Applying a Time Parameter to a dimension

Question

I am trying to create a query that pulls back the data based on a Time parameter , [Time].[Time].[Quarter].&[1Qtr 13], etc., but the dimension that I am querying against is a Date field ,  example
[Consolidated Agent].[Earliest Active Contract Date].&[2013-01-01]. What the user wants is a parameter with the Year, Qtr, and Month for 2009-2014 available to choose from.
The only way I have figured out how to make it work is to create members for each time frame. Example:
 member [Consolidated Agent].[Earliest Active Contract Date].[2009] as
aggregate(Filter([Consolidated Agent].[Earliest Active Contract Date].Members,     
InStr( [Consolidated Agent].[Earliest Active Contract Date].CURRENTMEMBER.member_caption,"2009") >0)  )
member [Consolidated Agent].[Earliest Active Contract Date].[Qtr1_2009] as
aggregate([Consolidated Agent].[Earliest Active Contract Date].&[2009-01-01]:
[Consolidated Agent].[Earliest Active Contract Date].&[2009-03-31])
However, I would really like to figure a way to use the Time Dimension in the parameter and have it filter the Earliest Active Contract Date rather than creating 17 members for each year they want in the parameter.
I am in the process of learning MDX and so far have survived with searching the forums. I can't find a previous post that fits my problem this time however, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

You can't restrict the "List of Values" of one parameter based on the value of another parameter within the Reports Builder/Runtime parameter form.
The SQL select statements within LOV's are only executed once. They aren't re-calculated when you enter, leave or change other field values in the parameter form. This is mainly because there is no event model in the Reports parameter form and it only supports basic form functionality.
To do what you're after in a client-server environment you need to create an Oracle Forms "parameter form" and use that to execute the Report using the run_product() call. Actually, you should probably use Oracle Forms for any more generic "form" functionality such as radio buttons or check boxes.
If you're in a Web rather than Client-Server environment, it may be easier to create a JSP based parameter form. You can then use Reports 9i since it has JSP support to assist here.