Parameter

A parameter object in a catalog contains the following properties:

Property Name	Description
General
Bind Column	Specifies the bind column of the parameter. Data type: String
Binding	Specifies the parameter which will be bound with the current one to sort the column controlled by the current parameter. Data type: String
Default Value Number	Specifies the parameter value that will be prompted by default at runtime. If it is set to 0, the first parameter value in the Value property will be prompted; if it is set to -1, the last parameter value in the Value property will be prompted. Data type: Integer
Description	Specifies the description of the parameter. Data type: String
Display Column	Specifies the display column of the parameter. Data type: String
Display Width	Specifies the display width of the parameter. Enter a numeric value to change the width. Data type: Float Notes: If the Display Width value of a parameter is not set in the Catalog Manager, the parameter will be inserted in a report with the default width defined by JReport. Assume that you have set the Display Width of a parameter, and used the parameter while creating a new component with the report wizard, its width may be adjusted according to the paper size.
Distinct	If set to true, in the dialog for specifying the parameter value, identical values will appear only once and no duplicate values will be listed. Data type: Boolean
Get Value from API Only	Specifies whether the parameter values can be input via GUI or not. If true, the parameter values should only be obtained from API and there will be no parameter dialogs available on any JReport Designer or Server GUI for inputting values. Users will have to give the values of the parameter by API such as URLs, coding, and sessions, otherwise the default value will be used. If false, the parameter can be obtained from both GUI and API. If a member of a cascading parameter group is set to get values from API only, it means that all the higher level members shall get values from API only. This also applies to parameters on which other parameters depend. If in JDashboard several parameters share values, when any of them is set to get values from API only, they will share the values from API. Data type: Boolean
Hide Parameter When Single Value Returned	When a parameter is bound with a column, you can choose to hide the parameter at runtime when only a single value is returned for the parameter, and the returned single value will be used as default value of the parameter. Data type: Boolean
Import SQL	Displays the SQL statement for retrieving values of the bound column and display column for the parameter. You can edit the statement if required. Data type: String Notes: If you have made changes to the SQL statement, the later changes for Bind Column and Display Column of the parameter will not take effect unless you remove the SQL lines or bind the parameter all over again. The special field User Name can also be used in the SQL statement as @username.
Maximum Value/Length	Specifies the maximum value allowed for this parameter, or the maximum length for a String type parameter. Data type: String
Minimum Value/Length	Specifies the minimum value allowed for this parameter, or the minimum length for a String type parameter. Data type: String
Name	Specifies the name of the parameter. Data type: String
Object Name	Specifies the name for the OOJDBC class that is related to the parameter. Data type: String
Object Parameter Name	Specifies the parameter name for the OOJDBC class. Data type: String
Operation	Specifies whether or not to check the minimum and maximum values that you specified for the parameter at runtime. If -1, it will not check; if 1, it will check at runtime. Data type: Integer
Prompt Text	Specifies the text for prompting users to provide the value of the parameter. Data type: String Tips: To help users avoid typing a value out of range, you can add the value range to the end of the prompt text. For example, "Type a customer ID (1~100):". To help users avoid typing a value in a wrong pattern, you can add the value pattern to the end of the prompt text. For example, "Type an order date (MMM-dd-yy):".
Record Level Security	When a parameter is bound with a column, you can specify a RLS policy defined on the bound column to the parameter, then at runtime the specified security identifier will see the records it is allowed to view in the parameter value drop-down list. See Applying RLS to parameters for an example. Data type: String
Required	Specifies whether or not the parameter will be treated as a required one. A required parameter must be fulfilled, which means that you must provide a value for the parameter before the report can be run. When the property is false, the parameter will be treated as an optional parameter. An optional parameter can be left blank, which means you can either type a value, or leave it as it is. In the dialog for specifying the parameter value, the prompt text of a required parameter will be marked with a * sign. Data type: Boolean Note: If the parameter is optional and you do not expect it to take effect in your report, in the dialog for specifying the parameter value, clear the content in the value text box. Any value left in the field will function in reports.
String Encoding	Specifies the encoding for the parameter when the parameter's data type is String. Data type: String
String Format	Specifies the user-defined format of the parameter value when the parameter's data type is String. Data type: String
Treat Blank as Null	Specifies whether or not to treat blank data value as null when the parameter's data type is String. Data type: Boolean
Use Current Date-Time	Specifies whether or not to use the current system's date time as value of the parameter when the parameter's data type is Date, Time or DateTime. Data type: Boolean
Use Current Date-Time When Blank	Specifies whether or not to use the current system's date time as value of the parameter when the parameter's data type is Date, Time or DateTime, and the parameter value is blank. Data type: Boolean
