Parameters are what controls what is displayed on either the QuickView or in the Report. Since Argos can have multiple forms, you can have different parameters on each form. Keep in mind that you can have only one report query per DataBlock, so you don't want to have parameters from different forms controlling the report. I would suggest, since the first form in the explorer executes when you run either the QuickView or the reports, that you place all the parameters for the report query on that form. Now lets take a look at the different parameter types. There are also some items on this page that are not really parameters, but they go on forms and I needed some place to put them.

Date

• Parameter Name
• • parm_DT_<name>_F<formNumber>
  • parm_DT_effDate_F01 - This would be an effective date parameter on form F01 (The Main Form)
• Selecting this parameter brings up a calendar that you can navigate to the date you want.
• You can set it to default to the current date.
• It would be nice to be able to set the default date using an sql query. This would be handy if you wanted to used another default date, say term_start_date, term_end_date or feed_date. This functionality has been added in Version 3.x

Button

• Parameter Name
• • parm_BT_<name>_F<formNumber>
  • parm_BT_refreshQuery_F02 - This would be button on the form F02 that will refresh the query when you click it.
• Clicking the button, this is an action and can be set to:
• • Activate a Form: Activates another form in the form list.
  • Clear Variables: Clear the value of some of the DataBlock variables.
  • Fetch File: Retrieve a file from the server.
  • Hyperlink: Launch a URL in the default web browser.
  • Refresh Variables: Refresh the value of some DataBlock variables, such as SQL variables whose data may have changed in the database.
  • Reset Variables: Reset the value of some of the DataBlock Variables back to their default value.
  • Refresh a query: In this case you add a conditional to your query like :parm_BT_refreshQuery_F02 is not null. I use this on main form that also contains the parameters for the report. This way I can control when the query on the QuickView executes so it will not run when I just what the report to run.

Checkbox

• Parameter Name
• • parm_CB_<name>_F<formNumber>
  • parm_CB_SelAllTerms_F03 - This would be Check Box on the form F03, associated with a term selection drop down list, that will allow the user to select all terms by checking the box.
• The check box parameter can be set with any checked/unchecked values. I normally use Y and N for checked and unchecked respectively.
• Currently the text color does not work on this parameter text.

Drop-down list

• Parameter Name
• • parm_DL_<name>_F<formNumber>
  • parm_DL_SelTerm_F02 - This would be drop-down list on the form F02 that will be used to select a single term
• You can use a query or manually entered list to populate this drop-down.
• You can have multiple fields, but you can only display one.
• You can only select one value.

List Box

• Parameter Name
• • parm_LB_<name>_F<formNumber>
  • parm_LB_SelMajorCodes_F0 - The would be a list box on the form F0 that would be used to select major codes.
• You can use a query or manually entered list to populate this list box.
• You can have multiple fields, but you can only display one.
• You can set it to allow for single or multiple select.

Multicolumn Box

• Parameter Name
• • parm_MC_<name>_F<formNumber>
  • parm_MC_SelAcctRec_F0 - The would be a multicolumn box on the form F0 that would be used to select student accounts records.
• You can use a query or manually entered list to populate this list box.
• You can have multiple fields, all will be displayed.
• You can set it to allow for single or multiple select.