Crystal Reports for Eclipse Designer Guide

To define the sort order using parameter fields

To set the sort order using parameter fields, you need to first create a formula that includes a parameter field and then sort based on that formula. For example, assume that you have a customer list report. For each customer, you show the Customer Name, City, Region, Country, and Phone Number. You want to be able to sort the report by Country, by Region, or by City, depending on your needs at the time.
  1. Create a parameter field and call it SortField.
  2. Select String from the Type list.
  3. In the Prompt Text field, enter a prompt similar to this:
    Type R to sort by Region or C to sort by City; otherwise, data will be sorted by Country.
    
  4. To limit the number of characters a user can type, enter 1 as both the Min Length and the Max Length.
    Now the parameter field will only accept single-character values. The field will accept "C" as a value, but not "City."
  5. Create a formula similar to this and call it Sort:
    If {?SortField} = "C" Then {customer.CITY}
    Else
         If {?SortField} = "R" Then {customer.REGION}
         Else
              {customer.COUNTRY}
    
    This formula prompts for a value for the parameter field {?SortField}. If you enter "C", the formula will sort by the City field. If you enter "R" it will sort by the Region field. If you enter anything else, or do not enter anything at all, the formula will sort by the Country field.
  6. On the Layout tab, place the formula in the Report Header section, and hide the section so that it does not appear when you preview the report.
  7. Click Record Sorting.
  8. Choose your formula, and then click OK.
Now when you run the report, the program will prompt you for a sort field, the formula will return a value based on your selection, and the sort facility will use that value as your sort field.



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