What is a report generator variable?

Summary

This article describes what a variable is and how they are used.

More Information

What are they?

Essentially, a variable is a substitution for dynamic information.

How are they used?

This information comes from your database (customers, suppliers, stock, units, etc.) and is inserted into a report. The information can also be calculated from a collection of information (period balances, etc).

A01 is the variable for whether an account is a customer or supplier. A02 is the variable for a customer or supplier code. To produce a report for customer 'ABC001' you would need a range of: A01 = "S" AND A02 = "ABC001" The variables 'A01' and 'A02' are substituted with the values from your customer database and then the range is tested. "=" indicates a comparison that tests whether two values match. For a customer code of 'ABB001' the range would be evaluated as: "S" = "S" AND "ABB001" = "ABC001" This test would fail as the second comparison doesn't match. For a customer code of 'ABC001' the range would be evaluated as: "S" = "S" AND "ABC001" = "ABC001" This test would pass as both comparisons match.

Where Used

• Sort Order
• Ranges
• Columns

Variable Details

Each Variable has a reference file. This contains information about the variable and how it can be used. It also explains any parameters attached to a variable and, where relevant, what the default parameter will be.

On any field where you can enter a variable press <Shift+F2> or, where present, click on the [Reference] button at the top of the screen.

See also

• Report Generator functions
• Column types in the report generator
• Hidden report generator columns
• How do I use calculation sequence?
• Why are there three report ranges?
• Accessing the values of other columns.

Feedback

Thank you for using our Knowledge Base, we value your feedback. Did you find this article useful? 'Yes' or 'No'

Keywords AND Misspellings

report generator variable, data, information