Using Variables
You can reference variables in several areas of Oracle BI, including in analyses, dashboards, KPIs, actions, agents, and conditions. For example, suppose that you wanted to create an analysis whose title displays the current user's name. You can do this by referencing a variable.
Presentation Variables
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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 (or Edit Prompt dialog), you have to select Presentation Variable in the Set a variable field and then enter a name for the variable in the Variable Name field.
For information on working with column prompts, see Creating a Column Prompt.
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Variable prompt — A presentation variable created as part of a variable prompt is not 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 (or Edit Prompt dialog), you have to select Presentation Variable in the Prompt for field and then enter a name for the variable in the Variable Name field.
For information on working with variable prompts, see Creating a Variable Prompt.
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 a value in the column or variable prompt, the value of the presentation variable is set to the value that the user selects.
Global Variables
You can create and use a global variable to maintain a value that may need to be changed during the course of business across multiple analyses.
You create a global variable as part of the process of creating an analysis. For example, you can create a global variable for the start of the fiscal year and change it as necessary for the start of each new fiscal year.
Global variables can be of the following types:
Date
Date and Time
Number
Text
Time