Assign values to a parameter without controls

[michaelaj]

Is there any way to assign a value to a parameter without using a control? (i.e., button bar, slider, drop down, etc)

I want to just manually input a list of values that the parameter should include. The list of values comes from a much larger list, and so currently my solution is to create a List Control on a hidden page, apply filters to that List so that it only shows the values I care about (instead of 5,000 values, which is the size of the full list), and then I manually check them in the List. Then I have a filter on a different table: Value NOTIN Parameter

I'm just wondering if there is an easier way to do this that doesn't involve a control? 

The reason I want to do it this way is that the parameter affects filters on multiple tables, and it also will change in the future, so I need to be able to continue adding values to it, and it is faster to have those values assigned to a parameter than to manually change the filters on every table.

[Stu_SAS · Accepted solution]

Hey @michaelaj! You can add values to parameters without a control from within the parameter dialog. Where it says "Current Value" (or, in prior versions, "Default"), you can type in each value and hit enter to add it:

Your list will stay locked into these values unless you assign that parameter to a control. If you do that, it will completely replace the typed list.

This is actually a really nice way to add some hidden control over your report. For example, maybe you want to add some sort of adjustment factor to various calculations, but you want to keep that factor hidden so a viewer can't adjust it. You can add the adjustment factor to a parameter as its current value, then pass it to any calculation that you want. You can adjust the value of that parameter by opening the dialog and typing in a new value and saving the report.

[michaelaj]

Incredible - thank you @Stu_SAS ! I was clearly overcomplicating things 🙂 That is very useful!