How do I set a Dynamic Field?

[donb410]

Although similar to my tool tip question, my company has several reports all marked "Company Proprietary" or
"Company Confidential". Till the report is run, this heading cannot be determined. (each field is designated one or the other). If any field in the report turns up
"Company Confidential" then that is what the entire report is suppose to by labeled. Otherwise, the report is marked
"Company Proprietary". It was never much of a problem until the company decide to add four more. So now I am trying to figure out how to make the labels dynamic in accordance with the data. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!

Don

Thanks,
Don
(Perpetual Innovations, LLC)

http://www.perpetualinnovations.com

 

[drlex]

Don,
AFAIK, the only way to do this is to 'fake' it, by adding a top level group that includes all data. Remove the column headings and add Text frames to the group header. The layout of these frames can be made to resemble the column headings.
lex

soi la, soi carré

 

[griffindm]

to further elaborate on what drlex has said.

The method I use for this is to create a new calculated column that returns text based on the database column content, i.e. if(secure_cd = 'C') then ('Confidential') else if(secure_cd = 'P') then ('Proprietary'), etc...

There are two limitations to this approach. The first is that you can no longer use the automatice column headers. You must create static text descriptors for those headers that do not change, then use your calculated text columns for those that do.

The second limitation, as drlex alludes to above, is that the header is only valid for data within the scope of the header it is placed within. If raw data below a calculated header in the Page Header see a proprietary value for the first row, then the header will show as 'Proprietary', even if the second row is not. This is a design limitation, which is overcome by grouping the data by the security descriptors and placing the dynamic header inside a header that is valid for the header as shown. You can use the page header for this if its scope is set to the appropriate grouping value.

Hope this helps,

Dave Griffin


The Decision Support Group
Reporting Consulting with Cognos BI Tools
"Magic with Data"
Want good answers? Read FAQ401-2487 first!

http://www.decisionsupportgroup.com

 

[donb410]

Thanks for the responses, I will give your suggestions a try and let you know how it all turns out!

Thanks,
Don
(Perpetual Innovations, LLC)

http://www.perpetualinnovations.com