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# Parameter Properties dialog box

This page allows you to view and modify the properties of a parameter. This dialog box varies depending on the type of parameter you are using.

To access: Expand the Design menu and select Parameters > Parameters List, or for an existing parameter, highlight it in the editor, and select Parameter properties in the context menu.

In this topic:

## Internally generated parameter properties

The properties for the following internally generated parameters are described in this section: Date/Time, Group Name, Iteration Number, Load Generation Name, and Vuser ID. For other internally generated parameters, see Random Number type parameter properties and Unique Number type parameter properties.

User interface elements are described below:

UI Element | Description
--- | ---
Add format | Adds the custom format specified in the Date/Time format or Text format field to the format list.
Delete format | Deletes the selected format from the list.
Reset formats | Restores the format list to its default state.
Date/Time format / Text format | Specify a custom format. For details, see Date and time format symbols.
Format list | The list of formats. For details, see Date and time format symbols.
- Offset (Date/time to type only) | Allows you to set an offset for the Date/Time parameter. For example, if you want to test a date next month, you set the date offset to 30 days. Working days only. Use values for work days only (excludes Saturdays and Sundays). Note: To change the non-working days, configure the NonWorkingDays parameter under the Misc section in the vugen.ini file:
      [Misc]
      NonWorkingDays="5,6"
Days are represented by integers as follows: Mon = 1, Tue = 2, Wed = 3 ,Thur = 4, Fri = 5, Sat = 6, Sun = 7 Prior to current date. Sets the offset for a date or time that has already passed (negative offset).
Parameter type | The parameter type whose format to set. For details, see Parameter types.
Sample (current time) | Displays an example parameter value based on the selected format.
Update values on | Each occurrence: Use a new value for each occurrence of the parameter in your script. This is useful when the statements using a parameter are unrelated. For example, for random data, it may be useful to use a new value for each occurrence of the parameter. Each iteration: Updates the parameter one time per iteration. If a parameter appears in a script several times, the Vuser uses the same value for all occurrences of the parameter, for the entire iteration. This is useful when the statements using a parameter are related. Note: If you create an action block with parameters using its own iteration count—if you instruct VuGen to update their values each iteration, it refers to the global iteration and not the block iteration. Once Updates the parameter value only once during the scenario run. The Vuser uses the same parameter value for all occurrences and all iterations of the parameter. This type may be useful when working with dates and times.

### Date and time format symbols

The following table lists the Date/Time symbols:

Symbol | Description
--- | ---
c | complete date and time in digits
#c | complete date as a string and time
H | hours (24 hour clock)
I | hours (12 hour clock)
M | minutes
S | seconds
p | AM or PM
d | day
m | month in digits (01-12)
b | month as a string - short format (e.g. Dec)
B | month as a string - long format (e.g. December)
y | year in short format (e.g. 03)
Y | year in long format (e.g. 2013)

## File type parameters

User interface elements for File type parameters are described below:

UI Element | Description
--- | ---
Add Column | Adds a column to the data set.
Add Row | Adds a row to the data set.
Create Table | Creates a new data table.
Import Values | Opens the Import Parameter Values from File dialog box, enabling you to import parameter values from an ASCII file. For more information, see Import parameter values from a file.
Delete Column | Deletes a column from the data set.
Delete Row | Deletes a row from the data set.
Edit with Notepad | Enables you to view and edit parameter values in Notepad. This button is only available after you have created a table. This is useful when working with large data sets because VuGen displays only up to 100 rows in the UI. Notepad opens with the parameter's name in the first row and its original value in the second row. Enter additional column names and values into the file using a delimiter such as a comma or a tab to indicate a column break. Begin a new line for each table row (for each new row of data).
Simulate Parameter | Opens the Parameter Simulation dialog box. This allows you to simulate the parameter behavior with your data set. For more information, see Parameter Simulation dialog box.
Select Column | Enables you to select the column to use as the data source, either by the column number or name.
File Format | Column delimiter. The character used to separate values in the data file. First data line. The first line of data to be used during Vuser script execution. The header is line 0. To begin with the first line after the header, specify 1. If there is no header, specify 0.
Select next row | The method of selecting the file data during Vuser script execution. The options are: Sequential, Random, or Unique. For more information see Data assignment methods.
Update value on | The method that determines when the parameter will switch to the next value. The choices are Each Iteration, Each Occurrence, and Once. For more information see Data assignment methods.
When out of values | Specify what to do when there is no more unique data: Abort the Vuser, Continue in a cyclic manner, or Continue with last value.
Allocate Vuser values in the Controller | (OpenText Professional Performance Engineering only). Indicate how to allocate data blocks of parameter values to the Vusers. You can allow Controller to automatically allocate the block size or you can specify the block size to allocate to each Vuser. Automatically allocate block size. The block size is calculated by dividing the number of parameter values by the number of Vusers. Allocate `x` values for each Vuser. Specify the number of values to allocate to each Vuser. To track this occurrence, enable the Extended Log > Parameter Substitution option in the Log Runtime Settings. When there are not enough parameter values, VuGen writes the following warning message to the Vuser log: "No more unique values for this parameter in table <table_name>".
File path | Select the .dat file with the data for your parameter. Alternatively, you can create a new data set using the Create Table button.

