This could be a very handy technique.
For instance, when you click on a hyperlink (drilldown) with many many parameters which will generate an URL
that will exceed the maximum length for an URL.

Just write (all) ampers to a file in the FOCCACHE directory with an unique name and add this filename
to the parameters in the drilldown definition in your fex.

In the fex that is called by the hyperlink, include this fex and all parameters are set.


-Fred-

-* --- Define some temp-variables
-SET &PA_TEMP1   = 'This';
-SET &PA_TEMP2   = 'That';
-SET &PA_TEMP3   = 'Wendy's';
-SET &PA_COUNTRY = 'ENGLAND';
-SET &PA_QWERTY  = 'Netherlands';

-RUN 
-? & SAVE FOCCACHE/inc_amp.fex
-RUN

The file inc_amp.fex in the FOCCACHE directory looks like this:

-*CURRENTLY DEFINED VARIABLES:
-DEFAULT &ECHO = 'OFF ';
-SET     &EXCELSERVURL = 'SET EXCELSERVURL=http://localhost:80/ibi_apps';
-SET     &FOCEXURL = '/ibi_apps/WFServlet?IBIF_webapp=/ibi_apps&IBIC_server=EDASERVE&IBIWF_msgviewer=OFF&';
-SET     &FOCHTMLURL = '/ibi_html';
-SET     &FOCREL = M727705D;
-SET     &GOOGLEMAPSAPIKEY = ' ';
-SET     &IBIMR_domain = ' ';
-SET     &PA_COUNTRY = 'ENGLAND';
-SET     &PA_QWERTY = 'Netherlands';
-SET     &PA_TEMP1 = 'This';
-SET     &PA_TEMP2 = 'That';
-SET     &PA_TEMP3 = 'Wendy''s';
-SET     &WFDESCRIBE = XMLRUN;

Hi Fred,

How on earth did you find that?

Great method and thanks for sharing!

T

Looks like it came in with V7.7 something.

That doesn't seem to work here, not sure why as we're on v7.7.04 as well. We use FOCCACHE all the time, so it's certainly enabled...

Adding:

WHENCE inc_amp FOCEXEC
-RUN

Results in: (FOC1892) FILE NOT FOUND : inc_amp FOCEXEC


Anyway, intriguing feature. I had been wondering whether it would be possible to obtain a list of parameters like this to aid in creating/maintaining drilldown parameter lists by simply modifying a copy of the parameter list of the current procedure.

For example, creating EXL2K output for the current report could then be done by something similar to:

HEADING
"Excel export"
...
TYPE=HEADING, LINE=1,
 FOCEXEC=&FOCFEXNAME(
-INCLUDE FOCCACHE/inc_amp.fex
    WFFMT='EXL2K'
 ),
$

Of course, the current list of params isn't formatted correctly for using directly in a STYLE declaration. It would also be convenient to be able to prune parameters from that list that aren't needed in the drilldown (or that are to be replaced with the same parameter(s) with a different value).

Any chance this could work something like this?:

-? & HOLD FOCCACHE/paramList
-RUN

TABLE FILE paramList
PRINT VALUE
BY PARAMETER
END

This is a brilliant technique for a quick way to save/retrieve all parms. But, I am looking for a way to save all parms as fields in a .foc or some table to retrieve in future. Almost like buidling Save Selection on Portal. Please advise if theres an easy way. I have a not so elegant way to create define for each parm and PRINT/HOLD and then keep appending by -MORE as we different users run diff selection.

A quick search on "capture variables" gives this post from GamP from 2007.

Susannah and I also gave a presentation on this in Summit 2013 - I no longer have the PPT though

T

vaayu, is this along the lines of what you're trying to do???

-SET &JEFF1='HI';
-SET &JEFF2='THERE';
-SET &JEFF3='STRANGER';

DEFINE FILE CAR
VAR1/A10='&JEFF1.EVAL';
VAR2/A10='&JEFF2.EVAL';
VAR3/A10='&JEFF3.EVAL';
END

TABLE FILE CAR
WRITE VAR1 VAR2 VAR3
BY COUNTRY NOPRINT
WHERE RECORDLIMIT EQ 1;
ON TABLE HOLD AS 'VAR_KEEP' FORMAT FOCUS
END


TABLE FILE VAR_KEEP
PRINT
VAR1 VAR2 VAR3
ON TABLE HOLD AS HOLDIT FORMAT BINARY
END

-RUN

-DEFAULTH &VAR1=0
-DEFAULTH &VAR2=0
-DEFAULTH &VAR3=0


-READFILE HOLDIT

-RUN

-SET &JEFF1=&VAR1;
-SET &JEFF2=&VAR2;
-SET &JEFF3=&VAR3;

-TYPE &JEFF1
-TYPE &JEFF2
-TYPE &JEFF3

Yes, more likely, I'll have it HOLD as focus table the first time then keep appending each time when they run the report request as an INCLUDE.
Thanks for the feedback guys !

quote:

-SET &JEFF1='HI';
-SET &JEFF2='THERE';
-SET &JEFF3='STRANGER';

DEFINE FILE CAR
VAR1/A10='&JEFF1.EVAL';
VAR2/A10='&JEFF2.EVAL';
VAR3/A10='&JEFF3.EVAL';
END

TABLE FILE CAR
WRITE VAR1 VAR2 VAR3
BY COUNTRY NOPRINT
WHERE RECORDLIMIT EQ 1;
ON TABLE HOLD AS 'VAR_KEEP' FORMAT FOCUS
END