Maximum (fld), Maximum (fld, condFld), Maximum (fld, condFld, cond), Maximum (x)

Basic and Crystal syntax.

Arguments

• fld is any valid database or formula field that can be evaluated by the function.
• condFld is a field used to group the values in fld by.
• cond is a String indicating the type of grouping for condFld. You only specify this argument when condFld is a Date, Time, DateTime or Boolean field. For more information on the valid strings for this argument, see Conditions for summary functions.
• x is an array of values that can be evaluated by the function being used.

Returns

Fractional Number

Action

Enables you to find the maximum value that appears in a set of values. For example:

• If a sales report includes a field that shows the amount of each order, you can find the highest order amount of all the orders that appear on the report (a grand total maximum amount). For information on finding this kind of maximum, see SummaryFunction (fld).
• If you break orders into groups (for example, orders grouped by the state that they come from), you can find the highest order amount per group (in this case, per state). For information on finding this kind of maximum, see SummaryFunction (fld, condFld).
• If you break orders into date or Boolean groups (for example, orders grouped by the month in which they were placed), you can find the highest order amount per group based on a specific change in the date or Boolean field (in this case, per month). For information on finding this kind of maximum, see SummaryFunction (fld, condFld, cond).
• If you specify a set of individual values, you can find the highest value in the set. For information on finding this kind of maximum, see Array summary functions (x).

Examples

The following examples are applicable to both Basic and Crystal syntax:

Maximum({orders.ORDER AMOUNT})

Returns the highest value in the Amount field.

Maximum({orders.AMOUNT}, {orders.CUSTOMER ID})

Identifies the largest order in each group of orders in the Amount field (the largest order for each month). The orders are separated into groups whenever the value in the Customer ID field changes.

Maximum({orders.AMOUNT}, {orders.ORDER DATE}, "monthly")

Identifies the largest order in each group of orders in the Amount field (the largest order for each month). The orders are separated into groups whenever the value in the Date field changes to a new month.

The following example is applicable to Crystal syntax:

Maximum also allows you to set a floor on a calculation. For example: Maximum([{file.BALANCE}, 500]) sets a floor of 500 on the calculation. The expression will always return the balance unless the balance drops below 500. Then it will return the floor amount of 500. Thus:

Maximum([{file.PROFITS}, 500]) = {file.PROFITS}

Where Profits > 500.

Note:    Using this function in a formula forces the formula to be evaluated at print time.

For more information on evaluation time considerations, see Evaluation Time functions.