Creating a set of range input fields

This topic provides the most common procedure to create a set of range input fields to include as options on a report criteria form. Variations on this procedure are possible. These options can be used to select a range of property or date values to include in a report's output.

Note: This procedure applies only to report criteria forms created in the Windows (smart) client. Because of significant differences, we do not recommend trying to perform this procedure in the web client Web Designer.

To create a set of range input fields:

  1. Open the report criteria form and go into Design Mode.
  2. Add a ComboBox component to the form and give it an appropriate Name.
    Do not give the combo box a caption.

    We recommend using a name that consists of the IDO property you are using to set the range, prepended with "Starting". For example, if you want to use the UserTasks property for the range, you would name this component StartingUserTask.

  3. Bind the component to a variable that will be used to pass the parameter value:
    1. Click the ellipsis (…) button associated with the Data Source > Binding property.
    2. In the Edit Component Data Binding dialog box, for the Type, select Variable.
    3. Click Edit.
    4. In the Edit Variable Binding dialog box, from the Variable drop-down list, select the variable for the parameter you want to include.
      We recommend you name the variable the same as the component itself (for example, StartingUserTask).
      Note: If you have not already created the variable, you can type the name for the variable into the Variable field, and the variable is created when you exit the dialog box.
    5. Click OK in each dialog box until you are returned to the form.
  4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 to create a second combo box component and variable, with the word "Ending" replacing the word "Starting".
    For example (and following the examples so far), you would name this component and its variable EndingUserTask.
    Note: You can also create a set of date range input fields, by using DateCombo components instead of ComboBox components.
  5. If you are "stacking" the two combo boxes, one above the other, add these Static components:
    • One above the two combo boxes, with a Caption that indicates what IDO property you are using to set the range; for example, sUserTaskNumber (which displays as User Task Number).
    • One to the left of the top combo box, with a Caption of sStarting (Starting).
    • One to the left of the bottom combo box, with a Caption of sEnding (Ending).
    Note: This is only one possibility for the layout of the range combo boxes. If, for example, you are creating multiple sets of ranges, you could stack the "Starting" combo boxes in a column to the left and the "Ending" combo boxes in a column to the right. You would then use Static components to label the IDO properties to the left of each set of combo boxes, and label above the first column "Starting" and above the second column "Ending".