How can I limit the number of characters a user can type for a parameter in SSRS?
For example, if the Data Type is set to TEXT, how to limit the user to type only 6 characters after Default value of "CL/" OR limit to total of 9 characters.
Unfortunately you can't perform validation as people write values, you can only handle them when the report is run. You can however use Code behind the report to perform some validation on your Parameters at run-time. Based on the result of this you can then either display the required data to instead return an error message.
To insert some code behind you right click the area around the report, Choose Report Properties, then Code.
Enter something like this into the code panel
Function Validate(param) as Boolean
If len(cstr(param)) <= 9 Then
Return"True"
Else
Return "False"
End if
End Function
You can then refer to the result of this from a text box that displays an error as follows
Right click the text box and set the visibility to be
=iif(Code.Validate(Parameters!myInput.Value) = True, True, False)
Then if you enter a string of 9 or fewer characters you will get an error that you can use to inform the user of the proper format of your desired input string.
Instead of just making text boxes visible/invisible, you could also apply this to rectangles that store your report information. Also, you can use visual basic coding to alter the Code behind to perform more complicated parameter validation to check for you "CLI" string for example.
I hope this helps, let me know if you require further help.
Related
I'm working on setting up a report in SSRS. Our report is somewhat flexible, and I'm looking to dynamically select an image for a cover page based on a parameter.
Here's what I have:
In our Reports db I have an image table set up. To keep things simple, lets just say I have three columns:
ImageName, ImageType, and Image.
Name and type are both varchar while ImageType is varbinary. I've uploaded the images we plan on using as well as their names and associated types to the table.
In my report I have a Data Source and a Dataset for bringing in the above table and columns.
I also have a parameter called "ImageName." I've set this parameter up to use "Image" (from the table described above) as its value field and the label field is set up for "ImageName."
On the report itself I have an image ... control? Report element? Not sure what to call it, but I've set up an image. The image source is set to "Database" and the MIME type uses the lookup function to pull the appropriate image type from the Dataset based on the Parameters!ImageName.Label argument - and that part works a treat - I'm returning the proper MIME type each time.
What doesn't work, and I would expect should work, is setting the image itself. For the "Use this field" field under "Select the image source:" I've tried both =Parameters!ImageName.Value with no success as well as a lookup based on the ImageName.Label from the images Dataset. Neither seem to work.
When I try using the parameter value, I'm getting the error
[rsInvalidDatabaseImageProperty] The value of the ImageData property
for the image 'ImageControlName' is "=Parameters!ImageName.Value",
which is not a valid ImageData.
I get essentially the same error message from the lookup method, it just swaps the lookup code for the Parameters!ImageName code above.
If I attempt to check the type returned by the lookup above I simply get an error. For the parameter if I check the type I get System.String so I decided to print that out and apparently the value of Parameters!ImageName.Value is System.Byte[] for some reason.
I can get an image to display using the First() function, but I need to be able to select the image. I'm guessing I may have to filter. First() has a return type of System.Byte[], which seems reasonable. I just don't understand why my parameter is returning the type of the image data column as a string rather than the data from the image column itself.
So how do I get this working? Is filtering my Dataset my only option? Or is there a way to get the parameter working or to get some function that will allow me to select the appropriate image?
Reason for your error is because of the data types returned by Parameters vs First.
For the Parameters data type returned is of type text and which is not valid image data type hence the error.
For First function it returns the data type based on type of expression and it returns the right type of data type for image and displays the image.
Per Microsoft Parameter Data Type:
A report parameter must be one of the following data types:
Boolean. The user selects True or False from a radio button.
DateTime. The user selects a date from a calendar control.
Integer. The user types values in a text box.
Float. The user types values in a text box.
Text. The user types values in a text box.
When available values are defined for a parameter, the user chooses
values from a drop-down list, even when the data type is DateTime.
Per Microsoft First function data type:
Return Type
Determined by the type of expression.
You are correct to get the right image you need to filter the dataset.
Create dataset which gives ImageName, ImageType, and Image.
Based on image parameter filter the dataset on ImageName.
Now use the following expression to get the correct image data.
=Fields!Image.Value
I have an Access form with a textbox bound to a currency field in a table. As expected, anything other than a numerical entry generates an error. Occasionally, users need to enter several amounts and have those added together and the result entered into the currency field.
