1. Authoring and Approving Doclets for Narrative Reporting
  2. Authoring and Approving Doclets on the Web
  3. Using Report Package Variables
  4. Working with Static Variables
  5. Creating Static Variables

Creating Static Variables

The static variable is a string of text, such as a label or paragraph, which can be inserted into a report package doclet.

As an example, if you create a static variable for the CurrentMonth, you might enter the text, "August 2016". When you roll over to the report for the next month, it is a simple matter to update the text in the CurrentMonth variable to "September 2016," and the change is propagated to all instances of that variable throughout the report package.

The static variable can be created in either Narrative Reporting or Oracle Smart View for Office; however, it must be inserted into the doclet using Smart View. See Working with Variables.

To create a static variable:

  1. From Library or Report Packages on the Home page, select the report package to which you want to add a static variable.
  2. On the Report Center, click the Variables tab Variable tab icon.
    Add static variables from the Variable tab on the Report Center.
  3. Use one of these options to create the variable:

    • Select Actions, then Add, and then Static Variable.

    • Select Static, click Add , and select Static Variable.
  4. On the Create Variable dialog box, enter a Name for the variable. This name must be unique across variables within the report package, and should be descriptive of the variable to make it easier to find.
    Enter the Name, Description and Value for the Static variable in the Create Variable dialog box.
  5. Optional: Enter a Description for the variable.
  6. Under Value, enter the text for the static variable. The text string can be a label or paragraph, and the entire string will be displayed as entered in the report package.

    Note:

    Static variables can have a maximum size of 255 characters.

    In the following example, the user created a static variable with the Name of ’CurrPeriod’, and a Value of "12/31/2016". This variable can be inserted in multiple locations showing the date of the current period in different usages, as shown below:
    • Insert the static variable into the text displayed above an Income Statement doclet that reads "For the period ended <<CurrPeriod>>".
    • Insert the static variable into a paragraph in one of the Footnotes and Disclosures doclets that reads: "As of <<CurrPeriod>>, …."
    To update all instances of the Current Period date in the report package, modify the variable value to use the new date. This option ensures that the change is implemented uniformly, and no incorrect dates for the value remain.
  7. Click the dialog box to display the buttons, and then click OK to add the variable to the list of variables. The icon beside Name indicates that this variable is Static.
    The finished static variable is displayed on the Variables tab from the Report Center.
  8. Insert the variable into a doclet using the Narrative Reporting Smart View Extension, as described in Working with Variables.