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Hitachi Vantara Lumada and Pentaho Documentation

Use filters to explore your data

Parent article

You can explore your data in the inspection canvas by applying one or more filters and then view the results in the visualization.

When inspecting your data, filters can be used to restrict or limit data to only include information that you want to view. See Filter Functions for a list of filtering options.

Depending upon the view chosen (Stream or Model), you can filter data by dragging fields from the Available Fields list to the Filters panel. You can also filter data directly in the visualization by drilling down or using the filter pop-up menu (keeping or excluding certain items). Only filtering selections made in the Filters panel can be edited. You can access many frequently used filter options using keyboard shortcuts.

NoteWhen switching from Model View to Stream View, all selected fields and filters will be cleared.

Drill down into your visualization

Drill down is used to explore a specific dimension or measure of your data and to obtain more details on the next hierarchy levels. In Model View, you can drill down within a visualization into the hierarchies in your dataset.

When drilling down, you automatically apply filters according to the hierarchical field structure of your data, which replaces the parent with the child in the associated drop zone (except when using the Pivot Table, where the child is added to the hierarchy). The filter used for the drill down is added to the Filters panel and the visualization is updated accordingly.

In following examples, various drill down and filtering actions are illustrated:

  • To drill down into the next layer of dimensional data, you can click a data point in a visualization and then select Drill down.

    Drill Down Selection

  • To drill down into layers of hierarchical data, you can double-click a data point, axis label, or legend. Note that in cases where more than one hierarchy is available for drill down, the first available option is automatically selected.

    Drill Down Features

  • When a data point has more than one dimension, you can select what dimension to drill down to from the menu.

    Drill Down Selections

In this example, you want to explore motorcycle sales data for the EMEA geography field to analyze the results for each country inside that territory.

Drill Down Filter, Example 1

  • A filter to show the value that was drilled down on is added to the Filters panel. The chart updates to break down the motorcycles sales data by ‘COUNTRY’ for the 'EMEA' territory.

    Drill Down Filter, Example 2

Keep or exclude selected data in your visualization

In Stream or Model View, you can select data points to keep only the selected data, or to exclude that data from your visualization.

  • To keep or exclude a single data point, click the data point in your visualization. A filters pop-up menu displays.

    Filters Pop-up Menu

    • Click Exclude or Keep Only. The visualization updates your view and the Filters panel displays the filtered data point.

      Excluded Filter Applied Example

  • To keep only or exclude multiple data points, press the CTRL key while clicking additional data points, axis labels, or the legend in your visualization. Release the CTRL key to display the filters pop-up menu.

    Keep Only Filter Selection Example

    • Click Exclude or Keep Only. The visualization updates your view and the Filters panel displays the filtered data points.

      Keep Only Filter Applied Example

NoteExclude and Keep Only are not available for the Table or the Pivot Table.

Add a filter using the Filters panel

In Stream or Model View, you can drag fields from the available fields panel into the Filters panel and then define the filter.

  • Drag a field into the Filters panel, and then from the interactive filters menu, make your selections to apply the filter to a visualization.

    Filter Application Example

Remove a filter from the Filters panel

Hover over the field in the Filters panel and click Close (X on the top right corner).

Filter examples

The following are examples of working with filters in Stream View and in Model View.

Work with filters in Stream View

In Stream View, to apply a filter to a flat table or other visualization, drag a field from the Available Fields panel to the Filters panel.

Use the Select or Exclude filters

In Stream View, you can use the Select filter to search a list of values for a field and then choose the values to apply. Alternately, you can use the Exclude filter to search a list of values for a field and then choose values to omit.

The search method you use to find values can be performed manually from the list of available values or by using the search box to narrow the choices in longer lists. The following illustration shows the features of the Select filter:

Select Filter Features

In the table below, use the preceding illustration to reference the features of the Select and Exclude filters.

Item FeatureDescription
1Filter typeShows the name of the current filter, for example Select or Exclude.
2Left pane*

Shows the values available for the Select or the Exclude filter, and includes:

  • The Search box that you can use to find, according to the entered character pattern, a specific value or values in the Filter field data. Search produces sorted results and is useful when working with large amounts data.
  • The number of available values, as indicated. Up to 25 available values are loaded at a time.

Highlight the values that you want to use for the filtering action and then move them to the right pane.

3Right pane*

Shows the values added, which determines the filtering action of the Select or the Exclude filter, and includes:

  • The number of values added, as indicated from a maximum of 50.

If you have values that you do not want to use for the filtering action, highlight and then move them to the left pane.

4Move icons

Use to add or remove values from the right pane, where:

  • Single greater than icon (>) adds the highlighted value.
  • Single less than icon (<) removes the highlighted value.
  • Double greater than icon (>>) adds all the values.
  • Double less than symbol (<<) removes all the values.

*Single and multi-select actions are supported: Use double-click to move single values; CTRLclick to highlight multiple individual values; and, SHIFTclick to highlight a range of values.

Select filter example
In this example, you want to identify the names of specific contacts in your dataset using the Select filter.

Procedure

  1. From the Available Fields list, drag the CONTACTLASTNAME field to the Filters panel.

    Select Filter Example

    The Filter menu automatically displays.
  2. Choose the Select filter to produce a list of contact names in the left pane and then enter characters and character patterns in the Search box to find contact names that contain those characters in the database.

    Search Box Entry Example

    The left pane displays names that result from your search.
  3. Add the names you want to use for filtering by highlighting and moving them to the right pane. Continue searching for names and add them to the right pane. You can add up to 50 names.

    Select Filter Value Selections

    These names are the values that will be used for the Select filter.

    Exceeded Selection Indication

  4. If needed, refine the list of names already chosen. Note that the Apply button is enabled when any values are ready to be used as the Select filter.

    Value Removal Example

  5. Click Apply to proceed with filtering when your list is complete or the maximum number of values has been added.

    Select Filter Limit

    The table updates to only show the selected contact names.

Work with filters in Model View

In this example, you want to explore motorcycle sales data for countries in the EMEA geography field. In Model View, drag a field from the Available Fields panel to the Filters panel, define the value to use in the Value field, and then apply the filter to the visualization.

Procedure

  1. From the Available Fields panel, drag the 'TERRITORY' to the Filters panel.

    Filters Panel Value Entry

  2. From the interactive filters menu, make your selections to apply the filter to a visualization.

    Equals Filter Example

    When the filter is applied, the Filter panel updates 'TERRITORY' to equal 'EMEA', and the pivot table updates to only show sales in countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Keyboard shortcuts for filter options

Begin by selecting the filter from the Filters panel that you want to apply or modify then, depending on the desired action, use the keyboard shortcuts described below. Navigation moves left/right and up/down through all elements, beginning with the Value field (when present), where highlighting indicates your position within the selected filter. When sufficient information to proceed exists, the Apply button is enabled. These keyboard shortcuts apply to the following filters:

  • Contains
  • Does not contain
  • Equals
  • Does not equal
  • Null
  • Greater than
  • Less than
FunctionShortcut Keys
Apply the filter when Apply is enabledEnter
Forward navigation within a filter*Tab
Reverse navigation within a filter*ShiftTab
Open a dropdown when highlightedEnter
Upward navigation within a dropdown Up Arrow
Select an option from the dropdownEnter
Downward navigation within a dropdown Down Arrow
Select a checkbox when highlightedSpace bar
Navigate through the Null filter radio buttonsUp Arrow or Down Arrow
Apply the highlighted Apply or Cancel buttonEnter
*OS X users: For correct tab navigation, you must enable the full keyboard access: Go to System Preferences Keyboard Shortcuts and select All controls