Defining a Staged Parameter Flow

This example continues from Creating a Parameter Sheet Layout. To specify the sequence in which the controls are activated, follow the steps below.

1. Select ReportStaged Parameters from the Style Studio menu. This opens the 'Staged Form Element Population Hierarchy' dialog box.

2. In the dialog box, drag the 'Form.st' element from the top panel to the area on the right which reads: 'Drag here to add a flow'. This adds a new parameter flow.

3. Drag the 'Form.ct' element to the area which reads 'Drag here to add a stage'.

 

This places the 'ct' parameter under the 'st' parameter in the flow hierarchy, which means that the 'CityChoice' control will be enabled only after the user submits a selection in the 'StateChoice' control. (This sequential control activation only functions when the Parameter Sheet is launched by the linked report, not when the Parameter Sheet is previewed by itself.)

4. Click 'OK' to close the dialog box.

The next step is to filter the 'CityChoice' control so that it only presents choices that are compatible with the user's selection in the 'StateChoice' field. You will do this in the next section, Filtering Parameter Options.

Note: You can create parallel flows of multiple stages in a staged parameter sheet. This is desirable when multiple stages are independent of one another. For example, one stage may possess the levels 'Country' and 'State', while another stage may possess the levels 'Product Category' and 'Product Name'. These two stages are independent, so it would not be logical to place them into a single flow.

 

To add a parallel stage, simply drag an element to the region titled 'Drag here to add a flow' on the right of the Staged Parameter dialog box. Elements in the 'Default Level' are always enabled.

 

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