Date:         Mon, 11 Nov 2002 09:11:46 +1100
Reply-To:     Simon Freidin <s.freidin@iaesr.unimelb.edu.au>
Sender:       "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Simon Freidin <s.freidin@iaesr.unimelb.edu.au>
Subject:      Re: Prompt User for Value
Comments: To: Jane McGinn <JMcGinn@mhrh.state.ri.us>
In-Reply-To:  <sdcbdd03.047@mhrh.state.ri.us>
Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

An easy option is to use the "user prompt" button of production mode.
This prepends your program with a macro defining a variable ie "@fy" with
the value you enter when the production job is run - however the job runs
in the background rather than interactively and the output then needs to be
opened.
A default value can be set.
Be careful not to use your defined macro '@fy' in the syntax in a place
where it would be treated as a regular varname.
ie compute finyear=@fy is acceptable, as it becomes compute finyear=1999.
but print/'The financial year is ' @fy will cause an error as 1999 is not
an acceptable variable name.
You can also prompt for quoted string vars.

At 03:49 PM 11/8/2002 -0500, Jane McGinn wrote:
>Is there code or a script I can use that will prompt the user to type in
>the Fiscal Year they want all of the calculations to be based on in my
>syntax file?
>
>Thanks for your help,
>
>Jane McGinn
>
>Jane McGinn
>Research Associate
>RI Dept. of Mental Health
>401-462-0012
>401-462-0339 (fax)
>jmcginn@mhrh.state.ri.us

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