Creating a Calculated Field

This section describes how to create a calculated field:

To create a calculated field, complete the following steps:
 

1. First, create the Ad Hoc view to use. To do this, select Create > Ad Hoc View from the Home page. The Select Data wizard appears.
   
   

2. Click the View As Tree icon and navigate to Domains.
   
   

3. Select a Domain, then click the Choose Data button. The Data Chooser window appears.
   
   

4. In the Data Chooser window, select your desired fields, pre-filters, and display settings, then click the OK button. A new Ad Hoc view opens.
   
   

5. In the Ad Hoc view, hover over the Detail Selector icon  at the top right of the Fields section of the Domain Selection panel and select Create Calculated Field from the context menu.
   The New Calculated Field dialog box appears, displaying the Formula Builder:
   
   
    

    

6. In the Field Name field, enter an appropriate name for your Calculated Field.
   
   

7. Create the formula:  

   1. Labels for fields and measures must be in double quotes ("): "Customer ID", "Date ordered".
      
      

   2. Text must be in single quotes ('): '--'.
      
      

   3. Levels must be in single quotes ('): 'ColumnGroup', 'Total'.
      
      

   4. Make sure Show arguments in formula is selected.
      
      

   5.  As an example, if you were to create a formula that states the difference in days between a student's enrollment and course-start date:
      
       

       

   6. In the Functions list, double-click on ElapsedDays. Because Show arguments in formula is selected, ElapsedDays("DateFieldName1", "DateFieldName2") is entered in the Formula Builder.
      
      

   7. In the Formula box, double-click DateFieldName1 to select it, then double-click Date Enrolled in the Fields and Measures list to replace the selected formula value. The Formula Builder displays ElapsedDays("Date Enrolled", "DateFieldName2"). Repeat for the second value.
      
      

   8. Click the Validate button to verify that the formula does not have any syntax errors.
      
      

The Ad Hoc Editor creates a default summary calculation based on the type of formula you have entered. This section shows how to select a different summary function. 
To create a summary calculation, complete the following steps:
 

1. After creating your formula on the Formula Builder tab, click the Summary Calculation tab.
   
   

2. Select Mode from the Calculation menu.
   
   

3. Click the Create Field button. The calculated field appears at the bottom of the list of available fields. A special Calculated Field icon  indicates it is a calculated field, and its name on the list is bolded.