Specifying Default Prompt Answers for a Report

You can determine whether to have prompts in a report automatically answered using default prompt answers when the report is run. Providing default answers allows users to execute prompted reports more quickly, because they can simply accept the defaults with a single click and run the report. If default answers are not provided for prompts, users must take the time to answer each prompt question individually, unless answers are not required. The default prompt answer is always displayed when a value prompt is used, even if the default prompt answer was cleared and the report is then re-prompted.

Default answers are particularly useful if a large percentage of your users will answer the prompt the same way. A common example is a report with the Date Selection prompt. If the report is most often run for Last 030 Days, then providing that filter as the default answer can save users time.

Prerequisite

This procedure assumes that you have already created a prompted report. For steps, see Adding a prompt to a report.

To determine whether a report uses default prompt answers:

Click the name of the report to run it. The prompt selection page is displayed.
Answer the prompts on the prompt selection page. If you want the report to use default prompt answers, select the answers that you want to save as default prompt answers. See the links below for steps to answer each type of prompt:

Answering a prompt by selecting answers from a list

Answering a prompt by typing a specific value

Answering a prompt by defining a filter based on an attribute

Answering a prompt by defining a filter based on a metric calculation
Click Run Report.
From the Home menu, select Save As. The Save As dialog box is displayed.
Select the Keep report prompted check box. Expand the Advanced Options, then select one of the following:
- To save the prompt answers that you selected above and automatically skip the prompt selection page when running the report, select the Save report as static option. The next time the report is run, the saved answers will automatically be used to answer the prompts and run the report. The prompt selection page will not be displayed to users.
- To display the prompt selection page each time that the report is run, select the Save report as prompted option, then perform the following steps:
- 1. You can determine which prompts will be presented to users when the report is run. You can choose to display prompts that are part of the report's filter, prompts that have been placed on the report's template, or both. Select one of the following:
    - To present users only with prompts that have been added to the report's filter, select the Only filter will be prompted option. The next time the report is run, users will only be prompted to provide answers for filter definition prompts. Answers for prompts that have been placed on the report's template, such as objects that users have selected in an object prompt or levels selected in a level prompt, are saved with the report definition and do not need to be provided by the user.
    - To present users only with prompts that are part of the report's template, select the Only template will be prompted option. The next time the report is run, users are only prompted to select objects for prompts that have been placed on the report's template. Answers for prompts that have been added to the report's filter are saved with the report definition and do not need to be provided by the user.
    - To present users with all prompts, regardless of whether they have been added to the report's filter or the report's template, select the Filter and template will be prompted option. The report is saved so that object prompts, level prompts, and filter definition prompts all remain active.
  2. You can choose to use the prompt answers that you selected above as default prompt answers to be used the next time the report is run. Do one of the following:
    - To use the prompt answers as default prompt answers, select the Set the current prompt answers to be the default prompt answers check box.
    - To save the report without default answers, clear the Set the current prompt answers to be the default prompt answers check box.
Click OK to save the report.