Creating a Variable Prompt

Use the following procedure to create a variable prompt that you can apply to one or more dashboards, or to create a variable prompt that is embedded in an analysis. For more information about variable prompts, see "Other Prompt Types." For more information about variables, see "Using Variables." For information about opening a prompt for editing, see "Editing Prompts."

To create a variable prompt:

1. To create a named variable prompt, use the following sub-procedure.

   1. Navigate to the Oracle BI Enterprise Edition Home page, locate the global header, hover over the New menu to access the menu, and from the menu select Dashboard Prompt. The Select Subject Areas menu is displayed.

   2. From the Select Subject Area menu, select the subject area for which you want to create the prompt. The "Definition pane" is displayed.

2. To create an inline prompt, either create an analysis or access an existing analysis for which you want to create a prompt. In the "Analysis editor," click the Prompts tab. The "Definition pane" is displayed.

3. Click the New button in the Definition Pane. From the list, select Variable Prompt.

   The "New Prompt dialog" is displayed.

4. In the Prompt for box, select the variable type that you are creating and then enter the name of the variable.

5. In the Label field, enter a caption for the variable filter prompt. The caption is displayed as the prompt's field label.

6. In the Description field, enter a short description for the prompt. This description is displayed as tooltip text, which is displayed when the user hovers the mouse pointer over the prompt's label in the dashboard or analysis.

   The descriptions are also displayed when administrators view the stored prompt object from the Catalog Manager.

7. In the User Input field, select how you want the prompt interface to ask the user for input. For example, prompt the user with a radio button to select only one prompt value.

8. If you selected either the Choice List, Check boxes, Radio buttons, and List box user input type, then you must also specify the prompt's list of values. For more information, see "New Prompt dialog."

9. Within the Options section, select the prompt options. The prompt options vary depending on the user input type that you selected. The prompt options allow you to further specify how you want the user to interact with the prompt (for example, whether user input is required).

10. In the Default selection field, select the prompt value that users see initially. If you select a specific value, then the Default Value field is displayed in which you can enter a value.

11. Click OK. The prompt is displayed in the "Definition pane."

12. Save the prompt. Note the following options:

    • If you are creating a dashboard prompt, then click the Save button in the prompt's editor, specify the folder in which you want to save the prompt, and give the prompt a descriptive name. Note that dashboard prompts that are saved in personal folders are available only to you. Dashboard prompts that are saved in shared folders are available to other users that have permission to access the object.

    • If you are saving a dashboard prompt for use with an Oracle BI Publisher report that receives its data from a SQL query against the Oracle BI Server, Oracle Database, or other JDBC source, then the dashboard prompt's name must match the name of the report's parameter.

    • If you are creating an inline prompt, then save the analysis.

13. Use the arrow buttons in the Definition Pane to reorder the selected prompt. Reordering the prompts controls the order in which the choices are displayed to users at runtime, so ensure that the order is logical, especially if you are creating constrained prompts.

14. If you want to add a new row or column to the prompts page, then click the New Row button or New Column button in the Definition pane's toolbar. In the Definition table, click the check box corresponding to the prompt that you want to display in a new row or column.

15. To preview how the prompt is displayed on the dashboard, either use the "Display pane" to preview the prompt with sample data, or click the Preview button (if available) in the Definition Pane toolbar to view the prompt with actual prompt values.

    
    

    Note: If the Preview button is not available, then the administrator has suppressed its display.