choosing the product of a formula for a parameter... 2

[cmpgeek]

i have a report that i want end users to be able to run easily, but there is 1 parameter field that is giving me trouble. The end user has to choose which surgeon they want to look up, but they do not have access to the surgeons system ID. We have surgeons that share last names, so the end user can not choose based on that.

i know it is possible to give the end user parameter options based on a formula (EX: {empmas_lastname} + " " + {empmas_firstname})...

where i am getting stuck is being able to then have the report look at the parameter chosen and then convert it into the appropiate system ID so that it knows whose information is wanted. (i hope this is making sense)...

i am guessing this is something simple that i am just overlooking, but would appreciate any help anyone can give...

i am using crystal 8.5

thanks

... always in a state of ... inspiring to some day experience ...

 

[lbass]

You could create a picklist with two columns: {table.surgeonID} and {@name} (your concatenation formula)

Then after importing the list to populate the default parameter values list, choose "Show description"--the users will see the name, not the ID, but the ID will be populating the parameter value column, so you can use that in your record selection formula. If you need help with creating and importing the picklist, let me know.

-LB

 

[cmpgeek]

how do i set up the list so that crystal knows that the ID and name are linked? i had tried something similar to this a while back, but when i imported the list it shows the ID on one line and the name on another... and then neither shows up in the parameter list when i try to run a preview of the report...

thanks for your help LB...

... always in a state of ... inspiring to some day experience ...

 

[lbass]

Try following the steps in thread149-39169. When you create the CR picklist report, use the ID as your first column and the concatenated name formula as your second column. When you import if from the txt file, the ID field will populate the value and the name the description field.

-LB

 

[synapsevampire]

CMPGEEK/LB: Here's the whitepaper:

http://support.crystaldecisions.com/library/kbase/articles/c2006499.asp

-k

 

[cmpgeek]

thank you both for your suggestions... i tried the one from crystal decisions first and it worked great... the only problem was that, for some reason, when i saved it to the text file it put a space at the beginning of each line which through my values off... but once i figured that out it was kewl..

thanks again!
i hope everyone has a great holiday season!
[santa2]

... always in a state of ... inspiring to some day experience ...