User Defined Format	For certain types of parameters, the value format supplied by JReport may not satisfy your requirement. In this case, you can define your own preferred format. When you have defined the value format, all the values supplied for the parameter at runtime should be based on it, otherwise there will be an error message. Data type: String Notes: The letters standing for year, month, and so on are case sensitive and should follow the standard of Java java.text.DateFormat, java.text.NumberFormat, and so on. The user defined format will show different appearance under different locale, and you need input values according to the displayed format. For example, under the Spanish or French locale, ####.## will be displayed as #0,## and you should follow #0,## to input values. The user defined format only limits the format of the input value, which does not mean that the display value will be in the same format. To change the display format of a parameter, you will need to specify the Format property of this parameter in the Report Inspector.
Value List	Lists values of the parameter. This property is read only.
Value Type	Specifies the data type of the parameter. Choose an option from the drop-down list. Data type: Enumeration
Text Format
Auto Fit	Specifies whether to adjust the width and height of the parameter according to the contents. Data type: Boolean
Bold	Specifies whether to make the text bold. Data type: Boolean
Font Face	Specifies the font of the text. Choose an option from the drop-down list. Data type: Enumeration
Font Size	Specifies the font size of the text. Enter an integer value to change the size. Data type: Integer
Format	Specifies the display format of the parameter's value. The format varies with the parameter's data type and can be defined manually. Data type: String
Horizontal Alignment	Specifies the horizontal justification of the text in the parameter. Choose an option from the drop-down list. Data type: Enumeration
Italic	Specifies whether to make the text italic. Data type: Boolean
Strikethrough	Specifies whether to add a strikethrough line to the text. Data type: Boolean
Underline	Specifies whether to underline the text. Data type: Boolean
Vertical Alignment	Specifies the vertical justification of the text in the parameter. Choose an option from the drop-down list. Data type: Enumeration
Word Wrap	Specifies whether to wrap the text to the width. Data type: Boolean
Padding
Bottom Padding	Specifies the space between the text and the bottom border of the parameter. Enter a numeric value to change the padding. Data type: Float
Left Padding	Specifies the space between the text and the left border of the parameter. Enter a numeric value to change the padding. Data type: Float
Right Padding	Specifies the space between the text and the right border of the parameter. Enter a numeric value to change the padding. Data type: Float
Top Padding	Specifies the space between the text and the top border of the parameter. Enter a numeric value to change the padding. Data type: Float
Geometry
Height	Specifies the height of the parameter, which takes effect when the parameter is inserted into a report. Enter a numeric value to change the height. The default is 0 which means a proper height will be specified to the parameter by JReport automatically. Data type: Float
Width	Specifies the width of the parameter, which takes effect when the parameter is inserted into a report. Enter a numeric value to change the width. The default is 0 which means a proper width will be specified to the parameter by JReport automatically. Data type: Float
Color
Background	Specifies the background color of the parameter. Choose a color from the drop-down list or select Custom to customize a color. You can also enter a hexadecimal RGB value (for example, 0xff0000) to specify a color. Data type: String
Foreground	Specifies the foreground color of the parameter. Choose a color from the drop-down list or select Custom to customize a color. You can also enter a hexadecimal RGB value (for example, 0xff0000) to specify a color. Data type: String
Border
Border Color	Specifies the color of the border of the parameter. Choose a color from the drop-down list or select Custom to customize a color. You can also enter a hexadecimal RGB value (for example, 0xff0000) to specify a color. Data type: String
Border Thickness	Specifies the width of the border. Enter a numeric value to change the thickness. Data type: Float
Bottom Line	Specifies the line style of the bottom border of the parameter. Choose a style from the drop-down list. Data type: Enumeration
Left Line	Specifies the line style of the left border of the parameter. Choose a style from the drop-down list. Data type: Enumeration
Right Line	Specifies the line style of the right border of the parameter. Choose a style from the drop-down list. Data type: Enumeration
Shadow	Specifies whether or not to draw two shadowed borders, beneath and to the right of the parameter. Data type: Boolean
Shadow Color	Specifies the color of the border shadow. Choose a color from the drop-down list or select Custom to customize a color. You can also enter a hexadecimal RGB value (for example, 0xff0000) to specify a color. Data type: String
Top Line	Specifies the line style of the top border of the parameter. Choose a style from the drop-down list. Data type: Enumeration
Pattern
Pattern Color	Specifies the color with which to draw a pattern to fill the parameter. Choose a color from the drop-down list or select Custom to customize a color. You can also enter a hexadecimal RGB value (for example, 0xff0000) to specify a color. Data type: String
Pattern Style	Specifies the style of the pattern. Choose an option from the drop-down list. Data type: Enumeration
Others
Data Mapping File	Specifies the data mapping file to the object for NLS use. <Auto> - For a parameter bound with a single column or cascading columns, the data mapping file set for the display column is applied; for other parameters, no data mapping file is applied. For example, if the data mapping file name is Category_de_DE.properties, set the value as Category (without the language and locale part). Data type: String

