Use a computed column to add a column of information to a table or worksheet typically using the information from one or more existing columns.

Computed columns are columns you create yourself in many cases using information that is already in the table with which you are working. For example, suppose you have a table that contains all the sales data for a chain of stores. This table has one column called Sales, which is the purchase price paid by the customer. It has another column called Cost, which is the cost of the item to the retailer. With a computed column, it is easy to create a third column called Margin that contains the difference between the sale price and the cost.

To create a computed column:

  1. In the New operation panel, click Compute.
    The 1010data Insights Platform displays the Computed column panel.

  2. Complete the following fields:
    Name

    Enter the name that you want to assign to the column.

    This is the name the Insights Platform uses to interact with the column. It is also used when writing more advanced value expressions and queries. The column name may only contain alphanumeric characters or underscores and must begin with an alphabetic character (e.g., percent_total_sales). It may not contain any spaces or other special characters.

    This is a required field.
    Label

    Enter the text that you want to appear at the top of the column when the table is displayed.

    This is the column heading that displays by default at the top of a column in the user interface. The column label may contain any combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, spaces, and special characters. If you want to have a multi-line column label, use the backtick character (`) to separate the lines (e.g., "Percentage of`Total Sales (%)").

    While not required, this field is recommended.

    Note: On most standard United States keyboards, the backtick (`) character is immediately to the left of 1 key.
  3. In the Expression Editor field, enter a value expression.
    The value expression may refer to one or more columns and may include standard arithmetic, relational, and logical operators as well as any of the Insights Platform's functions.
    Note: When entering a column in an expression, use the column name as opposed to the column heading.

    For more information, see Writing Expressions in the 1010data Reference Manual. For more information about the Expression Editor, see Expression Editor.

  4. Optionally, to define the format of the computed column, complete the following:
    1. Click the More Options switch.
      The Insights Platform displays the formatting options in place of the Expression Editor.

    2. As necessary, select the appropriate option from the following drop-down lists:
      Display Format This drop-down list instructs the Insights Platform how to display the value in the computed column. For example, as a date, a number, as text, and so forth.
      Note: If set to Default, the format is determined by the data.
      Column Width This drop-down list specifies how many place values to hold in the column. In other words, the width of the column by the number of characters.
      You can select from 1 to 20 characters.
      Note: If set to Default, the width is determined by the data.
      Decimal Places This drop-down list sets how many numbers are displayed after the decimal point.
      You can select from 0 to 9 decimal places.
      Note: If set to Default, the number of decimal places is determined by the data, and may be different for each row.
  5. Click the Submit operation () icon.
    The Insights Platform creates the computed column.