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I've looked through a number of tutorials and asks, and haven't found a working solution to my problem.
Suppose my dataset has two columns: sort_order and field_value. sort_order is an integer and field_value is a numerical (10,2).
I want to format some rows as #,#0 and others as #,#0.00.
Normally I would just do
iif( fields!sort_order.value = 1 or fields!sort_order.value = 23 or .....
unfortunately, the list is fairly long.
I'd like to do the equivalent of if fields!sort_order.value in (1,2,21,63,78,...) then...)
As recommended in another post, I tried the following (if sort in list, then just output a 0, else a 1. this is just to test the functionality of the IN operator):
=iif( fields!sort_order.Value IN split("1,2,3,4,5,6,8,10,11,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,26,30,31,33,34,36,37,38,41,42,44,45,46,49,50,52,53,54,57,58,59,62,63,64,67,68,70,71,75,76,77,80,81,82,92,98,99,113,115,116,120,122,123,127,130,134,136,137,143,144,146,147,148,149,154,155,156,157,162,163,164,165,170,171,172,173,183,184,185,186,192,193,194,195,201,202,203,204,210,211,212,213,263",","),0,1)
However, it doesn't look like the SSRS expression editor wants to accept the "IN" operator. Which is strange, because all the examples I've found that solve this problem use the IN operator.
Any advice?
Try using IndexOf function:
=IIF(Array.IndexOf(split("1,2,3,4,...",","),fields!sort_order.Value)>-1,0,1)
Note all values must be inside quotations.
Consider the recommendation of #Jakub, I recommend this solution if
your are feeding your report via SP and you can't touch it.
Let me know if this helps.
I tried to match the sql values string (0),(5),(12),... or (0,11),(122,33),(4,51),... or (0,121,12),(31,4,5),(26,227,38),... and so on with the regular expression
\(\s*\d+\s*(\s*,\s*\d+\s*)*\)(\s*,\s*\(\s*\d+\s*(\s*,\s*\d+\s*)*\))*
and it works. But...
How can I ensure that the regex does not match a values string like (0,12),(1,2,3),(56,7) with different number of columns?
Thanks in advance...
As i mentioned in comment to the question, the best way to check if input string is valid: contains the same count of numbers between brackets, is to use client side programm, but not clear SQL.
Implementation:
List<string> s = new List<string>(){
"(0),(5),(12)", "(0,11),(122,33),(4,51)",
"(0,121,12),(31,4,5),(26,227,38)","(0,12),(1,2,3),(56,7)"};
var qry = s.Select(a=>new
{
orig = a,
newst = a.Split(new string[]{"),(", "(", ")"},
StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries)
})
.Select(a=>new
{
orig = a.orig,
isValid = (a.newst
.Sum(b=>b.Split(new char[]{','},
StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries).Count()) %
a.newst.Count()) ==0
});
Result:
orig isValid
(0),(5),(12) True
(0,11),(122,33),(4,51) True
(0,121,12),(31,4,5),(26,227,38) True
(0,12),(1,2,3),(56,7) False
Note: The second Select statement gets the modulo of sum of comma instances and the count of items in string array returned by Split function. If the result isn't equal to zero, it means that input string is invalid.
I strongly believe there's a simplest way to achieve that, but - at this moment - i don't know how ;)
:(
Unless you add some more constraints, I don't think you can solve this problem only with regular expressions.
It isn't able to solve all of your string problems, just as it cannot be used to check that the opening and closing of brackets (like "((())()(()(())))") is invalid. That's a more complicated issue.
That's what I learnt in class :P If someone knows a way then that'd be sweet!
I'm sorry, I spent a bit of time looking into how we could turn this string into an array and do more work to it with SQL but built in functionality is lacking and the solution would end up being very hacky.
I'd recommend trying to handle this situation differently as large scale string computation isn't the best way to go if your database is to gradually fill up.
A combination of client and serverside validation can be used to help prevent bad data (like the ones with more numbers) from getting into the database.
If you need to keep those numbers then you could rework your schema to include some metadata which you can use in your queries, like how many numbers there are and whether it all matches nicely. This information can be computed inexpensively from your server and provided to the database.
Good luck!
My dataset has WeekEndingDate and Sales. I am displaying a straight table with all the selected data but I need to have another table showing the following:
Sales (other columns...)
