## 4.2.3  To select workbook properties for prompting
## Context
You can select various workbook properties in the design panel that affect the behavior of the prompting dialog and existing prompt values:
## Procedure
1. Open the Design Panel in the menu.
2. Select the Components tab.
3. Select the required workbook properties in the Properties area. The following properties are available:
- Refresh Workbook on Opening
If you select this option, the data sources in the workbook are refreshed every time the workbook is opened. The behavior of the prompting dialog depends on the other properties you selected for this workbook.
If this check box is not selected, the data in the workbook is not automatically refreshed on opening. You can refresh the data sources manually by choosing Refresh All in the menu.
- Force Prompt for Initial Refresh
If you select this option, the prompting dialog is displayed every time you refresh. The dialog appears even if the query only contains optional prompts. If values are already saved with the workbook, these are displayed as predefined settings in the dialog. You can accept or change these values. A refresh happens when you open a workbook and select refresh, when you select the setting above and open a workbook or when you insert a new data source.
If this property is not selected, the system checks whether the workbook contains mandatory variables that no values are available for. If no values are available, the prompting dialog is displayed. If values are available, the workbook is displayed straight away.
## · Store Prompts with Workbook
This is the default property. If it is used, the defined prompt values for characteristic value variables are saved with the workbook. These variables have to be defined in the Characteristic Restrictions area or in the Default Values area with refresh behavior Refresh as Designed in the BEx query designer. The stored values will be applied to the data when the workbook is refreshed during the current session or closed and opened again. The prompt values are also available to other users using the workbook. To change the values, you can open the prompting dialog manually.
If this property is not selected, the defined values will not be saved with the workbook.
Note: In the BEx query designer, you can define variables in the Characteristic Restrictions area or in the Default Values area. For variables defined as default values, you can also define the refresh behavior in the query designer. In the Refresh Variables area, the options are Refresh Dynamically or Refresh as Designed :
- If Refresh as Designed is selected, the variable values defined in the Default Values area are applied according to the selection for property Store Prompts with Workbook . If the property is selected, the values are applied. If it is not selected, the variable values are not applied.
- If Refresh Dynamically is selected, the variable values defined in the Default Values area are applied when a workbook is opened or refreshed. Therefore the values are also applied if the property Store Prompts with Workbook is not selected.
For more information, see the SAP BEx Query Designer documentation for Filter.
## · Merge Variables
If you select this option, all prompts in the workbook are listed in the Prompts dialog. Y ou can define values for each prompt. These prompt values are valid for all data sources that contain the prompt. If this property is not selected, the data sources in the workbook are displayed in the Prompt Summary area of the Prompts dialog, and the corresponding prompts are listed in the Specify Value for Prompts area. You can define different values for the prompts for each data source.
Every time you change your selection for this property in the workbook, the connected data sources are restarted. The prompting dialog will therefore appear automatically so that you can define the values before the data sources are refreshed. If the data sources are not connected, the dialog will not appear, and only the property will be changed.
## Results
The behavior of the prompting dialog and saved prompt values will be in accordance with your workbook properties selection.