- Cognos Workspace content is delivered via a web browser.
- How is the data in the widgets workspace updated? Do they have to be recreated?
- Widgets are written once and re-used. Then can be pre-run or run live against the source data. When you open a workspace the widgets that have been set to show live data will run at that time, query the underlying databases, and present current results
- What happens when a report you're bringing into the workspace contains more than one widget? (i.e 2 tables and 2 graphs)
- You can select the Widget under the report. Each widget will appear in the list in the content pane
- Can users share workspaces? Does that require admin to setup?
- Just like sharing a report. Typically there is a public folder by logical group that would include permissions for users to create and share applicable reports. Your admin should be able to help you with this. We’d be happy to discuss this further with you
- With regards to mobile: is there a best practice sheet or guideline?
- None that I’m aware of. However there are general guidelines for mobile report creation that would be applicable to mobile workspace layouts
- Do you have a way to determine how many of widgets have been "customized" from the default? I'm wondering if there's a report that would show how many of the widgets are being used and changed from the default representation…
- There is no built-in report that would present that information.
- Modeler creates the package?
- Yes, your modeler is the person who builds your packages within Framework Manager. Your authors create reports, and your enhanced consumers create workspaces using those reports.
- Can you leverage Report Studio Active reports on Workspace? Do Active reports behave different?
- Yes you can! Active reports must be pre-run to display on a workspace. They don’t behave differently than if you run them standalone outside of a workspace. There is some anecdotal evidence that large active reports actually display faster in a workspace than they do stand-alone, but this is not guaranteed.
- Can you restrict what reports are available for Workspace?
- Access permissions for Workspace reports can be specified by granting or denying permissions at the folder or package level within IBM Cognos Connection. The actions a user can perform in workspace are based on the permission set. These are detailed in the IBM Cognos Workspace User Guide.
- What do Workspace Advanced users do?
- Workspace Advanced users create workspaces, modify workspaces, and personalize widgets.
- When does a report become a widget?Report Studio is what I'll be working with.
- A report or report part becomes a widget when it is dragged into a workspace.
- You create the filters in the workspace, after the report becomes a widget. Right?
- Yes.
- I notice on mobile each widget is shown separately. Is there a way to have it presented as it's presented in browser workspace.
- The display of the workspace in mobile is dependent on the browser you’re using to access the workspace. That display cannot be changed. Similarly the workspace will display differently in the iPad application than it will in a browser.
- Do you have a webinar in intro to report studio?
- Not currently but we are considering this for a future event in 2013.
- Can you create a tree prompt?
- Not using the workspace toolbox. However you can create a tree prompt in a Report Studio report, and give it a name, you can drag that prompt on to a workspace and use it there. The trick is to have the parameter in the tree prompt match a parameter in the source report for the widgets. That name matching will allow the prompt widget to filter the report widgets.