Input Controls provide a convenient, easily accessible way to filter and analyze report data.
You can define input controls using standard windows controls, such as lists or entry fields text boxes, and associate them with one or multiple elements, such as tables, sections, and charts, or with all the elements in a document. When you select values in the Input Control, you filter the values in the associated report elements by the values you have selected.
Create an Input Control
The available properties are determined by the control type:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the input control. |
| Description | The description of the input control. |
| Operator | The operator that the input control uses to filter the associated report elements. |
| Use restricted List of Values | If you define a custom list of values for the report object, this setting filters the data in the report element you assign to the input control based on this list of values. Even when no values are selected in the input control, any values not present in the restricted list are excluded from the report element filtered by the input control. |
| Sort List of Values | This option allows you to sort a list of values dynamically and decide which values should be visible in priority in the list according to your business needs. |
| Allow selection of null values | For the Combo box, Radio buttons, List box, and Check boxes input controls, you can allow users to select null values. |
| Reset on refresh | This option allows you to reset the default value of the input control automatically when refreshing the document. |
| Default values | The default values that the input control uses to filter the associated report element. |
Watch this video to learn how to use the input control:
Filter Bar Management
Input Controls are displayed in the Filter bar, which is designed for consumption work flows.
Use the Manage Filter Bar dialog box to modify existing input controls.
Data Dynamically Filtered with Groups of input Controls
You can use a filter path to help you refine your data in a report.
A filter path is a visual representation of the order of two or more Input Controls that are part of the same group. This order determines the progressive refinement of available values in the Input Controls’ lists of values.
You create a filter path by grouping several input controls together in a report, and then select each one in the order that you would like your values to be filtered. The filter path allows you to control the progressive refinement of your data.
Watch this video to learn how to use the Group of Input Controls: