Request and Pass Report Parameter Values
This document illustrates how to assign the default and custom values to a report's parameters and describes the editors that are used to request these values in a Print Preview.
Requesting Parameter Values in a Print Preview
The parameter's Value property specifies the parameter's actual value. This value must correspond to the parameter's value type the Type property defines.
A parameter's value is not requested from end-users and is automatically passed to the report when the parameter's Visible property is set to false. When a report has at least one visible parameter, a Print Preview provides the Parameters panel for submitting parameter values.
When loading a Print Preview, a report document is not created by default unless values for all visible parameters are submitted. To create report documents without requesting parameter values (and using their default values instead), set the report's Request Parameters property to No.
Standard Parameter Editors
The parameter's Type property determines which values a parameter can accept. The corresponding value editors are created automatically for the following standard parameter types:
- String
- Date
- Number
- 16-bit integer
- 32-bit integer
- 64-bit integer
- floating point
- double-precision floating point
- decimal
- Boolean
- GUID (Globally Unique Identifier)
The following image illustrates the standard editors for parameter values:
Look-Up Parameter Editors
You can list a parameter's values in a lookup editor:
Assign a Static List of Values to a Parameter
A parameter can be provided with a predefined set of static values, without creating a separate data source. Each value is accompanied by a description that appears in the Print Preview's user interface.
Assign a Dynamic List of Values to a Parameter
A parameter can obtain a list of values from a specified data source.
Assign Multiple Values to a Parameter
A parameter can also be allowed to accept multiple values by enabling its Multi-Value property.
When creating cascading parameters, the list of values available for one parameter is filtered based on another parameter's current value. See Create Multi-Value and Cascading Report Parameters for more information.