Create an Object Prompt to Select Objects to Display on a Report

Object prompts provide users the ability to add additional objects to a report. You can let users select from almost any object available in Strategy. The objects the user selects in the prompt are placed on the report. This essentially allows users to create their reports, although you use the object prompt to control what objects they can choose to include on their reports.

For example, you can create a prompt that allows users to choose from a list of existing stand-alone filters to apply to the report. Or, you can create a prompt that displays the Day, Month, Quarter, and Year attributes to users so that the user can specify the granularity of the report. Object prompts enable you to provide versatile reports to users.

Object prompts can be used in many places, including the following:

Object prompts containing attributes: Any place that can accept a list of attributes.
Object prompts containing metrics: Embedded in a set qualification filter and any place that accepts metrics.

When you create an object prompt, you can decide whether users can select from a specified list of objects, or you can define a specific search that presents an up-to-date set of objects for users to choose from. Including a search object in the object prompt, rather than specifying the exact object names, allows users to select from new objects that might not have been part of the project when you first created the prompt.

Check out the video below to learn more!

Create an Object Prompt

If you want users to answer the prompt by selecting from the results of a search object, create the search object before creating the prompt.

Open the Workstation window.
From the File menu, select New Prompt.
If you are connected to multiple environments or projects, select the environment and project to create the prompt in.
From the Select the Type of Prompt to Begin drop-down list, select Prompt for Objects.

In the Multiple objects box, search for and add objects.
- To let users select which objects to include on the report, select attributes and metrics.
- To let users determine the data that is included in the report, select filters and reports.
- To let users determine which objects to use to split a long report into a set of individual pages, select attributes and metrics.
- To create a prompted filter, select attributes, filters, and reports.
- To create a prompted metric, select attributes, filters, or metrics.
- You can instead select search objects that contain these types of objects.
You can also drag and drop objects from the Object Browser.

Edit the predefined text for the Prompt title and instructions by clicking the text. Type a new Prompt Title and Instructions in the boxes.
To set a minimum and/or maximum, require a prompt answer, and enable personal answers, click None next to Answer restrictions.
- To set the minimum number of objects that can be selected by the user, select the Minimum Objects check box and type the value in the box. You can specify a minimum even if you do not specify a maximum.
- To set the maximum number of objects that can be selected by the user, select the Maximum Objects check box and type the value in the box. You can specify a maximum even if you do not specify a minimum.
- To require users to answer the prompt before running the report, select the Prompt Answer Required check box.
- To determine whether users can save and reuse their prompt answers, select the Allow Personal Answers check box. Choose how many prompt answers they can save for the prompt:
  - Single Save and reuse only one prompt answer.
  - Multiple Save and reuse multiple prompt answers.
When the prompt is executed, the user is prompted to select which of the objects to include on the report. If users tend to select the same answers, define those answers as the default. Default answers are automatically selected and save users time. If a default answer is not defined, users must select an answer if the prompt is required.
1. Click None next to Default Answer.
2. Select the check boxes for the objects to use as the defaults.
Click Save in the upper left.
Use the Object Prompt
Add your object prompt to a report, filter, or metric:
- To let users select which objects to include on the report, add an object prompt of attributes and metrics to the report's layout (the rows and columns).
- To let users determine the data that is included in the report, add an object prompt of filters and reports to the report's filter.
- To let users select which objects to use to page a report, add an object prompt of attributes and metrics to the report's page-by pane.
- To let users select the object to use in a filter, add an object prompt of attributes, filters, and reports to a filter.
- To let users select the object to use in a metric, add an object prompt of attributes, filters, and metrics to a filter.