Cognos 8.4 Chart Images Not Working (Red X)

[xplorerdev]

Hi,

Problem:
*******
My reports run fine. Tables get populated. BUT, the chart area has a RED X on top left corner i.e. Chart image is not showing. HOWEVER, the chart data is working. I mean, when I hover the mouse over the chart area, the data points show the values, as if, the data is in the background BUT the chart image is not able to show up. Same happens if I make a new chart.

Steps Tried:
*********
1) Restarted the Dispatcher and the services individually in IBM Cognos Administration.
2) Restarted the Cognos Service in IBM Cognos Configuration.
3) Restarted the Cognos server.
4) Checked in IE8 and Firefox.
5) Created new windows user.
6) Installed Flash Player 10.

Still no help.

Any suggestions/advice will be appreciated.


Regards
Dev

[Grim]

Is this the chart parts itself, or are you referring to an image you added to the report?

[xplorerdev]

Hi Grim,

This is the chart itself. Normal image items are running fine. This is happening with charts and map reports.

For e.g. in a blank report, if I add any one of the chart types and just run the report, then the chart area in the Cognos viewer output has a Red X on top left. Same is happening with Map Report i.e. if I create a map report and select any of the default country maps, and then run the report, even then the map is not being displayed. Again a Red X on top left corner of the map area.

Regards
Dev

[CognosPaul]

This happens for all reports from all studios, correct? Chart images are stored as blobs in the content store. I don't have access to a Cognos installation at the moment, but look for a table with a name like cmdata. Use your sql browser of choice to open the table and view the blob files. Run and save a few reports to see if the rows are being created.

Try following the instructions found here, remembering to back up the content store.

[xplorerdev]

Hi PaulM,

Yes, you are right. This happens for all reports from all studios.

I tried the following script in Oracle SQL Plus:

Code:
Sql> select utl_raw.cast_to_varchar2(dbms_lob.substr(DATAPROP,1000,1)) from CMDATA

where DATAPROP is the BLOB column.

I got lots of mix of characters and 12 rows as output.

As suggested by you, I opened a report, saved it and then ran the report. Went back to Oracle and ran the above code again and this time 16 rows were returned. Thus, Rows are indeed getting created.

Now, I read the link that you had mentioned, "here".

Do I run the dbClean_oracle.sql or not ? I am not sure ? I have taken a backup. But what will happen after the script runs? I guess the cognos related table in content store will be deleted and will be recreated once I restart the services. BUT, how will it affect my reports. I have 150 reports (backed up) !!

Please advice..


Thanks n Regards
Dev

[xplorerdev]

My goodness !! Its all messed up now. Now the Report Studio does not start even. Its getting stuck on "Loading Startup Information" screen. We have contacted IBM support.

I would still appreciate if anyone would know the solution to my previously mentioned issue.


Regards
Dev

[CognosPaul]

This was after you ran the Content Store clean scripts?

Have you tried opening RS in another machine or with a different user?

Have you tried clearing local cache and cookies?

Do any of the other studios work?

Do the charts still not work when viewing reports?

[xplorerdev]

Hi Paul

I did not run the scripts....

RS is not opening with any user..

Not cleared cache and cookies..

Other Studios are working fine...Just the RS is not working..

Charts are still not working...

I am not troubleshooting anymore...I give up now..actually we have been assigned ONLY one server for development and production..I know it sounds strange but that's the truth...so i will leave it to the IBM guys now...god bless Report Studio..

Thanks for your assistance, Paul.

**** CLOSING THIS THREAD ****


Thanks n Regards
Dev

[xplorerdev]

Ufff...Report Studio is up again...dnt know how...i just started to work...so I AM OPENING THIS THREAD AGAIN  :)

Paul and all other Cognos experts, kindly help me in Fixing the chart issue.

To recapitulate:

1) List and Crosstab working FINE.
2) Chart Images NOT showing. ONLY Red X.


Awaiting suggestions/advice.


Regards
Dev

[xplorerdev]

Hi All,

UPDATE on the Chart Issue and RS Not Opening Issue:
*******************************************

If I just click on the EDIT REPORT triangle button, then the Report does NOT open and gets stuck on the "Loading Start up Information" screen.

