Is there a “Matches Pattern” feature within formulas? I would like to bring all items into my report and then select certain ones to show in a column based on sections of another field (description). Unfortunately, the sections of the description field that I need to select are not in the same position for each record.
Any suggestions?
Susan Fowler
ISM Fastening Systems
Listserv Archives (BOB member since 2002-06-25)
If you can’t do this with a formula, how about using a Filter on the Description field that includes the various descriptions containing the desired text? Of course, if there are hundreds of choices or if the list changes over time, then this may not work.
George Baranowski
QuadraMed
Listserv Archives (BOB member since 2002-06-25)
In a message dated 00-01-14 13:03:54 EST, you write:
Is there a “Matches Pattern” feature within formulas? I would like to bring
all items into my report and then select certain ones to show in a column based on sections of another field (description). Unfortunately, the sections of the description field that I need to select are not in the same position for each record.
Any suggestions?
Susan:
If you look in the function list, you will find Match() is a report function. Unlike the Matches Pattern operator on the Query Panel, the Match() function uses the * and ? as wildcards.
You can use this to do pattern matching in a report variable or formula.
I will have a tech note with a BusObj report and a more lengthy explanation for this topic on our web site shortly. Our web site is undergoing some “reconstruction” at the moment. (The current content is still available, the new site is offline.) We hope to have the new content available soon. At the moment this report / tech note is not available on our site.
One of the interesting tricks that you can do with the Match() function is to coordinate two data providers. Assume that the first data provider has a user prompt for month. The second data provider should only show values contained in the first data provider. A complex filter can be created using the UserResponse() and Match() functions to accomplish this. That is the trick that will be documented on our web site shortly.
Regards,
Dave Rathbun
Integra Solutions
www.islink.com
Listserv Archives (BOB member since 2002-06-25)