ajDBReadRecord function

Description

The ajDBReadRecord function retrieves records in a database table satisfying the criteria specified in filter_condition. Please take note that to run this function from Excel, you would need to set up the Data Source Connection in ##ExternalResources.

Syntax

ajDBReadRecord(table_name, column_headers, [filter_type], [filter_condition], [sorting_criteria], [page_number], [rows_per_page], [table_schema], [transpose], [include_header], [data_source_id], [convert_to_text], [run_condition],[run_by_function_point_only] )

Argument Name	Argument Type	Description
table_name (required)	String	The name of the table to read from.
column_headers (required)	Range / Array	The columns to be returned. It could be a range of single row or column where each cell is a table column name or a data name defined in DB Schema. CLOB and BLOB are not supported.
filter_type (optional)	Double	The type of filtering. 3 types are supported 0, 1 and 2.
filter_condition (optional)	Range / Array	The range that defines the filter condition. filter_type = 0. The range defines the WHERE clause of a SQL statement. The range will be concatenated into a single string. For example, Name = 'peter' and class = 'B'. filter_type = 1. The range defines the filter condition in the Kendo grid style. Click Insert Snippet\Filter Condition (Filter Type 1) to add the preset required format. filter_type =2. The range defines a filter condition similar to the format used in MS Query. Click Insert Snippet\Filter Condition (Filter Type 2) to add the preset required format. Refer to the Filter Condition snippet to see how you can use this snippet to define the required fields for filter type 1, 2.
sorting_criteria (optional)	Range / Array	The range which defines the sorting criteria. Refer to the Sorting Criteria Snippet to see how to use this snippet to define the required fields.
page_number (optional)	Double	The page of the returned records. It should be integer value, the decimal places will be rounded down if any.
rows_per_page (optional)	Double	The number of rows per page of the returned records. It should be integer value, the decimal places will be rounded down if any. Default is 100.
table_schema (optional)	Range / Array	The range that defines the DB Schema.
transpose (optional)	Boolean	If it equals FALSE, the return records will not be transposed. If it equals TRUE, the returned records will be transposed from row to column. The default value is FALSE.
include_header (optional)	Boolean	If it equals TRUE, the return result will include the column headers as the first row. If it equals FALSE, the return result will contain data only. The default value is FALSE.
data_source_id (optional)	String	The data source shall be used in this database operation. It shall be defined in ##ExternalResources worksheet. The default value is "primary".
convert_to_text (optional)	Boolean	If it equals TRUE, the return result will be converted to string values. If it equals FALSE, the return result will preserve the original data type. The default value is FALSE.
run_condition (optional)	Boolean	The function will run when the value is TRUE. Otherwise, it will not run. The default value is TRUE.
run_by_function_point_only (optional)	Boolean	If it equals FALSE, the function can be executed through ‘Excel Calculation’ (can be either Automatic or Manual, Calculate Now or Calculate Sheet) or Preview Function Point. If it equals TRUE, the function can be executed with Preview Function Point (AlchemyJ ribbon \ Preview Function Point) only. The default value is TRUE.

The function will return:

1) Return Value: Table records in array format.

2) Return Type: Single Value / Multiple values (array formula)

Example

We will use the following table in our examples. The table name is tb_customer. It has 5 columns and 5 rows.

Example 1

Retrieve all records from the table. Only two parameters are used here.

As you can see, all records of the table are loaded to the selected area. Since the db_schema parameter is missing, the Column_header must be the actual column names of the table instead of the data name.

Example 2

Retrieve records where Gender equals F. filter_type is 0.

Example 3

Retrieve records where Customer Level 1 or 2. The filter condition table was created via AlchemyJ ribbon Insert Snippet and select Filter Condition (Filter Type 1) .

Example 4

Retrieve records where Gender equals F, Customer Level greater than 2, and order them by Name in descending order. The filter condition table was created via AlchemyJ ribbon Insert Snippet and select Filter Condition (Filter Type 2) . The Sorting Criteria table was created via AlchemyJ ribbon Insert Snippet and select Sorting Criteria. In addition, the table column names are mapped to the data name in the DB Schema. Therefore, it uses the data name in the filter_condition and Sorting_criteria.

Click here to download the use case workbooks for further reference.

Error Scenarios

It will return #VALUE! when missing any required parameter or mismatch parameter type. Besides, system will also raise error for below scenario(s).

Error Scenario
And/Or in filter condition is invalid.
Column header is not a single row range or a single column range.
Content in filter condition range does not meet the expected format of specified filter type.
Data name in filter condition does not exist in the provided table schema.
Data name in filter condition is empty.
Data name is empty.
DB connection error.
Filter type is invalid, it must be 0, 1, or 2.
Invalid operator value in filter condition.
Invalid page number, it must be greater than or equal to 1.
Invalid row per page, it must be greater than or equal to 1.
Invalid sorting criteria range.
Number of columns in column_headers does not match with the number of data columns.
Operator in filter condition is empty.
Sorting order in sorting criteria is not a number.
Table name does not exist in provided DB Schema.
Table name is empty.
The provided column header cannot be found in the specified table schema range.
The table schema columns are invalid.
The table schema range does not include a header or a row of data.
Total number of filter condition columns is not even number.