Creating a Threshold for Multiple Metrics: Advanced Thresholds

You can use advanced thresholds to apply formatting to a report or a grid in a document, based on multiple metrics and more complex expressions than a visual threshold. This allows for very specific conditions to be defined, and a range of different formatting, images, or symbols to be applied to values that meet these conditions. Advanced thresholds can contain conditions based on metrics or attributes, and a single advanced threshold can be based on multiple conditions.

Prerequisites

DHTML must be enabled. See General Preferences.
Decide what condition the metric values must meet to have the threshold formatting applied. Common examples of a threshold's condition include transactions that exceed a certain amount or increases in activity from the prior period. You can use attributes or other metrics on the grid to define a threshold's condition.
Decide what you want to be displayed on your report or document when the condition is met. Common examples include displaying important numbers in red, or in white font with a red background, or displaying a red stop sign or a green traffic light in place of certain data.

To create an advanced threshold:

Click the name of the report to run it.
From the Data menu, select Advanced Threshold Editor. This displays the Advanced Threshold Editor.
From the Filter On drop-down list, select the attribute or metric on which to base the threshold.
If you are creating a condition based on a metric, do the following:
1. Select a comparison operator such as Greater Than or Less Than.
2. Enter a value in the field on the right or click Select Metric to choose another metric to compare the original metric to.
3. Click the Apply icon to create the new threshold.
If you are creating a condition based on an attribute, do one of the following:
- To define your condition by typing specific attribute form values:
- 1. Select the Qualify option.
  2. From the drop-down list on the left, select the attribute form on which to base the condition. For example, you can qualify on the attribute element's ID form, one of its description forms, or the DATE if the attribute is time-based.
  3. From the next drop-down list, select a comparison operator such as Greater Than or Less Than. The operators available for a selection depend on the attribute form you chose above.
  4. Do one of the following:
  1. 1. - To compare the attribute form to a specified value, type the value in the field.
      - To compare the first attribute form to a second attribute form, click Select Attribute, then select the second attribute form from the drop-down list.
  1. Click the Apply icon to create the new threshold.
- To define your condition by selecting attribute elements from a list:
- 1. Choose the Select option.
  2. From the drop-down list on the left, select In List or Not In List. If you select Not in List, then the attribute elements in the Selected list will not be included in the threshold condition.
  3. Move attribute elements from the Available list to the Selected list. Elements in the Selected list are included in the threshold condition.
    
    To search for a specific element, use the Search for field. Select the Match case check box to return only items that match the upper and lower cases you typed in the Search for field. For examples of searches, see Using correct and efficient search syntax.
  4. Click the Apply icon to create the new threshold.
  5. Specify formatting for the threshold.
To specify how data that meets the threshold is formatted, click the threshold, then click the Cell Formatting icon on the toolbar. The Format dialog box opens.
Specify a name for the threshold in the Name field, if desired.
To replace the threshold values with text, an image, or a quick symbol, select the Replace Data check box and select one of the following from the drop-down list.
- Replace Text: Replace data with any text you specify. A common use of this option is to display the word EMPTY when a data value is null.
  
  If you select this option, enter the text with which to replace the values in the corresponding text field.
- Quick Symbol: Replace the normally displayed data with a common symbol. For example, a report that shows the change in activity from one period to the next. For the trend column you could show either a green plus + or a red minus - symbol to represent positive or negative trends..
  
  If you select this option, select the symbol with which to replace the values from the corresponding drop-down menu.
- Image: Replace the normally displayed data with an image, such as an arrow or green dot. You can specify the path to the image by typing the address using one of the following:
- - Absolute path: The default, for example, c:/images/img.jpg
  - On the network: A path on the local area network, which is in a UNC (Universal Naming Convention) format, for example, //machine_name/shared_folder/img.jpg
  - On the web: A URL to an image file, for example: http://www.micros-retail.com/images/img.jpg
To format the threshold values by adjusting the font, color, alignment, and other options, make the appropriate selections within the Font, Number, Alignment, and Color and Lines tabs. See Format Thresholds Editor for more information on the options available.
You can create, edit, and delete thresholds:
- It is often convenient to make a copy of a threshold if you plan to create similar thresholds in the report. To copy a threshold, select the threshold in the Advanced Threshold Editor and click Copy, then paste the copied threshold by selecting the threshold and clicking Paste.
- To delete a threshold, select the threshold and click Delete Threshold .
- To move a threshold above or below other thresholds, select the threshold and click Move up or Move down.
- To add an additional condition to a threshold, select the threshold and click Add Condition .
- To clear the conditions from a threshold, select the threshold and click Clear Conditions .
- To determine whether to apply the specified background color to graph reports in which thresholds are met, select the Enable Thresholds on Graph icon .
To add another threshold condition, click New Threshold , then repeat the appropriate steps above.
Click OK to save changes and return to the report or document.