There are several different tools available in Vizubi you can use to filter data in reports. You can create sets of fields you know you will use frequently as filter criteria (panels) which are part of your database and can be used in any report created in that database. You can also create ad-hoc filters by selecting fields from a list of all the fields in the database.
Loading your database
Load one of the databases used in the previous lessons:
(1) Click on the Vizubi tab in the ribbon.
(2) Click on the Open button in the Database group.
(3) Browse until you find "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Vizubi\SampleData\" then select "getting started.ndb".
(4) Click on the Open button to load the file.
Open a report
(1) Click on the Report button in the Reports group of the ribbon and select All of the analyses.
(2) The Select Report window opens. All the reports you have saved are listed.
(3) Select My first report.
(4) Click on Confirm to load the report.
(5) The report appears in the worksheet.
Add a new field to the report
(1) Drag and drop the ProductName field in the Row Labels pane.
(2) The field will be added to the report.
Filter by double-clicking values in the report
If you want to view all the information about a single value of a field, you can simply double click on it inside the report.
(1) Double-click on France in the country column.
(2) The report now shows sales data for France only.
(3) Click on the Clear button in the Selections group of the ribbon to remove the filter.
Making multiple selections for filtering from inside the report
You can also view information about more than a single value in the report:
(1) Select an area of values (or use CTRL+Click to select values which are not next to each other) from inside the report. Select Austria, Argentina, Summit Hiking Boots and AAA Running Shoe.
(2) Click on the Filter by Selection button in the Selection group of the ribbon.
View results
(1) The report will now show sales for Summit Hiking Boots and AAA Running Shoe in Argentina and Austria only. The filter effectively is: (Argentina OR Austria) AND (Summit Hiking Boots OR AAA Running Shoe).
(2) Click on the Clear button in the Selection group of the ribbon to remove the filter.
NB: Filters created this way always follow a boolean logic as follows: (column A value 1 or 2 or,…or N) AND (column B value 1 or 2 or,…or N) AND…
Using the Filter Data function
Another tool you can use to filter the report is the Filter Data function. With the Filter Data function you can filter for the values of any field contained in the database. In this case we will filter our report by company name to show sales by country for specific clients.
NB: Vizubi can only apply filters to fields which are either on the same table as the fields in the report OR fields which are on tables which have a relationship with the table which those fields come from.
(1) Click on the Filter Data button in the Selections group of the ribbon. The Selections window opens.
(2) Click on the Add selection button. The Search window opens. This window has a searchable list of all the fields in the database.
NB: the logic of the filter is the same as above in this case for only one column.
Filtering for multiple values of a single field
(1) Click on Company Name in the column box on the left.
(2) CTRL+Click on Big Foot Shoes, Boombastic and Copacabana.
(3) Click on the Add button.
(4) Click on Close.
(5) Click on Close in the Selection window to go back to the report.
View the results
(1) The report now shows sales by country for Big Foot Shoes, Boombastic and Copacabana.
How to set fields commonly used to filter the report
If there are fields you will use frequently to filter your report, you can put them into the Selections window so that you don’t have to search for them from within the list of all the fields in your report.
In our example, we will put the Country field in the selections window.
(1) Drag and drop Country in the Report Filter pane in the Areas Section.
(2) Click on the Filter Data button in the Selection group of the ribbon. The Selections window opens.
(3) Country is listed in the middle of the window.
(4) If you double click on No Value Selection, you can immediately open the window with all the values for the country field to create a filter.
Select values to filter the report
(1) CTRL+Click on Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
(2) Click on the Add button.
(3) Click on Close.
(4) Click on Close in the Selection window to go back to the report.
View the results
The report now shows sales for Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
(1) Click on the Clear button in the Selection group of the ribbon to remove the filter.
Filtering with panels
Panels are groups of slicers (slicers are groups of fields). When you create a panel in the database editor, it is saved into your database. Any report you create can be filtered using the panels in the database.
NB: Vizubi can only apply filters to fields which are either on the same table as the fields in the report OR fields which are on tables which have a relationship with the table which those fields come from. A slicer created with fields from a table which does not have a relationship with the fields in the report cannot be used to filter that report.
(1) Click on the Customize button in the Reports group of the ribbon to close the Customize Report panel on the right.
(2) Click on the upper part of Panels button in the Panels group of the ribbon. The Select panel window opens.
(3) Double click on Invoices in the list. The Invoices panel opens on the left.
Making multiple Selections in Panels
(1) Find the Country in the list of the Invoices panel.
(2) Click on the arrow to the right of Country. A dropdown menu with all the values for the Country field opens. Click on Canada.
(3) Scroll the list until you find USA, then CTRL+Click on it.
View the results
(1) The report now shows sales for Canada and USA.
(2) Note that the active selections are shown in the same row of the field which has been filtered (Canada and USA are listed next to Country).
(3) To clear filter, click on the Clear button in the Selection group of the ribbon or click on the eraser to the left of the active selection.
Moving through the filters
Even though filters you have applied were removed, you can recall them using the Previous and Next buttons in the Selections group of the ribbon.
(1) Click on the Previous button to move back to the filters previously applied and subsequently removed.
NB: if you close the database, the filters applied to that report will not be saved.
