Cascading Parameters and How to Validate

Hi,

1) I know how to create report parameters. But, How do I create a sub level
report parameter, 1 level below (Like a sub menu).

Eg: My report parameter would show "Midwest' as one of the values
for "Region". Upon selecting "Midwest" another list should open up
displaying values for "City" Like

Chicago
St.Louis
Minneapolis
Indianapolis

2) How do I validate the input parameters BEFORE using it in my SQL?

Eg : I have a 'Start Date" and "End Date" as my report paramters and they
may or may not be used in my query.

The one condition is " The difference between those 2 dates can be
only a maximum of 6 months".

How do I check that?
How do I display an error message if the condition is not met?

Thanks
Nurani Sivakumar

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Comments

mwilliams

Hi Nurani, 
 
For #1, when you right click on parameters to create a report parameter, choose cascading parameter instead. That should allow you to solve that problem. 
 
For #2, there is a validate script for the parameters, you would just have to check for them to be within 6 months and return false if they're not. There is a standard error message that tells the user they entered the parameters wrong. To do your own validation and messaging, you could <a class='bbc_url' href='http://www.birt-exchange.com/devshare/deploying-birt-reports/298-2-2-birt-tag-library/#description'>create your own parameter page</a>. 
 
Hope this helps.

nuraniuscc

Hi Mike,

I clicked on the Link and I am looking into it. I am using the OPEN source version of BIRT. Where is the Tag Library they are talking about? I don't see it or I don't know where to look for it. It seems like I need to read all this information and sift and take the ones that I need. It's very complicated at times when you are looking for a quick solution.

Thanks
Nurani Sivakumar

mwilliams

Nurani,

In the birt runtime, the birt.tld file they talk about is located here:

birt-runtime-2_3_0WebViewerExampleWEB-INFtldsbirt.tld

In the designer, I found the file at this location:

eclipse BIRT 2_3_0pluginsorg.eclipse.birt.report.viewer_2.3.0.v20080606birtWEB-INFtldsbirt.tld