Filtering data in an analysis

You can filter the data displayed in a Visual Insight analysis, to display only the information that you require. For example, an analysis displays sales data for several different product categories, from 2007 to 2010. You can filter the data in the grid to only display sales data for books and movies in 2010.

You can filter data based on:

The elements of an attribute: The elements of a business attribute are the unique values for that attribute. For example, 2006 and 2007 are elements of the Year attribute, while New York and London are elements of the City attribute. You can filter based on a list of attribute elements belonging to an attribute. For example, the attribute Customer has elements which are individual customer names. For a report containing the attributes Region, Customer, and Income Range, you can use an attribute element list qualification on the attribute Customer to obtain income data for only those customers you specify in your filter's list.
The value of a metric: You can filter data by restricting the attributes in the set based on the value, rank, or rank percentage of a metric associated with the attributes. For example, a store manager wants to see sales numbers for products whose current inventory count falls below a certain level. A metric set qualification lets the manager restrict data based on a set of attributes, in this case certain products, based on a metric value, rank, or rank percentage, in this case, inventory count below a certain level.

When you filter the data in an analysis, you can choose to include or exclude data for selected attribute elements. By default, when you choose to include or exclude data in a visualization, the Filters panel is automatically updated to reflect your selections. However, if you choose to filter data using elements from multiple attributes, your selections are listed as local filters in the Local Filter panel. For example, you choose to display data only for books sold in 2010 or movies sold in 2011. Your selection is displayed as Books, 2010 and Movies, 2011 in the Local Filter panel. You can remove the local filter by clicking the x icon next to the filter, as described in the steps below.

When you filter data in an analysis, your selections are applied to every visualization in the analysis. For example, an analysis contains a Grid visualization and a Heat Map visualization, which both display sales data for a series of regions. If you select to only display data in the Grid visualization for the Northeast and Southeast regions, the Heat Map visualization will also only include data for Northeast and Southeast.

Selecting attribute elements in a filter also restricts the choices available in the Page-by area. For example, an analysis contains revenue data grouped by the Category attribute, allowing you to display the revenue for Books, Movies, Music, and so on. If you filter the data to only display revenue information for the Books and Movies categories, only Books and Movies will be available as options in the Page-by area. For background information and steps to group data in an analysis, see Grouping data in an analysis.

Note: If the Filters panel is not displayed in the analysis, click the Filters icon in the analysis toolbar to display it. If the Local Filter panel is not displayed in the analysis, click the Local Filter icon in the analysis toolbar to display it.

Task	Steps
Filter data by selecting elements in an attribute	In the Filters panel, locate the section that contains the attribute you want to use to filter. If the section is collapsed, click the arrow icon next to the name of the attribute to expand it. Select the attribute elements you want to use to filter data, or select All to choose all of the elements at once. Note: You can only select a single element if the elements are displayed using the Radio Button or Drop-down styles.
Filter data by selecting metric values from a slider	In the Filters panel, locate the section that contains the metric you want to use to filter. If the section is collapsed, click the arrow icon next to the name of the metric to expand it. Click and drag the endpoints of the slider to cover the range of values for which you want to filter data. The selected value range is automatically highlighted in blue.
Filter data by defining a qualification on a metric	In the Filters panel, locate the section that contains the metric you want to use to filter. If the section is collapsed, click the arrow icon next to the name of the metric to expand it. Click Greater than. From the drop-down list, select the operator you want to use to compare data, such as Less Than or Equals. In the field, type the value you want to use to filter data, then press ENTER.
Filter data to only include data for selected attribute elements	In the grid of a Grid visualization, hover the cursor over the attribute element to use to filter data. You can select multiple elements by pressing CTRL and clicking additional elements. Click the arrow icon displayed in the top right. A list of options is displayed. Select Keep Only. The data in each visualization in the analysis is filtered. Note: By default, the elements you selected in the visualization are displayed as selected in the Filters panel. However, if you select elements from more than one attribute, your selections are displayed in the Local Filter panel.
Filter data by excluding data for selected attribute elements	In the grid of a Grid visualization, hover the cursor over the attribute element to use to filter data. You can select multiple elements by pressing CTRL and clicking additional elements. Click the arrow icon displayed in the top right. A list of options is displayed. Select Exclude. The data in each visualization in the analysis is filtered. Note: By default, the elements you selected in the visualization are displayed as selected in the Filters panel. However, if you select elements from more than one attribute, your selections are displayed in the Local Filter panel.
Filter data using elements from more than one attribute	In the grid of a Grid visualization, select the attribute elements you want to use to filter data. Select multiple elements by pressing CTRL and clicking additional elements. Click the arrow icon displayed in the top right. A list of options is displayed. Do one of the following: To filter data by including data only for the selected attribute elements, select Include. To filter data by excluding data for the selected attribute elements, select Exclude.
Delete a local filter from the Local Filter panel	In the Local Filter panel, click the x icon next to each local filter you want to delete.
Clear all selections in the Filters panel	Hover the cursor over the Filters panel, then click the arrow icon displayed in the top right of the panel. A list of options is displayed. Select Clear All Filters. All the selections in the Filters panel are cleared and all data is displayed.