Concepts → Applied Filter
About an Applied Filter
Applied filters are one of 4 types of dashboard filters: Prompts, Presentation variables, Filter Option, and Applied Filters. Typically, a dashboard developer or a business analyst creates a dashboard filter. An applied filter is a predefined dashboard filter that applies a filter expression to all applicable insights on all tabs of a given dashboard. Applied filters are not visible to dashboard consumers who have only View or Share access rights to the dashboard. Dashboard owners and users with Edit access rights will only see an applied filter configuration when viewing the Dashboard Filters in Manage Filters & Prompts. Incorta evaluates filter expressions in applied filters when rendering the related dashboard. When creating an applied filter, you can use either a formula or a column.
Dashboard filters differ from dashboard runtime filters. Whereas a dashboard consumer creates a dashboard runtime filter via an insight interaction or using the Filter bar, a dashboard developer or business analyst creates a dashboard filter using Prompts, Applied Filters, Presentation Variables, and/or Filter Option.
Filter Option are one way for dashboard developers to provide different configurations of applied filters to dashboard consumers. Filter Options are a set of predefined filters that the dashboard consumer can select from to apply to the dashboard applicable insights at the runtime.
About applicable insights and filterable columns
A filterable column is the column that you use in a filter expression. In the context of a filter expression, an applicable insight is one that the filter expression applies to, that is, an insight that the filter expression restricts its data set. There is a relationship between the applicable insight and the filterable column.
The joins between the physical schema tables and the query plan for a given insight measure work together to determine whether or not the filterable column you use for the applied filter pill restricts the data set of this insight. For example, a physical schema column in a parent table as an applied filter is a filterable column for a measure in a child table. In contrast, a physical schema column from a child table is not a filterable column for a parent table as an applied filter, even when it is the foreign key reference. This behavior is the same for a formula as an applied filter.
You can use the In Query operator to filter the parent table values using a query or queryDistinct function that references the child table column (or any other table with no relation to the parent table) to generate the filter values.
For a filterable column, an applicable insight meets one of the following conditions:
- The filterable column is a dimension or measure column in the insight.
- The filterable column has a sibling column from the same physical schema table, and that sibling is a dimension or measure for the insight.
- The filterable column is a dimension or key that shares a measure on the insight from a common child table with other dashboard insights.
If an applicable insight already contains an insight individual filter, an applied filter will complement the insight individual filter based on a common filterable column as described above.
Types of Applied Filters
When creating an applied filter pill, you can use either a formula or a column of any data type. Selected columns can be data-backed columns that reference data that persists to shared storage, or formula columns. When a column is an applied filter pill, you specify the filter operator and one or more filter values to complete the filter expression. Some operators do not require a value to evaluate against, such as Null and Not Null.
Alternatively, you can add a formula from the Data panel to the Applied Filters tray and use the Formula Builder to create the filter expression. For a formula, you specify a filter expression or reference a filter expression session variable.
A column as an Applied Filter pill
You can specify one or more columns as applied filters. Selected columns can be keys, dimensions, and measures. They can be data-backed columns or formula columns. Here are the types of columns you can add to the Applied Filters tray and use to filter applicable insights on a given dashboard:
- Physical_Schema.Table.Column
- Physical_Schema.Table.Formula_Column
- Physical_Schema.Incorta_Table.Column
- Physical_Schema.Incorta_Table.Formula_Column
- Physical_Schema.Materialized_View.Column
- Physical_Schema.Materialized_View.Formula_Column
- Business_Schema.View.Column
- Business_Schema.View.Formula_Column
- Business_Schema.Incorta_View.Column
- Business_Schema.Incorta_View.Formula_Column
A filter expression for the applied filter pill consists of the filterable column, a filter operator, and one or more filter values, if applicable. Selected values can be specific values or referenceable variables. For more information, see Valid referenceable variables in an applied filter.
To configure the filter properties, select the upside-down caret symbol (V) next to the column name in the Applied Filter tray. The following are the properties of the applied filter pill that uses a column.
| Property | Control | Description | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Column name | label | Displays the fully qualified name of the column in the Applied Filter tray | |
| Name | text box | Shows the plain column name by default. Enter a display name for the column in the Applied Filter tray | |
| Edit Operator/Value(s) | button | Select this property to determine the filter operator and values | In addition to specific values, you can reference variables as filter values. |
A formula as an Applied Filter pill
You use the Formula Builder to create the filter expression for an applied filter pill that is a formula. This means you can evaluate a formula expression for an applied filter. Depending on the filter operator, a formula expression can itself evaluate specific conditions and values. Values include external session variables, global variables, internal session variables, presentation variables, and system session variables. As such, you can also specify the dynamic evaluation with a filter expression session variable. For more details, see Valid referenceable variables in an applied filter.
The following are the properties of an applied filter that uses a formula.
| Property | Control | Description | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | text box | Enter a name for the new formula | |
| Dynamic | toggle | Enable this option to select a filter expression session variable instead of creating a filter expression | |
| Value | drop down list | Select the filter expression session variable | This property is visible only when you enable Dynamic |
| Formula | text box | When selected, this property invokes the Formula Builder to create the filter expression. | This property is visible only when you disable Dynamic |
| Edit Operator/Value(s) | button/link | Select this property to determine the filter operator and values | This property is visible only when you disable Dynamic |
Certain filter operators afford various options for selecting one or more filter values. For example, when using the In Query operator, you can use a query expression to generate the list of values to apply as a filter. Also, the In and Not In operators allow for the selection of none, one or more, or all filter values.
Valid referenceable variables in an applied filter
When creating the filter expression for an applied filter pill, whether using a column or a formula, you can reference different variables as filter values. In the case of using a formula, the expression you use for the formula and the operator you select determine the types of valid variables that you can reference.
The following are the types of variables that you can reference as values in the filter expression you create for an applied filter pill, other than defined values.
- System session variables
- Internal Session Variables
- External Session Variables
- Global Variables
- Filter Expression Session Variables
- Dashboard presentation variables
You cannot select specific values when you create an applied filter pill that uses a dynamic formula.
The following table shows the matrix of referenceable variables and applied filter types.
| Variable Type / Filter Type | Column (data-backed or formula) | Formula (using filter expression) | Dynamic Formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filter Expression Session Variables | ✔ | ||
| Dashboard Presentation Variables | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Internal Session Variables | ✔ | ✔ | |
| External Session Variables | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Global Variables | ✔ | ✔ | |
| System Session Variables | ✔ | ✔ |
View Access Rights
In order to reference a column or variable in an individual filter, you must have View access rights to the grandparent object (physical schema or business schema) or the variable.