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Set identifiers

A set identifier represents a set of records in the data; either all the data or a subset of the data. It is the set of records defined by a selection. It could be the current selection, all data (no selection), a selection from a bookmark, or a selection from an alternate state.

In the example Sum( {$<Year = {2009}>} Sales ), the identifier is the dollar sign: $. This represents the current selection. It also represents all the possible records. This set can then altered by the modifier part of the set expression: the selection 2009 in Year is added.

In a more complex set expression, two identifiers can be used together with an operator to form a union, a difference, or an intersection of the two record sets.

The following table shows some common identifiers.

Examples with common identifiers
Identifier Description
1 Represents the full set of all the records in the application, irrespective of any selections made.
$ Represents the records of the current selection in the default state. The set expression {$} is thus usually the equivalent to not stating a set expression.
$1 Represents the previous selection in the default state. $2 represents the previous selection-but-one, and so on.
$_1 Represents the next (forward) selection. $_2 represents the next selection-but-one, and so on.
BM01 You can use any bookmark ID or bookmark name.
AltState You can reference an alternate state by its state name.
AltState::BM01 A bookmark contains the selections of all states, and you can reference a specific bookmark by qualifying the bookmark name.

The following table shows examples with different identifiers.

Examples with different identifiers
Example Result
Sum ({1} Sales) Returns total sales for the app, disregarding selections but not the dimension.

Sum ({$} Sales)

Returns the sales for the current selection, that is, the same as Sum(Sales).

Sum ({$1} Sales)

Returns the sales for the previous selection.

Sum ({BM01} Sales)

Returns the sales for the bookmark named BM01.

See also:

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