Hide query subject from non-admins

[dougp]

In order to streamline troubleshooting and development, I want to include one or more query subjects in a model and subsequent packages to provide some information about the database(s) and database server(s) associated with each data source.  These query subjects should be visible in the report authoring tool, but only to administrators.  Users seeing these would get confused.

What I've done so far is to include but hide them in the package.  That way, I can create a data item and manually enter the expression.  This can be error-prone and frustrating as I need to remember where the query subject is in the structure.  Not all of my models have exactly the same structure.

It would work best if a query subject could be configured as visible to admins and hidden for non-admins.
Is this possible?

[bus_pass_man]

https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/en/SSEP7J_11.0.0/com.ibm.swg.ba.cognos.ug_fm.doc/c_addorremoveobject-basedsecurity.html

I think object security will be able to solve your problem.

[dougp]

Perfect.  Thank you.

[MFGF]

Perfect.  Thank you.

Just be cautious when implementing object security for the first time. When no object security is defined, every object is inherently available (i.e. visible), but as soon as you set up your first object security rule, the model switches so that nothing outside of that rule is visible - unless you add another rule to make it so. If you forget (not that I ever have, nope, not me, must have been someone else, honest) you end up with a package that appears completely empty to all non-admin users. The solution is to define a second rule for the top level namespace that grants access to the "everyone" group.

Cheers!

MF.