Property Name

Description

General

Bind Column

Specifies the bind column of the parameter.

Data type: String

Binding

Specifies the parameter which will be bound with the current one to sort the column controlled by the current parameter.

Data type: String

Default Value Number

Specifies the parameter value that will be prompted by default at runtime. If it is set to 0, the first parameter value in the Value property will be prompted; if it is set to -1, the last parameter value in the Value property will be prompted.

Data type: Integer

Description

Specifies the description of the parameter.

Data type: String

Display Column

Specifies the display column of the parameter.

Data type: String

Display Width

Specifies the display width of the parameter. Enter a numeric value to change the width.

Data type: Float

Notes:

If the Display Width value of a parameter is not set in the Catalog Manager, the parameter will be inserted in a report with the default width defined by JReport.
Assume that you have set the Display Width of a parameter, and used the parameter while creating a new component with the report wizard, its width may be adjusted according to the paper size.

Distinct

If set to true, in the dialog for specifying the parameter value, identical values will appear only once and no duplicate values will be listed.

Data type: Boolean

Get Value from API Only

Specifies whether the parameter values can be input via GUI or not.

If true, the parameter values should only be obtained from API and there will be no parameter dialogs available on any JReport Designer or Server GUI for inputting values. Users will have to give the values of the parameter by API such as URLs, coding, and sessions, otherwise the default value will be used.

If false, the parameter can be obtained from both GUI and API.

If a member of a cascading parameter group is set to get values from API only, it means that all the higher level members shall get values from API only. This also applies to parameters on which other parameters depend. If in JDashboard several parameters share values, when any of them is set to get values from API only, they will share the values from API.

Data type: Boolean

Hide Parameter When Single Value Returned

When a parameter is bound with a column, you can choose to hide the parameter at runtime when only a single value is returned for the parameter, and the returned single value will be used as default value of the parameter.

Data type: Boolean

Import SQL

Displays the SQL statement for retrieving values of the bound column and display column for the parameter. You can edit the statement if required.

