P6 supports parameter keys in Oracle Analytics Server. You will use these parameters in the P6 Reports section when running and scheduling reports. For most of the parameters you add, lists will be available for users when they are entering the value. The default behavior for an unrecognized parameter will be to provide a plain text box. The user will then need to type in the correct value. If the value is not in the format the report expected, the report will fail to run.
Adding parameters to your reports allows users that run or schedule a report. They can select or filter what data to include without having to first create additional reports or data templates for reports. For example, consider this scenario:
- You have a report on activities and each activity has an activity code value assigned to it to determine the location of the team working on it.
- You want each team to be able to run the report, but they want to see only the activities for their location.
Without parameters, you would need to create a different report and data template for each team. All of these reports would be almost the same, except each statement pulling the activity data would have a different connection to the activity code table to match the correct location. With parameters, you can do this with just one report and data template.