DATA field values on the sample application panels

When you run the interactive sample applications, you must use the sample application panels to enter information about the task that you want to complete. Information that is entered in the DATA field on the sample application panels is used with the SEARCH CRITERIA field to define a search.

The values available for DATA are not limited to a select few as are the values for ACTION and OBJECT. There is a wider choice of DATA values and a variety of ways to express them.

If you know only part of a DATA value (for example, you know the department number begins with D), you can specify it as a pattern. The pattern can contain any character string with a special meaning, such as:
  • The underscore character, _, represents any single character.
  • The percent character, %, represents any string of zero or more characters.
These two special characters can be used in conjunction with other characters to specify a DATA value. The following table demonstrates three ways to use these characters to create a DATA value.
Table 1. Searching for data values
Data Value Search Criteria Description
%SMITH% EN (Employee name) Searches for any last name that contains the word SMITH; for example, BLACKSMITH, SMITHSONIAN, or NESMITHA
E_1 DI (Department number) Searches for any department number with E in position 1 and 1 in position 3; for example, E71, E21, or EB1
% Any All values qualify

The values entered on the SEARCH CRITERIA and DATA fields can choose only one item to be displayed. However, the more usual case is that several items are displayed as a list. When this is the case, a secondary selection can be made by choosing the line number of the item of interest.