Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
Since the variable's value is an active calculation, the output value will respond to all
user selections, and the chart will be updated to reflect the changes as well.
There are other ways for achieving the above calculation,
one of which is by using the
TOTAL
qualifier. We will
describe how to use it in a later section.
Another way is enabling the
Relative
checkbox in the
Expressions
tab.
Using variables to store expressions
So far, we've discussed variables that store a single static value and variables whose
output value is based on a calculation. Now, it's time to take variables to a new level
and expand their usability.
You may remember from
Chapter 6
,
Building Dashboards
, how we used variables to
store expression definitions and then used them in charts. To expand on the topic, we
will quickly review the theory and proceed to discuss the advantages of these types
of variables and additional use cases.
Go to the
Variable Overview…
window and add a new variable, with the name of
eFTEs
. The contents of this variable will be:
Sum([# Equivalent FTEs])
Add the following comment to the variable:
Total Equivalent FTEs.
Notice the variable definition is almost the same as that of the
vTotalFTEs
variable
we previously created. The difference, the equals sign at the beginning, though
small, is in fact huge in terms of impact.
When creating variables intended to store expression definitions,
the equals sign must be omitted so that the calculation is
performed on the chart side and not as the variable output.
After creating the variable, head on to create a new chart in the form of a straight
table with
Carrier Name
as dimension and having the following expression:
$(eFTEs)
The new straight table will be created with the total number of FTEs for each carrier,
just as if we had used a direct expression instead of a variable.
