Defining context variables

Procedure

Click the [+] button at the bottom of the wizard to add a parameter line in the table.
Click in the Name field and enter the name of the variable you are creating, host in this example.
From the Type list, select the type of the variable corresponding to the component field where it will be used, String for the variable host in this example.

Information noteWarning: If you change the type of a variable that has already a value, the value will be cleared and you need to set it again.
If needed, click in the Comment field and enter a comment to describe the variable.

Click in Value field and enter the variable value under each context.

For different variable types, the Value field appear slightly different when you click in it and functions differently:

Type	Value field	Default value
String (default type)	Editable text field	null
Boolean	Drop-down list box with two options: true and false
Character, Double, Integer, Long, Short, Object, BigDecimal	Editable text field
Date	Editable text field, with a button to open the Select Date & Time dialog box.
File	Editable text field, with a button to open the Open dialog box for file selection.
Directory	Editable text field, with a button to open the Browse for Folder dialog box for folder selection.
List of Value	Editable text field, with a button to open the Configure Values dialog box for list creation and configuration.	(Empty)
Password	Editable text field; text entered appears encrypted.
Resource	Editable text field, with a button to open the Select a Resource dialog box for you to select a resource defined under Resources in the Repository. For more information, see Using resources in Jobs.

If needed, select the check box next to the variable of interest and enter the prompt message in the corresponding Prompt field. This allows you to see a prompt for the variable value and to edit it at the execution time.
You can show/hide a Prompt column of the table by clicking the black right/left pointing triangle next to the relevant context name.
Repeat the steps above to define all the variables in this example.
- port, type String,
- database, type String,
- username, type String,
- password, type Password,
- table_name, type String
All the variables created and their values under different contexts are displayed in the table and are ready for use in your Job.

You can further edit the variables if needed. Through preference configuration, you can enable or disable propagation of variable changes to your Jobs. For more information, see Performance preferences (Talend > Performance).

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