- Modifying reports
IBM® Connections provides several ways to customize the reports that display in the Metrics user interface. In addition to creating new reports, you can modify the text labels and links used in existing reports, as well as nest reports or group them under a custom title.
- Creating a report from a predefined layout
Use IBM® Cognos® Report Studio to create a simple report based on a predefined layout.
- Creating a report from a blank layout
Use IBM® Cognos® Report Studio to create a report from a blank layout for the Metrics application to display. Creating a report from a blank layout requires you to add report components manually; although this type of report involves more work than a predefined layout, it provides greater flexibility.
- Adding custom reports to the Metrics reports list
After you create a custom report, edit the reports-config.xml and add an entry for the new report. The entries in this file determine which reports appear in the list that displays in the Metrics user interface.
- Nesting reports in the Metrics user interface
You can nest reports in the Metrics reports listing by nesting the corresponding entries in the reports-config.xml file. For example, if you create several custom reports related to a particular theme, you can nest them in the reports listing so that users can easily see that the indented reports are related.
- Creating categories for reports
You can group related reports in the Metrics reports listing by adding the report entries under a special category entry in the reports-config.xml file. For example, if you create several custom reports related to a particular theme, you can group them in the reports listing so that users can easily see that the reports are related.
- PowerCube dimensions
The data collected by IBM® Collections is stored in a PowerCube that is administered by IBM® Cognos® Business Intelligence. The PowerCube stores data in dimensions, which provide descriptive information as well as quantitative measures of the data. When designing reports for displaying Metrics data in IBM® Connections, you can include data from both the Regular (categories) and the Measure dimensions.