KB484663: Dynamic default selection (last N/first N) for filters in dossiers

Starting with the release of Strategy ONE (March 2024), dossiers are also known as dashboards.
Explore the following topics in this article to learn about the dynamic default selection for filters in dossiers:

• Why use the dynamic default selection?
  
• Slicing selections in documents
• Unit condition selector in dossiers
• Customer expectation 
• New changes introduced by the dynamic default selection 
  
• Entry
• Icon
• Sort filter elements
• Limitations

Why Use the Dynamic Default Selection?

Slicing Selectors in Documents

Prior to the introduction of dossiers, data analysis and reporting heavily relied on documents. A document function for slicing selectors provides users the option to use first or last N as the default selections, so that the selection is updated automatically to the most current or specific data (such as date) when datasets are updated. The setting is shown in the following screenshot. Please note that this function is only available in documents for slicing selectors and does not support the unit condition selector.

Unit Condition Selector in Dossiers

Prior to Strategy 2020, for the unit condition selector in dossiers, the default selection is unset, which is thee same as selecting (All). This does NOT filter target views.

Customer Expectation

The option to use first or last N as the default selection in a unit condition selector in dossiers is practical and useful for our users, just like using a slicing selector in documents. This behavior ensures that the selection of thee unit condition selector is automatically updated to the most current or specific data when datasets are updated. With this feature, we support dynamic default selection in unit condition selectors in a dossier via specifying the last/first N elements.
 

New Changes Introduced by the Dynamic Default Selection

Entry

For filters in the filter panel, you can define the dynamic default selection in your dossier via the following entry:

1. In the Filter tab, next to the select filter, click More.
2. Choose Dynamic Selection.

The same entry applies to in-canvas selectors.

Icon

For filters in the filter panel, after the dynamic default selection is defined, an icon and text('First N'/'Last N') appear indicating dynamic selection is ON.
If you single click on the icon, or make any manual selection on the filter, the icon is grayed out, indicating dynamic selection is OFF.
If you single click on the icon again, the icon is no longer grayed out and the filter’s selection is reset to the user-defined First N/Last N.
If you unset the filter, the icon disappears, indicating the dynamic selection setting (use first, use last, N’s number) defined by user is disabled.

 
For in-canvas selectors, the icon and text do not appear.

If you hover over the selector, you can see the dynamic icon and it works as described above.

Sort Filter Elements

The function of sorting filter elements also comes with the dynamic default selection. You can combine the usage of sorting filter elements and dynamic default selection to filter data more freely.

Limitations

Circular Dependency

The following two cases lead to a circular dependency problem and cause the dynamic default selection to FAIL:

• Unit condition selector A and B both have dynamic default selection defined, targeting each other (or design like A targeting B, B targeting C, C targeting A, whenever there is a circle in topological graph of unit condition selectors). In such scenario, if we want to get selector A's candidate elements before picking dynamic selection, we have to know the selection in selector B first. But selector B's candidate elements also relies on A's selection. To pick first N/last N elements for dynamic default selection, there is a dependency on each other, meaning dynamic default selection cannot be resolved.
• Slicing selector with unset status targets to a unit condition selector defined with dynamic default selection. Candidate elements of slicing selector is derived from a combination of its target views (including grid and selectors being targeted by this slicing selector), but selection in unit condition selector would filter these target views. Meanwhile, unit condition selector's candidate elements would be sliced by slicing selector's selection. Again, there is a dependency on each other, meaning dynamic default selection cannot be resolved.

When dynamic default selection fails to work, the selectors will still show text and icon indicating dynamic selection is on, but all the candidate elements will be selected because it can’t automatically select the correct first N/last N elements.

Recursive Attributes

Dynamic default selection does not support recursive attributes, but you can sort filter elements on recursive attributes.

Sort Filter Elements on Custom Groups

When a selector’s source is a custom group, you cannot conduct sort on the selector, because custom group elements cannot be sorted, just as you cannot sort on custom group elements on a grid.