Visualizations → Pivot Table

About a Pivot Table visualization

A Pivot Table visualization provides a tabular view of data with the ability to summarize, sort, and group large quantities of data. Using a Pivot Table, you can transform columns into rows and rows into columns.

A Pivot Table visualization is ideal for displaying both nominal or ordinal data as a table. Nominal data is categorical.The categories are arbitrary labels without numerical significance that function to describe calculated values. Ordinal data has a natural sequence where the distinct (and often numerical) order functions to categorize the calculated values.

With three possible dimensions, a Pivot Table visualization offers a dashboard developer the ability to create an insight that groups one or more aggregated or calculated values by one or more attributes. The result is a Pivot Table on a dashboard tab that shows:

  • a row
  • a column
  • a measure as a vertical column

The distinction between a Pivot Table visualization and a Pivot Table insight is that an insight is an instance of the visualization. As an instance, a Pivot Table insight has unique configurations that a dashboard developer determines for displaying a Pivot Table on a dashboard tab. Insight configurations affect the available user interactions for a dashboard consumer such as the ability to drill down into a row and/or column.

Configurations for a Pivot Table insight

A dashboard developer first selects a Pivot Table visualization for an insight in the Analyzer. Using the Analyzer, a dashboard developer configures pill properties, filter properties, and insight settings. Insight settings and pill properties determine not only how the Pivot Table appears as an insight in a dashboard tab, but also how a dashboard consumer can interact with the Pivot Table.

The visualization selection in the Insight panel of the Analyzer determines the available trays. From the Data panel, a dashboard developer adds a column or a formula to a tray. A column or a formula in a tray is a Pill.

Each pill has configurable properties. The parent tray determines the available properties of a pill.

The available trays for a Pivot Table insight are:

Note

A Pivot Table insight requires at least one measure pill.

Row

From the Data panel, you can add a column or a formula to the Row tray. The Pivot Table insight plots the first pill in the Row tray. The pill ordering in the Row tray defines the following:

  • The first pill is the initial row
  • The other pills define an order of user interactions that allow a dashboard consumer to drill down into the next row and in doing so, also create one or more dashboard runtime filters

For example, if you add two attributes to the Row tray such as Year and Quarter, you can filter by one year, and drill down to quarters of this year.

Column

From the Data panel, you can add a column or a formula to the Column tray. Each pill in the Column tray is a filterable column for the insight.

A column introduces a Filter by menu as a user interaction for the Pivot Table. With the Filter by menu, a dashboard consumer selects to filter the dashboard by:

  • a row and a column
  • a row
  • a column

The pill ordering in the Column tray defines the following:

  • The first pill is the initial column
  • The other pills define an order of user interactions that allow a dashboard consumer to drill down into the next column and in doing so, also create one or more dashboard runtime filters

For example, if you add two attributes in the Column tray such as Category and Product, you can filter one Category, drill down to the products in that category, and view the data.

Measure

To create an aggregation or calculation, you can add a column or a formula from the Data panel to the Measure tray.

A Pivot Table insight shows the measure pill as a column.

You can select the measure pill to open the Properties panel. In the Properties panel, you can configure various properties such as the Aggregation and Format properties.

Individual Filter

To filter individual rows for the Pivot Table insight, define an individual filter for the insight. You can add a column or a formula to the Individual Filter tray from the Data panel.

You can select the individual filter pill to open the Filter panel. Using the Filter panel, you can specify the filter operator, one or more filter values, or the filter expression itself with the Formula Builder. You can also disable the individual filter.

To learn more about filter expressions for an individual filter, review Concepts → Individual Filter.

Pill properties

The parent tray determines the available properties of a pill. There are various possible configurations for each pill type:

You can edit the properties of a row, column, or a measure pill with the Properties panel for a Pivot Table insight.

In order to create a filter expression, you can edit the properties of an individual filter with the Filter panel.

In the case of the Filter property of a measure pill, you can open the Filter panel from the Properties panel in order to create the filter expression.

To open the Properties panel or Filter panel, select the pill arrow.

