Controlling Drill-Down Behavior for ActiveX and Java Using Parameters

You can use the parameters DRILLDOWNMODE, DRILLPATTERN, PATTERNSTRIP, and DRILLTARGET to configure the HTML drill-down mode for the ActiveX control, the Graph applet, and the Map applet.

In the HTML drill-down mode, the applet or control responds to drill-down actions by constructing a uniform resource locator (URL) using the data in the selected graph element. The URL is passed to the Web browser for display.

The parameter DRILLDOWNMODE (see Parameter Reference for Java and ActiveX) establishes the HTML drill-down mode. The PATTERNSTRIP parameter (see Removing Blank Spaces from Data Values in Substitution Strings) can be used to selectively remove blank spaces from data values before those values are applied to the URL. The DRILLTARGET parameter (see Using Variables as Substitution Strings) enables you to specify where you want the drill-down graph to appear in the browser.

Specify the DRILLPATTERN parameter in the ODS statement:

An example of this statement might look like this:

ods html file=statepop.htm
   parameters=("DRILLDOWNMODE"="HTML"
      "DRILLPATTERN"="http://www.state.{&statename}.us");

In this example, the value of the data set variable STATENAME completes the drill-down URL.

If a variable name is specified as a substitution string in drill-down mode; the applet and the control replace the string with the value of the selected data item.

The DDLEVELn parameter lets you specify the graphs that are generated at each drill-down level.

The DDLEVELn parameter is specified as follows in the ODS statement:

The syntax of the string argument is as follows:

The following example shows how the DDLEVENn parameter can be used to specify the default behavior for the first drill-down level.

ods html file=odsout
  parameters=("drilldownmode"="local"
        "ddlevel1"="{chart}{vbar3d}
              {g_dep}{sales}
              {g_indep}{year} |
              {g_indepv}" );

As the example shows, the value of the DDLEVELn parameter is divided into two halves, which are separated by a vertical bar character. The drill-down graph is configured in the syntax that appears before the vertical bar character ( | ). After the vertical bar, drill-down tags specify how the data from the previous drill-down level is to be subset for use in the current drill-down graph.

The first drill-down level (DDLEVEL1) is configured as a three-dimensional vertical bar chart. The dependent variable is SALES and the independent variable is YEAR. The G_INDEPV tag specifies that the data is to be based on the values of the independent variable. In our example the independent variable in the initial graph is REGION. If the Web user selects a graph element that describes the WEST region, the graph has only observations where the value of REGION is WEST.

If you do not specify a role for a variable, then that variable does not appear in the drill-down graph. If you do not specify variables for the G_DEP and G_INDEP tags, then the Graph applet uses the independent and dependent variables of the graph in the preceding drill-down level.

You can explicitly remove a variable role from the drill-down graph by specifying a $ character as the drill-down value, as in the following code:

{G_GROUP} {$}

Web users can make this change in the Graph applet menus by selecting the None option from the list of variables that can be applied to a given variable role.

You can use the parameters DRILLDOWNMODE, DRILLFUNC,  PATTERNSTRIP, and DRILLTARGET to configure the Script drill-down mode for the ActiveX control, the Graph applet, and the Map applet. The Script drill-down mode enables you to execute a JavaScript callback method in response to drill-down actions. You use PUT statements to write the callback method into the HTML output file. Some experience with JavaScript is therefore required.

The syntax used to implement the Script drill-down mode is specified in the ODS statement as follows:

In response to a drill-down mode. The DRILLFUNC parameter specifies the name of the JavaScript callback method that is executed in response to drill-down actions.

In response to a drill-down action, the applet or control generates an array of arguments that is to be passed into the callback method. The array contains all of the data in the array as it generates its output. As the callback method terminates, it might return an object. The applet or control ignores this object.

To invoke the callback method, the applet or control issues netscape.javascript.JSObject.call() in the following form:

The method-name argument is the name of the callback method that you define in JavaScript in your program. The applet or control supplies the argument-array-name.

The first element in the array of arguments is the name of the applet or control. The second element in the array is the name of a file. The name of that file is derived from the variable roles in the graph at the preceding drill-down level, using the following substitution string:

{&G_INDEPV,f}
{&G_GROUPV,f}
{&G_SUBGRV,f}.html

The filename is a concatenation of the formatted values of the independent, group, and subgroup variables in the graph at the preceding drill-down level.

The remaining elements in the array consist of drill-down tags, and the data that is associated with those tags in the graph element that was selected in the drill-down action. Each variable is represented by triplet pairs of arguments in the array:

For example assume that each graph data element selected is represented by six arguments in the array.

The graph shown in Example: Script Drill-Down Mode with Java is configured for Script drill-down mode. Selecting the east region sales figures for the state of North Carolina generates the following array:

[appletName East1998NC.html
G_DEP Sales G_DEPV 10000 G_DEPV,F $10,000
G_INDEP Region G_INDEPV East G_INDEPV,F East
G_GROUP Year G_GROUPV 1998 G_GROUPV,F 1998
G_SUBGR State G_SUBGRV NC G_SUBGRV,F NC]

The output filename is East1998NC.html. The remaining triplet pairs capture the roles, and values of the variables that make up the selected data element. All variable names are case sensitive as they appear in the array. For example, the value Region is capitalized. This is the case only if the variable name is defined as Region in the DATA step.

To implement Script drill-down mode, use PUT statements in a DATA step to write a JavaScript callback method into the HTML output file.

For an example of implementing script drill-down mode, see Example: Script Drill-Down Mode with Java. For information about writing JavaScript, refer to JavaScript tutorials that are available on the Internet.

For Script drill-down mode only, you can specify that data values are to be formatted or not formatted. By default, the values of the variables are not formatted. If the characters ,f are appended to the end of the tag, then those values are presented in formatted form. This parameter tag specifies that the values of the independent variable cost are to appear in formatted form.

{g_inep,f}{cost}

The format is applied using the FORMAT statement in the DATA step or graphics procedure that generated the data for the graph. Formatted values are specified in the statement that generated the original graph. Formatted values are used for axis labels, legends, and data tips that are displayed when the mouse is positioned over a graph data element.