Using Distinct Counts

You can derive the distinct count of a category as a new measure. The derived measure does not contain data values in itself, but when it is used in a visualization, it displays the number of distinct values for the data item that it is based on.

For example, you might derive the distinct count of a category that contains city names. If you create a bar chart of the derived measure and a category that contains product lines, then the bar chart shows the number of cities where each product line is produced.

To derive the distinct count for a category or date, right-click a category or date in the Data pane and then select Derive Distinct Count. The derived measure appears automatically in the Data pane. The name of the derived measure is identical to the category or date that it is based on, with the suffix “(Derived).”

Derived data items can be used in visualization types that support categorical grouping:

For bar charts, line charts, treemaps, and geomaps, you can right-click a data point in the visualization and then select Explore Distinct Values. When you explore the distinct values, a new bar chart is created. The new bar chart displays the values and the frequency of each value.

For example, you might use a derived measure to create a bar chart that displays the number of cities where each product line is produced:

Then, you might want to explore the distinct values for City where Promotional items are produced. By right-clicking the bar for Promotional and selecting Explore Distinct Values, you can see a new bar chart that contains the cities where Promotional items are produced, and the frequency of data for each city.