BUT if simultaneously I keep hitting the CTRL key then the reports opens up in edit mode and then onwards I am able to open all the reports in edit mode of Report Studio. It seems as if hitting the CTRL key is releasing some block/congestion.

ALSO: Now when I try to insert a chart item into a blank report or if I try to make a chart report, I get the following error:

Message from Webpage:

HAL Error:

XML Parse Error
------------------------
      reason: XML document must have a top level element.

url:
line: 0
linepos: 0
srcText:


I have changed the paging File size as well but its not having much effect on the present situation.


NOTE: Charts still NOT working. Showing Red X.


Please advice.


Regards
Dev

[CognosPaul]

Check that the cognos server is in your trusted sites, and the security settings are low.

Was anyone playing with the internal Cognos XML files?
Do you get the XML error when opening RS with a new report, or only for existing ones?

Did you run the clean script? The important Cognos tables will not be deleted, but it will remove some of the history tables. But back up your content store just in case, also do a full content store export.

Do you have toad? I'm not sure about SQL Plus, but Toad will allow you to view the CMData table and by doubleclicking on the blob field you can open the file in an image viewer. This will make sure that the graph is actually being generated.

[Grim]

If using IE, disable all popup blockers and uninstall all toolbars (Google, yahoo...etc).

[xplorerdev]

Hi Paul,

I was actually waiting for your reply. Thanks. I can breathe now  :)

Yes. The Cognos server is indeed in the trusted sites and the Intranet security level is set to low.

Anyone playing with Cognos XML files ? No Idea.

The HAL: XML Parse error is being generated ONLY while inserting a chart item into a report (new and existing). There is NO hal error while opening RS. However RS is showing the behavior described above (Opening with the help of CTRL key strokes.)

No, I did not run the cleanup scripts. I have although backed up the Content Store.

Also, there is NO Toad. I checked the blob files in Oracle SQL Plus and as pointed out by you earlier, rows were indeed getting created on saving/running the reports.

Is the chart folder corrupt ? Is any xml related to charts gone corrupt ? Is RS corrupted ? Lots of questions in my mind. Want to fix this anyhow.


Hi Grim,

Thanks for replying. I am using IE8.0. Pop up blockers are disabled. Yes. There are no toolbars installed as well. Still the problem. grrrrr...



Regards
Dev

[xplorerdev]

Hi Paul and Grim and Others,

Is the present issue related to anything in IBM Cognos Administration>Security>Capabilities ? In this location we have all the studios and others options as well having permissions to different users. Just curious about this ?


Regards
Dev

[CognosPaul]

Please try running the clean scripts on the content store.

There isn't a chart folder. From what I've seen, the chart images are saved as blobs in CMDATA. When a report is run, it saved the image of the chart into that table and retrieves it on demand. Rows are being created, but I'm not sure if the rows contain the charts you generated. Toad has a way of letting you retrieve the contents of a blob field, does SQL*Pus?

The last solution might be to just completely reinstall Cognos from scratch. Do a deployment of your entire content store, uninstall and delete Cognos from the server, then install it from scratch.

[xplorerdev]

Thanks for the reply Paul.

Running the start up scripts may not be an option for me because, I had only taken the content store backup after this problem occurred. So now if I run the scripts and if in case things go worse and if I have to restore the old content store then I will have a backup which may be already corrupted/bad.

Other option I am thinking is of doing a Rollback of the server. If the rollback does not work then re-installing Cognos will be my last option.

I guess now I am on my own. Paul and Grim, thanks for your efforts and time. Really appreciate the help. Let me see what I can do on Monday.

Will keep this thread open and will post a final comment after a while regarding the issue.

NOTE: Any suggestions/advice in the meanwhile will be always appreciated.


Thanks n Regards
Dev

[CognosPaul]

If you've backed up the content store, then running the cleanup scripts shouldn't be a problem. Either they will fix the problem, or do nothing, or make the problem worse. If they make the problem worse then you can just restore the backup.

You could also check the cognos logs to see if there are any errors being thrown.

[xplorerdev]

Paul,

Need one clarification.

I have learnt that the Content Store (CS) is the backbone of Cognos Reports. I have developed close to 170 reports. Now, since I had taken the backup of the CS after the problem occurred, so now is my CS also corrupt ?

And, if I now run the cleanup scripts, is it MANDATORY to restore the CS to get the reports working or the reports will work even without restoring it ?