## Table type parameter properties

User interface elements for Table type parameters are described below:

UI Element | Description
--- | ---
File path | The .dat file with the data for your parameter. Alternatively, you can create a new data set using the Create Table button.
Add Column/ Row | Adds a column or row to the table
Delete Column/ Row | Deletes a column or row from the table.
Edit with Notepad | Enables you to view and edit parameter values in Notepad. This is important when working with large data sets because VuGen only displays up to 100 rows in the UI. Notepad opens with the parameter's name in the first row and its original value in the second row. Enter additional column names and values into the file using a delimiter such as a comma or a tab to indicate a column break. Begin a new line for each table row (for each new row of data).
Import Values | Opens the Import Parameter Values from File dialog box, enabling you to import parameter values from an ASCII file. For more information, see Import parameter values from a file.
Columns | The columns to use: Select all columns: Use all table columns. Columns by number: Use specific table columns. If you select this option, enter the column numbers to use separated by a comma or a dash. The column number is the index of the column containing your data. For example, if the data for the parameter is in the table's first column, select 1. Column delimiter: The character used to separate the columns in the table. The available delimiters are: Comma, Tab, and Space.
Rows | Rows per iteration: The number of rows to use per iteration. This is only relevant when the Update value on field is set to Each iteration. If the Update value on is set to Once, then the same rows will be used for all iterations. First line of data: The first line of data to be used during script execution. To begin with the first line after the header, enter 1. Table Information: Information about the table: The number of rows in the table, the number of rows to be used per iteration, the first line of data, and the number of iterations that can be performed with the current number of rows.
Rows delimiter for log display | This delimiter is used to differentiate between rows in the output logs. If you enable parameter substitution logging, VuGen sends the substituted values to the Replay log. The row delimiter character in the Replay log indicates a new row.
When not enough rows | Specifies what VuGen does when there are not enough rows in the table for the iteration. Example: The table you want to fill has 3 rows, but your data only has two rows. Select Parameter will get less rows than required to fill in only two rows. Select Use behavior of "Select Next Row" to loop around and get the next row according the method specified in the Select Next Row box.
Select next row | The method of selecting the file data during Vuser script execution. The options are: Sequential, Random, or Unique. For more information see Data assignment methods.
Update value on | The method that determines when the parameter will switch to the next value. The choices are Each Iteration, Each Occurrence, and Once. For more information see Data assignment methods.
When out of values | Specify what to do when there is no more unique data: Abort the Vuser, Continue in a cyclic manner, or Continue with last value.
Allocate Vuser values in the Controller | (OpenText Professional Performance Engineering only). Indicate how to allocate data blocks of parameter values to the Vusers. You can allow Controller to automatically allocate the block size or you can specify the block size to allocate to each Vuser. Automatically allocate block size. The block size is calculated by dividing the number of parameter values by the number of Vusers. Allocate `x` values for each Vuser. Specify the number of values to allocate to each Vuser. To track this occurrence, enable the Extended Log > Parameter Substitution option in the Log Runtime Settings. When there are not enough parameter values, VuGen writes a warning message to the Vuser log "No more unique values for this parameter in table <table_name>".

