Computed Sets - Archive

Let's isolate the top performing products in a data set using computed sets. The view below shows a list of super store products and their sales values.You can scroll through the list of thousands of products and search for the ones you are interested in, or you can create a computed set containing just the top products.

Step 1

To create a set, right-click the field in the Data window that will be the basis for the set and select Create Set. In this example, the set is based on the Product 3 - Name field.

Step 2

In the Create Set dialog box, give the set a name like "Top 30 Products by Profit" and select the products you want to include in the computation. In this case, all products are selected. (To select everything in the list, click All). With some values selected, click the Top tab at the top of the dialog box to define an additional limit.

Step 3

Select By Field and then specify Top 30 -- by SUM(Profit) using the drop-down lists. When finished, click OK to close the set dialog box.

Step 4

The new set displays in the Sets area at the bottom of the Data window. Drag it to the Rows shelf and replace the existing field.

The new view is more interesting and easier to analyze. The view shows the sales for the products with the highest profit. One discovery that jumps out is that the Canon MP41DH Printing Calculator is a top performing product by profit but has relatively low sales.