Adding a Text prompt to a report

Before You Begin

A Text prompt is a value prompt, which filters based on a single string. This topic discusses adding a stand-alone prompt to a filter, although you can also create a prompt when you create a filter. For instructions to create an embedded prompt within a filter, see Prompted filters: Asking for user input for filter conditions.

You can add Text prompts to a filter, so that when a user executes a report containing that filter, the user is prompted to type a specific text string (set of characters) to be used within the filter. The text entered by the user is used to filter data that is displayed on the resulting report.

For example, you might create a filter that screens data displayed for the Revenue metric by searching for revenue amounts from subsets of customers, based on last names. You want to let each user determine which customer last names are reflected in the revenue shown in the report results. You create a Text prompt asking for a specific letter or last name. For example, one user might enter "J" to see revenue for all customers whose last name begins with J, while another user might enter "Jackson" to see only revenue from customers whose last name is Jackson. After your Text prompt is created, you use the steps below to create a filter that includes your Text prompt. The filter is defined so that the attribute is Customer, it qualifies on Last Name, and the operator is Begins With. This filter is then placed on a report that includes the Customer attribute and the Revenue metric as part of its report definition. Each user who executes the report is prompted to provide a text string, which defines the last name or beginning of the last name for the customers whose revenue that user wants to see reflected in the report's results.

To add a Text prompt to a report, you first add the prompt to an attribute qualification in the Filter Editor. Then you add that filter containing the prompt to a report. Use the steps below to add a Text prompt to a filter. (You can add more than one prompt to a filter.)

Once your filter containing the prompt(s) is created, see Adding a filter to a report for steps to add the filter to a report.

Prerequisites

This procedure assumes that the prompt has already been created. For instructions, see Filtering based on a single value or string: Value prompts.

To add a Text prompt to a filter in the Filter Editor

1. Open the Filter Editor. In MicroStrategy Developer, use the Folder List on the left to navigate to the folder where you want to store your new filter. Then right-click on the right side of MicroStrategy Developer and select New, then select Filter. The Filter Editor opens

2. Double-click in the Filter Definition pane on the right. The Filtering Options field opens.

3. Select Add an Attribute Qualification and click OK. The Attribute Qualification pane opens.

4. In the Attribute field, type the name of the attribute you want to base the filter on. You can also browse for the attribute by clicking ...(the browse button) to locate and select the attribute.

5. From the Qualify On drop-down list, select the attribute form that suits the type of data that you want to filter.

   Do not select ID or DATE.

6. From the Operator drop-down list, select an operator that suits your filtering definition.

   Do not select In List, Not In List, Is Null, or Is Not Null.

7. Using the Object Browser on the left, browse to locate your Text prompt, and drag and drop the prompt into the field to the right of Value.

8. Click OK to save your filter definition and close the Attribute Qualification pane.

9. Click Save and Close to save your filter and close the Filter Editor.

You can now add the prompted filter to any report, as described in Adding a filter to a report.

If you want to see what your report looks like when executed against the data source, and if you want to see how a prompt works for a user, once your report has one or more attributes and metrics in it, from the View menu select Grid View.