1. Application Developer's Guide
  2. Defining Variables and Parameters
  3. Defining Parameters
  4. Creating a Parameter

Creating a Parameter

Figure 6-1 Process of Creating the First Parameter Instance in a Program, Report Set, or Workflow

Description of Figure 6-1 follows
Description of "Figure 6-1 Process of Creating the First Parameter Instance in a Program, Report Set, or Workflow"

When you create a Parameter in a Program, Report Set, or Workflow, you are actually creating an instance of a Parameter definition. Follow the instructions below.

When you create a Parameter in an Application Area or Domain, you are creating a Parameter definition only, but you can follow the instructions at Create a New Parameter Definition and Instance.

To create a new Parameter instance:

  1. In the Parameter subtab of a Program, Report Set, or Workflow, click Add.

    The system displays the Create Parameter screen.

  2. Choose one of the following options:

    • Create a new Parameter definition and instance. Choose this option if no Parameter definition exists that can meet your needs.

    • Create an instance from an existing Parameter definition. Choose this option if a Parameter definition already exists that meets your needs. See Finding an Appropriate Definition and Reusing Existing Definitions for further information.

      If you use an existing Parameter as a definition source, its source Variable and default values, list of allowable values, and/or validation rules are already defined.

    • Create Parameters from an existing Parameter Set. This option creates instances of all the Parameters in a single Parameter Set at once. This option appears only the first time you create a Parameter in a Program, Report Set, or Workflow. That is because an object can contain only a single Parameter Set. See Defining and Using Parameter Sets for more information on Parameter Sets.

      Note:

      In principle, it is best to reuse Parameter definitions or their source Variables as often as possible. The last two options both reuse existing Parameter definitions. There are two advantages:

      • promotes data type and length consistency along the data flow when Table Columns are also based on the same Variable

      • makes automatic Parameter value sharing in Workflows and Report Sets easier to set up

  3. Depending on your choice, follow one of the following sets of instructions:

Parent topic: Defining Parameters