PNW COGNOS REPORT GUIDE Purdue University Northwest Reporting Team

Which internet browser can I use with the Portal and Cognos? Although many people have multiple browsers installed and may prefer one over the other, you should only use Internet Explorer when accessing university-supported web services. Using other browsers will likely produce unexpected results and issues with functionality. Do I need to change any settings in Internet Explorer? The myPNW Cognos reports will launch reports in a separate browser window and may be detected as a pop-up. In order to avoid having to allow pop-ups for each report you run, simply add the pnw.edu domain to your list of sites for which pop-ups are allowed. Navigate to Internet Options under the Settings menu

Click on the Privacy tab in the Internet Options menu

Click on the Settings button in the Pop-up Blocker section

Add pnw.edu to the list of allowed websites for pop-ups by typing it into the Address of website to allow window and then click the Add button.

How do I get to the PNW COGNOS Reports in the PNW Portal?

Go to the PNW website www.pnw.edu and click myPNW at the top of the page or go directly to the PNW Portal Website at http://www.pnw.edu/mypnw/

Follow the link to the myPNW Portal.

Enter your Career Account credentials on the Single Sign-on page

Click on the Cognos tab from the myPNW Portal main page

Tech Tip: You can change the

selection to be notified about

blocked pop-ups. However, it is

useful to be notified in case it

hinders intended functionality.

Click on the View Cognos Reports link Temporary Step in Using Cognos Reports in the myPNW Portal

You may be prompted multiple times for your Career Account credentials when using the Cognos reports in the myPNW Portal. We are working toward a solution where you will only need to log in once. You may also experience periodic “time out” situations in which you will be asked to log back in. This is also a temporary step for which we are working toward a solution.

Depending on what step you are in while working with the Cognos reports, you may “time out” and not receive a prompt but see the screen below when requesting a report. If this happens, simply sign out of the portal and close your browser. Re-open the browser and navigate back to where you left off. We are working toward a solution for this.

Internet Explorer – View Downloads Pane

Internet Explorer keeps track of your download history. As you run and download reports from Cognos, you can easily access them from the View Downloads pane. Go to the Settings menu in IE and select View Downloads.

Cognos Report Menus The Report Menus are organized by the tabs across the upper part of the page and contain reports that may be useful to each group represented. Some reports may be found on multiple tabs if they are useful to multiple groups. On each menu, you will find the name of the report, a brief description of the report, and a button to either run or display the report. Note: All of the COGNOS report menus are in a continuous state of development so watch for updates on new content or enhancements to existing content.

How do I save the Cognos reports? Some of the reports in Cognos are provided in Adobe PDF format and some in Microsoft Excel format.

When saving reports containing student identifiable information, follow all guidelines for safe data handling and storage.

Reports in Adobe PDF format You can save a report in Adobe PDF format in the same way you can save any other PDF file that you have opened with your browser. Hover your mouse near the lower center of the report and an Adobe Acrobat menu will appear. Click the floppy disk icon to save the report. You will be prompted to select the save location and filename. Be sure to use descriptive filenames for easier future reference.

Reports in Microsoft Excel Format Depending on how your browser is set up, you may be asked whether to Open, Save or Save As when Cognos generates an Excel file. If you choose Open, the file will open in Excel and it is saved to a temporary folder associated with Internet Explorer. If you choose Save, the file will be saved to your most recent save location used by the browser. If you choose Save As, you have the options to select the save location and the filename. It may be best to choose Save As so that you know where the file is being saved and what the filename will be. Click on the drop-down arrow on the Save button to access the Save As option.

Security Settings may require you to Enable Editing when Excel opens the report file.

Reports that execute with a Display Report button Reports that execute with a Display Button do not have any additional prompts are run with preset parameters. Internet Explorer may want to open the report file in Excel. Depending on your browser settings, you may get a security warning. Click the Allow button to continue to open the file. You can click the check box next to the “Do not show me the warning for the program again” text if you don’t want to see this warning again. Reports with a Run Report Button Clicking the Run Report button next to the report takes you to a prompt page where you will select various parameters for the report. Follow the instructions for each parameter. Each is indicated whether it is required or optional. Once you have made the required selections, the Finish button becomes active. Click the Finish button to run the report with your selections.

Note: To select multiple values in a list, hold down your CTRL key while clicking the values