Upgrading Reports

When you open a report that was created in a previous version of IBM® Cognos® Business Intelligence, it is automatically upgraded.

Any problems detected during the upgrade process appear as information messages information message icon and error messages error message icon in the Upgrade Information dialog box. You must fix any errors in the report and then validate the report before you can run it. In some cases, the information or error message is linked to the location of the issue in your report. To go to the location of the issue, click the message, and then click Select. If only warnings and information appear in the dialog box, these will disappear when you click OK.

Tip: To view this dialog box again, from the File menu, click Upgrade Information.

After you upgrade a report to the most recent version of IBM Cognos BI, you can no longer open it with a previous version.

Lifecycle Manager

You can download IBM Cognos Lifecycle Manager from http://www.ibm.com/ to help you test your reports. Lifecycle Manager is a verification tool that checks that your reports run and produce the same results in the new environment.

Lifecycle Manager is a Microsoft Windows operating system-based application for auditing upgrades to the latest version of IBM Cognos BI from IBM Cognos ReportNet 1.1 MR3 or MR4, and from IBM Cognos 8 versions 8.2, 8.3, or 8.4.

It provides a verification feature that validates, executes, and compares report results from two different IBM Cognos BI releases. This helps to identify upgrade and compatibility issues between releases. User interface design and status reporting functionality provide both a proven practice process and support for upgrade project planning and status reporting. Lifecycle Manager also automates much of the process of bundling the required files, such as reports and models, for the test case. For more information, see the Lifecycle Manager User Guide.