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Create a Time Intelligence filter by using Dashboard Designer

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Applies to: SharePoint Server 2010 Enterprise

When you use PerformancePoint Dashboard Designer to create a dashboard filter, you can select from various filter templates that include two Time Intelligence filter templates: the Time Intelligence filter template, and the Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter template.

  • Use the Time Intelligence filter template to create a dashboard filter that contains a list of rolling time periods that you specify. Some examples of time periods that you might use include Last Two Years, Last Six Months, and Last 30 Days. See To create a Time Intelligence filter.

  • Use the Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter template to create a dashboard filter that uses a calendar control that dashboard users can use to view information as of a particular date. By default, the calendar control is set to the current date in the dashboard. However, dashboard users can use it to select a different date. See To create a Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter.

Important

Regardless of which template that you select for a dashboard filter, Time Intelligence filters will only work with data sources that have been configured to work with Time Intelligence. This applies not only to the data source that you use for each filter, but also to the data sources that are used by the scorecards and reports to which you want to connect a Time Intelligence dashboard filter. For more information, see Configure data sources to work with Time Intelligence by using Dashboard Designer.

To learn more about dashboard filters that include Time Intelligence filters, see Overview of PerformancePoint dashboard filters and connections.

In this article:

  • Create a dashboard filter by using the Time Intelligence filter template

  • Create a dashboard filter by using the Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter template

Create a dashboard filter by using the Time Intelligence filter template

To create a Time Intelligence filter

  1. In Dashboard Designer, in the Workspace Browser, click PerformancePoint Content.

  2. On the Create tab, in the Dashboard Items group, click Filter.

  3. In the Select a Filter Template dialog box, click Time Intelligence, and then click OK.

  4. On the Select a Data Source page, click Add Data Source.

    The Select a Data Source dialog box opens.

  5. Select the data source that you want to use, and then click OK.

    • Use the SharePoint Site tab to view a list of data sources that have been saved to Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010.

    • Use the Workspace tab to view a list of data sources that you have created or used.

  6. Click Next.

  7. On the Enter Time Formula page, specify the list of items that you want to include in the filter. Do so by using the following procedure:

    1. Click a cell in the Formula column, and specify a Time Intelligence formula.

      The formula that you type might resemble one of the examples shown in the following table:

      Time Intelligence formula Description

      YearToDate

      Displays year-to-date information.

      Year:Year-2

      Displays information for a three-year period of time, from the current year to three years ago.

      Month:Month-5

      Displays information for the past six months.

      Week

      Displays information for the current week.

      For more examples of formulas that you can use, see PerformancePoint Time Intelligence quick reference.

    2. In the Display Name column, click the placeholder text, and then type a new phrase for the filter. For example, if you used YearToDate in the Formula column, you might type Year to Date in the Display Name column.

    3. Repeat steps a and b for each item that you want to use in the filter.

    4. Click the Preview button to test all the formulas that you specified. A Time Intelligence Preview window opens.

    5. In the Time Intelligence Preview window, verify that the formulas will work correctly.

      • If you receive a message that states that the data source has an invalid Time Intelligence configuration, you must configure the data source to work with Time Intelligence. Close the Time Intelligence Preview window, cancel the Create a Filter wizard, and then configure the data source. For more information, see Configure data sources to work with Time Intelligence by using Dashboard Designer.

      • If you receive a message that states that one or more of the formulas that you specified does not work, close the Time Intelligence Preview window and then configure those formulas. Next, click the Preview button to try again.

  8. After you have created and verified that the Time Intelligence formulas work, click Next.

  9. On the Select Display Method page, select one of the display types shown in the following table.

    Display method Description

    List

    Select this option to display the filter as a simple list in a drop-down menu. When you use this display type, dashboard consumers click an item in the list to specify what information to display.

    Tree

    Select this option to display the filter as a list that includes an expandable tree control in a drop-down menu. When you use this display type, dashboard consumers expand the tree control, and then they select one item or a group of items to apply as a filter.

    Multi-Select Tree

    Select this option to display the filter as a list that includes an expandable tree control that has check boxes in a drop-down menu. When you use this display type, dashboard consumers expand the tree control, and then they select the check boxes for the items that they want to use as a filter.

    After you select the display type that you want to use for your filter, click Finish.

  10. In the center pane, click the Properties tab.

  11. In the Name box, type the name that you want to use for the filter.

  12. (This step is optional.) To specify a location for the filter, click the Display Folder button, and then select or create a folder.

  13. In the Workspace Browser, right-click the filter, and then click Save.

After you have created a Time Intelligence or Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter, your next step is to connect it to a report or a scorecard. For more information, see Connect a filter to a report or a scorecard by using Dashboard Designer and Use the Connection Formula dialog box in Dashboard Designer to configure a filter connection.

Create a dashboard filter by using the Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter template

When you create a Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter, you do this in two phases:

  1. You create a dashboard filter by using the Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter template.

  2. You connect the filter to a report or a scorecard, and you use the Connection Formula dialog box to specify a Time Intelligence formula. You can connect the Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter to multiple reports and scorecards. However, you configure each connection separately and specify a formula for each connection.

