Using Parameter Question(s)?

[RobSil]

I want to make a report that is generic in the sense that the same report will get re-used for various fields values.  E.g. a student database and the report runs either repeatedly from a list of homerooms, or specifically for a specified homeroom.

1. Can you automate the report to run monthly and be passed a Homeroom?  ideally I'd like to schedule 25 reports to run, each the same report file, with 1 homeroom name from a list (e.g.).

2. How would you create the parameter in the report?  Do you need to make up a dummy prompt page or can you just use the parameter in the report body somehow?

I've been reading the manual and trying to sort this out but think I am missing a piece of the puzzle.  Hopefully someone knows how to do this. :)

Thanks,
Rob

[MFGF]

Hi Rob,

Would this requirement be answered by a report with a multi-select value prompt on the Homeroom item, which then uses the Homeroom value(s) as a section heading in the report, and starts a new page for each homeroom selected?

If I have understood this correctly, you need to define a list report containing Homeroom, add a filter with the expression [Homeroom] in ?HRParam?, select the Homeroom list column and press the Section button on the toolbar, then go to Page Explorer and drag in a Page Set, define the page set grouping property as Homeroom, then drag the main report page into the Detail Pages section of the Page Set.

Apologies if I am way off track here - if I have misunderstood, post back more details of what you want to do and we will try to help further.

Regards,

MF.

[RobSil]

Preface: "Homeroom" is just an analogy but hopefully it makes my point clear... it would be a bit confusing to describe what data I am reporting on.

What you have described is pretty much what I am after.  Generally out of the 50 homerooms I have... < 10 will be reported on regularly by a scheduled process... the rest would be ad-hoc.  For those 10... I want to have 10 seperate reports printed in PDF format as different people will read different homeroom reports.

So basically I'm saying I would like the flexibility to do it either as a set of homerooms, or a single value.  Right now my goal is to have a report with plain text in it... and be able to specify the homeroom and have it displayed in the report.

e.g.

Reporting on Homeroom:  SOME_VALUE

My weakness is that I am having trouble conceptualizing what the parameter is, where it is specified, etc.  I'll give a go at what you wrote and respond. :)

[RobSil]

So I gave it a go and ran into some issues.

I found my error though... I hadn't assigned my query elements to my chart yet.  When I did that, it told me of an error in another filter (typo... missing a ')').  Apparently the queries aren't run if they aren't used in an object and thus you don't know if you should have a parameter or not.  Soon as I added the elements and fixed my typo.. the prompt was shown.

- can I see a list of params the report will use somewhere and maybe define them external to a filter?  Seems odd I have to introduce the parameter into a filter first. 


Thanks again for all the help!  I've confirmed also you can re-use the same param in different queries.  Now to work out the date math based on range param (Month, Quarter, Year). :)

A dim bulb slowly brightens... ;)

Cheers,
Rob