Data type: String

Notes:

If you have made changes to the SQL statement, the later changes for Bind Column and Display Column of the parameter will not take effect unless you remove the SQL lines or bind the parameter all over again.
The special field User Name can also be used in the SQL statement as @username.

Maximum Value/Length

Specifies the maximum value allowed for this parameter, or the maximum length for a String type parameter.

Data type: String

Minimum Value/Length

Specifies the minimum value allowed for this parameter, or the minimum length for a String type parameter.

Data type: String

Name

Specifies the name of the parameter.

Data type: String

Object Name

Specifies the name for the OOJDBC class that is related to the parameter.

Data type: String

Object Parameter Name

Specifies the parameter name for the OOJDBC class.

Data type: String

Operation

Specifies whether or not to check the minimum and maximum values that you specified for the parameter at runtime. If -1, it will not check; if 1, it will check at runtime.

Data type: Integer

Prompt Text

Specifies the text for prompting users to provide the value of the parameter.

Data type: String

Tips:

To help users avoid typing a value out of range, you can add the value range to the end of the prompt text. For example, "Type a customer ID (1~100):".
To help users avoid typing a value in a wrong pattern, you can add the value pattern to the end of the prompt text. For example, "Type an order date (MMM-dd-yy):".

Record Level Security

When a parameter is bound with a column, you can specify a RLS policy defined on the bound column to the parameter, then at runtime the specified security identifier will see the records it is allowed to view in the parameter value drop-down list. See Applying RLS to parameters for an example.

Data type: String

Required

Specifies whether or not the parameter will be treated as a required one. A required parameter must be fulfilled, which means that you must provide a value for the parameter before the report can be run. When the property is false, the parameter will be treated as an optional parameter. An optional parameter can be left blank, which means you can either type a value, or leave it as it is.

In the dialog for specifying the parameter value, the prompt text of a required parameter will be marked with a * sign.

Data type: Boolean

Note: If the parameter is optional and you do not expect it to take effect in your report, in the dialog for specifying the parameter value, clear the content in the value text box. Any value left in the field will function in reports.

String Encoding

Specifies the encoding for the parameter when the parameter's data type is String.

Data type: String

String Format

Specifies the user-defined format of the parameter value when the parameter's data type is String.

Data type: String

Treat Blank as Null

Specifies whether or not to treat blank data value as null when the parameter's data type is String.

Data type: Boolean

Use Current Date-Time

Specifies whether or not to use the current system's date time as value of the parameter when the parameter's data type is Date, Time or DateTime.

Data type: Boolean

Use Current Date-Time When Blank

Specifies whether or not to use the current system's date time as value of the parameter when the parameter's data type is Date, Time or DateTime, and the parameter value is blank.

Data type: Boolean

User Defined Format

For certain types of parameters, the value format supplied by JReport may not satisfy your requirement. In this case, you can define your own preferred format. When you have defined the value format, all the values supplied for the parameter at runtime should be based on it, otherwise there will be an error message.

Data type: String

Notes:

The letters standing for year, month, and so on are case sensitive and should follow the standard of Java java.text.DateFormat, java.text.NumberFormat, and so on.
The user defined format will show different appearance under different locale, and you need input values according to the displayed format. For example, under the Spanish or French locale, ####.## will be displayed as #0,## and you should follow #0,## to input values.
The user defined format only limits the format of the input value, which does not mean that the display value will be in the same format. To change the display format of a parameter, you will need to specify the Format property of this parameter in the Report Inspector.

Value List

Lists values of the parameter. This property is read only.

Value Type

Specifies the data type of the parameter. Choose an option from the drop-down list.

Data type: Enumeration

Text Format

Auto Fit

Specifies whether to adjust the width and height of the parameter according to the contents.

Data type: Boolean

Bold

Specifies whether to make the text bold.

Data type: Boolean

Font Face

Specifies the font of the text. Choose an option from the drop-down list.

