User Guide > Objects > Alphabetical Listing > Creating Variables

 Creating Variables

Storing variables or retrieving values.

Procedure

  1. Click the   button in the toolbar and a window opens that lists all the available object types. Select the variable (VARA) and a particular source for its values. The source indicates whether a variable is a static or a dynamic one. Depending on the source, there are different ways of using the variable. The variable tab also depends on this setting. Note that you cannot change the source subsequently.
  2. Assign a suitable name and open the Variable object. Click the Notification tab
  3. A Variable object can store any number of values. The only restriction is that all values must be of the same data type. Therefore, you must select the data type (characters, numbers, time stamp, date or time).
  4. In static Variable objects, each entry is stored in a separate key (first column). The key type (to be specified with the option Scope) affects its name assignment.
  5. The settings "Min. value", "Max. value" and "Max. length" can be used to limit the value range of Variable objects.
  6. Specify the variable's behavior if one of its entries does not contain a value at its runtime.
  7. The Variable tab of static Variable objects includes values and their keys. You can manually maintain this table. Static variable objects are usually handled using script elements.
    If the variable is a dynamic one, its Variable tab includes the specific settings of the selected source. Dynamic variables do not store values in the object but access the data source directly.
  8. Variables are active objects because their contents can be changed at any time. Nevertheless, they remain in the Explorer and cannot be started.

There are numerous other settings that can be specified in Variable objects. Details are provided in the corresponding documentation that describes the individual tabs.