Row pill properties

Here are the properties for the a pill in the Row tray in a Pivot Table insight:

Property Control Description
Column fully qualified name label The fully qualified name of the selected column. This property is available only when you edit the properties of a column in the Row tray.
Formula text box When you select it, it invokes the Formula Builder to create the formula expression you want. This property is available only when you edit the properties of a formula added to the Row tray.
Data → Column Label text box Enter the label for the row
Data → Show Subtotal toggle Enable this property to include a row subtotal at the top of the insight. This option is only available for the first pill in the Row tray.
Data → Date Part drop down list When the selected column is a date or timestamp, select the part of the date used. The options are:
  • Full (default)
  • Year
  • Quarter
  • Month
  • Day
    		•
    Data → Sort By drag and drop Drag and drop the a column or formula to sort the Pivot Table by
    Format select Select the format of the row (e.g. MM/dd/yyyy)
    Format → Date Mask text box Enter a customized date format or select a predefined one to appear in this text box
    Drill Down → Dashboards Drill down link Select + Add Dashboard to select a dashboard tab to drill down to when the user selects the row value in the insight
    Add Dashboard → Include Runtime Filters toggle Enable this property to pass a filter from one dashboard to another
    Add Dashboard → Search Dashboard text box Enter a search string to filter the dashboard tree. From the results, select a dashboard tab to drill down to.

    Column pill properties

    The parent tray determines the available properties of a pill. Select the arrow to the right of the pill name to open the Properties panel and configure the related properties.

    Here are the properties for the a pill in the Column tray in a Pivot Table insight:

    Property Control Description
    Column fully qualified name label The fully qualified name of the selected column. This property is available only when you edit the properties of a column in the Column tray.
    Formula text box When you select it, it invokes the Formula Builder to create the formula expression you want. This property is available only when you edit the properties of a formula added to the Column tray.
    Data → Column Label text box Enter the label for the Column
    Data → Show Subtotal toggle Enable this property to include a column subtotal at the left of the insight. This option is only available for the first pill in the Column tray.
    Data → Date Part drop down list When the selected column is a date or timestamp, select the part of the date used. The options are:
  • Full (default)
  • Year
  • Quarter
  • Month
  • Day
    		•
    Data → Sort By drag and drop Drag and drop the a column or formula to sort the Pivot Table by

    Measure pill properties

    The parent tray determines the available properties of a pill. Select the arrow to the right of the pill name to open the Properties panel and configure the related properties.

    Here are the properties for the pills in the Measure tray in a Pivot Table insight:

    Property Control Description
    Column fully qualified name label The fully qualified name of the selected column. This property is available only when you edit the properties of a column in the Measure tray.
    Formula text box When you select it, it invokes the Formula Builder to create the formula expression you want. This property is available only when you edit the properties of a formula added to the Measure tray.
    Data → Column Label text box Enter the label for the measure
    Data → Date Part drop down list When the selected column is a date or timestamp, select the part of the date used. The options are:
  • Full (default)
  • Year
  • Quarter
  • Month
  • Day
    		•
    Data → Aggregation drop down list Select the aggregation option for the measure values. The available options vary. The options are:
  • Average
  • Count
  • Distinct
  • Median
  • Min
  • Max
  • Sum
  • Formula
  • None
    		•
    Data → Scale drop down list Select the chart scale. The options are:
  • None (default)
  • Percent (%)
  • Thousands (K)
  • Millions (M)
    		•
    Data → Filter drag and drop Drag and drop a column or formula to filter the measure
    Format select Select the format of the measure (e.g. Dollar Rounded)
    Format → Decimal Places text box This property appears when you select Decimal, Dollar, Euro, Yen, or Percent as the Format. Enter the number of decimal places to display for the measure value
    Format → Thousands Separator toggle This property appears for all Format options, except No Format. Enable this property to include a comma separator for values of 1000 or greater
    Format → Conditional Formatting link Select + Add Conditional Format to change the color of a data point based on its value
    Conditional Formatting → Operator drop down list Select the operator to use in the conditional formatting rule
    Conditional Formatting → Value text box Enter the threshold value of the conditional formatting rule
    Conditional Formatting → Background select Select the background color to apply when the conditional formatting rule is true
    Conditional Formatting → Text Color select Select the text color to apply when the conditional formatting rule is true
    Drill Down → Dashboards Drill down link Select + Add Dashboard to select a dashboard tab to drill down to when the user selects the measure value in the insight
    Add Dashboard → Include Runtime Filters toggle Enable this property to pass a filter from one dashboard to another
    Add Dashboard → Search Dashboard text box Enter a search string to filter the dashboard tree. From the results, select a dashboard tab to drill down to.
    Advanced → Base Field drag and drop Drag and drop the column to join two tables that are not directly joined
    Advanced → Query Plan button Select this property to reveal the direct data map path that the Incorta Analytics Service uses to retrieve or calculate the measure

    Individual Filter properties for a filter expression

    To filter individual rows for the Pivot Table insight, define an individual filter for the insight. You can add a column or a formula to the Individual Filter tray from the Data panel.

