Step by Step - Getting Started Guide

Step 4 – Using the Pivot Table

You can now play around with your data and visualize it from different perspectives. To modify the pivot table results, you can:

Choose what data shows in the report using the “Measures” selection
Filter the Data – by screening which data to include in the table and chart
Modify the Structure and layout of the pivot table – to show a different perspective of the data
Drill Up or Down – to decrease/increase the level of detail displayed
Sort Data – to sort data in ascending or descending order
Rank Data – to show the top 10 or bottom 10 items
Build Charts – display selected data in a chart

Filtering Overview

Filtering enables you to visualize data according to specific criteria. Using filtering, you can change the view and display of your pivot table and chart.

The filters pane displays the fields of data used for filtering. In this example, the filter fields are “Store” and “Merchandise”. The pivot table determines the default filtering fields by the type of data for each field.

As discussed above, there are two distinct data types:

Quantifiable data – by default, all numeric data, excluding time data (for example, “gross sales”). In the Filter Pane, values are displayed as: measures
Descriptive Data – by default, all non-numeric or time data (for example, “product name” and “merchandise”). In the Filter Pane, descriptors are displayed as:
- dimension name – when not filtered
- dimension name (member(s)) – when filtered

By default, the pivot table presents all data fields and their corresponding data available for filtering. The pivot table allows you to filter by:

One or more fields (dimensions)
One or more items within a field (dimension members)

How to Filter by a Field

To filter your data by a field (or cube dimension):

1. Open the filters pane and click the tab of the field to filter by (for example, Store). The tab opens and displays the available data values. The highlighted members indicate the current filters:

Filter by Dimension

2. Click All to filter by all values of the field, or in other words – not to filter:

Filter By Dimension

3. You will be prompted if you would like to accept the changes. Click Apply if you wish to update immediately or continue filtering – you can select all the filtering and apply all at once. Click Cancel to go back to the previous filtering.