Optional prompt in IMS

[Cullima]

Can anyone explain why the following option ("requires a non-blank value") is present but not available when creating a prompt in IMS.  I want to create an optional prompt which, if left blank selects all towns.  This works fine if I create a Stored Process as the option is available to me however I do not want a SP intrinsically limked to my map as the prompt is not approriate for all reports tha use it.

IMS Manual states:

"All prompts that are used for filters are required to have values, so the Requires a

non-blank value check box is selected by default and cannot be cleared."

If this is the case, why is it there and why should I be able to do this in the SP wizard but not IMS?

[metalray]

Hello Cullima,

The prompt creation interfaces are different between IMS, MC or EG.

Its just like that.

[Cullima]

Whatever happened to the prompting framework, described by SAS as follows

"The SAS 9.2 prompt framework provides a consistent and easy user interface for creating prompts that can be used across applications and platforms. The prompt framework is available across all desktop and Web clients in the platform for SAS® Business Analytics."

In any case this is a difference in functionality rather than presentation.  Why I should have the option in one and not the other is beyond me.

[metalray]

Hello Cullima,

"consistent"

differences I noticed is for example that you dont have the "Test Prompts" feature when editing
prompts in EG but it is there in MC. Then if you look at the Prompt Type and Values tab, the checkbox
"Append formatted values with unformatted values" is located under a different heading.

One last thing I noticed just by looking at it for 2 minutes is that under the
tab "Prompt Type and values" for the Numeric Prompt Type the "minimum number of decimal places displayed" and
"maximum number of decimal places allowed" is grayed out in EG when "Allow only integer values" is checked
but hides/hidden when using Management Console.

Most of my examples are just small UI differences but I am sure there are many more.

[Madelyn_SAS]

Typically, customers add "all possible values" as the default for prompts that are not required.

Following is an undocumented (not officially tested) workaround:

Add a filter to the information map using a required shared prompt, save the infomation map, and then modify the shared prompt so that it is not required.