First week : 1,000
Last week : 1,350
Difference : 350
Difference %: 35%
My questions:
a) Can I have the above in one chart/table, or I need 4 different charts showing columns filtered by set expressions?
b) My strategy is having 2 variables (vMinWeek and vMaxWeek), and using them in set expressions. Is that the best route?
c) My set expressions (below) are not working - they sum the whole data set. Would you please help me understanding why?
=max ({$<WeekEndingDate={'$(vMinWeek)'}>} Sales)
Thank you for your help!
Mara
I think the reason your set isn't working is that your WeekEnd date is formatted as a date and your variable is formatted as a number.
The trick with Set Analysis is always to think what you would have to type in a list box to get to your answer. So even though QlikView stores WeekEnd 2014/08/18 as 41869 you can't type 41869 in the WeekEnd list box and get back that date. So I would make your variables of the form =date(min(WeekEnd)).
The second part of your question; getting the table you want. I would do like this. I make a loose table with the dimension values, dual is so that it sorts correctly in the chart we are going to build.
load dual(D,N) as DIM inline [
D,N
First Week,1
Last Week,2
Difference,3
Dif %,4
];
I like defining my variables in the script as well, so I would do this.
set vFirstWeek='=date(min(WeekEnd))';
set vLastWeek='=date(max(WeekEnd))';`
Then when building the straight table we use the dimension as DIM but because DIM isn't connected to anything we have to do some work to get it to display values that fit those dimension values. The num(,'# ##0') is just to format the % differently from the sums. For this to work the number format in the Number tab of the chart must be set to Expression Default.
if(DIM='First Week',num(sum({<WeekEnd={'$(vFirstWeek)'}>} Sales),'# ##0'),
if(DIM='Last Week',num(sum({<WeekEnd={'$(vLastWeek)'}>} Sales),'# ##0'),
if(DIM='Difference',num(sum({<WeekEnd={'$(vFirstWeek)'}>} Sales)-sum({<WeekEnd={'$(vLastWeek)'}>} Sales),'# ##0'),
if(DIM='Dif %',num((sum({<WeekEnd={'$(vFirstWeek)'}>} Sales)-sum({<WeekEnd={'$(vLastWeek)'}>} Sales))/sum({<WeekEnd={'$(vLastWeek)'}>} Sales),'0.00%')))))
I'm trying to write a function of this form:
Function cont(requestdate As Date)
cont = requestdate
End Function
Unfortunately, when I enter =cont(12/12/2012) into a cell, I do not get my date back. I get a very small number, which I think equals 12 divided by 12 divided by 2012. How can I get this to give me back the date? I do not want the user to have to enter =cont("12/12/2012").
I've attempted to google for an answer, unfortunately, I have not found anything helpful. Please let me know if my vocabulary is correct.
Let's say my user pulled a report with 3 columns, a, b and c. a has beginning of quarter balances, b has end of quarter balances and c has a first and last name. I want my user to put in column d: =cont(a1,b1,c1,12/12/2012) and make it create something like:
BOQ IS 1200, EOQ IS 1300, NAME IS EDDARD STARK, DATE IS 12/12/2012
So we could load this into a database. I apologize for the lack of info the first time around. To be honest, this function wouldn't save me a ton of time. I'm just trying to learn VBA, and thought this would be a good exercise... Then I got stuck.
Hard to tell what you are really trying to accomplish.
Function cont(requestdate As String) As String
cont = Format(Replace(requestdate, ".", "/"), "'mm_dd_YYYY")
End Function
This code will take a string that Excel does not recognize as a number e.g. 12.12.12 and formats it (about the only useful thing I can think of for this UDF) and return it as a string (that is not a number or date) to a cell that is formatted as text.
You can get as fancy as you like in processing the string entered and formatting the string returned - just that BOTH can never be a number or a date (or anything else Excel recognizes.)
There is no way to do exactly what you're trying to do. I will try to explain why.
You might think that because your function requires a Date argument, that this somehow forces or should force that 12/12/2012 to be treated as a Date. And it is treated as a Date — but only after it's evaluated (only if the evaluated expression cannot be interpreted as a Date, then you will get an error).
Why does Excel evaluate this before the function receives it?
