Filter (Express Tables from Variable Data)

You can modify filter title, logic and type using the Filter option of Setup|Express Tables from Variable Data. This option allows you to make changes to the default filter automatically added when you generate tables using Express Tables from Variable Data. You can also modify a group of tables and use square brackets [ ] around elements in the logic to auto-increment.

When you choose a group of tables, the Filter title, Filter logic and Filter type entered, apply to all of the selected tables.

Filter title (optional)

Filter titles can have up to 480 characters on up to 4 lines when the Filter title is printed under the table title. Text automatically wraps, but you can specify where the text will wrap by entering multiple lines in the Filter title window. Pipe symbols (|) are inserted in the filter title for that table in the job file (View|Job File) automatically when multiple lines are entered. Keep in mind that regardless of how many characters you enter on each line, text will wrap based on the Table title width specified on the Table Presentation tab of Setup|Job Settings for Plain Text Reports or on the Enhanced Text Reports tab of Setup|Job Settings for Enhanced Text Reports. For example, if you enter 50 characters on the first line and 50 characters on the second line and your table title width is set at 40, the text will wrap at 40 characters and then wrap again at the end of the first line, then wrap at 40 characters from the second line and again for the remaining 10 characters of the second line, resulting in 4 lines of row text. Alternatively, you can specify where words should break by inserting a pipe symbol (|) at the point where you want the break to occur.
When the Filter title is printed on the filter row, the number of lines depends on the Row text width specified in Setup|Job Settings|Table Presentation (for Plain Text Reports) or the Row Text column width specified in Setup|Banners (for Enhanced Text Reports). You can specify where the text will wrap by entering multiple lines in the Filter title dialog. Pipe symbols (|) are inserted in the filter title of the job file (View|Job File) automatically when multiple lines are entered. Keep in mind that regardless of how many characters you enter on each line, text will wrap based on the row text width. For example, if you enter 50 characters on the first line and 50 characters on the second line and your row text width is set at 40, the text will wrap at 40 characters and then wrap again at the end of the first line, then wrap at 40 characters from the second line and again for the remaining 10 characters of the second line, resulting in 4 lines of row text. Alternatively, you can specify where words should break by inserting a pipe symbol (|) at the point where you want the break to occur.

Filter logic

Filter logic is identical to table and banner logic. You can use square brackets [ ] around elements in the logic to auto-increment.

You can auto-increment a variable name, a numeric or single alphabetic letter portion of a variable name and code values that are numeric or a single alphabetic letter.

[Q1A] (1) is valid and would increment the variable Q1A to the next variable in the data file, for example Q1B, Q1C, etc.

Q1_[A] (1) is valid and would increment the variable name Q1_A to Q1_B, Q1_C, etc.

Q1A ([1]) is valid and would increment the code value from 1 to 2, 3, 4, etc.

Q1A ([A]) is valid and would increment the code value from A to B, C, D, etc.

Example:

If you selected 5 tables and entered the following in the Filter logic field:

[Q1A] ([1]) AND RATING_[1] ([A])

The results would be:

1st table's filter logic -	Q1A (1) AND RATING_1 (A)
2nd table's filter logic -	Q1B (2) AND RATING_2 (B)
3rd table's filter logic -	Q1C (3) AND RATING_3 (C)
4th table's filter logic -	Q1D (4) AND RATING_4 (D)
5th table's filter logic -	Q1E (5) AND RATING_5 (E)

Note: In most cases, if the element selected for auto-increment is not valid, the square brackets will be left in the job file and will result in a syntax error at run time, alerting you to the invalid auto-increment logic. For example TESTA ([AA]) would be remain as TESTA ([AA]) in the job file because AA cannot be incremented.

Filter type:

Total

If you choose Total and don't enter additional filter logic, all cases in the data file are included, even those that have no data for the table.

Total answering

If you choose Total answering and don't enter additional filter logic, all cases in the data file are included. ‘No answers’ are included on the table, but they aren't in the filter so they are not included in percents.

Sigma

Choose Sigma when multiple answers per case exist and you want the filter row to report the number of total responses for the specific variable(s) being tabulated.