Calculated Fields Overview

Calculated fields can be used to create new values that do not exist in the data source. For example, a calculated field can represent a new value, a constant, an expression value, user defined function or even a report parameter, or an existing field that is converted to a different datatype.

You specify a calculated field manually by creating an expression. To open the Edit Calculated Fields dialog:

• Right click on the target DataSource component and select the Properties option from the context menu.

• Click on the CalculatedFields property ellipsis.

  

The dialog accepts Name , DataType and Expression.

Names must be unique in the datasource and the expression for a calculated field cannot contain aggregates.

Examples:

For example, you can combine text found in two fields. You can create a calculated field that combines the text found in the columns First Name and Last Name, as in the following example (see image above):

Family Name	First Name	Full Name (Calculated Field)
Harrington	Mark	Mark Harrington
Pak	Jae	Jae Pak
Reinhart	Marie	Marie Reinhar

You can combine the text in the first two columns by entering the following formula for the calculated column:

=Fields.CustFirstName + " " + Fields.CustLastName

You can also create Calculated fields that work with calendar dates. In the following example, the calculated field automatically fills in the date when a business process will be completed. The expression assumes that the process takes seven days to complete.

Date Submitted	Work Complete (Calculated Field)
12/05	12/12
12/06	12/13
12/07	12/1

The expression for this calculated field is: =Fields.SubmittedDate.AddDays(CDbl(7))