OBIEE Enabling AutoComplete and Never Show Null for Prompts

Since 11.1.1.6 Enabling AutoComplete function is supported by modifying InstanceConfig file.

This setting when set to true turns auto-complete on, which means that the Prompts Auto-Complete field is displayed and is set to On in the My Account dialog and in the Dashboard Properties dialog.

The link to instanceconfig.xml can be found: \instances\instance1\config\OracleBIPresentationServicesComponent\coreapplication_obips1

Add the following code before <\ServerInstance>

  <Prompts>
    <MaxDropDownValues>256</MaxDropDownValues>
    <ResultRowLimit>65000</ResultRowLimit>
  <AutoApplyDashboardPromptValues>true</AutoApplyDashboardPromptValues>
    <AutoSearchPromptDialogBox>true</AutoSearchPromptDialogBox>
    <AutoCompletePromptDropDowns>
      <SupportAutoComplete>true</SupportAutoComplete>
      <CaseInsensitive>true</CaseInsensitive>
      <MatchingLevel>MatchAll</MatchingLevel>
      <ResultsLimit>50</ResultsLimit>
    </AutoCompletePromptDropDowns>   
  </Prompts>

Further reading of AutoComplete can be found:

Santosh Kumar Gidadmani’ Blog

If you are using 11.1.1.7 or above, I suggest to also add before </Prompts> the following:

<ShowNullValueInPromptsWhenDatabaseColumnIsNullable>never</ShowNullValueInPromptsWhenDatabaseColumnIsNullable>

This would specify whether to show the term “NULL” at runtime in the column prompt above the column separator in the drop-down list when the database allows null values.

You can use the following settings. Note that always is default.

• always — Always shows the term “NULL” above the column separator in the drop-down list.
• never — Never shows the term “NULL” in the drop-down list.
• asDataValue — Displays as a data value in the drop-down list, not as the term “NULL” above the separator in the drop-down list.

Santosh has also talked about how to tackle this for versions before 11.1.1.7 and can be viewed here: Santosh’s Blog

That’s it for today!

Author: Steve Yeung

Being in the EPM & BI field for more than 8 years, it's about time I contribute to newcomers! As a founder of MondayBI.com I wish to give you all the help I can. Feel free to give any suggestions or questions. Hope you will all enjoy this blog! William Wong Essbase Certified Specialist OBIEE Certified Specialist View all posts by Steve Yeung