Is it possible to sort report using parameters?

Question

Hi,
I am building a report - which generates select query based on the parameters entered by the user.
Could you help me with how to sort output with the parameter chosen by the user himself? Thanks,

Answer 1

I will give you 2 answers since I am not sure exactly how your report runs.
Lets say your users choose a couple parameters to limit certain columns by in your where clause. In this case, you would want to just create a user parameter, and use that parameter in the where clause.
select col
from table
where job_id = :P_JOB_ID and
start_date between :P_START_DATE and :P_END_DATEPretty simple. Now here is how I would do it if those are optional parameters, and the user could enter a value, or could leave all blank.
select col
from table
where job_id = nvl(:P_JOB_ID, job_id) and
start_date between nvl(:P_START_DATE, start_date) and
nvl(:P_END_DATE, end_date)If its null, it will set the column equal to each other, and will return all the rows (good little trick).
The other case is if you need a different select/where clause entirely based on what the user sends in. For example, lets say you have 2 entirely different queries based on a certain parameter. Then you'd want to use lexical parameters and an after parameter trigger.
I think you are looking for the first scenario, so try that and post back if you are looking for something different