    Individual Filter properties for a filter expression with a column as a pill

    Here are the properties for a filter expression for a column as a pill in the Individual Filter tray for a Pivot Table insight:

    Column fully qualified name label The fully qualified name of the selected column.
    Data → Column Label text box Enter the label for the measure
    Date Part drop down list When the filter column is a date or timestamp, select the part of the date used. The options are:
  • Full (default)
  • Year
  • Quarter
  • Month
  • Day
    		•
    Operator drop down list Select the operator to use in the filter criteria
    Values multi-select Select the value(s) to evaluate the column value against. Some operators do not require a value to evaluate against, such as Null and True. If applicable, enter a string in the search bar to filter the list of values. To add a value to the list, enter it in the text box below the list and select +.
    Advanced → Disable Filter toggle Enable this property to disable the filter. Disabled filters are deleted when you save the insight.
    Individual Filter properties for a filter expression with a formula as a pill

    Here are the properties for a filter expression for a formula as a pill in the Individual Filter tray for a Pivot Table insight:

    Property Control Description
    Formula label label The formula label
    Data → Column Label text box Enter the label for the measure formula
    Formula → Dynamic toggle Enable this property to select a filter expression session variable as a value
    Formula text box Disable Dynamic to configure this property. Enter the formula in the Formula Builder to create the filter expression.
    Operator drop down list Select the operator to use in the filter criteria
    Values multi-select Select the value(s) to evaluate the column value against, if required. Some operators do not require a value to evaluate against, such as Null and True. In the case that you enable Dynamic, select a filter expression session variable. If applicable, enter a string in the search bar to filter the list of values. To add a value to the list, enter it in the text box below the list and select +.
    Advanced → Disable Filter toggle Enable this property to disable the filter. Disabled filters are deleted when you save the insight.

    Settings panel

    With the Settings panel, you can configure additional properties for the Pivot Table insight. To open the Setting panel, in the Analyzer, select Settings (gear icon) in the Action bar.

    Property Control Description
    General → Page Size text box Enter the number of rows per page
    General → Max Rows Limit text box Enter the maximum number of rows to include in the table
    General → Auto Refresh toggle Enable this property to automatically update the insight when the underlying data is updated
    General → Dynamic Measures toggle Enable this property to have the dashboard render a specified measure. This feature is useful when the table has more than one measure
    Dynamic Measures Default drop down list Select a measure to render in the Pivot Table insight. This will create a simplified view for the user.
    Layout → Merge Rows toggle Enable this property to merge rows in the Pivot Table insight creating a simplified visualization
    Layout → Fix Column(s) toggle Enable this property to keep columns visible when you scroll to the right
    Layout → Row Grand Total toggle Enable this property to include a row grand total at the top of the insight
    Layout → Row Subtotal toggle Enable this property to include a row subtotal at the top of each group
    Layout → Row Total At drop down list Select the position of the row total in the Pivot Table insight:
  • Top (default)
  • Bottom
    		•
    Layout → Column Grand Total toggle Enable this property to include a column grand total at the left of the insight
    Layout → Column Subtotal toggle Enable this property to include a column subtotal at the left of each group
    Layout → Column Total At drop down list Select the position of the column total in the Pivot Table insight:
  • Left (default)
  • Right
    		•
    Advanced → Max Groups text box Set the maximum number of groups that cannot be exceeded in the insight
    Advanced → Missing Value Text text box Enter the string to display when a column is missing data
    Advanced → Join Measures drop down list Select Yes to calculate the group-by function across joined tables.
    Warning

    There is an impact to engine performance when you select Yes to enable the Join Measures property.

    User interactions for a Pivot Table insight

    As a dashboard consumer, you can interact with a Pivot Table insight on a dashboard tab. Some interactions will affect only the Pivot Table. Other interactions will affect both the Pivot Table and the dashboard. The creation of one or more dashboard runtime filters is an example of a user interaction that affects all applicable insights on all tabs of a dashboard.

    Note

    Some user interactions require specific configurations by a dashboard developer and therefore may not be available.

