With a few clicks, its possible to add a new dimension to your time series data that allows for filtering based on how far in the past or in the future the event occurred.
Filtering time based on its relationship to the present can be useful for setting the default configuration of the dashboard to show only the most recent data, even if the underlying data is constantly updating.
Here’s an example where a new time filter has been added using a calculated column. The calculation uses Spotfire’s DateTimeNow() and DateDiff() methods to formulate the number of hours from each item. We then set the filter to restrict the view to only the range we’re interested in. When the data updates the filtered range will stay fixed ensuring that the view is consistent with the set criteria. The methods provide flexibility for specifying a variety of time attributes, such as month, day, hour, minute, second, etc.
In the above example, a display mask was added to the resulting column. This can be used to add additional descriptors to the data. Here, “hours” was appended to the result to indicate the filtering is being done by hours. These display masks can be altering in the Column Properties settings.
Reference:
- Click for: Date and Time Functions for Calculated Columns
- Click for: Custom formatting options for Spotfire columns
