Define a Connection Between Controls

Define a connection between controls to link them together. When you link controls, an action performed on one control affects the behavior of the other control.

Procedure

  1. Select the control that you added to the report, and from the on-demand toolbar, click the create a new connection icon Create a new connection icon..

    The interactive behavior Interactive behavior icon. and the new connection Create a new connection icon. icons appear in the on-demand toolbar only when an interactive object control is selected.

    Active report toolbar

  2. In the Source Control drop-down list, select the source control for which you want to define a connection.
  3. Click the Data Item drop-down list under the source control and select the data item that will drive the behavior of the target control.
  4. In the Target Control drop-down list, select the target control for which you want to define a connection.

    If the target control is a visualization, select a visualization data container.

  5. Click the Data Item drop-down list under the target control and select the data item that will determine what appears in the target control.

    If the data item that you want to use is not in the query of the target control, and the source control is a data-driven control, select Copy Data Item from Source to copy the source data item specified in the previous step to the target control query. If the source control is a static control, select Use Source Definition.

    If the target control is a data container, the copied data item appears shaded in the container to indicate that the column visibility property for the item is set to Hidden.

  6. Click the Behavior drop-down list between the source and target controls and specify the type of relationship that you want to define between the two controls:
    • To select data in the target control based on what will be selected in the source control, click Select.
    • To filter data in the target control based on what will be selected in the source control, select Filter.
  7. Below the Behavior area, click the active variable drop-down list and choose to create a new variable for the connection or use an existing variable.
    Tip: If there are no variables defined in the report, you cannot click the active variable drop-down list.
    1. If you create a new variable, type a name for the variable and specify its data type. You can also specify its default values.
    2. If you choose to use an existing variable, choose the variable that you want. You can also specify its default values.
  8. Click Connect.

Results

When a connection is defined, IBM® Cognos® Analytics - Reporting creates the appropriate conditions for the selection behavior and reaction behavior of the source and target controls.
Tip: The interactive behavior icon interactive behavior icon of a control changes to indicate that a connection was defined. Click the Queries icon Queries icon, and then click the Active Report controls icon Active Report Controls tab to see the controls and variables inserted in a report and their relationships to one another. You can click a control in this tab to quickly locate the control in the report as well as set default values for variables.