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New Parameter Dialog Box

You can use the New Parameter dialog box to create a parameter in the current catalog, or create a local parameter to use in the current report. This topic describes the options in the dialog box.

Designer displays the New Parameter dialog box when you do one of the following:

• Right-click the Parameters node in the Catalog Manager and select New Parameter from the shortcut menu.
• Select <New Parameter…> where a parameter list is available.
• In the Formula Editor dialog box or User Defined Function Editor dialog box, select Menu > File > New Parameter.

You see the following options in the dialog box:

Name

Specify the name of the parameter.

Value Setting

Select the parameter type.

• Type-in Parameter
  Select this type if you want to predefine parameter values by typing manually.
• Bind with Single Column
  Select this type if you want to bind DBField with the parameter so as to retrieve the values of the DBField as the parameter values.
• Bind with Cascading Columns
  Select this type if you want to create a group of cascading parameters so as to achieve the function of filtering parameters with parameters in a simple way. Designer does not display this type when the parameter is in a catalog data source that contains only XML connections.

Value Type

Select the data type of the parameter.

Value

Designer displays different options in the section after Value Type according to the type you select from the Value Setting drop-down list.

• For Type-in Parameter
  • Value List
    This box lists the values that you predefine for the parameter.
    • Prompt Values [format hint]
      Specify the prompt values for the parameter. The [format hint] shows what the predefined values should look like.

      You can add more than one prompt value. All the prompt values must be of the same type as specified by Value Type.

    • Add button
      Select to add a new prompt value to the list. Double-click in the value line to edit the value. If the parameter is of the Date, Time, or DateTime data type, you can also select to set a date and time value using the calendar widget.
    • Remove button
      Select to delete the specified prompt value.
    • Move Up button
      Select to move the specified value higher in the display sequence.
    • Move Down button
      Select to move the specified value lower in the display sequence.
• For Bind with Single Column
  
  • Data Source
    Select the data source from which to retrieve the DBFields that you can bind with the parameter.
  • Bind Column
    Select the DBField to bind with the parameter.
  • Sort icon
    Select to display the Sort drop-down menu to specify how to sort the DBFields in the drop-down list.
    • Ascending
      Select to sort the DBFields in the ascending order.
    • Descending
      Select to sort the DBFields in the descending order.
    • No Sort
      Select to keep the original order of the DBFields as in the database. It is the default order.
  • Search icon
    Select to open the search box to search for the required DBField. To start searching, type the text you want to search for in the search box and Designer lists the DBFields containing the matched text.

    You can use the following options in the search box:

    • Drop-down icon
      Select to list more search options.
      • Highlight All
        Select to highlight all the matched text.
      • Match Case
        Select to search for text that meets the case of the text you type.
      • Match Whole Word
        Select to search for text that looks the same as the text you type.
    • Delete icon
      Select to close the search box and cancel the search.
  • Close icon
    Select to close the drop-down list.
  • Display Column
    Select the DBField the values of which you want to display for specifying the parameter value at runtime.
  • Sort icon
    Select to display the Sort drop-down menu to specify how to sort the DBFields in the drop-down list: Ascending, Descending, or No Sort.
  • Search icon
    Select to open the search box to search for the required DBField.
  • Close icon
    Select to close the drop-down list.

  The change of sort order for the DBFields in both the Bind Column and Display Column drop-down lists is a one-off action which Designer does not remember after you exit the dialog box, meaning, each time when you open the dialog box, Designer always applies No Sort to the DBFields in the drop-down lists.

• For Bind with Cascading Columns
  • Data Source
    Select the data source from which to retrieve the DBFields that you can bind with the parameters.
  • Value List
    Specify a group of cascading parameters.
    • Add button
      Select to add a new parameter.
    • Remove button
      Select to delete the specified parameter.
    • Move Up button
      Select to move the specified parameter to a higher level. The higher position a parameter has, the higher level it gets. Values of the lower-level parameters are controlled by values of the higher-level parameters.
    • Move Down button
      Select to move the specified parameter to a lower level.
    • Bind Column
      Select the DBField to bind with the parameter.
    • Display Column
      Select the DBField the values of which you want to display for specifying the parameter value at runtime.
    • Parameter
      Specify whether to set a group of Bind Column and Display Column as a parameter which becomes a member of the cascading parameter group.

Options

You can specify the options for the parameter in this box.

OK

Select to apply your settings and close the dialog box.

Cancel

Select to close the dialog box without saving any changes.

Help

Select to view information about the dialog box.

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