Restricting Characteristics by Characteristic Values

The following section explains how to restrict a characteristic to one or more characteristic values, or to one characteristic interval (fixed or variable).

1. If you want to select one or more characteristic values or a characteristic interval, proceed as follows:
   • If you want to restrict the characteristic to a single characteristic value, select the value and drag it to the filter definition area.
   • If you want to restrict the characteristic to a single characteristic value and give this a name, write this name in the Direct Input field and choose Add. The system validates your entry on the back end, and inserts the characteristic value with your name in the filter definition.
   • If you want to restrict the characteristic to a characteristic range, add the required start and end value of the range by double-clicking in the filter definition area, select the two characteristic values and choose Create Range.
2. If you want to restrict the characteristic to variable characteristic values rather than fixed values, choose a characteristic value variable as follows:
   1. Choose the Variables tab. On the left of the screen, the system shows a list of all variables. If you select a variable, the system shows the details of this variable in the lower part of the screen:
   2. Copy over the required variable by double-clicking on the filter definition area.
   3. You can specify offset values for a characteristic value variable (with the Single Value display range) by choosing Create Range. The Enter Offsets Values for Range dialog box appears. Here you can move the interval limits by adjusting the start value and end values (or just one of these values) by one integral offset value.

      You are using the Current Calendar Year variable in your filter definition. You want to select the last 5 years as the period for your data analysis. Select the variable, choose Create Range. The Enter Offsets Values for Range dialog appears. Set the lower limit to the offset value -5. Do not enter an offset (oder 0) for the upper limit. Press OK.

   4. If you want to define the range between two variables as a filter element, select the required start and end value of the range in the filter definition area and choose Create Range. If the variables are characteristic value variables (Single Value), you can also specify offset values for the interval built from these variables in the Enter Offsets Values for Range dialog box.
   5. If the variables are characteristic value variables with the Single Value display range, the Enter Offsets Values for Range dialog box opens.
3. The system applies the characteristic values or characteristic interval to the filter definition, in the order in which they are selected, using the operator Equal by default. You can change the operation to be used for the selected characteristic values and variables in the filter: Proceed as follows:
   1. Select a filter element.
   2. Press  Change Operator . You can also choose this command in the filter element's context menu.
   3. Select the required operator. You can choose from the following operators:

   Operator	Description
   Equal To	Equal to
   Greater Than or Equal To	Greater than or equal to
   Greater Than	Greater than
   Less Than or Equal To	Less than or equal to
   Less Than	Less than

4. The system applies the characteristic values or the characteristic interval to the filter definition - using include by default. If there are values that you want to exclude from the selection, proceed as follows:
   • Select the filter element that you want to exclude and choose  Change Mode  Exclude .
   • To include a filter element again, choose  Change Mode  Include .
   Caution

   This function is only used with single values or single value variables.