How to publish a PDF file or any file in Cognos Connection?

[Pavlo01]

How can I publsih a PDF file to Cognos Connection for users to access. If I need to create a data source in Cognos administration where do I save the file to, what is the type of data source that I need to select and what is the connection string for the data source?

Cheers,

[MMcBride]

How can I publsih a PDF file to Cognos Connection for users to access.

To my knowledge there is no way to accomplish what you are requesting. What I typically do is create word Documents from the PDF files and publish the Word Documents as read only using Cognos Office Connection.

If I need to create a data source in Cognos administration where do I save the file to, what is the type of data source that I need to select and what is the connection string for the data source?

When you create a Data Source within Cognos Admin there is no file to save. If you are creating an ODBC connection to a Database create the ODBC Connection as you normally would and when you create the Cognos Data Source connection select ODBC and reference the ODBC connection...
Cognos Supports almost every database on the market, if there is a Database that isn't supported you could always look use ODBC or JDBC to connect.

Your connection string will depend on the type of database you want to connect as that dictates what goes into the Connection String.

[Lynn]

Can you put the files on your web server and then add a hyperlink in Cognos Connection?

[CognosPaul]

There is a way to publish pretty much anything to the Cognos connection, but it's a bit hacky. Okay, very hacky. It basically involves piggy-backing on the deployment method. I created the attached file in 8.4, but versions 10+ will import it perfectly.

First, rename your file to 0.dat and replace the 0.dat that is in the zip.

Next you'll need to go through the various xml files in the zip and fix the various elements, such as the searchPath in content.xml and exportRecord.xml. In package1.xml the important things to fix are the object/class=document and object/class=documentContent. Make sure you set the dataSize correctly, as I remember having issues with that.

Once the zip is finished, simply drag it into your deployment folder and do an import. If it all works, the file should appear in the specified path.

Important Note: This solution is unsupported and may cause a black hole to form in your server. I recommend doing a backup and trying it on a test server. Do it at your own risk, I will not be held accountable for any zombie apocalypse that may result from attempting this.

[Pavlo01]

If i save the PDF file to the web server and create a Hyperlink in Cognos Connection, what is the URL?
I need to type a URL with an acceptable domain. When i click "view acceptable domains" there are 'no entries'

[Lynn]

Talk with your Cognos administrator. The install and config guide has information on how to configure valid domains. I would think the admin would also be able to help you figure out what the URL is for a file placed in the server.