Filter and sort freeform tables
Freeform tables in Analysis Workspace are the foundation for interactive data analysis. As such, they can contain thousands of rows of information. Filtering and sorting the data can be a critical part of efficiently surfacing the most important information.
Filter tables
Filters in Analysis Workspace help you surface the most important information.
You can use several methods to filter rows from a freeform table.
- Exclude specific rows from a table
- Apply filters to a table
- Use audience segments
Be sure to read how each method impacts freeform table totals.
Exclude specific rows from a table
You can quickly exclude specific rows from the table without the need to use
To exclude specific rows from a freeform table:
-
Hover over the row that you want to exclude, then select
Hold the Shift key to select a range of rows, or hold the Command key (on Mac) or the Ctrl key (on Windows) to select multiple rows.
Apply simple or advanced filtering to a table
To filter data in freeform tables:
-
Hover over the column that contains the data you want to filter.
-
Select
The following options are available in the Search dialog:
table 0-row-2 1-row-2 2-row-2 Option Function Include “No value” Select this option to show a No value row in the table for data that has no value for the selected dimension. Deselect this option to hide the No value rows. Search word or phrase Specify a word or phrase that you want to filter by. Only rows that contain the word or exact phrase specified are shown. -
(Optional) To filter by different criteria or by multiple criteria, select Show advanced.
The following advanced filter options are available:
table 0-row-2 1-row-2 2-row-2 3-row-2 4-row-2 Option Function Include “No value” Select this option to show a No value row in the table for data that has no value for the selected dimension. Deselect this option to hide the No value row. Match Choose If all criteria are met to show only data that meets all the criteria that you specify. This option typically results in more refined data.
Choose If any criteria are met to show data that meets any one of the filter criteria that you specify. This option typically results in less refined data.Criteria Select from the following filter options:
- Contains the phrase (default): Only data that contain the exact phrase that you specify are included in the filtered results. Words must be in the order specified in the Search word or phrase field.
- Contains any term: Only data that contain one or more words from the phrase that you specify are included in the filtered results.
- Contains all terms: Only data that contain all words from the phrase that you specify are included in the filtered results. Words do not have to be in the order specified in the Search word or phrase field.
- Does not contain any term: Only data that contain none of the words from the phrase that you specify are included in the filtered results.
- Does not contain the phrase: Only data that does not contain the exact phrase that you specify are included in the filtered results. Words must be in the order specified in the Search word or phrase field.
- Equals: Only data that exactly matches the phrase that you specify is included in the filtered results.
- Does not equal: Only data that does not exactly match the phrase that you specify are included in the filtered results.
- Starts with: Only data that starts with the word or exact phrase that you specify are included in the filtered results.
- Ends with: Only data that ends with the word or exact phrase that you specify are included in the filtered results.
Select
Always exclude items Specify the name of any items that you want to exclude from the filtered data. -
Select Apply to filter the data. Select Clear to clear all input. Select Cancel to cancel and close the dialog.
A colored
Include filter criteria in trended data in sparklines and line visualizations include-filter-criteria
Any search filter criteria applied to the table dimension to a freeform table is always included in sparklines.
In addition to sparklines, you can configure filter criteria to be included in connected line visualizations. (By default, filter criteria is not included in line visualizations. Line visualizations display data for the row that is selected in the connected table. If no row is selected, data for the first dimension only of the connected table is shown.)
For more information about sparklines and line visualizations, see View trended data for a freeform table.
Configure line visualizations to include filter criteria
-
Select the sparkline in the metric column header.
When the sparkline cell is selected, it displays as dark gray. This indicates that filter criteria is included in the connected line visualization. The filter criteria is applied as a segment on the column.
Understand when column totals might be inaccurate
Column totals might not be exact in the following scenarios:
-
When static components are used in the left column and column totals are calculated as a sum of the rows
If row items contain overlapping data in this scenario, column totals will be inaccurate.
For example, if you add static segments to the left column, and then you add Users as a metric in the right column, some of those users might be part of more than one of the static segments. In this case, Workspace does not deduplicate the users for each static segment. This can result in a higher number of total users because some users might be counted more than once.
-
When using multi-valued dimensions
Use audience segments
See Segmentation overview for more details.
Sort tables
In Analysis Workspace, you can sort the data of a freeform table by any columns, whether they are dimensions or metrics. You can even sort by multiple columns at the same time.
By default, dimensions are sorted in ascending order and metrics are sorted in descending order.
Sort tables by a single column
When you sort data for a single column as described in this section, any advanced sorting that is applied to the table is removed.
To sort data in tables by a single column:
-
Mouse over the header of the column you want to sort, then select the Sort icon
-
Select Ascending or Descending.
The sort icon remains visible when sorting is applied to the column. An arrow indicates how the data is sorted (
Sort tables by multiple columns (Advanced sorting)
Apply sorting to multiple columns
To sort data in tables by multiple columns:
-
Mouse over the header of any column that you want to sort, then select the Sort icon
-
Select Advanced sorting.
-
In the Advanced sorting dialog, do any of the following:
-
Add columns that aren’t yet being sorted by selecting the Add sort column button.
-
Remove columns that you no longer want to sort by selecting the Remove icon
-
Drag columns higher or lower in the list to adjust the sort priority.
For more information, see Sort priority.
-
Change the sort value by selecting Ascending or Descending in the drop-down menu.
-
Select a different column by selecting the column name drop-down menu.
-
-
Select Apply.
The sort icon remains visible when sorting is applied to a column. An arrow indicates how the data is sorted (
Sort priority
When you sort data for multiple columns, data is sorted according to the priority you assign to each column. Priority numbering is displayed next to the sort icon
The column with the primary priority decides the main order; the column with the secondary priority decides the order when rows have the same value in the primary column; the column with the tertiary priority decides the order when rows have the same value in the primary and secondary columns; and so forth.
For example, consider a table with the following columns:
-
Day of Month (dimension)
-
Hour of Day (dimension)
-
Events (metric)
You can assign a sort priority to each column, as follows:
By assigning a sort priority to each column, you can control exactly how data is displayed in the table. In this example, information is sorted first by Day of Month, then by Hour of Day, and finally by Events.