Concepts → Applied Filter
About an applied filter
An applied filter is a type of dashboard filter. An applied filter is a filter expression that affects all applicable insights on all tabs of the given dashboard.
An applied filter behaves the same way as a default filter option. The difference between an applied filter and an filter option is that a dashboard consumer without Edit access rights to the dashboard is not aware of an applied filter.
A dashboard developer creates one or more applied filters.
A dashboard developer with Edit access rights to a dashboard can create and edit one or more applied filters. Here’s how:
- In the Action bar of a dashboard, select More Options (⋮ vertical ellipsis icon).
- In the More Options menu, select Manage Filter & Prompts.
- In Dashboard Filters, select Applied Filters.
- From the Data panel, drag & drop a column or formula to the applied filter tray.
Valid references in a filter expression for an applied filter
As a filter expression, an applied filter consists of least one filterable column, a filter operator, and at least one filter value. A filterable column for an applied filter can be a data-backed column or a formula column from:
- physical schema alias, table, or derived table
- runtime business view
The join relationships between physical schema tables affect a filter expression. For example, when the filterable column is from a parent table, the filter expression automatically applies to all the dashboard insights related to this table’s child tables. However, if the filterable column is from a child table, the filter expression does not affect the insights related to the parent tables.
Certain filter operators afford various options for selecting one or more filter values. For example, the In and Not In operators allow for the selection of none, one or more, or all filter values.
A filter value for an applied filter can be a scalar value, array of scalar values, or a reference to a variable as follows:
- a filter expression session variable
- an internal session variable
- an external session variable
- a global variable
- a defined presentation variable for the dashboard
A common design pattern is to define a presentation variable as a filter value for an applied filter. You can manually add the value to the dialog using the $ reference.
You can also define an applied filter as a filter expression using the Formula Builder.
View access rights
In order to reference a column or variable in a filter expression, you must have View access privileges to the grandparent object (schema or business schema) or the variable. A global variable is available to all users.
About an applicable insight for an applied filter
The joins between the physical schema tables and the query plan for an insight measure determine whether or not the filterable column affects the insight. For example, a physical schema column in a parent table serves as a filterable column for a measure in a child table. However, a physical schema column from a child table is not a filterable column for a parent table, even when it is the foreign key reference.
You can use the In Query operator in a filter expression to filter the parent table values using a query or queryDistinct built-in function. The query or queryDistinct built-in functions can reference a 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 key, 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 filter, an applied filter will complement the insight filter based on a common filterable column as described above.
Properties for an applied filter pill as a column
The following are the properties of the applied filter pill that uses a column.
| Property | Control | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Column name | label | Displays the fully-qualified name |
| Name | text box | Optional. Enter the display name for the column. A dashboard user will not see this value. |
| Edit Operator/Value(s) | button | Select to specify the filter operator and filter values. For certain data types, you must manually add a reference to a variable. For a column of the type date, you can specify a specific date or select a date system variable for the date picker control. |
You can specify a presentation variable for the value of an applied filter. The presentation variable data type needs to match the data type of the filterable column.
Properties for an applied filter pill as a formula
The following are the properties of a filter pill that is a formula:
| Property | Control | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | text box | Optional. Enter a name for the formula. A dashboard consumer will not see this name. |
| Dynamic | toggle | Enable this option to select an external session variable or a filter expression session variable. |
| Value | drop down list | Select an external session variable or a filter expression session variable. Visible only when Dynamic is enabled. |
| Formula | text box | Select to open the Formula Builder to create the filter expression. Visible only when Dynamic is disabled. |
| Edit Operator/Value(s) | button | Select to specify the filter operator and filter values. Visible only when Dynamic is disabled. |
Often, you specify a filter expression session variable when you enable the Dynamic property. If using an external session variable, the external session variable must return a string that represents a filter expression.