RAD Studio |  |

Guidelines for Using Decision Support Components
See Also
Collapse All

The decision support components listed in Overview of decision support components can be used together to present multidimensional data as tables and graphs. More than one grid or graph can be attached to each dataset. More than one instance of TDecisionPivot can be used to display the data from different perspectives at runtime.

To create a form with tables and graphs of multidimensional data

1. Create a form.
2. Add these components to the form and use the Object Inspector to bind them as indicated:
   - A dataset, usually TDecisionQuery (for details, see Creating Decision Datasets with The Decision Query Editor) or TQuery
   - A decision cube, TDecisionCube, bound to the dataset by setting its DataSet property to the dataset's name
   - A decision source, TDecisionSource, bound to the decision cube by setting its DecisionCube property to the decision cube's name
3. Add a decision pivot, TDecisionPivot, and bind it to the decision source with the Object Inspector by setting its DecisionSource property to the appropriate decision source name. The decision pivot is optional but useful; it lets the form developer and end users change the dimensions displayed in decision grids or decision graphs by pushing buttons. In its default orientation, horizontal, buttons on the left side of the decision pivot apply to fields on the left side of the decision grid (rows); buttons on the right side apply to fields at the top of the decision grid (columns). You can determine where the decision pivot's buttons appear by setting its GroupLayout property to xtVertical, xtLeftTop, or xtHorizontal (the default). For more information on decision pivot properties, see Using decision pivots.
4. Add one or more decision grids and graphs, bound to the decision source. For details, see Creating and using decision grids and Creating and using decision graphs.
5. Use the Decision Query editor or SQL property of TDecisionQuery (or TQuery) to specify the tables, fields, and summaries to display in the grid or graph. The last field of the SQL SELECT should be the summary field. The other fields in the SELECT must be GROUP BY fields. For instructions, see Creating decision datasets with the Decision Query editor.
6. Set the Active property of the decision query (or alternate dataset component) to True.
7. Use the decision grid and graph to show and chart different data dimensions. See Using decision grids and Using decision graphs. for instructions and suggestions

For an illustration of all decision support components on a form, see the figure Decision support components at design time.
See Also

About Crosstabs

Decision Support Components at Runtime

Decision Support Components and Memory Control

Copyright(C) 2009 Embarcadero Technologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
What do you think about this topic? Send feedback!