Prompted Queries for the Variable in All of Us

by Drew Bennett

 

Let’s make prompted queries! They’re great when you want to search for something a lot but that something is always something different. Make sense? It will.

 

First, let’s head to Queries. You can get there several ways. I like to double click on a category in my info bar and then choose the black binocular Query button in Library Maintenance. You can also choose the Queries button in the info bar and then choose New Query or you can choose Dataset, Library, Query the Library, New Query. All of those options get you to the same place.

 

Now, you should be looking at the familiar library query box. This is where we will build the prompted query. For this example, let’s use Artist as the field from which we want to build the prompted query. First, let’s choose which categories will be a part of the query. Since it’s an artist we are looking for, check off all of your music categories. On the right side of the query screen, you should see 3 dropdown boxes. We are searching for artists so in the first dropdown box, choose the Artist field. We want the Artist field to contain something specific so in the second dropdown box, choose Contains. Now, here is where a regular Query becomes a Prompted Query; in the third dropdown box, type @PROMPT(Artist). The value in between the parentheses will be the label of the Prompt when you use the Query. You can type anything you want there and I typed Artist because that is the field I’ll be searching through. Now, choose Add and add this to the Query box below. You can set sort keys at the bottom if you’d like but make sure you save this Query so you can use it later.

 

Now, when you run this Query, a box pops up prompting you to enter an artist name. Try your hand at more prompted queries and see how many useful searches you can come up with. ~ Drew Bennett