How to Allow Personal Answers for Prompts

Personal answers allow a user to save prompt answers for a specific prompt, then reuse the answers on any report that the prompt is used on. Personal answers can save time; for example, when a prompt answer involves complicated metric qualifications, users can create them once and reuse them, without having to repeatedly define the qualifications. Personal answers also provide consistency, allowing you to ensure that the same prompt answers are available for use across a number of reports and documents.

Personal answers are saved for each prompt and each user. Users can save prompt answers without having to save the report or document itself.

You can allow single or multiple personal answers for a prompt, or disable personal answers. Examples of each option follow. While they are simple examples, they illustrate how the different types of personal answers work. Steps are below to allow personal answers for a prompt. For more information on using personal answers to answer a prompt, see How to Save, Reuse, Rename, and Delete Personal Answers.

No Personal Answers

Create an Attribute Element List prompt (see Attribute Element List Prompt for instructions) on Region, and do not allow personal answers (select None for the Personal answers allowed option). Name the prompt No Personal Answers.

Create a report with Region, the Revenue metric, and the No Personal Answers prompt. Execute the report, and select Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast at the prompt. Save the report as a prompted report rather than a static one (select Keep report prompted in the Save Options dialog box).

Re-execute the report. You are not able to select any saved personal answers and are prompted to enter your answers again.

Single Personal Answer

Create an Attribute Element List prompt on Region, and allow a single personal answer. Name the prompt Single Personal Answer.

Create a report with Region, the Revenue metric, and the Single Personal Answer prompt. Execute the report and select Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast at the prompt. Select the Remember this answer checkbox to save your selections as a personal answer. Save the report as a prompted report.

It is not required to save a report to save the personal answer. However, save the report for this example.

Re-execute the report. Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast are displayed automatically as the default answer. You can continue executing the report or change the prompt selections by adding or removing regions. Remove all the regions from the prompt answers, and replace them with Southeast, Southwest, and South. Do not clear the Remember this answer checkbox. These regions are now saved as the personal answer.

Re-execute the report. Southeast, Southwest, and South are displayed automatically as the default answer. Delete all the regions from the prompt answers, and replace them with just Central. Clear the Remember this answer checkbox. The personal answer is now cleared.

Re-execute the report. Since no personal answer exists, no prompt answers are displayed. You must enter your prompt answers manually.

Multiple Personal Answers

Create an Attribute Qualification prompt on Region, and allow multiple personal answers. Create a report with Region, the Revenue metric, and the prompt that you created above. Execute the report, and select Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast at the prompt. Save the prompt answer by selecting the Save this answer when the report is run checkbox and typing Eastern Regions in the Name field. Save the report as a prompted report.

It is not required to save a report to save the personal answer. However, save the report for this example.

Re-execute the report. No default prompt answers are displayed, but you can select Eastern Regions, the personal answer that you created previously, by clicking Load Answers and selecting Eastern Regions from the list. Instead, select Southeast, Southwest, and South for prompt answers. Save them as a personal answer, naming it Southern Regions. Set this personal answer as the default (select the Set as default checkbox).

Re-execute the report. Southeast, Southwest, and South are displayed as the default prompt answers, since they were defined as the default above. Clear the prompt answers, and replace them with the Central region. Do not save it as a personal answer.

Re-execute the report. Southeast, Southwest, and South are displayed as the prompt answers, since they are still the default. You can select Eastern Regions or Southern Regions (the current selection) as personal answers.

To Allow Personal Answers for Prompts

1. Click the name of the prompt to open it.
2. Click the General tab.

3. From the Personal answers allowed drop-down, select one of the following:

   • To disable personal answers, select None.
   • To allow users to save and reuse a single personal answer, select Single.
   • To allow users to save and reuse multiple personal answers, select Multiple.

Related Topics

About Prompts

Types of Prompts

Introduction to Prompted Reports

Answering Questions for a Prompted Document

How to Determine If a Report Uses Default Prompt Answers

Document Creation Help for information on prompted documents, including steps to determine whether a document uses default prompt answers