Dynamically Populated Parameters are Empty 1

[DarkAngel]

Crystal Reports 2008
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1
MS SQL Server 2005

The report has several optional parameters which work when the report is run locally. Added the report to InfoView using the Publishing Wizard. When you run the report thru InfoView, available values for dynamically populated parameters are empty. One of the parameters is populated with an SQL Command and another one has a default value set. In the CMC, the default parameter settings for the report are set to empty. When the report is run, receive “Failed to open the connection ReportName” Could this be an authentication issue?

 

[hilfy]

There are a couple of things you need to do to get dynamic prompts working in BOE.

1. At least once you need to publish the report through Crystal instead of the Publishing Wizard. Make sure you check the "Update Repository" checkbox. This will set up a "list of values" in the repository that will be used to provide the data for the prompt.

2. Run the "Business View Manager". If this is not in the Business Objects Enterprise section of your menu, it is located here: <drive>:\Program Files\Business Objects\BusinessObjects Enterprise 12.0\win32_x86\CrystalBVM.exe.

There are several "parts" to a Business View. By default they are named by the field name(s) they refer to. Find the sets that match your prompts and do the following:

1. If you don't want the report to prompt for a database login for every prompt, edit the Data Connection (name ends in "_DC") and set the log in - the easiest way is by clicking in the password box and then on the button that appears in the box. Set the User ID, Password, and set it to Never require login. Save the Data Connection

2. Right-click on the name that does NOT have an "_xx" suffix (this is a "List of Values") and select "Schedule". Schedule to run "Now".

3. Depending on how long it takes for your query to run, wait anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Double-click on the List of Values and verify that it ran successfully. If it doesn't, you may need to tweak your login parameters. If it does, you'll want to set up a recurring schedule (right-click and select "Schedule") based on how often you expect the data to change. The List of Values server in your BOE installation takes care of running these.

Some best practices that I've found in working with lists of values:

1. These prompts are reusable in other reports. To reuse an existing prompt, log in to the repository in Crystal. Then edit your prompt and set it to "Use Existing" and select the correct "Prompt Group" from the list.

2. If you're going to reuse prompts, it's a good idea to create a special report to set up the prompt. This report contains just the table(s) and fields needed to get the data for the prompt instead of the all of the tables to get the data for a larger report. This will be more efficient to run the List of Values on a schedule. We publish these reports to a special "Prompt Reports" folder that only the developers and Administrator have access to.

3. If you reuse prompts, do NOT select "Update Repository" if you're publishing through Crystal. This prevents duplicate prompts from being created.

4. If you need to update the query for a List of Values, do it in the Business View Manager - this is stored in the items with the "_DF" suffix (Data Foundation).

-Dell

A computer only does what you actually told it to do - not what you thought you told it to do.

 

[DarkAngel]

Thank you so much for your response!!!

I am currently not able to publish thru Crystal. When I try to login to the server (from Crystal) using the default system name receive: "The system can be contacted, but there is no Central Management Server running at port 6400". If I change the system name to the correct system name (CR00 and/or CR00:6405), receive: “Transport error: Communication failure.(FWM 00001)”.

BTW a user who has full admin rights to everything created a few other reports with dynamic parms, uploaded with Publishing Wizard and the values populate. Leave it to me to break it

Once I am able to publish thru Crystal, I will try your steps and report back.

Thank you again!
DA

 

[hilfy]

I haven't really used the Publishing Wizard since I initially set up BOE for my previous employer. There may be an option to "Update Repository" available in there as well. That's the key to getting these uploaded to the repository. (There are other ways to get a prompt in there, but you'd have to create all of the "pieces" yourself in the Business View Manager.)

-Dell

A computer only does what you actually told it to do - not what you thought you told it to do.

 

[DarkAngel]

There is an "Update Repository" option available in the Publishing Wizard, but it doesn't pick up the prompts. I tried uploading a report which has no parameters and receive:

Failed to read data from report file <<reportname>> Reason: Failed to read parameter object

I've got a call into support.

In the meantime, I'm gonna poke around in Business View Manager to see what else I can break LOL.


DA

 

[DarkAngel]

A small victory! The server and CR were different versions, both are on SP1 which fixes the login from CR issue. Now, one to fix the prompts.