Dataset Filtering in MP-Web
The currently selected Dataset can be refined using the filtering tool, accessed by clicking the Edit Dataset.
Datasets can be filtered, for example, to omit a particular Sample Point, Variable, or Data Source. To do this, choose the relevant tab and select or deselect the Objects as required.
Objects
Click on an Object and then use the arrows to select and deselect it. Items on the left are not selected, and items on the right are selected. The search can be used to locate specific Objects. Alternatively, use Sample Point Groups, Variables Suites, or Source Families to make selections quicker.
For Sample Points, users must first select the parent group on the Site/Data Type tab.
Tip
Tick the 'Use all...' option where you want all of that type of Object to be included. This will include any created after the Dataset has been created.
Dates
Filter by the following Date Type - This allows you to choose between 2 types. The Date Sampled is the date the data was originally taken. Date Imported is the date the data was imported into MonitorPro.
Quick Options – These Options are pre-defined windows of time that will make it easier if you know the window of data you will need.
Date Range Consists of the last whole... – This allows you to choose a date range that is a complete window of time. This ranges from the last whole day to the last whole year e.g. if the Data was from 1st September 2015 then the data would be from 1st January 2014 to 31st December 2014.
Date range to consist of the last...- This allows you to choose a data range of non-complete windows of time. e.g. if the date was 1st September 2015, the date filtered would be from 1st September 2014 to 1st September 2015.
Fixed Date Range – This allows you to specify the to and from date down to the minute of a particular day.
The Tree View can manipulate all of the core objects in a Dataset; Site, Sample Point Group, Sample Point, Variable Group, Variable, Data Source, or Sample Type.
Advanced Filtering
There are also options to filter your Datasets in more advanced ways.
Users can filter the Dataset based on the Sample Reference, Lab Reference, or Data Qualifier(s). Equally to include Archived, Deleted or Unapproved records.
When users select the deleted or archived options, they can also select data associated with deleted or archived Objects. To include these, tick the relevant option on the Advanced tab first, then choose the Objects. They will be denoted with a (Deleted) and (Archived) at the end of the Object name.
Sample and Lab References
Depending on how the data in your system is stored, it can be helpful to filter it to only one particular sample or set of samples for reporting or analysis. Often, Sample References are specific to a batch of data collected simultaneously (e.g. all the analyses applicable to a single water sample). Lab References can equally be sample-specific or cover multiple samples, such as all the samples collected together in one monitoring round.
Tip
For this advanced search to be effective, it is best to make the rest of the Dataset selection quite broad, for example, to include all Sample Points, Variables, Data Sources, etc, unless the user knows where the data is already located.
To find the required data, you'll need to choose the operator applicable to your scenario: Begins With, Ends With, Contains, Is Exactly, or SQL Like.
Begins With -This will find all the data with a reference that starts with the presented value and is likely the most common example for locating all the data for standard references. For example, 123 will find all the references 1231, 1232, 1233, etc.
Ends With - This will find all the data with a reference ending with the presented value. For example, 123 will find all the references 1123, 2123, 3123, etc.
Contains - This will find all the data with a reference containing the presented value. For example, 123 will find all the references 1123, 2123, 3123, 11231, 21231, etc., and so should be used with caution to avoid returning excessive records.
Is Exactly - This will find all the data belonging to the exact reference where this is known to the user.
SQL Like - This will find all the data similar to the Contains but using the specific SQL Like Function.
Then, enter the value and add. Once finished, please save the Dataset and review the data returned.
Data Qualifiers
By default, the filter will include all Data Qualifiers. To filter to a specific qualifier, untick 'All data qualifiers' and click in the box. You will be given an option to choose the specific data qualifier(s) you wish to filter upon. For further details on Data Qualifiers, please refer to the MonitorPro Desktop manual.
As items are checked and unchecked, the number of records that will be returned updates dynamically.
Greater than or Less than
This option lets the user filter the data based on the records' values. Ethier selects only records above or below a desired value.
Tip
This can be quite effective in finding outliers in your data, particularly where data has been incorrectly entered or resolved against the wrong unit.
Saving and Filtering
Save as Filtered Dataset – Clicking this will temporarily store your changes in the ‘Filtered Dataset’ You will then be returned to the Summary page and can create Tables, Graphs, etc based on the information you have just filtered.
Managing Datasets within Different Roles
Functionality within the Filter Dataset changes depending on the role a user has.
Administrators and Managers have permission to both save new Datasets and update existing Datasets. They can also save Datasets to specific Dataset Folders. Those Datasets will then be automatically allocated to users by association.
Supervisors, Standard, and Read-Only users can only filter Datasets and save them as new; they cannot update and save Datasets created by another user.
Users can also add to the contents of a particular Dataset; however, what each user sees will be different. An Administrator can see the objects from the whole database. Managers, Supervisors Standard, and Read-Only users will only see the objects assigned to them, i.e. the combination of all objects from the allocated Datasets.
My Datasets Folder
When saving as new, the My Datasets Folder will be available to all users. This enables users to create private Datasets for their use. Private Datasets cannot be seen by other users and cannot be shared directly.
They are then accessible under the My Datasets Folder
Sharing a Private Dataset
To later share a Private Dataset, choose to save it as a new Dataset, and modify the name to make it unique (it cannot be the same name as the Private Dataset or the name of any existing Dataset). Then either don't allocate it to a Dataset Folder (in which case it goes into the Ungrouped) or save it directly into a Dataset Folder(s) already shared with the applicable users. If you save into the Ungrouped Folder, the Dataset can be added to the required Folders or allocated directly to a user.