Skip to content

Parameterised alternatives

Apply alternatives

This function is used in conjunction with the Parameterisation facility in the selection process. The example below illustrates how a user might be presented with a query that allows you to select a person’s location by Town or alternatively by Region.

This would first require you to create two separate selections that parameterise the two alternative selectors, Town and Region. See Parameterised selections for further details.

  1. Right click on Town? and choose Apply Alternatives... from the pop-up menu.

    The options are:

    Item Description
    Name This is the description given to the parameterised item. You can override the default.
    Prompt Title This is the wording the user will see to prompt their action. You can override the default.
    Alternatives These are the options that will be presented to the user to choose from.
    Optional Substitution Ticking this box will activate the Remove from selection tick box on the Substitution Values window.

  2. Drag the second parameterised selection (Region) onto the Alternatives drop zone and then complete the remaining options as shown in the screen shot below. Click OK.

  3. Click the Build Build button to see the alternatives displayed.

  4. Choose the selector to use and click OK. The pick list will be presented and the relevant categories can be selected.

  5. From the Cover page click on the Substitutions tab.

    To use this selection again you may want to set the Behaviour of how the user interacts with the selection(s):

    • Always Ask: Any previously selected parameter(s) will remain checked, but every time the selection is used, the user will be prompted to see if a parameter needs to be changed.
    • Always Clear & Ask: Any previously selected parameter(s) will be cleared and every time the selection is used, the user will be prompted to select a parameter.
    • Ask Once: The user will only be prompted once to change the parameter.
    • Remove: This option will ignore the parameterised part of the selection.

  6. To change the Location selector to be used click on the Build Build button again. This will redisplay the Alternatives window.

  7. Change the values and click on the OK button to see the new result.