Change icons for newsitems in Upfront 7.0 1

[benbotektips]

Anyone know a simple way to replace the standard icons that appear next to each newsitem in IWR 7.0? I'm portalizing to the extreme, putting in IWR reports, Powerplay cubes, Word documents, Excel spreads, etc. I have all the .gif files I need loaded in the Upfront images directory. The instructions on Cognos documentation are extremely complicated, with the xml string, and they don't say where to put the xml anyway (in the URL box, right next to the actual file definition)? It's be great if someone could post a working example of an URL up and running, with an icon other than the standard.

 

[christenhusz]

hi benbotektips,

The default icon path, which is automatically populated when you publish a cube, is hardcoded into the software. In the Standard Theme/Images folder, you will find that it points to the file icon_newsitem_ppquery_sub.gif. That file, like all others in this folder, has three basic associated files: the main icon, a raised version, and a sunken version.

To execute this technique, begin by changing the names of the three files. In this example, let's change the names by adding the suffix OLD to each (e.g. icon_newsitem_ppquery_subOLD.gif). Next, copy the three icons into this directory and rename them to the above names (without the suffix OLD appended to them).

This technique works good. You can now publish large numbers of cubes and when you go into Cognos Upfront, the cube icon is there already. This keeps you from having to publish numerous cubes and then edit each and every one to change the icon path. Remember: this has to be done within every Theme you are going to use (i.e. Guest Theme and Admin Theme. etc.), and each language.

good luck,
christenhusz

 

[benbotektips]

Christen,
Thanx for the post, this is almost what I want, but not quite. I have a newsbox, and within the newsbox several different files (newsitems): IWR .imr, Powerplay cubes, Excel spreadsheets, Word .docs, etc., all as URL's. The default icon for URL's is a globe with a chain link around it. What I want is to individually customize each icon. The Word doc will have the Microsoft 'W', the Acrobat pdf will have the red 'A', powerplay cube will have a cube, etc. Cognos suggest using an xml command next to the URL, but it's not working. So how can I change each individual newsitem's icon?
P.S. The only way I know to put things in a newsbox, besides a report, is via an URL. Is there another way, one which'll let you assign an icon in the proerties section?

 

[griffindm]

Ben,

From what I saw at the Florida conference, Series 7 Version 2 MR1 does this automatically. Can anyone using this confirm?

Regards,

Dave Griffin


The Decision Support Group
Reporting Consulting with Cognos BI Tools
"Magic with Data"
Want good answers? Read FAQ401-2487 first!

http://www.decisionsupportgroup.com

 

[benbotektips]

...and in 6, u could simply set this in the properties. I'm running 7, version 1, no MR's yet (we're supposed to install MR1 soon).