To accomplish this, I would like users to enter an equal sign followed by a valid arithmetical string which would evaluate to a number exactly as they would in an Excel cell. For example, if a user enters "=5.31+2" I want the field to evaluate to "7.31" and use that as the value passed to the table when the record is updated or saved. The current workaround is to use the Calculator application but that isn't the ideal solution.
I tried the following code and applied it to both the BeforeUpdate and OnLostFocus events of the textbox (named "tbxTotal_Paid") but neither worked. I simply got "The value you entered is not valid for this field" error.
Dim charCt As Integer
Dim evalStr As String
If Left(tbxTotal_Paid, 1) = "=" Then
charCt = Len(tbxTotal_Paid)
evalStr = Right(tbxTotal_Paid, charCt - 1)
Me.tbxTotal_Paid = CCur(evalStr)
End If
Is this simply applying the code to the incorrect event or is this a coding issue? Any assistance is appreciated.
For me your code looks fine but you might put it in the wrong place.
Like you said Acess is giving you this error because the textbox is bound to the currency-field. So it will never accept non-numerical values because the value-checking code fires even before the before_update-event.
I think the best solution would be to hide your bound text box using Me.tbxTotal_Paid.Visible = False and creating a surrogate textbox which is not bound. You put your code in the beforeUpdate-Event or Change-Event of your surrogate. At the end you should check your final result with IsNumeric(). That way your surrogate textbox writes only correct values to your bound hidden textbox and only numbers arrive at your table.
An alternative would be to change the currency column to a string-field but this would not be wise because of potential wrong data in your database.
I have a report whose record source is a query, say qryRecords. In the report header I want to add a lengthy notes field (longer than 255 characters). I have set up a table to hold these notes (with a field type "memo"), and because that table is separate from the record source for the report, I was going to put the Notes field in the report using VBA code.
In the open event of the report, I have added this code:
Dim rst as Recordset
Dim sql_qry as String
sql_qry = "SELECT notes FROM tblNotes WHERE id = 1;"
Set rst = CurrentDb.OpenRecordset(sql_qry)
rst.MoveFirst
Me.txtNote = rst![notes] 'I get the run-time error on this line
Unfortunately I get a run-time error where noted ("You can't assign a value to this object"). I found a person with a similar issue on a form, and the suggestion was to move the code from the open event to the OnCurrent event, but that event doesn't exist for a report. Any suggestions? Thanks.
--- Original Question ---
I have a form with an unbound text box (txtNotes), and when the user opens the form, the text box is populated with text that is longer than 255 characters (it concatenates various fields from the database). This works with no problem.
There's a button on the form that opens a report, and in the report, I set the Control Source for a text box to Forms![frmMain]![frmSub]![txtNotes], which is the text box mentioned above. That works too, but for some reason the text on the report is truncated at 255 characters. The form's text box is unbound, so there's no underlying table to limit the length. Does anybody know why this would happen or if there's a workaround?
Most likely when the data from the field is being cast as a Text type rather than as a Memo. Really there's no way to explicitly cast a Text as a Memo (you can go the other way around though with CStr). I had problems with truncation on the form as well when experimenting with this scenario.
I'd suggest you are probably generating this field on the form in the wrong way. Dollars to doughnuts you could generate it in a query (used in the form's Control Source), rather than concatenating it together and placing into an unbound field. Likewise, you could then use that same query as the control source for the report that you are opening.
If all of that is truly impossible, I'd point you at dumping the values from the form into a table specifically for the report and then using the table as a control source for the report.
---- Edit ----
I still contend that you can add it to your Report's data source. In my example below, I've tacked on tblNotes to a select on the Bar table.
SELECT bar.f0, bar.f1, bar.f2, bar.f3, tblNotes.notes
FROM bar, tblNotes
WHERE tblNotes.id = 1;
Yes, if there is 300 rows of Bar, you'll get 300 copies of the same Notes field, but that's a minor problem.
Form there, you just make txtNote's data source the tblNotes.Notes column. txtNote can certainly exist in the report/page header, and when MS Access generates it, it will only use one row. I'm not sure if picks the first/last row, or random row - never the less since they are all the same, it doesn't matter.
I'm trying to write a little form which accepts some user input, and on the basis of some logic displays one of two possible other forms. Everything is working fine if I use simple, unformatted data, but I hit a problem if the data in question has an input mask of a phone number. Presumably there's a trick here to ignore formatting characters or some such?
