I'm using devstu 713 and struggling to understand its behavior. When i run a fex, i don't get a parm screen. Only if the fex fails, do i get that new blue parm screen, but with no parms showing, just a scary message saying 'your fex has been removed from the server'. Is there a DevStu wizard out there who can tell me if there's a way to get parm screens to show up the way they do from MRE?
muchas gracias.

Susannah

in the MRE you get the prompting screen for the parameters if you set
-DEFAULT &XXXX='zzz';

If you develop in the projects folder it really acts as a default setting and does not present a screen. IMO it is a default setting.

Parm screen shows when you have amper variables in your fex, unless of course you have used the '-SET' to preset them. I've noticed though that until later versions if the amper variable was imbedded in a field, I use 8040&D alot to pull a year specific fund, that I had to set the &D to some other &var name in order to get it set under earlier versions. We are installed as DEV Studio against the MRE as standard reports.

thanks guys, but i'm doing re-development without MRE, and the parm screens just aren't showing up at all in devstu, and i'm expecting them to. so , my question is, how do i get devstu to behave like MRE ?

So You have &Varibles and expecting parm Screens and aren't getting any? There's no HTML involved?

yes, Prarie, thats exactly it.
that plain vanilla parm screen doesn't show.
that icky blue java parm screen sometimes shows up, but with no parms in the parm window.
bizarre.
is it just 713? should i bail and go to 761?

Well I know they are there in 716 and 761!

ah. that's helpful. ok, i'll bite the bullet.

Can't you just change the "prompt for parameters" property of the fex to on? That will always force the parameters page. What are your client setting for IBIMR_prompting (MRE) and IBIF_wfdescribe?

hi darin, its not MRE. Its dev stu. and there's no prompt for paramters? box on the properties tab... That's why i'm stuck.
The blue java parm box shows up, sometimes, only if the fex fails, but with no parms being offered. Its just not working the way it should.

I was referring to Dev Studio. If you right click the fex (must be the FEX, not HTM or URL) and select properties, you should get the dialog box that has the prompt for parameters, show on user's list, run with OLAP, etc. It's basic functionality regardless of DS license, version, etc. so if you're not getting those, something's wrong with the DevStudio installation.

there's nothing in properties box for the fex other than read-only and encrypt. its not like MRE prop box at all. That's the first thing i checked... no cigar..

Susannah

As I've not used MRE I'm unsure what you are expecting to appear and when.

If you are using DS on it's own, as I do, then it acts self service and there is no automatic prompting when you run a focexec.

Parameter prompting can be set in the WebFOCUS Administration console, as I am sure you are aware.

Now I suspect that you are running on a stand alone configuration, and you either start WebFOCUS Server for Developers Studio from services, or let the DOS window thingy run when you start developers studio.

Now somewhere or other, and I've never got to the bottom of it, the application paths were not being adhered to, or as I thought I had set them up, when I ran in this configuration. And I am sure I was hitting the same issues as you at the start, as well as autoprompt calling autopromt ad infinitum, and DS seeing the projects, but not being able to read from the project directories.

Now I ignore the WFS for DS and have set DS to use the standard WF Client and Server from services, which are a separate install; so basically I am running DS on the server, and this works as I expect.

My advice to start with is to double check the DS set up, paying particular attention to application paths and the environments you have set up.

what i'm figuring out now is that DevStu works with encrypted fexes, and MRE doesn't. DevStu may specifically avoid parm screens for that very reason.
I've never found a manual for DevStu... has anyone found one??
and does anyone have DS running on Vista??

This message has been edited. Last edited by: susannah,

Susannah

I've just got a clean 7.6 DS up and running, Now I get parameter prompting, with or without encrypted focexecs.

This on XP, as I don't have Vista.

hmm.
you gave me very good tip...it never occurred to me before to start the server as a service and not bother launching devstu at all...brilliant, that!

so 76 i'll try next.

What about a manual? have you ever seen one, Alan?

I've never seen a DS manual!

Now I have prompting working in 7.1.4 DS. Not actually sure how, but am using the XML parameter for parameter prompting, and changed the APPROOT.

I understand your frustration with DS, it is not quite so easy to set up as you would want. I have just been over some notes I got from Tech Support when I first installed 7.1.3 and had a real 'mare, but now it's working as expected.

I'm a basic hand coder, so really don't use DS much at all. Creating the odd synonym, and of course Maintain, but not much else.

This is trhe basic DS manual for 761+:

http://documentation.informationbuilders.com/masterinde...etail.asp?docid=1869

There are several other companion manuals on FMR, DESCRIBING DATA, etc.

thanks Alex, that's the "Getting Started" manual...that we have.

Susannah

I think you need to build an HTML page as part of the project.
Your amper vars will/should be build in that page.

The tutorial might be of any help the first time you build an HTML page.

i got that bit covered, thanks Amsterdam. I'm starting to really like devstu , now that i don't expect it to act just like mre...

Susannah,

Here is some code example to get the AUTOPROMPTER to kick-in:

-DEFAULT &WFFMT = ' '
TABLE FILE CAR
PRINT *
ON TABLE PCHOLD FORMAT &WFFMT.(<HTML Table,HTMTABLE>,<Active Reports,AHTML>,<PDF,PDF>).Select Format.
END
-EXIT

Also -PROMPT will also work:

-PROMPT &FY.(<2005,2005>,<2006,2006>,<2007,2007>,<2008,2008>,<2009,2009>,<2010,2010>).Select Fiscal Year.
-PROMPT &F_PD.(<01,01>,<02,02>,<03,03>,<04,04>,<05,05>,<06,06>,<07,07>,<08,08>,<09,09>,<10,10>,<11,11>,<12,12>).Select Period.
-PROMPT &OUTFMT.(<HTML,HTML>,<PDF,PDF>,<Excel,EXL2K>,<Active Reports,AHTML>,<MS WORD,DOC>).Select Report Output Format.

Hope this is helpful...

Hi Tom, are you sure they work in 714 dev stu? i just tried prompt and got the same thing.."your report has been deleted from the server.."

quote:

"your report has been deleted from the server.."

This message comes up prior to the prompt info being displayed in the frame above it. Are you sure you're waiting long enough, it can take quite a few seconds to appear! There is a way of turning that message off, but cannot remember at the moment.

the icky blue prompt screen comes up later, as you say, but its always empty.
I've tried setting the wfdescribe to XMLRUN,to XMLPROMPT, no cigar. I'm just gonna upgrade to 761 where Prarie says it works fine for her ...
I'm giving up on this one...

You will find some other problems when using DevStudio
If you develop a report with some linked reports in DevStudio in the coding you see:

....FEXNAME=DRILLFEX1 (parameters)

if you move both the parent and the child report to the MRE it will give an error, you have to change the above line to:

...FEXNAME=app/drillfex1 (parameters)

And if you build an html page and move all the files to MRE you have to dive into the html page coding to get it proper working....

Susannah
I have recreated your problem, where the 'ibps' comes up blank, by changing the approot in c:\ibi\DevStudio\srv71\wfs\bin\edaserve.cfg.

I have my apps away from the ibi directory, and whilst you can get DS to see the projects, and allows you to work happily on them, even if the edaserve.cfg is incorrect, when you run them the edaserve does not find them correctly and behaves as you described.

Can you check that the APPROOT is correct in cgivars.wfs and in edaserve.cfg.

The same applies in 7.1.4 and 7.6.1.