Help With SAP Business Objects Formula

[USTRAGNU1]

Good Afternoon,

Would anyone be able to assist with a Business Objects XI 3.1 formula question? I don't see it as one of the topics.

Thank you.

[Rabbit]

It's not one of the existing topics but you're more than welcome to ask the question and hopefully someone comes along that can answer it.

[USTRAGNU1]

Ok thanks Rabbit.

I have a Business Objects XI 3.1 variable formula which places an asterisk and a space in front of a date object if the object date is less than or equal to current date. Simple enough.

But I am trying to modify the formula so that if the condition is met and the output does contain an asterisk, I want the font of the asterisk/date to be red, preferably bold. My searches keep returning examples of using the built in conditional formatting tool (Alerter), but I would need to use a variable in the Alerter anyway.


Here is the formula:

= If( [Date]  <= CurrentDate() ; "* "+FormatDate([Date] ;"MM/dd/yyyy") ; FormatDate( [Date]) )

Again, if possible, modify the formula so the date outputs with asterisks will be bold red font.

Thank you very much. Please let me know if you require additional information.

[Rabbit]

Typically, formulas output the value to display, not the formatting. Conditional formatting is usually handled elsewhere, in this case, it sounds like this Alerter thing you mentioned. Is there a reason you can't use the Alerter to do the conditional formatting you're talking about?

For example, in Excel, the formula bar let's you output different values based on other conditions. No amount of changing the formula let's you change the formatting of the cell. To dynamically change the formatting of the cell, you have to use the Conditional Formatting functionality in Excel.

[USTRAGNU1]

The Alerter can't isolate just the asterisk in the date string. I would have to build a formula inside the alerter anyway.

[Rabbit]

You mean you just want one part of the string to be formatted differently from the rest of the string? Typically, an object is formatted with one format. In this case, the entire text box can only be formatted with one format. If you want to format the string into two different formats, just break up the string into two text boxes. One textbox for the asterisk. And a different textbox right next to it with the date.

[twinnyfo]

USTRAGNU1,

Would you be able to export the asterisk as a separate field? Then, if the asterisk exists, that separate field would be highlighted. I know this adds another field and more manipulation with the data, but it might be better to view the asterisk as a flag (or Boolean variable, if you want to be technical) that can be used elsewhere.

Just a thought....

[USTRAGNU1]

Hello...twinnyfo!

Thanks, that is what I decided to go with and I can just use the built in formatter.

Have a good one!

Turbo

[USTRAGNU1]

Hi ravikumar89,

Thanks, I am familiar with BO formulas. I was just having a hard time finding examples for this particular function/outcome.

USTRAGNU1