Adding or modifying conditions and calculations

You use conditions and calculations to notify yourself about specific changes in the data. For example, you can build a condition that indicates when sales in a region have dropped below a specific number or a range of numbers.

  1. Go to the Conditions section of the Notification wizard.
    1. To display all available options, click Show Advanced Options.

      The first heading under the Notification wizard title indicates the name of the notification you are working on. If you are creating a new notification, the default heading is Set Conditions for Untitled.

      The My Selections area acts like a shopping cart for the items you set or select throughout the wizard. The conditions and calculations you create are added to this area, alongside the data you selected in the wizard.

    2. If your selections have long names, click the Rename link to rename them.
      Note: Renaming is useful when building advanced conditions because the Select Range of Facts screen. makes the list as long as the name.
  2. Click the Conditions tab. Specify the condition.
    Tell me if:

    Choose one of the selections. The selections are the same as the information found in the My Selections section at the bottom of the page.

    It lists the data you selected and any conditions, calculations, or combined selections that you already created.

    Condition list

    Select the condition to apply. Available conditions vary with the type of data you selected. Most conditions are self-explanatory, such as is greater than.

    A number of conditions are based on comparing the data as it exists now to its state the previous time it was updated. For example, "has new items" notifies you if items are added to the data.

    • has new items: This condition includes data items with changed keys or attributes.
    • has new keys: This condition includes data items with new keys.
    • has same items: This condition excludes new rows in the InfoSet.
    • new, missing, and same items: This condition returns all items in the InfoSet.
    • is not missing: This condition excludes any items with missing measure values.
    • merged columns (all rows): This condition produces a notification where all keys and attributes appear in one row. If the keys and attributes do not match, two rows are used.
    • merged columns (rows from first table): This condition produces a notification where like keys and attributes columns are merged, but the measures that match these keys are presented in multiple columns.
    • merged rows: This condition produces a notification where all rows appear in one table.
    Condition Boxes
    If applicable to the condition, boxes are displayed beneath the condition selection to allow you to enter additional data.

    For example, if you select the condition is greater than, a box is displayed for you to specify the number or date you want to set as a threshold.

    Make this a Parameter
    Select this check box to allow subscribers to modify the number you entered.
    Compare with a variable or another selection
    Select this check box to add another selection list. These check boxes allow you to compare selections.
    Select from these columns
    Specify which columns of data to which you want to apply the condition.

    If you do not select a column, the condition will be applied to all columns

    To select multiple columns, hold down the CTRL key while clicking.

    Show all Rows
    Select this check box to include all rows of data in your results (not just those that match your condition).

    Selecting this check box enables you to display which items passed or failed the condition.

    Color indication list
    Specify whether the value that the condition is filtering are better if they are higher or lower.

    This information is used to display the results of the condition graphically (for example, in a table, chart, gauge or dial).

  3. Click Add to add your condition to the My Selections section.
  4. To add calculations, click the Calculation tab. Specify the calculation.
    From the values in
    Choose the selection to base the calculation on.

    The selections in this list are the same as the information found in the My Selections section at the bottom of the page.

    Calculate
    Select the calculation to perform.
    Note: Calculation types ending in - Across are based on looking across multiple columns, rather than down a single column.
    Calculation Boxes
    If applicable to the calculation, boxes are displayed beneath the calculation.
    Display Original Data
    Select this check box to show the original data in addition to the results of the calculation.
    Select from these columns
    Use this field to specify that the calculation are applied to items within a specific column.

    For example, if you select Total as the calculation and select a column, the calculation produces a subtotal for each item in the column.

    To select multiple columns, hold down the CTRL key while clicking.

  5. Click Add to add your calculation to the My Selections section.
  6. If you specified more than one condition and want to combine them to create a new condition, click the Combine tab.
    Pick conditions to combine
    Select the conditions to be combined.
    Tell me if
    Select how you want to combine the conditions.
  7. Click Add to add your condition to the My Selections section.