To create a Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter

  1. In Dashboard Designer, in the Workspace Browser, click PerformancePoint Content.

  2. On the Create tab, in the Dashboard Items group, click Filter.

  3. In the Select a Filter Template dialog box, click Time Intelligence Connection Formula, and then click OK.

  4. On the Select a Data Source page, click Add Data Source.

    The Select a Data Source dialog box opens.

  5. Select the data source that you want to use, and then click OK.

    • Use the SharePoint Site tab to view a list of data sources that have been saved to Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010.

    • Use the Workspace tab to view a list of data sources that you have created or used.

  6. Click Next.

  7. On the Select Display Method page, click Finish.

    Tip

    Notice that you did not specify any formulas or display methods. You specify a connection formula when you connect this filter to a report or a scorecard. In addition, the Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter only uses a calendar control.

  8. In the center pane, click the Properties tab.

  9. In the Name box, type the name that you want to use for the filter.

  10. (This step is optional.) To specify a location for the filter, click the Display Folder button, and then select or create a folder.

  11. In the Workspace Browser, right-click the filter, and then click Save.

    Important

    At this point, you have created a Time Intelligence Connection Formula. However, you have not specified a formula the filter will use to display particular information. You must proceed to configure the connection between the Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter and a report, a scorecard, or .

When you connect a Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter to reports and scorecards in a dashboard, you configure each connection separately. Use the following procedure to connect a Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter to a report or a scorecard.

To connect a Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter to a report or a scorecard

  1. In Dashboard Designer, locate the Workspace Browser on the left side of the window, and then click PerformancePoint Content. The center pane displays two tabs: SharePoint and Workspace.

  2. Double-click the dashboard that you want to change to open it.

  3. In the Details pane on the right side of the window, expand the list of available filters. Drag the Time Intelligence Connection Formula filter that you want to use to a dashboard zone.

  4. Within the filter box that you added to the dashboard, click the down arrow located to the right side of the filter name, and then click Create Connection. The Connection dialog box opens, which enables you to configure the connection between the filter and scorecard or report.

  5. Click the Items tab. In the Send values to list, select the scorecard or report that you want to connect to the filter.

  6. Click the Values tab, and then select a combination of values by using the Connect to list and the Source value list.

    Depending on how the scorecard is configured, the list of options that are available in the Connect to and Source value lists will vary. By using these lists, you can choose from many combinations. For example, you can select a page, row, or column in one list, and Display Value or Member Unique Name in the other list.

    Although it might seem as if you can select any combination of values in the Connect to and Source value lists, not all combinations will work correctly. Some examples of combinations that work are listed in the following table.

    Connect to list item Source value list item Description

    TI formula

    Formula

    This configuration only works with PerformancePoint scorecards. It uses a Time Intelligence formula and causes the scorecard to display information for the specified time period.

    Current date-time

    Current date-time

    This configuration only works with PerformancePoint scorecards. It does not require a Time Intelligence formula and causes the scorecard to display information as of the current date.

    Axis, Page, Row, Column, or Row (or Column) Hierarchies

    Member Unique Name

    This configuration works with PerformancePoint reports and scorecards. It uses a report or scorecard member’s fully qualified member name together with a Time Intelligence formula and causes the scorecard or report to display information about dimension members for the specified time period.

    Time dimension

    Data source

    This configuration works with analytic charts and grids. It uses a Time Intelligence formula and causes the analytic chart or grid to display information for the specified time period.

  7. Click the Connection Formula button. The Connection Formula dialog box opens.

  8. In the Connection Formula dialog box, type a Time Intelligence formula. The formula that you type might resemble one of the examples shown in the following table.

    Time Intelligence Formula Description

    Day

    Displays information as of the date that is selected in the calendar control.

    Quarter:Quarter-3

    Displays information for the last four quarters as of the date that is selected in the calendar control.

    YearToDate

    Displays year-to-date information as of the date that is selected in the calendar control.

    For more examples of formulas that you can use, see PerformancePoint Time Intelligence quick reference.

  9. Click OK to close the Connection Formula dialog box.

  10. Click OK to close the Connection dialog box. In the center pane of the workspace, in the Connections box for the report or scorecard, you can see the name of the filter that you have connected to it.

  11. In the Workspace Browser, right-click the dashboard and then click Save.

    Deploy the dashboard to view and test the filter connection.

    Important

    When you connect a filter to a scorecard, you can create an invalid filter connection that you might not notice until you deploy the dashboard and view it in a SharePoint site. When an invalid filter connection is made, a scorecard might display unexpected content or an error message. If this occurs, reconfigure the filter connection.

See Also

Concepts

Create a dashboard filter by using Dashboard Designer
Use the Connection Formula dialog box in Dashboard Designer to configure a filter connection
Assemble dashboard pages and link items together by using Dashboard Designer