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Filter pane

You can add a filter pane to control what data that is shown in the visualizations on a sheet. A filter pane can filter the data of several dimensions at once. For example, if you have a chart of sales over time, you can use a filter pane to limit the data in the chart to only show sales from a selected time period, from certain product categories, and from a certain region.

When a dimension is added, it is placed to the right of the previous dimensions, or below, depending on the available space. As long as there is space enough, the dimensions are displayed as expanded lists. If there is not enough space, the dimensions that were added first are turned into filter panes.

Selections have been made in the dimensions Year, Quarter, and Week

When to use it

With filter panes, you can easily make several selections to define your data set exactly like you want it. With your well-defined data set, you can explore data of particular interest.

By using the selection menu options in the filter panes (select possible, select alternative, and select excluded), you can make adjustments to the data set and compare the results with the previous selection.

Advantages Disadvantages
Filter panes are good for making selections and defining data sets. But they also show the relationship between different values, the associations. The green, white, and gray colors reflect the data associations that exist - and that do not exist. And by analyzing those associations, you can make new discoveries, for example, that a sales representative has too many customers, or that a region lacks a sales representative. When the dimensions contain a very large amount of values, it may be hard to manage the data.

Creating a filter pane

You can create a filter pane on the sheet you are editing.

In a filter pane you can use up to 1000 dimensions.

Do the following:

  1. From the assets panel, drag an empty filter pane to the sheet.
  2. Click Add dimension and select a dimension or a field.
  3. If you want to add more dimensions, click Add dimension again.

When you have created the filter pane, you may want to adjust its appearance and other settings in the properties panel.

Tip noteIf you double-click or drag a field or a dimension from the assets panel, a filter pane is added to the sheet using the dimension. If you then double-click more dimensions, they are automatically added to the new filter pane.

Selections in filter panes

During analysis you click a compressed filter pane dimension to open a selection list.

When you make a selection, it is reflected in the small bars at the bottom of each filter pane dimension. Four states can be displayed in the bars: selected (green), possible (white), alternative (light gray), and excluded (dark gray). Locked values are indicated by a lock icon. The details of the selections are displayed in the selections bar, above the sheet. You can click an item to see the details and change your selection.

Fields are filtered out from each dimension to be shown in the visualizations on the sheet.

Making selections in filter pane lists

When there is space enough in a filter pane, the dimension values are displayed in a list. In lists, you can click to select a single value or draw to select several values. On a touch device, you can two-finger-tap in the list to select a range of values.

Filter pane with expanded list

The selections tool

The selections tool offers an option to get an overview of the fields and dimensions in an app. In the selections tool you can make selections in all the fields and dimensions in the app, regardless of whether they are used in the app or not.

During analysis, the selections tool is available to the right in the selections bar. Click 9 to open the selections tool.

Display limitations

Responsive design

The filter pane has a responsive design and renders as many dimensions as possible. When space is limited, this could involve reducing the size of each dimension so that all dimensions are displayed.

Example:  

The following image shows a filter pane while it is being edited. Only three out of five dimensions are displayed. The other dimensions are replaced by a button with an ellipsis (...), indicating that there are more dimensions that are not displayed. You can click the button to open the filter pane in full screen view.

Five dimensions as displayed when editing the filter pane

When you have finished editing the filter pane and enter analysis mode, you will see the filter pane with all the dimensions displayed. If all items cannot be shown due to lack of space, the ellipsis box is displayed to indicate that there are more dimensions.

Five dimensions as displayed when analyzing data

Full screen view

In full screen view, the filter pane is maximized and displays as many dimensions as possible expanded. When not all dimensions can be displayed expanded, the priority order is that the most recently added dimensions are expanded to the right. You can change the priority order in the properties panel, under Dimensions. Drag the dimensions to change the order.

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