In my main report I get a (small) list of string values from the data base. I then want to use this list for selecting records in a subreport, along with other input parameters:
The user shall be able to select records based on a range of begin and end date -- this is easy using an input parameter of type java.util.Date with "Is For Prompting" set to true. Another criteria shall be one or more items from a list showing values from a data base field. I could define the list in the report template, but then I'd have hard-coded strings (filled from the data base, but at definition time only).
Now the dilemma is: If I define the input parameters in the main report, I cannot get the values for the list beforehand; if I define them in the subreport, I get no prompt at all, so there's no way to set any of them.
So the report requires values for start and end date, and a list of string values to select from (multiple itmes can be selected). This list shall be built from values from the data base. In the subreport all these values shall be joined into a filter for the records. A user shall be able to define the dates and select items from the list manually before executing the report.
Is there a way to achieve this?
After some more hours of trial & error, and some more research, of course, I found that the keyword is "Query-based Input Controls". This documentation describes their creation on the JasperReports Server. Such input controls can be edited in Jaspersoft Studio as well, however, they actually work on the server only. Anyway, this is the solution to my problem.