How to Create an Object Prompt

Object prompts provide users the ability to add additional objects to a report. You can let users select from almost any object available in MicroStrategy. The objects the user selects in the prompt are placed on the report. This essentially allows users to create their own 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 the user can specify the granularity of the report. Object prompts enable you to provide versatile reports to users.

Additional examples and images of an object prompt can be found in the Answering Questions about Data chapter in the Basic Reporting Help.

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

• Object prompt containing attributes: Any place that can accept a list of attributes.
• Object prompt containing metrics: Embedded in a Set qualification filter, as well as any place that accepts metrics.

When you create an object prompt, you can decide whether users can select from a specified list of MicroStrategy objects, or you can define a specific search that presents an up-to-date set of objects for users to select 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.

You can create a stand-alone prompt, or you can create a prompt that is embedded in a filter. An object prompt can be used in a Shortcut-to-a-report qualification or a Shortcut-to-a-filter qualification.

To create an object prompt

1. Click Create on any page, point to New Prompt, and select Object. The New Prompt page opens.

   You can only use objects of one type in an object prompt. For example, you can include metrics or attributes in a single object prompt, but not both. To prompt for multiple object types in the same report, you must create an object prompt for each object type.

2. On the Definition tab, choose one of the following options:
   • To create a list of metrics or attributes from which users can choose, select Use a predefined list of objects. Click Add, select the objects, and click OK. To remove an object, highlight it and click Remove. To remove all items, click Clear.
   • To use the results of a search, click Use the result of a search object. If you have previously created a search object, browse to and select the search object or specify the name of the search object. A search object searches for and displays specific project objects when the user executes the report. This lets you prompt the user with the most up-to-date objects in the project.
3. On the General tab, specify a title and description for the prompt in the Title and Instructions fields.
4. To require users to answer the prompt before running the report, specify whether the prompt requires an answer. Select the Prompt answer is required checkbox. If you require an answer, it is a good idea to also provide a default answer, otherwise a subscription to this report will fail. For steps, see How to Determine If a Report Uses Default Prompt Answers.
5. Set the maximum and/or minimum number of prompt answers allowed, if desired. Enter these numbers in the Minimum number of answers and Maximum number of answers fields.
6. Determine whether users can save and reuse their prompt answers, and if so, how many prompt answers they can save for the prompt. From the Personal answers allowed drop-down list, select one of the following:
   • To keep prompt answers from being saved and reused, select None.
   • To save and reuse only one prompt answer, select Single.
   • To save multiple prompt answers, select Multiple.

To specify the layout and display style of the prompt

1. On the Style tab, from the Display style drop-down list, specify a presentation style, such as checkbox, for the prompt. This is how the prompt is displayed to the user.
2. To ensure that the prompt's text fields and options are a fixed size, select the Fixed textbox width and/or Fixed textbox height checkboxes, and specify the size of the prompt's text fields and options in the fields.
3. To determine how prompt options are arranged, from the Orientation drop-down list, select Vertical or Horizontal.
4. To determine the number of prompt answers displayed in a row or column (depending on alignment), enter a number in the Items per column/row field.
5. If you are using a search object, you can determine whether to allow users to use a search box to locate prompt answers. Searching for objects allows analysts to quickly locate specific objects to use to answer the prompt. From the Show search box drop-down list, select one of the following options:
   • To display the search box, select TRUE.
   • To not display a search box, select FALSE.
6. If you are using the Shopping Cart display style, you can select the Use folder structure checkbox to display the prompt choices in a folder structure. This option, available for search objects only, is useful when the same object with the same name is saved in multiple folders. Use the up and down ordering arrows to reorder prompt objects.
7. To allow users to navigate above the root folder when searching, select the Allow navigation above search root checkbox.

8. For an object prompt that uses a search object and the Tree display style, the Use folder structure checkbox is selected and cannot be changed. You can select whether empty folders are shown in the tree when the prompt is executed. Select or clear the Do not show empty folders checkbox. Note that selecting it can impact performance.

   The search object must search within subfolders. For background information on search objects and steps to create them, see the MicroStrategy Developer help.

To save the prompt

If you creating a prompt for a filter, click OK to save the prompt in the filter. You are returned to the New Filter page. To finish creating a shortcut-to-a-report qualification, begin at this step; to finish creating a shortcut-to-a-filter qualification, begin at this step.

1. To save the prompt, select Save As. The Save As dialog box opens.
2. Specify a name, description, and the location in which to save the prompt and click OK.

You can now add your new prompt to a report. See Adding a Prompt to a Report.