Column selection

Column selection

Open a report's options menu and choose Columns to configure the fields used by both its chart and table. The dialog contains Columns, Calculated measures, Data preview, and Visualizations sections. Open documentation links to this page.

This page describes the expanded column dialog in the upcoming release. Older releases provide dimension selection and the aggregation switch; shared calculated measures, per-measure aggregation, sorting priorities, and the data preview require the expanded dialog.

Include columns

Each source column has an Include checkbox. Its effect depends on the column's role:

• A dimension describes a group, such as Region, Product, or Date. With Aggregate values enabled, included dimensions define the groups. Removing a dimension combines rows that have the same remaining dimensions.
• A measure is a value, such as Revenue or Quantity. Clearing Include hides it from the shared report output. It remains available as an input to calculated measures.

For example, a report with Region, Product, and Revenue normally groups revenue by each Region/Product combination. Exclude Product to get revenue by Region. Exclude all dimensions to get an overall result when aggregation is enabled.

Keep at least one output column included. To hide or reorder columns only in the rendered table, use Table options instead.

Aggregate values

The Aggregate values switch in Visualizations is enabled by default. It combines rows with the same included dimensions. Disable it to keep individual source rows; excluded dimensions still disappear from the output, but their rows are not combined.

Choose an Aggregate method for each source measure:

Method	Result within each group
Sum	Sum of numeric values.
Average	Average of numeric values.
Minimum	Smallest value.
Maximum	Largest value.
Count	Number of nonempty values.
Count distinct	Number of distinct nonempty values.

Count and Count distinct ignore missing and empty values. With aggregation disabled, these methods do not combine source rows.

Sort the result

Choose Ascending or Descending beside a source column or calculated measure. Choose None for a source column, or No sort for a calculated measure, to remove its sort rule.

When two or more columns are sorted, Priority fields appear. Give every sorted column a different positive whole number. Lower numbers are evaluated first; later rules break ties. A single sorted column does not need a priority.

For example, sort Region ascending with priority 1 and Revenue descending with priority 2 to list regions alphabetically and show their highest-revenue rows first. An excluded dimension cannot sort aggregated rows; hidden measures can still be used for sorting.

Calculated measures

Select Add calculated measure, enter a unique Measure name, and build a Formula. Click a column button to insert it at the cursor, or drag it into the formula. Inserted columns normally appear as [Revenue] or [Quantity]; buttons disambiguate source columns with identical names.

Formulas support numeric constants, +, -, *, /, parentheses, and negative values. For example:

[Revenue] - [Cost]
([Revenue] - [Cost]) / [Revenue] * 100

Shared measure formulas support arithmetic only. Functions such as ROUND() are available in table-specific formulas, but cannot be used here. Missing or nonnumeric inputs and division by zero produce blank results.

Use Calculation timing to choose when the formula runs:

Timing	Use it for
For each source row	Calculate a value for every original row, then aggregate those values using the selected method.
After aggregation	Calculate from the already aggregated measure values of each group. This is the default.

Example: revenue per unit

Suppose two source rows in the same group have Revenue/Quantity values of 100/1 and 100/9.

• For each source row, with [Revenue] / [Quantity] and Average, averages 100 and 11.11…, giving approximately 55.56.
• After aggregation, with Revenue and Quantity both set to Sum, divides 200 by 10, giving 20.

Use the second option when you want the group's total revenue divided by its total quantity. Use the first when you want the average of individual row ratios. With Aggregate values disabled, both timings operate on individual rows.

Calculated measures can reference other named calculated measures. A calculation performed for each source row can only depend on other calculations with that timing. Circular references are invalid. An after-aggregation formula cannot reference an excluded dimension when aggregation is enabled.

Each calculated measure also has Include, sorting, and Remove controls. Excluding it hides its output while keeping it available to other formulas. Removing it deletes the calculation from the draft; update any formulas that reference it before applying.

Move existing table calculations

If compatible calculations already exist in Table options, the dialog offers Move table calculations to report. This imports them into the draft so they can supply both the chart and table. Select OK to apply the draft and complete the move.

Pivot, threshold-based, and unsupported table calculations remain in Table options. Moving a compatible calculation changes it from a table-layout calculation to a shared report measure; check its result with the preview, especially when inputs contain text or missing values.

Preview, apply, and save

Select Preview result in Data preview to fetch the draft result without changing the report. The preview shows up to ten result rows and uses the current filters. Save a new report before requesting a preview.

OK applies the draft in the current report and closes the dialog. Use the report save action to persist the configuration. Cancel discards the dialog draft, including calculation imports; a preview does not save changes.

Combinations and limits

Remove Top N and Time aggregation before adding shared calculated measures, hiding source measures, changing source aggregation methods, or using multiple sort rules. The dialog reports an error when these settings are combined.

Calculations require complete source data. A source that has already paginated its result cannot supply shared calculations. A source that already aggregates its data may also prevent row calculations or regrouping; use a source that supplies the required original rows.

Use Chart options for chart presentation and Table options for table layout and formatting. Column selection controls the shared report data supplied to both.