AX3220

Setting up refresh dialogs for Axiom files

You can configure an Axiom file so that a selection dialog displays when a refresh is initiated for the file. The user can select values in the dialog, and these values are then passed back to the file so that they can be used to impact the data refresh.

For example, you might want users to be able to filter a report on demand, so that the users only see the data for a selected department. You can use a refresh form to prompt the user to select a department when a refresh is initiated, rather than requiring the user to change values in the report itself. The selected department in the refresh form could then be used to filter an Axiom query in the file, or as a sheet filter.

Axiom Software provides two different options for defining refresh dialogs:

• Refresh variables: When using this approach, you define one or more refresh variables within the spreadsheet file. These variables represent the values that you want to collect from the user. When the file is refreshed, Axiom Software automatically generates a dialog that prompts the user to specify values for these variables. The variable values are then placed in designated cells within the file before the refresh occurs. The file must be configured to reference these values to impact the data query in some way.

  Refresh variables can be used in standard spreadsheet Axiom files, and in form-enabled Axiom files. For more information on this approach, see Refresh variables.

• Axiom forms: When using this approach, you create a separate Axiom form to serve as the refresh form, and then configure the spreadsheet file to open this form as a dialog when a refresh occurs. The Axiom form must be designed to collect the desired values from the user, and to send those values back to the spreadsheet file using the "form state" feature. The spreadsheet file must be configured to reference these values to impact the data query in some way.

  The Axiom form option is only available for use with standard spreadsheet Axiom files. For more information on using this approach and creating the Axiom form, see Using an Axiom form as a refresh form.

Generally speaking, the refresh variable approach is the simplest approach to set up. The refresh variables have a defined set of options that are specifically designed for this purpose. The refresh form is automatically generated by Axiom Software based on those options, so you do not have to separately design a dialog. All setup occurs within a single file, so it is easier for the file designer to understand and maintain.

The Axiom form approach requires more effort to set up, but it offers more visual flexibility than refresh variables. You can use the full range of Axiom form features to determine how the dialog should look and feel. However because this approach uses separate files, it is more complex to configure the data relationships between the files, and the files can potentially get out of sync.

These features are independent and should not be used together in a single workbook. If both features are present and both apply to the current refresh context, then the refresh variables will be used and the Axiom form will be ignored.