Abstract: An report system that incorporates prompt objects in a report definition to enable a user to specify answers to questions to customize a reporting system (e.g., decision support system, business intelligence and OLAP) report at execution time. A prompt object contains a single question to be answered, validation values for the answer, and attributes indicating how the prompt object is to be processed. A report is thus defined by selecting prompt objects in place of templates, filters, or any of the aspects of a template or filter. As a separate object, a single prompt may be issued once and the answer supplied to each reference to the prompt object in a report.

Abstract: A report resolution system that includes prompt objects used to define every aspect of a report and specifically an object-prompt object. To resolve a report with prompt objects, a report instance is created and passed to a resolution server that collects the prompt objects contained therein to create a resolution object that includes the prompt questions from the prompt objects. A report server raises an event to prompt the user to respond to the questions in the resolution object.

Abstract: A method and system for guiding drilling into a report are disclosed. Through the use of the invention, a user can drill within a first report dimension or from the first report dimension into a second report dimension. Additionally, a drill map providing a plurality of drilling paths is associated with each report. The system of the invention includes drill transformation tools and drill map management tools for assisting a user in navigating through report instances.