About Presentation Variables

You create a presentation variable when creating a column prompt or a variable prompt.

Type	Description
Column prompt	A presentation variable created as part of a column prompt is associated with a column, and the values that it can take come from the column values. To create a presentation variable as part of a column prompt, in the New Prompt dialog, you must select Presentation Variable in the Set a variable field. Enter a name for the variable in the Variable Name field.
Variable prompt	A presentation variable created as part of a variable prompt isn’t associated with any column, and you define the values that it can take. To create a presentation variable as part of a variable prompt, in the New Prompt dialog, you must select Presentation Variable in the Prompt for field. Enter a name for the variable in the Variable Name field.

The value of a presentation variable is populated by the column or variable prompt with which it was created. That is, each time a user selects one or more values in the column or variable prompt, the value of the presentation variable is set to the value or values that the user selects.