HP Intelligent Management Center Standard Software Platform - Manual (Page 588)

Parameter and prompt overview
Parameters are Crystal Reports fields that you can use in a Crystal Reports
formula. As a formula component, a parameter must have a value before
the program can process the report. By using parameters in formulas,
selection formulas, and in the report itself, you can create a single report that
changes its behavior depending on the values entered by your users.
Parameter fields can also be used in subreports.
Prompts are elements that help users set a value for report parameters.
Prompts are different from parameters in several ways:
• Prompts are not used directly by a Crystal Reports formula.
• Prompts include user-interface settings that help you determine the
appearance of the prompting dialog box that your users see.
• Prompts include an optional list of values that your users can choose
from. This list of values can be a static list that is stored in each report,
or a dynamic list that is retrieved from a database (this type of prompt
includes multi-level cascading lists that are also retrieved from a
database).
• Prompts can be set so that the parameter itself is optional.
When your users select values in the prompting dialog box, they are setting
values for prompts. The Crystal Reports prompting engine then assigns that
value to the corresponding parameter, which is finally used by the report.
When you create and edit a parameter field, you work with one parameter
and one or more prompts.
Parameter field considerations
There are a number of things to keep in mind when working with parameter
fields:
• Parameter fields support the following data types:
• Boolean: Requires a yes/no or true/false answer.
Example: Include planned budget numbers in the summary?
• Currency: Requires a dollar amount.
588 Crystal Reports 2008 SP3 User's Guide
Parameter Fields and Prompts 23
Parameter and prompt overview