Browsing or Searching for Filter Values

About Browsing and Searching

There are two ways to select values from a data item:
  • You can browse all the values that are available and then select from a list.
  • You can enter search arguments to narrow the list of values and then select from that list.
The Browse and Search tabs have a different appearance depending on whether the data items are in a relational data source or a multidimensional data source.
The Browse and Search tabs let you search for values when you are doing the following:
  • constructing an unprompted filter that uses either the Equal to or Not equal to operators
  • constructing a prompted filter whose prompt type is Create a list of values and whose operator is Equal to, Not equal to, Between, or Not between
The Filter on formatted values check box determines whether the search is for formatted or unformatted (actual) values.

Browse for Relational Data Items

You can use the Browse tab to browse all the values that are available in the data source and then select one from a list. To browse the values in a relational data source, complete these steps:
  1. Click Get Values to run a query and display the values.
    Note: The Get Values button is disabled if the data item does not allow values to be displayed, the data item values have already been retrieved, or the data item values cannot be retrieved.
  2. Select a value (or values) from the Browse tab. Click single arrow icon to move one or more values to the Selected values list. You can select a range of values using the SHIFT or the CTRL key. Use double arrow icon to move all values in the Browse list to the Selected values list.
    Filter and Rank Dialog Box with Values Moved from the Browse Tab to the List of Selected Values
    The Filter and Rank Dialog Box with Values Moved from the Browse Tab to the List of Selected Values
    If there are too many values to display, then a message displays. In this case, the Search tab is accessible, so you can search for the values.
    Example of the Message When There Are Too Many Values to Display
    Example of the Message When There Are Too Many Values to Display

Search for Relational Data Items

You can use the Search tab to enter search arguments to narrow the list of values and then select a value from that list. To search for the values in a relational data source, complete these steps:
  1. Select a Search criteria from the drop-down list. The following operators are available:
    Search Operator
    Description
    Contains
    Specifies that the value contains the search argument.
    Exactly matches
    Specifies that the value matches the search argument exactly.
    Starts with
    Specifies that the value starts with the search argument.
    Ends with
    Specifies that the value ends with the search argument.
    Matches pattern
    Lets you create a pattern for the search argument. Use the question mark (?) as a substitute for a single letter and an asterisk (*) as a substitute for zero or more letters.
    The search argument is case-sensitive for formatted values and not case-sensitive for unformatted (actual) values.
  2. Enter a value to search for in the field to the right of the Search criteria list.
  3. Click Search. The search results display in the table below the button. If the table contains more than 50 entries, a page control appears above the table to let you move to the next or previous set of entries.
  4. Select a value (or values) in the table. Click single arrow icon to move one or more values to the list of Selected values. You can select a range of values using the SHIFT or the CTRL key. Use double arrow icon to move all values to the list of Selected values.
    Moving Search Values to the Selected Values List in the Create Custom Filter Dialog Box
    Moving Search Values to the Selected Values List in the Create Custom Filter Dialog Box

Browse for Multidimensional Data Items

When the Browse tab displays for multidimensional data, a tree representing the hierarchy of the data items expands to the first available level. Note that when portions of the tree are expanded, there might be a slight delay in populating the list, because the data in the tree is loaded on an as-needed basis.
To browse the values in a multidimensional data source, complete these steps:
  1. Select a value (or values) from the Browse tab. Click single arrow icon to move one or more values to the list of Selected values. You can select a range of values using the SHIFT or the CTRL key. Double-clicking expands or collapses the tree, depending on the state of the tree node when you click it. Use double arrow icon to move all values in the Browse list to the list of Selected values. If an area of the tree is not expanded, then the values in the subtree under that tree value are not moved to the Selected values list.
    Filter and Rank Dialog Box with Values Moved from the Browse Tab to the List of Selected Multidimensional Values
    The Filter and Rank Dialog Box with Values Moved from the Browse Tab to the List of Selected Multidimensional Values
  2. (Optional) Remove values from the Selected values by clicking delete icon. You can also double-click a value to remove it. You can select a range of values using the SHIFT or the CTRL key. To remove all values, select all of the items and then click delete icon.

Search for Multidimensional Data Items

You can use the Search tab to enter search arguments to narrow the list of values and then select a value from that list. To browse the values in a multidimensional data source, complete these steps:
  1. Select a Search criteria from the drop-down list. The following operators are available:
    Search Operator
    Description
    Contains
    Specifies that the value contains the search argument.
    Exactly matches
    Specifies that the value matches the search argument exactly.
    Starts with
    Specifies that the value starts with the search argument.
    Ends with
    Specifies that the value ends with the search argument.
    Matches pattern
    Lets you create a pattern for the search argument. Use the question mark (?) as a substitute for a single letter and an asterisk (*) as a substitute for zero or more letters.
    The search argument is always case-sensitive, because multidimensional values are formatted.
  2. Enter a value to search for in the field to the right of the Search criteria list.
  3. Click Search. The search results display in the table below the button. If the table contains more than 50 entries, a page control appears above the table to let you move to the next or previous set of entries.
    In the table, Name is the data item value and Parent path is a list of the levels from the top of the hierarchy to the value. Because multidimensional data sources are hierarchical, data values need to be placed into the context of the hierarchies in which they reside. For example, your cube could contain both [New York].[Rochester] and [Minnesota].[Rochester]. If you see just the value Rochester, you need additional information to know in which state the city is located. In this example, the Parent path for one data value will be New York and Minnesota for the other data value.
  4. Select a value (or values) in the table. Click single arrow icon to move one or more values to the list of Selected values. You can select a range of values using the SHIFT or the CTRL key. Use double arrow icon to move all values to the list of Selected values.
    Moving Multidimensional Search Values to the Selected Values List in the Filter and Rank Dialog Box
    Moving Multidimensional Search Values to the Selected Values List in the Filter and Rank Dialog Box
  5. (Optional) Remove values from the Selected values by clicking delete icon. You can also double-click a value to remove it. You can select a range of values using the SHIFT or the CTRL key. To remove all values, select all of the items and then click delete icon.
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