There are several different tools available in Vizubi you can use to filter data in reports. You can create sets of fields you know you will use frequently as filter criteria (panels) which are part of your database and can be used in any report created in that database. You can also create ad-hoc filters by selecting fields from a list of all the fields in the database.
Loading your database
Load one of the databases used in the previous lessons:
(1) Click on the Vizubi tab in the ribbon.
(2) Click on the Open button in the Database group.
(3) Browse until you find "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Vizubi\SampleData\" then select "getting started.ndb".
(4) Click on the Open button to load the file.
Open a report
(1) Click on the Report button in the Reports group of the ribbon and select All of the analyses.
(2) The Select Report window opens. All the reports you have saved are listed.
(3) Select My first report.
(4) Click on Confirm to load the report.
(5) The report appears in the worksheet.
Add a new field to the report
(1) Drag and drop the ProductName field in the Row Labels pane.
(2) The field will be added to the report.
Filter by double-clicking values in the report
If you want to view all the information about a single value of a field, you can simply double click on it inside the report.
(1) Double-click on France in the country column.
(2) The report now shows sales data for France only.
(3) Click on the Clear button in the Selections group of the ribbon to remove the filter.
Making multiple selections for filtering from inside the report
You can also view information about more than a single value in the report:
(1) Select an area of values (or use CTRL+Click to select values which are not next to each other) from inside the report. Select Austria, Argentina, Summit Hiking Boots and AAA Running Shoe.
(2) Click on the Filter by Selection button in the Selection group of the ribbon.
View results
(1) The report will now show sales for Summit Hiking Boots and AAA Running Shoe in Argentina and Austria only. The filter effectively is: (Argentina OR Austria) AND (Summit Hiking Boots OR AAA Running Shoe).
(2) Click on the Clear button in the Selection group of the ribbon to remove the filter.
NB: Filters created this way always follow a boolean logic as follows: (column A value 1 or 2 or,…or N) AND (column B value 1 or 2 or,…or N) AND…
Using the Filter Data function
Another tool you can use to filter the report is the Filter Data function. With the Filter Data function you can filter for the values of any field contained in the database. In this case we will filter our report by company name to show sales by country for specific clients.
NB: Vizubi can only apply filters to fields which are either on the same table as the fields in the report OR fields which are on tables which have a relationship with the table which those fields come from.
(1) Click on the Filter Data button in the Selections group of the ribbon. The Selections window opens.
(2) Click on the Add selection button. The Search window opens. This window has a searchable list of all the fields in the database.
NB: the logic of the filter is the same as above in this case for only one column.
Filtering for multiple values of a single field
(1) Click on Company Name in the column box on the left.
(2) CTRL+Click on Big Foot Shoes, Boombastic and Copacabana.
(3) Click on the Add button.
(4) Click on Close.
(5) Click on Close in the Selection window to go back to the report.
View the results
(1) The report now shows sales by country for Big Foot Shoes, Boombastic and Copacabana.
How to set fields commonly used to filter the report
If there are fields you will use frequently to filter your report, you can put them into the Selections window so that you don’t have to search for them from within the list of all the fields in your report.
In our example, we will put the Country field in the selections window.
(1) Drag and drop Country in the Report Filter pane in the Areas Section.
(2) Click on the Filter Data button in the Selection group of the ribbon. The Selections window opens.
(3) Country is listed in the middle of the window.
(4) If you double click on No Value Selection, you can immediately open the window with all the values for the country field to create a filter.
Select values to filter the report
(1) CTRL+Click on Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
(2) Click on the Add button.
(3) Click on Close.
(4) Click on Close in the Selection window to go back to the report.
View the results
The report now shows sales for Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
(1) Click on the Clear button in the Selection group of the ribbon to remove the filter.
Filtering with panels
Panels are groups of slicers (slicers are groups of fields). When you create a panel in the database editor, it is saved into your database. Any report you create can be filtered using the panels in the database.
NB: Vizubi can only apply filters to fields which are either on the same table as the fields in the report OR fields which are on tables which have a relationship with the table which those fields come from. A slicer created with fields from a table which does not have a relationship with the fields in the report cannot be used to filter that report.
(1) Click on the Customize button in the Reports group of the ribbon to close the Customize Report panel on the right.
(2) Click on the upper part of Panels button in the Panels group of the ribbon. The Select panel window opens.
(3) Double click on Invoices in the list. The Invoices panel opens on the left.
Making multiple Selections in Panels
(1) Find the Country in the list of the Invoices panel.
(2) Click on the arrow to the right of Country. A dropdown menu with all the values for the Country field opens. Click on Canada.
(3) Scroll the list until you find USA, then CTRL+Click on it.
View the results
(1) The report now shows sales for Canada and USA.
(2) Note that the active selections are shown in the same row of the field which has been filtered (Canada and USA are listed next to Country).
(3) To clear filter, click on the Clear button in the Selection group of the ribbon or click on the eraser to the left of the active selection.
Moving through the filters
Even though filters you have applied were removed, you can recall them using the Previous and Next buttons in the Selections group of the ribbon.
(1) Click on the Previous button to move back to the filters previously applied and subsequently removed.
NB: if you close the database, the filters applied to that report will not be saved.