Defining a Selection

Overview

Selections are defined in the "Select Sheet" of the main DocumentDistribution file, or in the "Select Sheet" of an Excel Template file. A selection is a series of steps that all share the same name. Each step is entered on a separate row and is given a unique step number that determines the order of execution for that step within the overall selection. The step is defined by the Type, TypeName and TypeValue columns which are described in more detail.

Name

The Unique name of the selection. All steps in the same selection use the exact same name.

Step

Sequence number (1 to N), the execution order of each step.

Type

The type of action for the current step of the selection. Types can be actions, field selections, bookmark selections, ...

TypeName

Name of the Action, Bookmark, Field or Dimension

TypeValue

Corresponding value that varies depending on the type of action. For example, it could be the name of the bookmark, or a value for a field selection.

Selection Types

There are a variety of Selection Types that can be defined:

• Action

Single actions like clear, lock, unlock, execute etc.

• Field

Executes a selection on a single field

• SetDim

Sets a dimension for a chart

• BookMark

Executes a single bookmark

The full list of Types is shown below:

Type	TypeName	TypeValue	Description
Action	Clear		Clears all selections
	ClearAll		Same as Clear
	LockAll		Locks all currently selected fields
	UnlockAll		Unlocks all currently selected fields
	ClearField	FIELDNAME	Clears the specified field
	ClearOther	FIELDNAME	Clears all fields except the specified field
	Lock	FIELDNAME	Locks the specified field
	Unlock	FIELDNAME	Unlocks the specified field
	SelectPossible	FIELDNAME	Selects all possible values for the specified field
	SelectExcluded	FIELDNAME	Selects all excluded values for the specified field
	Execute	ButtonID	Executes a click for the button ID
Field	FIELDNAME	value	Perform a selection on the specified field using the value / expression Note: any value that you enter in a selection box search window is valid The expression may include variable substitution using $(VarName)
SetDim	DimName	value	Selects the specified value in the GROUP to set a dimension
Bookmark	BM_NAME		Execute the specified bookmark by name
	BM_ID		Execute the specified bookmark using the bookmark ID

Common Membership Sample Selections

Name	Step	Type	TypeName	TypeValue
NewMbrs	1	Clear	All
NewMbrs	2	Field	vs_sel_AOD_DATE_SELECT	Current
NewMbrs	3	Field	MBR_OPEN_DATE	>=$(MonthStart)<=$(MonthEnd)