Parameter Definitions

Once you have parameters defined, you can change the properties of those parameters in the parameter editor. Click on the editor you want to customize and view the Define Editor tab:

Data Access Studio shows the Designer in the region above your Layout grid. You can resize the height of the Report Parameter Designer by clicking the splitter line between the Designer and the Layout grid.

To	Do this
Specify editor type	Click the Editor Type selection box and pick the desired editor type: When you select an editor type, the remaining settings for that editor will be update to reflect options for that editor. The Grid column valid values is a special editor that is aware of the grid column value values for the specified grid column
Allow/disallow blank entry	To allow blank entry (default), check the Allow blank entry check box. To force entry of a value, uncheck this checkbox
Specify input mode	DAS supports the follow varieties of input modes: Expression User allowed to entry any valid filter text: single value, wildcards, lists, or ranges, etc. See Filter Your Data for more information on the syntax of these strings. This option provides a filter button on the entry field that assists the user with the various filter options (list, not in list, range, etc.) Single Value User allowed to enter a single value only. No filter syntax allowed for this mode. If editor type is Date, then the calendar control will only allow the selection of a single day. Value from list (single and multiple) Parameter designer specifies a list of valid values manually. If the valid values also have associated descriptions, then these will be shown to the users as well (although the report designer may override even this description in his/her list). Use this option to limit the valid choices to a user. If single mode, then use may only pick one of the values. If Multi mode, the user may pick one or more of the values (i.e. a list of values). In either case, the user MUST select at least one of the values (i.e. blank entry is not allowed) Example:Suppose we wanted to allow the user to pick from three Company numbers. In this case, the user may prefer to select by company number vs description is it is shorter and recognizable to the user. By using Multiple values from list we setup up the Custom valid values as follows: Here we simply enter each valid company number on each line. If the column has an associated description, this will be the default description per line. You may override any description by typing in the edit box for the line. Once designed this way, the user selects by company number: Here the user selects by number and the selection is shown as the number he/she selected. The Description only shows up in the Valid Values selection. Description from a list (single and multiple) Very similar to Value from list except instead of selecting by value, the user is presented with the descriptions of those values only. This mode is handy to show the user a more friendly (and customizable) list of options which get resolved to each's baker values automatically). Example:Suppose we wanted to allow the user to pick from two Ship To address numbers. The address number in this case is the "backer value" - it is that which we want to use to query. However, the user doesn't recognize address numbers as easily as the Ship to Name. By using Multiple descriptions from list we setup up the Custom valid values as follows: Here we enter the valid address numbers. Notice that the Description value automatically defaults to Associated Description which means DAS will automatically get the description for the number. You may override the description with any text. Once designed this way, the user simply picks by description: Once the user makes the selection, the <Ship To> token is set to corresponding the address numbers for that selection
Specify character casing	If applicable. Choose Normal for mixed case. Choose Upper case to force entry in uppercase. Choose Lower case to force entry in lower case.
Make a parameter visible/invisible	Check Visible (default) to make the parameter visible. Uncheck Visible to hide the parameter from the user.
Close the Designer and show the Prompt screen	Click Back.