How to Answer a Prompt by Selecting Answers from a List

Some prompted reports require you to select answers from a list of choices, such as attribute elements, to define the data that is displayed on the report.

Prompts that you answer by selecting answers from a list include the following:

• Attribute Element List prompts, in which you select attribute elements.
• Object Prompts, in which you select attributes and metrics.

If you attempt to run a report that contains a required prompt without answering the required prompt, the report will not run, and a message stating this requirement is displayed.

This procedure assumes the report designer has created a report with prompts that require you to select answers from a list.

To Answer a Prompt by Selecting Answers From a List

1. Click the name of the prompted report to run it. The report presents a prompt with a list of choices you can choose to define the data that is displayed on the report.

2. The Available area on the left displays the items that belong to the attribute you chose for this prompt. Select an item that you want to use to answer the prompt question and then click the right arrow to move the item to the Selected area. Press CTRL to select multiple items. Depending on how the prompt was designed, the following scenarios may also apply:

   • The prompt may already have a default answer. You can keep it, add other answers to it, or remove it from the list of answers by clicking the left arrow .
   • You can change the order of your answers by selecting the answer you want to move and clicking the Move an Answer Up icon to move the answer up or the Move an Answer Down icon to move the answer down.
   • For attribute element prompts, if the Available list contains a large number of attribute elements, use the Search for field to locate the elements you want to select.

   You can search for objects:

   • Beginning with specific letters, by typing those letters followed by an asterisk (*). For example, to find regions beginning with south, type south* in the Search for field and click the Filter button. South, Southeast, and Southwest are displayed.

   • Ending with specific letters, by typing an asterisk (*) and those letters. For example, to find regions ending with west, type *west in the Search for field and click the filter button. Northwest and Southwest are displayed.

   • With a specific name, by typing the name in quotes (" "). For example, to find the South region, type "South" in the Search for field and click the filter button. South is displayed, but not Southeast or Southwest.

   • Beginning with specific letters and ending with specific letters, by typing the first letters, then an asterisk (*), then the last letters. For example, to find regions beginning with S and ending with th, type s*th in the Search for field and click the filter button. South is displayed.

   • Containing specific letters, by typing the characters separated by the percent sign (%). For example, to find regions that contain both S and th, type s%th in the Search for field and click the filter button. South, Southeast, and Southwest are displayed.

   • Based on an attribute form, by typing the name of the attribute form in brackets [] followed by a colon and the value to search for. For example, to find customers with the first name Maxwell, type [First Name]:Maxwell in the Search for field and click the filter button. Maxwell Perez is displayed, but not Delores Maxwell.

3. Depending on the number of prompts required for the report, do one of the following:

   • If there are more prompts that must be answered, click Next and repeat steps 1 and 2 until all prompts are answered.
   • If all of the prompts have been answered, click Run Report or Run Document. The report is executed and your results are displayed.

To see data filtered in a different way, click the Reprompt icon on the Standard toolbar and answer the prompt again to create a different filter for the report results.

Renaming a Prompted Report

When you run a prompted report or document, at the bottom of the prompt selection page, you can rename the prompted report or document by typing the name in the Report Message Name field. This allows you to choose a meaningful name that makes it easier to later find the report or document in your History List or your My Reports folder.

For example, for a prompted sales report, if you answer a prompt question by specifying the month of October, you can rename the report "October Sales". Note that this name change is reflected only in your personal version of the report (in your History List or My Reports folder). It does not change the name of the original report object in MicroStrategy.

Related Topics

• How to Answer a Prompt by Typing a Specific Value
• How to Answer a Prompt by Defining a Filter Based on an Attribute
• How to Answer a Prompt by Defining a Filter Based on a Metric Calculation