Step-By-Step How to Add Prompt in Business Objects

Business Objects is a popular business intelligence (BI) tool that allows users to easily create reports and dashboards to analyze data. A key feature in Business Objects is the ability to add prompts, which allows users to select values to filter the data returned in reports.

Prompts make reports interactive and enable users to dynamically change the data they see. Using prompts effectively is an important skill for any Business Objects developer or report author.

This article will provide examples of common prompt types and how to implement them in Business Objects. It will focus on prompts in Web Intelligence reports, but many concepts also apply to prompts created in universes using the Business Objects Designer tool.

Basic Prompt Syntax

The basic syntax for adding a prompt in the query panel of Web Intelligence is:

@Prompt('Prompt Text', 'Data Type', List of Values)

Prompt Text is the label displayed to users
Data Type is the type of data expected (text, number, date, etc.)
List of Values optionally provides a dropdown list of values

For example:

@Prompt('Select a Region', 'A', ['North America', 'Europe', 'Asia Pacific'])

This creates a text-based prompt with a dropdown list of three regions.

Common Prompt Types

Here are some common types of prompts used in Business Objects reports:

Free Text Prompt

Allows users to enter any text value:

@Prompt('Enter search keywords', 'A')

Numeric Range Prompt

Prompts for a numeric range with a slider UI:

@Prompt('Select order total range','N')

Date Range Prompt

Prompts for a date range with a calendar popup:

@Prompt('Choose date range','D')

Cascading Prompts

Prompts where the second prompt depends on the value selected in the first prompt:

@Prompt('Select region', 'A', [regions])
@Prompt('Select country', 'A', [@Select(countries)])

The list of countries changes dynamically based on the selected region.

Mandatory Prompts

Makes a prompt required by checking “Mandatory” in the prompt’s properties:

@Prompt('Select product category', 'A', [categories])

Formatting Prompts

You can customize the look and options of prompts in a few ways:

Setting Default Values

Populate prompts with default values so users don’t have to select them every time:

@Prompt('Select region', 'A', [regions], multi, free, [North America, Europe])

Displaying Icons

Show icons next to prompt values:

@Prompt('Select priority', 'A', ['High','Medium','Low'],,,[High Icon])

Upload custom icons in prompt properties.

Customizing UI Text

Change text users see for options like “Select All” and “Clear All”:

@Prompt('Select countries', 'A', [countries])

Edit text in prompt properties.

Key Benefits

Some key benefits of using prompts include:

Interactivity – Users can change data views on the fly
Reusability – The same report can serve different audiences
Guided Analysis – Prompts simplify data analysis for casual users
Performance – Prompts filter data before query execution

By mastering prompts, you can create flexible, easy-to-use reports in Business Objects.