Troubleshooting
Problem
When there is a requirement to build a Cognos PowerCube when there there will be no network access to a Cognos Analytics Package or Report or IQD based data source, you can prepare CSV files with Powerplay Transformer that can be substituted as data sources.
This can be used for demonstration purposes or for providing a portable testcase to support. It avoids the need for replicating the same relational database with database scripts, data exports, matching database versions in a separate environment.
Resolving The Problem
How to enable generation of CSV based data files with Transformer.
1. In Powerplay Transformer, from the menu select File > Preferences> CSV Output tab.
1. In Powerplay Transformer, from the menu select File > Preferences> CSV Output tab.
2. Check the Output option to enabled it and and specify a folder to generate the output.
NOTE: For Unix and Linux environments you can add these settings to install_dir/configuration/cogtr.xml file in the Transformer section.
Example:
<Section Name="Transformer">
<Preference Name="DumpCSVEnabled" Value="1"/>
<Preference Name="DumpCSVPath" Value="./data"/>
This example generate CSV files in the install_dir/data directory. Ensure has write permissions to the directly required to complete this process successfully.
3. To generate the CSV files for all data sources in the model without building the Powercube, select Run > Generate Categories from the menu.
You can also generate the CSV for an individual data source by selecting the data source in the model and selecting Run > Generate Categories for Selected Data Source from the menu.
You can also build the Powercube to generate the CSV data.
4. Turn off CSV Output option enabled in step 1 and 2.
NOTE: The option is used for creating a local CSV copy of data sources and can be disabled during model design or cube building processes to prevent unnecessarily creating CSV files and consuming processing time and drive space.
How to replace the existing Transformer data sources with new CSV data sources.
1. Make a backup copy of the Transformer model file.
2. Right-click a data source in the model and select Change Source Type.
3. In the New Data Source dialog, select: Delimited-field text with column titles. Click next
4. Click Browse, and select the replacement CSV file. Click Next, click Finish.
5. Repeat for each data source.
6. Select from the menu, Tools > Check Model. Address any issues with column names that might differ from the original data source.
When testing or troubleshooting Powercube builds, you can change the path, or file name of the Powercube in Powercube Properties > Output tab to prevent overwriting an existing Powercube files.
Also, disable Powercube deployment on the Powecube Properties > Deployment tab to prevent the any test cubes from being deployed.
Related Information
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Document Information
Modified date:
14 March 2023
UID
swg21616286