Creating a Parameter

You can use the Add Parameter button to add parameters for data selection and report output.

  1. To create a new report parameter, highlight a group and click Add Parameter. The Report Parameters Definition dialog is displayed.
  2. Specify this information:
    General - Parameter Data Field
    Click the browse button and select the data field that you want to apply the parameters to or leave blank to create an unbound parameter.
    Name
    The name of the parameter. This is generated automatically if a data field is selected first.
    Label Field
    Defaults from the data field selected, but can be overwritten as required by clicking the query button and selecting an alternative label field.
    Label
    Defaults from the value selected in the data field or label field, but can be overwritten as required.
    Type
    The type of data field is displayed. This is dependent on the data field selected.
    Note: If you choose to change the type you will have to re-enter the data field with an appropriate value.
    Show Time (hh:mm)
    This checkbox is only enabled if Datetime is displayed in the Type field. Datetime is the correct type for the data field DateTime Last Updated for example. Check this checkbox to show the time in hours and minutes on the report at runtime.
    Length
    The number of characters for the data field.
    General - Condition
    Validation conditions restrict the values presented to the user in a parameter lookup.
    Options are:
    • Equal
    • Not Equal
    • Less Than
    • Less Than Equal
    • Greater Than
    • Greater Than or Equal
    • Range
    • In List.
    Type
    If any of the following characters have been used in analysis codes, the In List parameter type may not work as expected. We would recommend that you do not use these characters to avoid any confusion or conflict when you use the selection commands available in the reporting and control desk functions:
    • *
    • %
    • ^
    • (
    • )
    • .
    • [
    • ]
    • _
    Include Blanks
    Check this check box to allow blanks at runtime.
    All Allowed
    Check this check box to display the All Allowed check box when the report is run.
    General - Default Value
    The default value to be used in the data field, which can be set by the user. When defining the default value for multiple prompts, indicate a range with '-' hyphen, and an 'OR' condition with a ',' comma. For example, 12000-14000, 64001, 80000. If the Show Time (hh:mm) check box in the Parameter section of this dialog has been checked, use the Value drop-down menu to select the required date from the calendar displayed.
    Fixed
    Check this check box to always report on a fixed value and disable the entry of run-time values.
    Validation
    Condition
    Options are:
    • None - this is the default value
    • Equal
    • Not Equal
    • Greater Than
    • Greater Than or Equal
    • Less Than
    • Less Than or Equal
    • Range
    • In List.
    All of these options, with the exception of None invoke an additional Value field, or, in the case of Range, From and To fields. Click the query button to display the Values dialog. Enter a value or click the magnifying glass to look up the value you require.
    Lookup Characteristics
    The following fields define how lookups are determined at parameter entry:
    • None: No lookup is displayed.
    • Used values: This lookup returns the set of used values for the selected business object.
    • All possible values: Select an object from the drop-down list. This option is disabled where there are no master objects defined against this field.
    Run-time Behavior - Hide Parameters
    Check this check box to hide the fixed parameter values at run-time.
    Run as Batch Settings
    These settings are used to burst a report; that is, split a report into many different reports. By checking this option at run-time, the output is split into multiple outputs based on a change in the Document Key Value report property.
    Data Driven
    Check this check box to identify this field as a specified data driven field when a batch report is run.
    Use System Labels
    Check this check box to use the system defined label for this parameter.
    Interface File Settings
    Match this parameter to the value of the corresponding XML element in the interface file, otherwise leave it as undefined.
    The interface file is the file sent through from SunSystems when a Process report is invoked. This contains a standard set of XML tags, some of which are pre-set within the Document Format Definition and some which are added or over-ridden at run-time. Most of these parameters require only a single element to be matched, such as, parmdSSDocumentDate or parmstrSSBusinessUnitCode. The Data Table tag is a multi-part element requiring the Table, Column, E Table and E Column elements to be matched.
  3. Save your changes.
Parent topic: Defining Report Parameters