## Random Number type parameter properties

User interface elements for Random type parameters are described below:

UI Element | Description
--- | ---
Number format | Specifies the minimum number of digits for your parameter. Where %01d represents one digit, %02d represents two digits, and so on.
Random range | The minimum and maximum range for the random values.
Sample value | Displays sample minimum and maximum values based on the selected Number format.
Update value on | Each occurrence. Use a new value for each occurrence of the parameter in your script. This is useful when the statements using a parameter are unrelated. For example, for random data, it may be useful to use a new value for each occurrence of the parameter. Each iteration. Updates the parameter one time per iteration. If a parameter appears in a script several times, the Vuser uses the same value for all occurrences of the parameter, for the entire iteration. This is useful when the statements using a parameter are related. Note: If you create an action block with parameters using its own iteration count—if you instruct VuGen to update their values each iteration, it refers to the global iteration and not the block iteration. Once. Updates the parameter value only once during the scenario run. The Vuser uses the same parameter value for all occurrences and all iterations of the parameter. This type may be useful when working with dates and times.

## Unique Number type parameter properties

Note: When scheduling a scenario in Controller, the When out of values option only applies to the Run for HH:MM:SS option in the Schedule Builder's Duration tab. It is ignored for the Run until completion option.

User interface elements for Unique Number type parameters are described below:

UI Element | Description
--- | ---
Number format | Specifies the minimum number of digits for your parameter. Where %01d represents one digit, %02d represents two digits, and so on.
Number range | Start. The starting value. Block size per Vuser. The amount of unique numbers assigned to each Vuser. For example, if you specify a starting value of 1 and a block size of 100, the values be 1-100 can be used by the first Vuser, the values 101-200 can be used by the second Vuser, and so on.
Sample value | Displays an example parameter value based on the selected format.
Update value on | Each occurrence. Use a new value for each occurrence of the parameter in your script. This is useful when the statements using a parameter are unrelated. For example, for random data, it may be useful to use a new value for each occurrence of the parameter. Each iteration. Updates the parameter one time per iteration. If a parameter appears in a script several times, the Vuser uses the same value for all occurrences of the parameter, for the entire iteration. This is useful when the statements using a parameter are related. Note: If you create an action block with parameters using its own iteration count—if you instruct VuGen to update their values each iteration, it refers to the global iteration and not the block iteration. Once. Updates the parameter value only once during the scenario run. The Vuser uses the same parameter value for all occurrences and all iterations of the parameter. This type may be useful when working with dates and times.
When out of values | Determines what to do when the range of values is reached for a Vuser. The range of values is determined by the start value and the block size. Abort Vuser. Terminates the Vuser script. Continue in a cyclical manner. Restart the unique numbers for this Vuser from the beginning of its assigned range. For example, if a Vuser had the range of 1-100 and it reached 100, it would start again at 1. Continue with last value. Use the last assigned value for this parameter for all subsequent occurrences of this parameter. For example, if a Vuser had the range of 1-100 and it reached 100, it would continue with the value of 100 until the end of the script.

## User Defined Function type parameter properties

User interface elements for User Define Function parameters are described below:

UI Element | Description
--- | ---
Function Name | The name of the function. Use the name of the function as it appears in the DLL file.
Library Names | The location of the relevant library files.
Update value on | Each occurrence. Use a new value for each occurrence of the parameter in your script. This is useful when the statements using a parameter are unrelated. For example, for random data, it may be useful to use a new value for each occurrence of the parameter. Each iteration. Updates the parameter one time per iteration. If a parameter appears in a script several times, the Vuser uses the same value for all occurrences of the parameter, for the entire iteration. This is useful when the statements using a parameter are related. Note: If you create an action block with parameters using its own iteration count—if you instruct VuGen to update their values each iteration, it refers to the global iteration and not the block iteration. Once. Updates the parameter value only once during the scenario run. The Vuser uses the same parameter value for all occurrences and all iterations of the parameter. This type may be useful when working with dates and times.

## XML parameters

For information about Web Services XML parameters, see XML parameters.

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