Bind Parameters to Filters

This topic describes how to create a parameter and bind it to a filter or choose an existing parameter to bind to a filter.

Topics:

• About Binding Parameters to Filters

• Create and Bind a Parameter to a Filter

• Create and Bind a Parameter to a List Box Dashboard Filter

• Create and Bind a Parameter to a Double Column Type Filter

• Bind an Existing Parameter to a Filter

About Binding Parameters to Filters

Bind a parameter to a filter when you want to pass a selected filter value from one canvas to another in a workbook, or you want to have more control over how filters behave and are exposed to the user.

Binding a parameter to a filter is one-way binding, meaning a parameter doesn't limit the list of available filter values that the user can choose from. A parameter's properties define the values that it can accept from the filter.

When bound to a filter, the parameter listens to the filter's selections and when the parameter accepts a filter value, it passes that value to wherever you use the parameter in the workbook.

Binding a parameter to a filter has many uses. For example, by default when you add the Dashboard Filters control to a canvas, it only applies filters to that canvas. You can use parameters bound to filters to pin the dashboard filters across multiple canvases in the workbook. When multiple canvases include a dashboard control with the same filters bound to the same parameters, any filter values selected by the user are applied to each canvas.

Create and Bind a Parameter to a Filter

Click a filter's Create Parameter option to create a parameter and bind it to the filter with one click.

For more information about how to use parameter binding in a workbook's filters, see About Binding Parameters to Filters.

When you create a parameter from a filter, the parameter definition's Available Values properties field is set to Any and the parameter accepts any filter value selected by the user. After you create a parameter from a filter, you can modify any of the parameter's properties. For example, you can add the values that you want the parameter to accept.

When you create a parameter from a filter, the parameter uses the filtered column's name, for example, if you bind a parameter to a City column filter, the binding creates a parameter named City.

1. On the Home page, select the workbook where you want to create a filter and add and bind a parameter to, click Actions, and then select Open.
2. Create or locate and click the filter where you want to create and bind the parameter.
3. Click (x) and then click Create Parameter to create and bind the parameter to the filter.
4. Optional: Go to the workbook's Data Panel, click Parameters, right-click the parameter you created from the filter, and select Edit Parameter to review and update the parameter's properties. Click OK.

Create and Bind a Parameter to a List Box Dashboard Filter

Because the list box filter doesn't include the Bind to Parameter option, you need to use the Create Parameter filter property to create and bind a parameter to a list box dashboard filter.

For more information about how to use parameter binding, see About Binding Parameters to Filters.

1. On the Home page, select a workbook, click Actions, select Open, and click Edit.
2. In the Data Panel, click the Visualizations tab, and drag and drop Dashboard Filters to the canvas.
3. In the Data Panel, click the Data tab, and drag and drop the column that you want to use to filter the canvas.
4. In the dashboard filter's Properties pane, click Properties, then click Filter Controls. Go to the Filter Type field and select List Box.
5. In the Properties pane, go to Parameter Binding and click None.
6. Select an existing parameter to bind to the filter, or click Create Parameter to use the selected filter values to create and bind the parameter to the list box filter.
7. Optional: To specify if the user is required to select a filter value, go to the Properties pane, click the Selection Required field, and select On.
8. Click Save.

Create and Bind a Parameter to a Double Column Type Filter

Click a double column type filter's Create Parameter option to create a parameter and bind it to the filter with one click.

This tutorial provides a use case explaining how to bind a double column list filter to a parameter:

Tutorial

For more information about how to use parameter binding in a workbook's filters, see About Binding Parameters to Filters.

Double columns are available only in datasets created from local subject areas. In a double column, one column represents the data descriptor value and is displayed to the end user. The second column represents an identifier of the data descriptor and isn't displayed to the end user.

When you create a parameter for a double column, the Alias field in the parameter's property is turned on by default. An alias is required for a double column parameter, so you can't switch the Alias field to off.

When you create a parameter from a filter, the parameter uses the filtered column's name.

1. On the Home page, select the workbook where you want to create a double column type filter and add and bind a parameter to, click Actions, and then select Open.
2. Create or locate and click the double column type filter where you want to create and bind the parameter. The filter displays the double column's display values and not its ID values.
3. Click (x) and then click Create Parameter to create and bind the parameter to the filter.
4. Optional: Go to the workbook's Data Panel, click Parameters, right-click the parameter you created from the filter, and select Edit Parameter to reviews and update the parameter's properties.
5. Click OK.

Bind an Existing Parameter to a Filter

Choose a system parameter or an existing workbook parameter to bind to a filter and pass a selected filter value to the parameter.

For more information about how to use parameter binding in a workbook's filters, see About Binding Parameters to Filters.

You can also create a parameter from a filter with one click. See Create and Bind a Parameter to a Filter.

When you click Bind to Parameter, Oracle Analytics lists the workbook's parameters that are compatible and available for you to bind to the filter.

Hover over a parameter's exclamation icon for information about the parameter's compatibility with the filter. This information is just a warning and doesn't prevent you from binding the parameter to the filter.

The warning "The filter supports multiple values but the parameter doesn't," means that you can select multiple values in the filter but the parameter definition accepts only the first value specified in the filter value selection list. If you want to fix this issue, go to the filter's properties and change its Multi Select filter control to match the parameter's Allow Multi Select setting.

1. On the Home page, select the workbook with the filter that you want to bind a parameter to, click Actions, and then select Open.
2. Create or locate and click the filter that you want to bind the parameter to.
3. Click (x) and then click the parameter that you want to bind to the filter.
4. Click OK.