Merged cells in Excel output

Let's say there is a list report with many columns. The report shows the title in the page header. Users mostly access this report in Excel format.

When the output is generated, Cognos puts the output in the first cell (A1). This stretches the A column as shown in the following screenshot:

In this recipe, we will see how to get Cognos to generate merged cells so that the columns are not stretched.

Getting ready

Create a simple list report. Put a report title in the page header as shown in the following screenshot:

How to do it...

We can merge cells in Excel in the same way we merge columns in a table in Cognos. In fact, this is what we are going to do:

1. Insert a Table from the Toolbox pane into the report header.

2. Set the Number of columns to 4. Keep Number of rows at 1. Click on OK as shown in the following screenshot:

   

3. Now select the first cell of the table. Hold down the Shift key and select the last cell of the table. This should select all the cells.

4. From the menu, select...