How to Schedule a Report in Cognos

Overview

Learn how to schedule reports to run and be emailed in Cognos Analytics.

Creating a Report View

1. From the Content pane in Cognos, single-click a report folder and then subfolder containing the desired report. To the right of the report name, select the three dots to bring up the Action menu (Figure 1).
2. Select Create report view.
3. Save the report in a folder where you have write access and update the name. In this example, I want to schedule the Budget Status report to send monthly to Dr. Jones so I changed the name to 'Budget Status for Dr. Jones'. 
4. A word of caution regarding the use of the My Content folder to save scheduled content for a work unit: Scheduled reports in My Content are not available to other team members or IDR Staff and can be difficult to modify or move if you are unavailable.  It is recommended that shared team content be managed via a Departmental Folder location.
   
   Figure 1: Drilling into Cognos Action Menu to Create a Report View

Setting up a Schedule

1. Navigate to the folder where the Report View from the previous section was saved (e.g., a shared Departmental Folder location).
2. To the right of the report view name, select the three dots to bring up the Action menu.
3. Select Properties.
4. Select the Schedule tab.
5. Select the Create schedule button.
   
6. In this new window, we will work through the three main tabs: Schedules, Options, and Prompts.
7. Watch the Summary area update as the schedule is created.
   
   1. Change the frequency type to Monthly
   2. Repeat every 1 month
   3. Schedule by day of the month
   4. Set day to the 11^th
      (This is a financial report and I want it to go out after the fiscal period closes.)

The period start and end dates can be left as the default.

Modifying Report Options

1. Navigate to the folder where the Report View from the previous section was saved (e.g. a shared Departmental Folder location)
2. Choose a Format:
   1. Change the format to send the report as PDF and Excel
   2. Remove HTML
      
   3. Choose a Delivery method:
      1. Check Send report by email
      2. Click Edit details
      3. Add the email addresses of the report recipients
         (Important: Only use @uoregon.edu email addresses to keep the data on UO servers.)
         
      4. I opened up the Cc and added my own email address
         
   4. Add the email Subject and Message
      1. Important!  Be sure to scroll down and change these settings:
         1. Turn off Include link
         2. Turn on Attach the report
         3. Use the back arrow at the top to return to the Options menu
            

Setting Prompt Values for Scheduled Report

1. Navigate to the folder where the Report View from the previous section was saved (e.g., a shared Departmental Folder location).
2. Click Set values.
   
3. The report prompt page will appear
   1. Enter the desired prompts
   2. Note: For finance reports be sure to utilize the Current Fiscal Year and
   3. Most Recently Closed FP so the prompts do not need to be updated annually.
      
   4. Click Finish on the prompt page
   5. Select Save at the bottom right

The schedule has been created. The reports will be emailed like clockwork until the end date, or you change or disable the schedule.

Report Output Sharing

Report output can be shared by hard copy or email but the expectation is that information sharing will be limited to UO business purposes. Electronic data and reports need to be kept on university servers. You are constrained in your use and sharing of data by the agreement you signed when hired and when you gained a Cognos account.

Additional Support

If you have questions, contact the IDR team.