Convert dates

A date conversion is a data transformation. For a variable that is based on a date value in the source data, you can convert the date value to a year, a half year, or a quarter year.

1. In the left navigation pane, click the Settings icon ().
2. In the Configure System section, click Manage Configurations.
3. Click the Row Action menu () for the data configuration, and then click Edit.
4. To add a variable to represent the converted data values, click the Add New Variable link. For more information, see Add or edit a data configuration variable.
5. In the Name field, enter the name of the variable.

   Variable names display throughout the application, including when users select criteria for viewing data mining results, defining queries, or creating report definitions. For example, a column might be named SYMPTOM in the Oracle table, but renamed to appear as Event in the application.

6. In the Description field, type a description of the variable.
7. Next to the Table field, click Select Table/Column.
8. As the Column of source data, select the variable containing values that you want to convert. The source column must contain date values.
9. Set Hide From Query Wizard to Yes. (Even if this setting is set to No, the mapped variable is not available in the Query Wizard.)
10. In the Data Transformation section, click Date function, and then click Select Function.
11. Select one of the following functions:
    • QUARTER—Convert the date to a quarter year formatted as the four-digit year followed by the quarter (for example, 2006Q1, 2006Q2, 2006Q3, and 2006Q4).
    • YEAR—Convert the date to a four-digit year.
    • HALF—Convert the date to a half-year formatted as the four-digit year followed by the half year (for example, 2006H1 and 2006H2).
12. Enter a minimum or maximum value (optional). The minimum and maximum apply to the source values, not the transformed values.

    This option is useful if you want to exclude extreme values from inclusion in a run. The excluded values are considered missing. The application assigns the value that the user sets for the user preference, Replace Missing Values with.

    When specifying a minimum and maximum value, use the format mm/dd/yyyy, for example, 12/14/2006.

13. Click Save.

Note:

If you convert a date variable in a configuration for which there are existing runs that use the variable, users cannot drill down correctly in the run results until the runs are re-executed.