Data step properties provide a way for a user to interact with a process directly either by inputting process parameters, downloading output files, as well as placeholders for the process to work on.

This article covers how a user can input parameters to a process, depending on the data step property type in Designer View.

The list of data step property types are given below:

Checkbox (true/false)

A user can input their desired parameter into this data step property by either ticking/unticking this property. This can be done by clicking the left mouse button on the box:

As shown above: a box left unticked indicates the property contains a "FALSE" value, while a ticked box indicates the property contains a "TRUE" value.

List

A list provides a range of options for a user to select as an input.

The user can do this by clicking on the data step property box (indicated by the arrow) to expand the drop-down list, from which the user can select the desired option:

Date

A date can be inputted into a process by expanding the date picker feature (by clicking on the data step property).

In the pop-up box that appears, the user can then navigate through the calendar by clicking on the left and right arrows at the top blue bar to switch between months.

The user can then select the desired date by clicking on the relevant date, once the relevant month has been found.

Decimal

The user can input the desired decimal data by either typing the value in the box, or clicking on the arrow keys to incrementally increase/decrease the current value to reach the desired value.

The increment depends on the decimal point precision set by the designer (by editing the data step property details).

File Upload/Download

A user can also upload a file into the process by clicking on the "Upload" button:

A pop-up dialox box will appear that will allow the user to navigate and select the relevant file from their local computer.

Note that the user will need to "Save" the step before the file is actually uploaded.

Furthermore, the file must not be open on the local computer for the file to be uploaded.

Once a file has been uploaded, the other options can be used:

- View (Download a temporary file to your computer that you can view)

- Edit (For Excel files, this feature allows the user to edit the file directly, through SolveXia):

Otherwise, if the uploaded file is not an Excel file (i.e. .XLSX format), then this option will be greyed out.

- Download as Zip (Downloads a ZIP file containing the file onto your local computer).

A pop-up dialog box will appear for the user to select where the file will be downloaded.

Number

For the "Number" data step property, the user can simply type in the desired value into the box provided:

Similar to the "Decimal" data step property, the user can either type in the value or use the arrow keys to increment the number by an integer value.

Text Box

A user can input data into a "Text Box" data step property by typing into the box directly, the value of the desired text.