Data type: Enumeration

Font Size

Specifies the font size of the text. Enter an integer value to change the size.

Data type: Integer

Format

Specifies the display format of the parameter's value. The format varies with the parameter's data type and can be defined manually.

Data type: String

Horizontal Alignment

Specifies the horizontal justification of the text in the parameter. Choose an option from the drop-down list.

Data type: Enumeration

Italic

Specifies whether to make the text italic.

Data type: Boolean

Strikethrough

Specifies whether to add a strikethrough line to the text.

Data type: Boolean

Underline

Specifies whether to underline the text.

Data type: Boolean

Vertical Alignment

Specifies the vertical justification of the text in the parameter. Choose an option from the drop-down list.

Data type: Enumeration

Word Wrap

Specifies whether to wrap the text to the width.

Data type: Boolean

Padding

Bottom Padding

Specifies the space between the text and the bottom border of the parameter. Enter a numeric value to change the padding.

Data type: Float

Left Padding

Specifies the space between the text and the left border of the parameter. Enter a numeric value to change the padding.

Data type: Float

Right Padding

Specifies the space between the text and the right border of the parameter. Enter a numeric value to change the padding.

Data type: Float

Top Padding

Specifies the space between the text and the top border of the parameter. Enter a numeric value to change the padding.

Data type: Float

Geometry

Height

Specifies the height of the parameter, which takes effect when the parameter is inserted into a report. Enter a numeric value to change the height. The default is 0 which means a proper height will be specified to the parameter by JReport automatically.

Data type: Float

Width

Specifies the width of the parameter, which takes effect when the parameter is inserted into a report. Enter a numeric value to change the width. The default is 0 which means a proper width will be specified to the parameter by JReport automatically.

Data type: Float

Color

Background

Specifies the background color of the parameter. Choose a color from the drop-down list or select Custom to customize a color. You can also enter a hexadecimal RGB value (for example, 0xff0000) to specify a color.

Data type: String

Foreground

Specifies the foreground color of the parameter. Choose a color from the drop-down list or select Custom to customize a color. You can also enter a hexadecimal RGB value (for example, 0xff0000) to specify a color.

Data type: String

Border

Border Color

Specifies the color of the border of the parameter. Choose a color from the drop-down list or select Custom to customize a color. You can also enter a hexadecimal RGB value (for example, 0xff0000) to specify a color.

Data type: String

Border Thickness

Specifies the width of the border. Enter a numeric value to change the thickness.

Data type: Float

Bottom Line

Specifies the line style of the bottom border of the parameter. Choose a style from the drop-down list.

Data type: Enumeration

Left Line

Specifies the line style of the left border of the parameter. Choose a style from the drop-down list.

Data type: Enumeration

Right Line

Specifies the line style of the right border of the parameter. Choose a style from the drop-down list.

Data type: Enumeration

Shadow

Specifies whether or not to draw two shadowed borders, beneath and to the right of the parameter.

Data type: Boolean

Shadow Color

Specifies the color of the border shadow. Choose a color from the drop-down list or select Custom to customize a color. You can also enter a hexadecimal RGB value (for example, 0xff0000) to specify a color.

Data type: String

Top Line

Specifies the line style of the top border of the parameter. Choose a style from the drop-down list.

Data type: Enumeration

Pattern

Pattern Color

Specifies the color with which to draw a pattern to fill the parameter. Choose a color from the drop-down list or select Custom to customize a color. You can also enter a hexadecimal RGB value (for example, 0xff0000) to specify a color.

Data type: String

Pattern Style

Specifies the style of the pattern. Choose an option from the drop-down list.

Data type: Enumeration

Others

Data Mapping File

Specifies the data mapping file to the object for NLS use.

<Auto> - For a parameter bound with a single column or cascading columns, the data mapping file set for the display column is applied; for other parameters, no data mapping file is applied.

For example, if the data mapping file name is Category_de_DE.properties, set the value as Category (without the language and locale part).

Data type: String