Version 2021

The level of data aggregation

Before you begin

You must understand hierarchies before you can understand levels.

When a report contains more than one attribute, any metric on the report is calculated by default at the lowest attribute level that is on the report. The lowest attribute level is usually the attribute that reflects the least-inclusive business concept, such as Day in a Time hierarchy or Employee in a Geography hierarchy. This is referred to as the report level.

For example, a report contains the Revenue metric and the attributes Year and Month. Will the metric calculate yearly revenue or monthly revenue? Since a metric is calculated by default at the lowest attribute level that is on the report, the metric results calculate monthly sales data. This occurs because Month is a less-inclusive, or lower-level, concept than Year.

By default, a metric is calculated at the report level. However, you can specify a set of attributes as the level of a metric. This type of metric, known as a level metric, calculates at the specified attribute level, regardless of the attributes on the report. See also About the report level of a metric for more details on how a level metric interacts with the report level.

Certain types of qualifications, which are used to define filters and custom groups, can also have levels attached to them.

  • The output level of a metric qualification specifies the attribute level at which the metric is calculated for the qualification. For example, if the metric qualification is Sales > 1000, Sales could mean sales per day, month, or year.

  • The output level of a relationship qualification specifies the attribute level at which the set is calculated for the qualification. It controls the contents of the relationship qualification output. For example, a report needs to display all the stores selling Nike shoes in the Washington, DC area. Set the output level to Store.

  • For a banding qualification, the output level specifies the level at which the metric is calculated for the qualification. For example, you can slice items into four bands based on the Revenue metric. The bands indicate the best-selling products (the top 25%), the next-best-selling items, and so on. To calculate the Revenue metric for items rather than a different object, set the output level to Item.

You can set the level for subtotal calculation on a particular report. This is the level at which the metric is calculated. Your options are Across level, By position, and Group by. For descriptions and examples of the various choices, see Selecting a level for subtotal calculation.

For more information on levels, see the Exploring Data chapter of the Basic Reporting Help.