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12 Parameter Value XML Files

When a report needs parameter values to run, there needs to be a way to specify those parameter values when the report is run "headless" (without opening the design window). To do this, create a small XML file and specify the parameter values inside it. See Usage for the command line argument format or Asking for Parameter Values for a complete description of the three different ways to set parameter values.

The parameter value XML file has a very simple format. For an example XML file, see examples/parameters.xml. Here is the DTD, also found in parameter.dtd.

<!ELEMENT parameters parameter*></p>

<!--
  -- A parameter has an id and contains one or more values.
  -- The id matches a parameter id number in a report XML
  -- file. The number of values should match the parameter's
  -- arity (single, range, or multiple) and type (string,
  -- number, date, or boolean).
  -->
<!ELEMENT parameter value*>
<!ATTLIST parameter id CDATA #REQUIRED></p>

<!--
  -- A value is a text value. For booleans, "t", "true", "y",
  -- and "yes" are all interpreted as "true". Anything else
  -- is interpreted as "false". Case is not significant.
  --
  -- Dates must be in YYYY-MM-DD format.
  -->
<!ELEMENT value (#PCDATA)>

If you are embedding DataVision in your own Java program and want to know how to ask the user for parameter values, see Asking for Parameter Values.

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