    Here are the possible types of user interactions for a Pivot Table insight:

    • Select a vertical bar to open the Filter by menu and select a option to drill down into a row and/or column and in doing so, create a dashboard runtime filter
    • Select a dashboard tab to navigate to in the Go to menu
    Note

    A dashboard runtime filter that affects all applicable insights on all tabs of a dashboard. A dashboard runtime filter appears as a filter bar pill and displays the filter expression.

    More Options menu for a Pivot Table insight

    Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) enforces access to certain features and functionality. With Discretionary Access Control (DAC), a user who owns the dashboard to control the access to the dashboard. Access rights include the ability to view, share, and edit the dashboard. Together, RBAC and DAC affect the available selections in both the Action bar and the More Options menu for an insight.

    In addition, certain tenant configurations by a Cluster Management Console (CMC) Administrator affect the available selections in the More Options menu for an insight.

    Download

    • For the Pivot Table insight, select More Options (⋮ vertical ellipsis).
    • Select Download.

    • Select the download file format:

      • XLSX
      • PDF

    Send To Data Destination

    Export the Pivot Table insight in Excel or Google Sheet format. Send to Data Destination.

    Set Alert

    You can set an alert that identifies specific changes to a Pivot Table insight by defining a filter expression for a measure filter, individual filter, and/or aggregate filter.

    • For the Pivot Table insight, select More Options (⋮ vertical ellipsis).
    • Select Set Alert. Refer to the Scheduler document for additional information on Data Alerts.

    Steps to create a Pivot Table insight

    For an existing dashboard, to create a Pivot Table insight for a given dashboard tab, follow these steps:

    • If not already open, open a dashboard.
    • To add a new insight to the dashboard, in the Action bar, select +.
    • If needed, in the Analyzer, in the Data panel, select Add Data Set.
    • In the Manage Data Sets panel, select one or more business schema views and/or one or more physical schema tables.
    • To close the Manage Data Sets panel, select X or any other area of the Analyzer.
    • In the Insight panel, select V. IUnder Tables, select Pivot Table.

    • From the Data panel, drag and drop various columns to various trays in the Insight panel:

      • Row
      • Column
      • Measure
      • Individual Filter
    • Configure the pill properties using the Property panel.
    • Configure various insight properties using the Settings panel.
    Important

    If the data in a column is Null, this can indicate a missing join, or joins in the wrong direction.

    Example of a Pivot Table insight

    In this example, you will create a Pivot table insight that compares revenue by product per year and quarter. The example uses the SALES schema that comes with the Sample Data.

    Note

    In the Cluster Management Console (CMC), you can create a tenant that includes Sample Data. The Sample Data includes the SALES schema.

    Add an insight

    • In the Action bar, select +.
    • In the Data panel, select Add Data Set.
    • In the Manage Data Sets panel, in Tables, select the SALES schema.
    • Close the Manage Data Sets panel.
    • In the Insight panel, under Tables, select Pivot Table.

    • From the Data panel, drag and drop the following columns to the respective tray:

      • From the Products table, drag and drop Category to the Row Tray.
      • From the Products table, drag and drop Product to the Row Tray.
      • From the Sales table, drag and drop Year to the Column Tray.
      • From the Sales table, drag and drop Quarter to the Column Tray.
      • From the Sales table, drag and drop Revenue to the Measure tray.
      • From the Sales table, drag and drop Cost to the Measure tray.

      • From the Data panel, drag and drop Year to the Individual Filter tray. In the Filter panel,

        • For Operator, select In.
        • For Values, select 2008 and 2009.

    Edit the pill properties

    • Select the arrow to the right of Revenue to open the Properties panel.

      • For Format, select Dollar Rounded.
    • Select the arrow to the right of Cost, for Format, select Dollar Rounded.

    Edit the insight settings

    • In the Action bar, select Settings (gear icon).

    • In the General section,

      • Enable Dynamic Measures toggle to render a specified measure in the insight.
      • For Dynamic Measures Default, select Revenue.
    • In the Layout section, enable the Row Subtotal toggle to display a row subtotal at the top of each product category.
    • Select X to close the panel.
    • Name the insight Product Revenue per Year/Quarter.
    • Select Save.
    <

    Pivot rows to columns

    • Select Edit (pen icon) for the Product Revenue Per Year/Quarter insight.
    • Drag and drop Category and Product from the Row tray to the Column tray.
    • Drag and drop Year and Quarter from the Column tray to the Row tray.
    • Select Save.
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