Shorts supports dynamic runtime data filtering. This is fancy talk to let the user specific query parameters at runtime. Instead of having to create a report with static parameters. This is useful for an instance where a report might need to only be a certain subset of data, but the set of data is selected by the user.

To setup the Dynamic Filter, open the Filter Dialog and set up a filter for your data. The value entered before making the filter dynamic becomes the default value. To make the filter dynamic tick the checkbox in column labeled "Dynamic" and click the Edit button in the next column. Use this setup dialog to label the field, and set up select aspects. For integer fields this can be a maximum and minimum value.

More than one dynamic variable can be used. At runtime they are all displayed together, but are validated one at a time.

Interface Type: Default

The default interface will attempt to match the field data type to something that matches a control. For example a boolean field will present a checkbox to the user, a string field presents a standard TextField, a Numeric field (integer or double) will present a standard TextField.
Numeric, Date, and DateTime/TimeStamp fields have an allowable Min and Max value. Leaving them blank means there is no min or max in their respective fields and will not be validated at runtime.

Interface Type: User Supplied List

The Dynamic User Supplied List allows the user to choose from a row in a Popup Menu. Supply the text and tag values to display at runtime when creating the report. The Text value is displayed to the user, and the Tag value is used for the query. The developer supplies the Text and the Tag. The Text is shown to the user and the Tag is what will be used for the query.

Interface Type: Query List

The Dynamic Query List creates a popup based on a query against the database. Create a SQL Query that will bring back two fields. There must be exactly two fields returned by the query. The first field is used as the Text value, and the second is used for the Tag.

Querying The User
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When the user runs a report with Dynamic Filters a dialog is presented with the dynamic filters. If there are many filters and the view exceeds the dialog height, the filters view becomes scrollable. If there is a Minimum or Maximum value on numeric fields it will be displayed in the area below the text field. If the field is a DateTime or Timestamp field the minimum and maximum values are displayed below the calendar.