Use Narrative Reporting Reference Variable in Essbase Smart View Report

Hi All,

I'm trying to insert reference variable to an essbase smart view report. I want to insert the period in the ad hoc report instead of letting end user select the period manually. I have tried reference variables in different formats such as "April 2025", "[Apr-25]". However, whenever I insert the variable to the Smart View report, it will change the value to a five-digit number instead of showing the proper period.

Has anyone faced any issue like this? Really appreciate if you can share some hints here. Thank you!