Charts issue may or may not be fixed by the cleanup scripts, but I am also worried about my 170 reports.


Regards
Dev

[CognosPaul]

The clean script will not delete your reports. It functions by cleaning various tables, such as schedule history tables, that are not essential.  I recommend reviewing the scripts to get a full understanding of what they do.

If the issue is a corrupt CS, then yes, a database backup will maintain that corruption. A full content store deployment archive may contain it, depending where the corruption is. A deployment of the model and reports only is unlikely to have the corruption.

[navissar]

After the cleanup script, and if that fails, maybe a couple of other suggestions before reinstalling everything:
1. Make sure the Cognos service runs with an account who is an administrator on the local machine.
2. Open a browser on the server, navigate to the cognos URI, and see if the issue persists.
3. Disable CAF validation.

These are basically shots in the dark, but they might give us more data. While I agree with Paul this is likely to be a CS issue, there are other possibilities.

[xplorerdev]

Paul and Nimrod,

Thanks for the suggestions. What we are doing now is a rollback of the server. If that helps fine, if not then we will run the cleanup scripts. If the cleanup helps, fine, if it does not then I am going to do what Nimrod, you have suggested.

Since we have less time with us, simultaneously, we will be installing Cognos on another server, just in-case nothing works.


Thanks again guys.


Regards
Dev

[xplorerdev]

Hi Paul, Grim and Nimrod.

I am back in business.

Report Studio is opening NOW.....finallly....

Actually what had happened was, in the past two days we had faced severe RS problems. We were NOT able to open RS also. We were getting a DPR ERR 2014 Load Balancing Error. Had done all possible troubleshooting for it. But, not getting this anymore.

I installed the IBM Cognos 8.4.1 Fix Pack 4. This helped fix the above issue.

I can open the reports now. I am able to edit them. Also, I am NOT getting the HAL error while inserting the charts.

The Fix Pack 4 has done a good job. At least for me :) Others can try, but make sure to keep all necessary backups.

However, I am at the beginning again.

1) Charts still not working. Red X.
2) Excel download gives the "No saved report out versions" error.



Regards
Dev

[navissar]

1. Good to know some of the problems were solved. If the FP solved it, it's probably because some .xml file was changed, and the FP changed it back. Very tricky, those.
2. How much space do you have on the Cognos hard drive?

[xplorerdev]

Hi Nimrod,

I tried what you suggested.
1) Yes, The Cognos server is running on Admin account.
2) Same behavior with Cognos URI.
3) Disabled CAF. Issue persists.

Hi Paul,

I installed Toad. Opened CMDATA. There were few Image/png entries, all having some size. I double clicked the DATAPROP value and when I save it as JPEG, I get a 0 byte file which has no image. Any advice/suggestions regarding viewing images in Toad ?


However, we have a development. Now, I am able to insert a chart item. No HAL error anymore. So when we run a new report with a chart item, in Cognos viewer it still gives a Red X, but when I download it into excel, the graph is showing !!!! This was not happening earlier. Does this mean something ?

However, for the existing reports, when I try to download into excel, I am still getting "DPR-ERR-2069 There are no report output versions available for this report"

Also PDF download operation is working for both, new and existing reports BUT I am getting a 0 byte file.


To Summarize:
------------------
1) The Red X, chart issue pending in Cognos viewer for new and existing reports.
2) Excel download working ONLY for new reports. Chart image visible in the excel file.
3) PDF downloaded file is of 0 bytes for new and existing reports.

Any more suggestions guys ?


Regards
Dev

[xplorerdev]

Hi Nimrod, Paul, Grim and all others viewers of this post.

I think we have been able to know the root cause of the Red X issue in chart images.

We opened an existing report having chart item. We just changed the default size of the report i.e. reduced the height and width of the chart almost down to 2 cm X 2cm. This worked !!!

The chart image got displayed on the screen. When we increased the size to even 2.1 cm X 2.1 cm, the Red X came back. We tried this 5 -6 times and it is confirmed that in my case it is the size of the chart that is causing the issue. We are now talking to our Oracle Database team so that they can increase table space size.

Will keep you guys updated.

However, the DPR-ERR-2069 error while downloading excel is still there.


Thanks n Regards
Dev