Fresh Features: first-rate filters

Filtering is an underappreciated feature of business intelligence and analytics. Yet filters are critical to data analysis. Filters will probably be the primary method, of all the possible interaction types, that end users utilize. Welcome to part 3 of Yellowfin 9 Fresh Features.

Previously, when you built a dashboard, you couldn't see your filters on the screen - they'd only show up after you publish the tab. In Yellowfin 9, you can now you can see filters on the tab while you are still in edit mode. This gives you an even better WYSIWYG design experience.

The Impact 

With filters visible during the design stage, you get a better build experience with a simpler dashboard design and workflow.

Filter UI Update 

Filters now look slicker and are also easier to use with a cleaner interface for the filters and filter panels. In addition, the filter panel on the dashboard has a global drop zone and can be added directly to a canvas. In both cases, the look and feel of a finished dashboard with filters looks more polished and the filters will feel more integrated into the dashboard tabs. 

The Impact 

You can now deliver an improved user experience and a slicker looking interface to your end users.

In-list Checkboxes

We have also upgraded the in-list checkboxes for a better user experience. The checkboxes have been updated not only in design but also functionality - try rolling over one and you can see you have multiple ways to select or deselect the checkbox. Checkboxes will now become the standard for in-list filters.

The Impact 

The upgraded in-list checkboxes provides a better user experience for end users with easier to use in-list filters. 

Bookmarks

We have now added bookmarks for dashboards in version 9! In addition, we have a terrific new interface that makes bookmarks easier to create and manage. Bookmarks allow you to save a set of default filter values. So, for users that use their dashboards a lot and want to jump to a set of pre-canned filters, this will now be easy to do on a dashboard.

The Impact 

Users can now jump to pre-set filters on their dashboards without having to reset all the filters.

Dashboard Filter Wiring 

Yellowfin is one of the few dashboard products that allows you to have content from multiple data sources on a single tab. One challenge that comes with this is linking the filters from the dashboard to the other reports on that tab. This is achieved with filter wiring.

In Yellowfin version 9, we have made giant improvements to filter wiring. If your reports come from the same view, when you drag them on they get wired up automatically. Yes, auto-wiring! Then, if you have to wire because reports come from a different data set or you have sub-queries, then the UI to wire is now much simpler.

The Impact 

With upgraded filter wiring, you get a faster, more intuitive way to create dashboards with more than one data source. 

Summary

With all these upgrades to filtering, you can get to your insights faster than before. No more resetting of filters on dashboards now that you can bookmark them for reuse. You can build dashboards with sophisticated filtering with greater ease now that filters are available in the design stage. And you can now confidently wire filters across reports from multiple data sources with ease. Happy filtering!