Drop Down Parameters - Not Quite Cascading

sfronczak

I'm new to BIRT and not sure what the best way is to go about doing this.

I have two drop down parameters: Location and Machine (and a related Location DataSet and Machine DataSet)
I want to be able to select a Location and only see the Machines related to that location (easy), but I also want both Location and Machine to be optional.

With the cascading groups, I don't seem to be able to select a machine without first selecting a location. Is that correct or am I missing something?

I also tried creating an event handler (java) on the Machine DataSet I have so that I can limit what comes back based on what was in the first parameter, but this doesn't get called after selecting the first Location parameter. I was hoping beforeOpen would help, but I think it only gets called before the parameter screen pops up. Is there another property or something else that I could take advantage of?

My alternative that I am pondering is to create a JSP with the dropdowns set up the way I need them, but I want to know if there's a better way using BIRT functionality.

I'm running in Eclipse Galileo w/ Birt 2.5.2, if it matters.

Thanks in advance to any help provided!

mwilliams

Hi sfronczak,

To use a cascading parameter, you have to choose from the first to get the options from the next parameter. To do it how you're wanting, you'll most likely have to create your own custom JSP parameter page.