About custom groups

A custom group is made up of an ordered collection of components called custom group elements. Each element contains a set of filtering or banding qualifications. Qualifications are the actual conditions that must be met for data to be included in the custom group element. Examples include "Region = Northeast" or "Revenue > $1 million". Qualifications in custom groups are the same as qualifications in filters, with the exception of banding qualifications, which are available in custom groups only.

Each set of qualifications resolves into a list of attribute elements after the report is run. Custom groups, therefore, allow you to group attribute elements in a way that is not defined in the data warehouse. You can create "relationships" between the attribute and the custom group.

Custom groups can be banded; banding slices data in multiple ranges (bands) based on metric values. Each band appears on a separate row on a report. For example, a list of products can be banded into quarters based on revenue—the top 25%, the next 25%, and so on. For more information, see Creating custom group banding qualifications.

For more information and examples of custom groups, see the Custom Groups and Consolidations chapter of the Advanced Reporting Help. For information on qualifications in general, see the chapters on filters in the Basic Reporting Help and the Advanced Reporting Help.

You can also create, edit, or delete multiple custom groups at the same time by using a Command Manager script. For example, you can edit all custom groups to use a different attribute element. Command Manager is a MicroStrategy tool designed to automate certain tasks and processes. For more information about Command Manager, including instructions, see the Command Manager chapter of the System Administration Help.

Prerequisite

Before you begin, you should be familiar with the different types of qualifications you can create. The types are briefly described below. For details, see Creating custom group qualifications.

To create a custom group

1. Open the Custom Group Editor. (How?)

2. Double-click in the Custom Group Definition pane. A new custom group element is created, with the default name Custom Group Element1. You can rename the custom group element header.

3. Double-click Add Qualification in the Custom Group Definition pane. The Custom Group Options dialog box opens.

Create a qualification

4. Create a qualification. The different types of qualifications are described below.

   • Add an Attribute qualification filters on an attribute form (such as ID or description) or on elements of the attribute. For further instructions, see Creating custom group attribute qualifications.

   • Add a Set qualification allows you to build one of the following:

   • Metric qualification creates a set of attributes based on the metrics associated with those attributes. For further instructions, see Creating custom group metric qualifications.

   • Relationship qualification creates a set of attributes based on the relationships between the attributes. For further instructions, see Creating custom group relationship qualifications.

   • Add a Shortcut to a Report uses the result set of an existing report as a qualification. For further instructions, see Creating custom group shortcut-to-a-report qualifications.

   • Add a Shortcut to a Filter uses an existing filter as a base to add more conditions to further refine the qualification. For further instructions, see Creating custom group shortcut-to-a-filter qualifications.

   • Add an Advanced qualification allows you to build one of the following:

   • Custom expression allows you to create custom expressions and filter on the result. For further instructions, see Creating custom expression qualifications for custom groups.

   • Joint element list allows you to choose attribute elements from different attributes to create the qualification. For further instructions, see Creating joint element list qualifications for custom groups.

     For more information on the different types of qualifications, see Creating custom group qualifications.

5. To add more qualifications to the custom group element, repeat steps 3 and 4.

   : If you have multiple qualifications, you can change the operator between them. To do this, right-click the operator in the Filter definition pane, point to Toggle operator, then select the new operator from the list.

6. You can format the different parts of the custom group element. How?

7. You can set how the custom group is displayed on the report. How?

8. To add more custom group elements, start this procedure over, beginning at step 2.

9. When you have added all the necessary elements, save the custom group. How?

Related Topics

Accessing interfaces

• Accessing the Custom Group Editor

• Display or hide the Shortcut Bar

• Opening the Custom Group Options pane

Modifying custom groups

• Change the operator in a custom group

• Editing custom groups

• Saving custom groups

Creating custom group qualifications

• Create a custom expression qualification for a custom group

• Create a custom group attribute qualification

• Create a custom group banding qualification

• Create a custom group metric qualification

• Create a custom group relationship qualification

• Create a custom group shortcut-to-a-filter qualification

• Create a custom group shortcut-to-a-report qualification

• Create a joint element list qualification for a custom group

• Define break by values for a custom group qualification

• Define the output level for a custom group qualification

Formatting and modifying custom group components

• Changing the position of element headers

• Enabling hierarchical display of custom groups

• Enabling subtotals for custom groups

• Naming custom group element bands

• Renaming custom group element headers

• Specifying how custom groups are displayed

• Specifying how custom group elements are displayed