The actual logic looks for records in a particular table whose values match the data entered. Something like this cut down example:
A form, which is not associated with any specific table, containing one data entry field, called FormFieldY, and a button whose onClick invokes a Macro whose condition looks for matching data in a table.
DCount("*","TableX","[MyColumn] = [FormFieldY] " ) > 0
Now, if I MyColumn in the table has simple text or numeric values this works just fine. However if I apply a Telephone number input mask to that column, I never get a match. I have tried applying an input mask to my form field, or typing literally into the form field a fully formatted number
(1234) 56789012
neither gives a match. However if instead I hack the macro and enter a suitable hard-coded formatted valueL
DCount("*","TableX","[MyColumn] = '(1234) 56789012'" ) > 0
It works just fine.
I think you may have two issues going on. The first is that your format property displays the parentheses when a user types in a phone number, but those parentheses are not included in the value of FormFieldY --- they are display-only.
You can verify the value of FormFieldY by assigning this code to its After Update event:
Private Sub FormFieldY_AfterUpdate()
MsgBox Me.FormFieldY
End Sub
If you want the parentheses stored as part of FormFieldY's value, perhaps you would get more joy by using an input mask rather than a format. With Access 2003, I used this as my text box control's input mask:
!\(999") "000\-0000;0;_
But it's probably easiest to use the Input Mask Wizard (click the button with 3 dots, which is just to the right of the Input Mask line on your control's property sheet). Choose phone number on the first wizard page. On the Wizard page which asks "How do you want to store the data?", select the "With the symbols in the mask" radio button.
Comment from djna: That was the solution, the expression change below seems not to be needed
The other issue is your DCount expression:
DCount("*","TableX","[MyColumn] = [FormFieldY] " ) > 0
I think you should use the value of FormFieldY rather than the name of the control. That may not be clear, so here's what I mean:
DCount("*","TableX","[MyColumn] = '" & Me.FormFieldY & "'" ) > 0
In MS Access 2007 (using Access 2000 format) I am attempting to get a boolean output from a query such that the result is displayed as a checkbox rather than 0 or -1.
When the query is passing along a boolean input, this is working properly. When I attempt to make an evaluation, the result is 0 or -1, but not a TRUE/FALSE checkbox.
I have tried:
SELECT (MyInt > 1) AS MyBoolResult
SELECT CBool(MyInt > 1) AS MyBoolResult
SELECT IIF((MyInt > 1), TRUE, FALSE) AS MyBoolResult
SELECT CBool(IIF((MyInt > 1), TRUE, FALSE)) AS AS MyBoolResult
In each case my result is a 0 or -1, and I cannot get this into a display checkbox down stream in an ASP .Net web page using a GridView.
Is what I want possible? If so, how is it accomplished?
With your query in design view, click in your field expression box, then press Alt+F11 to bring up the property sheet. If you then switch to the Lookup tab, you can see there are only 3 three choices for Display Control: Text Box; List Box; and Combo Box. You can type in Check Box, but it won't be accepted.
So, you can't have a calculated field expression displayed as a check box in the result set from an Access 2007 query.
Update: I may have misinformed you. If you do have a Check Box option for Display Control, choose it. (I don't have that choice available on my system, but I'm second guessing whether my system is normal.)
If you want something displayed other than -1 or 0, you could try entering True/False (or Yes/No) in the Format box on the field's property sheet.
I was hoping to comment on HansUp's answer, but that seems to be unavailable...
My own experience in Access 2007 is as per HansUp's original response - the Lookup > Display Control setting only offers me Text Box; List Box; and Combo Box.
I ran into the same problem when creating queries to export Access-Data to JSON. The values ended up as numbers, not as booleans. The only way I could get around this problem programmatically was to have the Javascript part of the import reconvert the data type. A bad hack but I see no other way
That's the way it works and I'm unable to produce the results you want. The only way I know is to produce a temporary table.
Possibly ASP .Net is expecting a +1 as being the true value. Try putting an ABS on the logical expression. Just guessing though.
The only way I found to make MyBoolResult a checkbox is the following:
Create a new (empty) radio button
Change it into a checkbox (by right mouse button and "Change to")
Put MyBoolResult as its Contol Source property