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Chapter 14 Formulas, Local Variables & Functions
Combining data in a single cell
You frequently need to combine different pieces of data returned by data
providers in a single cell of a report. For example, first and last names are
typically stored as separate pieces of data in the database but you often need to
display a person’s whole name in a single cell of a report.
There are two ways of combining pieces of data or combining text and data in a
single cell in BUSINESSOBJECTS. You can either use the Concatenation() function or
the & operator.
The examples below describe how to use both methods to combine charactertype data, and how to combine numbers and dates with text or with other pieces
of data.
Example
Combining first and last names in a single cell
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The BUSINESSOBJECTS Concatenation() function allows you to combine two
character strings. The character string may be a piece of text or a character-type
variable. The syntax for this function is:
Concatenation(character string, character string)
To display a person’s first and last name in a single cell, the following syntax:
=Concatenation(<First Name>,<Last Name>)
will give the following result: JohnGardner
You would typically wish to have a space between the first and last name. To do
this, you need to use the following syntax:
=Concatenation(<First Name> ,(Concatenation(" " ,<Last Name>)))
A second way to achieve the same result is to use the & operator. If you are
combining several character strings and want to add spaces, using the & operator
is a simpler solution than using the Concatenation() function. The syntax to
achieve the same result as shown above using the & operator is:
=<First Name>&" "&<Last Name>
Notice that the space we typed is surrounded by quote marks.
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336 BusinessObjects User’s Guide