Creating Sets

The next lesson's Set Actions let a dashboard click add or remove values from a Set automatically -- but that only works if a Set already exists. This lesson covers how to create one.

What is a Set? A Set is a custom field that divides your data into two groups: members that are IN the set, and everything else, which is OUT . Unlike a Group, a Set is boolean (in/out) rather than a relabeling of members.

Creating a Manual Set Select one or more dimension members in the view, right-click, and choose Create Set... , or Right-click a dimension in the Data Pane > Create > Set... and manually check the members you want IN the set. Example: select your top 3 customers in a view and create a set called "Key Accounts" -- this lets you color or filter by "in Key Accounts" vs. "everyone else."

Creating a Condition-Based Set Instead of picking members by hand, you can define membership with a condition or a Top N rule:

In the Create Set dialog, switch to the Condition tab to write a rule (e.g., SUM([Sales]) > 10000 ). Or use the Top tab to define membership as "Top 10 by Sum of Sales." Condition-based sets update automatically as the underlying data changes -- a manual set does not.

Using a Set in the View Drag a Set onto Color, Filter, or any other shelf like a regular field. It shows two values: the set's name (IN) and "Other" (OUT) -- perfect for comparing a selected group against everyone else.

Why This Matters The next lesson shows how a Set Action can update a set's membership automatically based on what a viewer clicks on a dashboard, instead of you editing the set by hand every time. Come back to this lesson any time you need a refresher on building the set itself.