Advanced Prompts: Enabling User Input

A prompt is a MicroStrategy object that allows user interaction at report run time. The prompt object is incomplete by design. The user is asked during the report resolution phase of report execution to provide an answer to complete the information. For example, the user can enter information such as the region "Northeast" or year "2027," and the data is returned from the data warehouse. With prompts you can create reports that allow users to change the report content at run time.

Prompts are useful for asking questions about the set of data you want to see in the report. Prompts allow the report to have dynamic report definitions, which can change with each query by altering the information in the prompt dialog box. Prompts can be a part of the report definition, filter, template, custom group, or metric.

There are benefits to using prompts as a part of these objects. Prompts are useful to keep the number of reports in a project small, as they allow users to define how they would like to view things in the report environment instead of the report designer providing a separate report for each user's information needs.

You can find the report that you would like to see more quickly because there will be fewer options. However, prompting questions asked of the user raise the complexity of just running a report, and you run the risk of confusion. This confusion can be allayed by providing good descriptions for the prompts so that the user is clear on what questions they are answering.