Defining report parameters

You can define a set of parameters to filter the data reported or to determine a report's output or other behavior. From the Edit menu select Report Parameters.

The Report Parameters dialog is displayed that shows a list of parameters that have been defined to determine the data reported on. You can select an existing group or parameter, or add a new group or parameter.

Note: System Parameters are supplied with Report Designer. You can amend the group name, that is, System Parameters, but you cannot edit or delete the parameters themselves.
  1. To create a parameter group, click Add Group. Each group defined here is displayed as a tab on the run-time parameter entry form. No run-time parameter tab is displayed when all parameters are hidden.
  2. To create a new report parameter, highlight a parameter group and click Add Parameter. The Report Parameters Definition dialog is displayed.
  3. Specify this information:
    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. This depends on the data field selected.
      Note: If you choose to change the type, you must re-enter the data field with an appropriate value.
    • Show Time (hh:mm): This check box is enabled only if Datetime is displayed in the Type field. For example, Datetime is the correct type for the data field DateTime Last Updated. Select this check box to show the time in hours and minutes on the report at runtime.
    • Length: The number of characters for the data field.
    Condition
    Conditions restrict the values presented to the user in a parameter lookup.
    • Type:
      • Equal
      • Not Equal
      • Less Than
      • Less Than Equal
      • Greater Than
      • Greater Than or Equal
      • Range
      • In List.
      Note: If any of the following characters have been used in analysis codes, the In List parameter type may not work as expected. We 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 Allowed: Select this check box to allow blanks at runtime.
    • All Allowed: Select this check box to display the All Allowed check box when the report is run.
    Default Value
    • 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 is selected, use the Value drop-down menu to select the required date from the calendar displayed.
    • Fixed: Select this check box to always report on a fixed value and disable the entry of run-time values.
    Validation
    • Condition:
      • None - this is the default value
      • Equal
      • Not Equal
      • Greater Than
      • Greater Than or Equal
      • Less Than
      • Less Than or Equal
      • Range
      • In List.
    • Value: All of these conditions, 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 Parameter
    Select this check box to hide the fixed parameter values at run-time.
    Burst Report Settings - Data Driven
    Select this check box to identify this field as a specified data driven field when a batch report is run.
    Label Settings - Use System Labels
    Select 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 overridden 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.
  4. Save your changes.

To change the order of parameters and groups, highlight the required line on the grid and use the up and down arrows.

To edit a group or parameter, highlight the group or parameter on the grid and click Edit. To delete a group or parameter, highlight it the grid and click Delete.