Creating a filter in IBM Cognos is normally straight forward. Most people are familiar with creating them in Report Studio and Query Studio. For more advanced folks, you might even know how to create a slicer in Analysis Studio that works just like a filter but for dimensionally modeled relational (DMR) data. However, if you have ever tried to create filters in Framework Manager you might be ready to pull your hair out and jump off a tall building. Okay, maybe a short building, but you are definitely losing your hair over it.

Sounds simple … you just create a filter on the query subject and include the query subject in the package and click ‘publish’. So far, that is pretty simple - but what about getting fancy and making the filter a prompt and then formatting that prompt so that it is a drop down or a date? Now you are thinking, well … they covered prompting or parameters in IBM Cognos Training Class….what is that class called? Uh … that would be Report Studio Training and you would be correct so, you reach for your class material and thumb through the book to find parameters or prompts. You find it and go step by step and create a filter using the question mark enclosure to create a parameterized filter. Now you are cooking with gas and you do a little happy dance until you notice that your parameter is not right. You are prompting on a date and you want the prompt to show a calendar so that your end users will only see a calendar. So you think “How do I format a prompt in FM?”. You think “Oh, I know I will use that thing they showed us in Framework Manager Training Class…what’s that called? Right! A Parameter Map!” So with confidence you build a parameter map and realize that didn’t work like you planned and now you are stuck.

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Well, you are not really stuck because you Google “How to make filters in Framework Manager” and you arrived here … ok, happy dance - someone is going to give me the steps and end my madness.

1. What you filter on must be in the query subject – this will ensure that the parameterized filter will show up no matter what your end user picks from the query subject.

2. You must use question mark enclosures – the syntax looks like this [query subject item] = ?Parameter1?

3. You must use the prompt info – on the item that you are filtering by, you will set the prompt info to be a drop down, date, search type … etc. You will also input the display values and the use values.

4. Publish – publish the package

This little post has been a service announcement sponsored by a frustrated framework manager modeler. You can simply pay thanks by sharing this post with someone else that might be standing on the ledge of a short building.

If you need help navigating framework manager or training on more advanced techniques please contact us at services@lodestarsolutions.com

If you like this blog on filters in framework manager, please check out this blog on IBM Cognos Report Studio: Bursting Cognos Reports by clicking here.