External Report Auto Synchronization for IBM Cognos

The Auto Synchronization functionality automates creation of External Reports from the IBM Cognos objects and simplifies the process of updating existing External Reports. This article shows how to set Auto Sync for Cognos External Reports and describes all specific details of Auto Syncing for IBM Cognos plugin.

1. Enabling Auto Synchronization

Access Admin > Collection & Storage > Data Sources and click the IBM Cognos Data Source Active Name link to open the Data Source Editor

In the Info tab:

  1. Activate the Enable Content Auto Synchronization toggle 
  2. Parent Category: Choose the Parent Category where External Reports are synced
  3. Select the Mirror Folder Hierarchy in IBM Cognos checkbox to automatically create subcategories and mirror the structure in the IBM Cognos tool
    • The hierarchy of categories is based on Path
  4. External Report Template: Choose the Template from the drop-down menu
  5. [Save]

2. Synchronizing the Content

In IBM Cognos Objects tab:

  • [Refresh List] updates the Objects list and creates new External Reports placing them into the Category selected in Info tab
  • [Run History] provides data on all previous sync runs

NOTE: Each new automatically created External Report is named after the object of its origin.

Metric Insights creates one element per Microsoft Power BI Report. Supported types are "Report" and "View". They are stored in the Elements tab of Power BI Data Source Editor.

To check the synced External Reports access their assigned Parent Category from Content > Categories. The External Reports are listed in the Elements tab.