You can create new fields or measures in an Ad Hoc view by applying formulas to a view’s existing fields and measures. For example, consider a view that includes both a Cost and a Revenue field. You could calculate the profit for each record by creating a custom field that subtracts the Cost field from the Revenue field. For example, you can divide the Profit custom field in the previous example by the Revenue field to express each record’s margin as a percent.
The Calculated Field or Calculated Measures dialog box allows you to create a calculated field or measure and set its summary function. This section describes the functionality available in this dialog box.
To open the calculated fields dialog box for Ad Hoc views:
1. Create or open an Ad Hoc view.
2. Open the calculated fields dialog using one of these methods:
- Click at the top right of either the Fields section or the Measures section of the Data Source Selection panel and select "Create Calculated Field..." from the context menu.
- Right-click on an existing calculated field (shown by the icon
) or calculated measure and select Edit.
The dialog displays a text field for the name and two tabs, Formula Builder and Summary.
- The following are reserved words and cannot be used as field names: AND, And, and, IN, In, in, NOT, Not, not, OR, Or, or. Names containing these strings, such as "Not Available", can be used.
The Formula Builder Tab
The Formula Builder tab is where you create the formula for your calculated field or measure. This tab includes the following:
- Formula entry box — Shows the current formula for calculating your field or measure. You can edit the formula by typing directly in the panel. You can also add Fields, Measures, and Functions by double-clicking them. Click the buttons below the Formula field to add operators. Formulas must use the following syntax:
- Labels for fields and measures must be in double quotes ("): "Customer ID", "Date ordered".
- Text must be in single quotes ('): '--'.
- Levels must be in single quotes ('): 'ColumnGroup', 'Total'.
• Operator buttons — Click these buttons to insert the operator in the Formula entry box.
• Fields and Measures — Lists all the fields and measures currently in your Ad Hoc view, including any calculated fields or measures you have already created.
• Functions — Lists all the available functions you can use in your formula.
• Function Description panel — Gives a brief description of the function selected in the Functions list, if any. The sample inputs are intended to be as descriptive as possible.
• Show arguments in formula checkbox — When this checkbox is selected, double-clicking a function name in the Functions list adds the full description to the Formula entry box; when the checkbox is not selected, double-clicking a function name adds only the function. For example, double-clicking Round adds Round("NumberFieldName", Integer) when the checkbox is selected, and adds Round() when the checkbox is not selected. If you select this checkbox, you can double-click on a string, such as NumberFieldName, and then replace it by double-clicking a name in the Fields and Measures list.
• Validate button — Checks the formula for syntax errors, such as missing parentheses or quotes. Your calculated field or measure must be valid before you can create it. Syntax validation does not guarantee that your formula will give the results you want.
The Summary Tab
Summaries show a result applied to all data values. For example, for a numeric fields such as Cost, the summary value might be the sum of all the costs; for a text field such as Customer Name, the summary value might be the count of all customers. The Summary tab lets you set the default summary function for your calculated field or measure.
- Calculation list — Displays allowed summary functions for your calculated field or measure. The available options depend on the data type of the calculation. See Summary Calculations for more information. Depending on your selection, you may see additional options:
- Custom selection — Displays the same options available in the Formula Builder tab, including the Formula entry box, operator buttons, Fields and Measures list, Functions list, and Validate button. You use these options to build a formula for your custom summary. However, for summaries, you are limited to aggregate functions, that is, functions that operate on all the values in your field. For example, Sum and Mode are valid summary functions, because they use all available field values to get a result. Round is not a valid summary function, because it operates on a single value at a time.
- Weighted Average — Displays a Weighted On drop-down list, which allows you to choose another field or measure to use as the weight for the average.