Extract Custom Function from Formula Dialog Box
The Extract Custom Function from Formula dialog box appears — in the Formula Workshop dialog box — when you enter a name in the Custom Function Name dialog box and click the Use Extractor button.
Use this dialog box to create a custom function from an existing report formula. Doing so lets you migrate formula logic from a formula field to a custom function. You can then replace the appropriate part of your formula with the new custom function.
| Formula | Use this list to choose an existing report formula to base your new custom function on. When you select a formula, information from it appears in various fields in the Extract Custom Function from Formula dialog box. |
| Custom Function Name | Use this field to change the name you assigned your custom function in the Custom Function Name dialog box, if you wish.
Names for custom functions can be alphanumeric, but cannot contain spaces and cannot begin with a number. |
| Enter More Info | Click this button to see the Custom Function Properties dialog box. You can add further information such as default argument values and help text while you are defining your custom function. If you don't add additional information now, you can right-click your custom function and select Properties later. |
| Return Type | This field displays your custom function's return type. The field cannot be changed because the return type is based on the report formula you selected in the Formula list. |
| Summary | Use this area to add additional information about your custom function to help identify its purpose, intended use, and so on. |
| Arguments | This area displays field-based arguments from the report formula you selected in the Formula list. While the Field Name and Type cannot be changed, you can enter a name and description for the argument. If you don't assign an Argument Name, the default names (v1, v2, v3, and so on) are used to describe the variables. |
| Arrow buttons | Use the arrow button adjacent to the Arguments area to change the default order (that is, the order in which the fields are used in the report formula) of the arguments. |
| Formula Text | This area displays the report formula as it was defined in the Formula Editor dialog box. The text is only for information and cannot be edited. |
| Modify formula to use new custom function | Select this option if you want to use your new custom function in the report formula you are basing it on. In other words, the appropriate formula text is replaced by a call to the custom function with the fields used in the formula supplied as argument values. |