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, vehicles, 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.

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Keywords AND Misspellings

report generator variable, data, information