The XamPivotGrid gets slicers. Data analysis just got a little simpler

One of the new features of Infragistics’ XamPivotGrid is the XamPivotDataSlicer. This is a convenient tool that provides the end user with an easy way to apply additional filters to the hierarchies selected in the columns, rows and filters areas and use them in conjunction with the measures in the measures area. The slicers are interactive and allow the user to filter the data in the grid in a much more straightforward and more visibly organized way. Just select the items that you want to be included in the filter for a given context and the data in the grid will update itself based on that filter. The slicers are separate from XamPivotGrid’s UI and allow flexible UI arrangements. Here is an example of a slicer:

There are many reasons why you might want to use slicers in your application. One is the sheer simplicity with which you can manipulate data. You will be able to filter with a single click – just select the item(s) from the predefined context of the slicer and the data in the associated data source will automatically be filtered accordingly. Also and all UI components that are using that data source (like the XamPivotGrid for example) will be automatically updated. The number of clicks to do the same action without the slicers will be much bigger.

Slicers also provide a clearer picture of what’s being displayed on the screen. With one glance you can see all the selected values for your filters and understand the real meaning of the data that is shown. Not only you can see the filters themselves, but you can also see how they affect each other. The selected items in the slicer have different color coding to reflect these relations. If all data represented by the item is not affected by any other filter the color is fully tinted. If some data is missing because it was affected by another filter, the item’s color is lighter. The following two graphs demonstrate this. The data for this example consists of sales in a certain store. In the first picture we see that there are no sales in the Touring product line for calendar year 2001 and 2002.

When you look at the slicers to the right all items are fully tinted as there are no filters. However if we deselect 2003 and 2004 from the top slicer, we effectively eliminate all Touring sales. The line with the Touring product line is automatically removed from the view of the XamPivotGrid control and this change is also reflected in the slicer that represents the product lines.

The slicer item is not fully tinted. The same would happen with CY 2001 if we deselect the Accessory, Mountain and Road product lines. It will disappear from the grid as there are no sales that are relevant to the selected filters in the slicers and the item in the first slicer will not be fully tinted.

Slicers add more to your applications than just another tool to select filters. They also make your data more easy to comprehend and also allow you create even more beautiful and functional reports, dashboards and analysis applications. The slicers are fully customizable and can be easily styled to fit your existing designs.

Last but not least, slicers are very easy to use. Here is what you need to do to add them to your app.

1. Include the IG namespace:

       xmlns:ig="http://schemas.infragistics.com/xaml"

2. Define a slicer using this code:

       <ig:XamPivotDataSlicer SlicerProvider="{StaticResource DataSource}" />

DataSource can be any supported data source that you might be using with your PivotGrid. Here is a snippet that defines the data source used in the above screenshots which connects to a analysis server with adventure works sample data.

       <igOlap:XmlaDataSource x:Key="XmlaDataSource"
           ServerUri="http://sampledata.infragistics.com/olap/msmdpump.dll"
           Database="Adventure Works DW Standard Edition"
           Cube="Adventure Works"
           Columns="[Date].[Calendar]"
           Rows="[Product].[Product Line]"
           Measures="Reseller Sales Amount" />

3. Some commonly used parameters

• IsHeaderAreaExpanded – controls whether the UI for selection of the hierarchy being filtered should be expanded or not
• SlicerItemsColorScheme – a color motif that can be used for the slicer items
• SlicerProvider – defines which data source to use
• TargetHierarchyName – which hierarchy to use by default for filtering. Commonly used with the IsHeaderAreaExpanded = false, the syntax is the same as the columns, rows, measures filter in the data source.
• TargetLevelIndex – the number of the level that the hierarchy should be expanded to by default

I hope this has been interesting to you. In the next few weeks I will be posting further XamPivotGrid improvements and maybe some more in-depth reviews of the slicers.

Have a great day.