Creating a filter within a report

A filter created within a report enables you to apply filter conditions to a specific report without creating a separate filter object. The filter conditions appear in the SQL used to retrieve the report result set from the database. The report filter is created as part of the specific report and is saved with the report definition. If you have OLAP Services, you can filter on an object even if it is not a part of the report template.

The difference between a filter created within a report in the Report Editor and a stand-alone filter created in the Filter Editor is that the report filter is embedded within the report and therefore cannot be used in another report. However, both types of filters accomplish the same results—the filter's qualifications are used to select the data to calculate the metrics in a report. A report filter can use any of the qualification types used in stand-alone filters.

For an introduction to filters in general, see About filters.

To create a filter within a report

1. Open the report in the Report Editor. (How?)

2. If the Report Filter window is not displayed, from the View menu select Report Filter Definition.

3. In the Report Filter window, click Double-click here to add a qualification. The Filtering Options dialog box opens.

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 Steps to create an attribute qualification.

   • 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 About metric set qualifications.

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

   • Add a Shortcut to a Report uses an existing report as a filter in another report. For further instructions, see Creating a shortcut-to-a-report qualification.

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

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

     By default, the Advanced Qualification option is not shown. For steps to enable this option, see Steps to activate the advanced qualification option.

   • Custom expression allows you to create custom expressions and filter on the result. For further instructions, see Steps to create a custom expression qualification.

   • Joint element list allows you to choose attribute elements from different attributes to filter the report result set. For further instructions, see Steps to create a joint element list qualification.

     For more information on the different types of qualifications, see Types of qualifications.

5. To add more qualifications to the filter, 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. Save the report to save the report filter as part of the report's definition. (How?)

Related Topics

• About filtering data on-the-fly in a report

• About filters