Without requiring string qualifiers, how could the application possibly know what type of data you intended, or whether you intended for that to be evaluated? It could not possibly know, so there would be chaos.
Perhaps this is best illustrated by example. Using your function:
=Cont(1/1/0000) should raise an error.
Or consider a very simple formula:
=1/2
Should this formula return .5 (double) or January 2 (date) or should it return "1/2" (string literal)? Ultimately, it has to do one of these, and do that one thing consistently, and the one thing that Excel will do in this case is to evaluate the expression.
TL;DR
Your problem is that unqualified expression will be evaluated before being passed, and this is done to avoid confusion or ambiguity (per examples).
Here is my method for allowing quick date entry into a User Defined Function without wrapping the date in quotes:
Function cont(requestdate As Double) As Date
cont = CDate((Mid(Application.Caller.Formula, 7, 10)))
End Function
The UDF call lines up with the OP's initial request:
=cont(12/12/2012)
I believe that this method would adapt just fine for the OP's more complex ask, but suggest moving the date to the beginning of the call:
=cont(12/12/2012,a1,b1,c1)
I fully expect that this method can be optimized for both speed and flexibility. Working on a project now that might require me to further dig into the speed piece, but it suits my needs in the meantime. Will update if anything useful turns up.
Brief Explanation
Application.Caller returns a Range containing the cell that called the UDF. (See Caveat #2)
Mid returns part of a string (the formula from the range that called the UDF in this case) starting at the specified character count (7) of the specified length (10).
CDate may not actually be necessary, but forces the value into date format if possible.
Caveats
This does require use of the full dd/mm/yyyy (1/1/2012 would fail) but pleasantly still works with my preferred yyyy/mm/dd format as well as covering some other delimiters. dd-mm-yyyy or dd+mm+yyyy would work, but dd.mm.yyyy will not because excel does not recognize it as a valid number.
Additional work would be necessary for this to function as part of a multi-cell array formula because Application.Caller returns a range containing all of the associated cells in that case.
There is no error handling, and =cont(123) or =cont(derp) (basically anything not dd/mm/yyy) will naturally fail.
Disclaimers
A quick note to the folks who are questioning the wisdom of a UDF here: I've got a big grid of items and their associated tasks. With no arguments, my UDF calculates due dates based on a number of item and task parameters. When the optional date is included, the UDF returns a delta between the actual date and what was calculated. I use this delta to monitor and calibrate my calculated due dates.
All of this can absolutely be performed without the UDF, but bulk entry would be considerably more challenging to say the least.
Removing the need for quotes sets my data entry up such that loading =cont( into the clipboard allows my left hand to F2/ctrl-v/tab while my right hand furiously enters dates on the numpad without need to frequently (and awkwardly) shift left-hand position for a shift+'.
Hey, I have a report parameter which looks like this: 01.01.2009 00:00:00
Its a date (as string), as you might have guessed :). The problem is, this param can be an empty string as well. So I tried those expressions:
=IIf(IsDate(Parameters!DateTo.Value), CDate(Parameters!DateTo.Value), "")
=IIf(Len(Parameters!DateTo.Value) > 0, CDate(Parameters!DateTo.Value), "")
Both dont work and the value for the textfield where I print the expressions result is always #Error. As soon as I remove the CDate stuff, it works, but I have to use it. IS there another way to achieve that? What I want is to display nothing if its not a date or the date (format dd.mm.yyyy) if its a date.
Ideas?
Thanks :)
All arguments to the IIf are evaluated, which results in your error, since the CDate will fail for an empty string.
You can get around this by just writting a function along these lines, using a standard if statement:
Function FormatDate(ByVal s As String) As String
If (s <> "") Then
Return CDate(s).ToString()
Else
Return ""
End If
End Function
Then call it with: =Code.FormatDate(Parameters!DateTo.Value)
First, fix your database to properly store dates rather than doing these workarounds. You probably have bad data in there as well (Feb 30 2010 for example or my favorite, ASAP). Truly there is no excuse for not fixing this at the database level where it needs to be fixed except if this is vendor provided software that you can't change (I would yell at them though, well notify them really, and ask them to fix their data model or go to a new product designed by someone who knows what they are doing. A vendor who can't use dates properly is likely to have software that is very poor all around).
In the query that you use to select the infomation, have you considered just converting all non-dates to null?