Limiting the data to load
If a data source contains large amounts of data, it can take a long time to retrieve all data and the application can be perceived as less responsive when working with it. You might also want to restrict some data from certain users. When you are using information links or data connections as data sources it is possible to limit what data to open in different analyses in a number of different ways.
The following methods can be used to limit the amount of data (combinations are also possible):
| Method | Use when? | Define where? |
|---|---|---|
| On-demand data table | When you want the data in your analysis to
dynamically change with some predefined condition. For example, when setting up
a details visualization dependent on the marking or filtering in another data
table.
Another example is when you want one information link or data connection to return different data for different analysis files, in which case you could use the on-demand data table as the only data table in the analysis (with a document property as input). |
Using the installed client, on-demand data
tables can be added to your analysis by selecting an information link or a data
table from a data connection in the
Files and data flyout, and then selecting
the
On-demand option from the drop-down list
in the summary view. You must also specify the input conditions that should
control loading in the
On-Demand Settings dialog.
See On-demand data for more information. Note: You can only specify a single fixed value as input to
on-demand loading, so if you must retrieve multiple values from a certain
column, you have to make sure that an information link is configured to use a
multiple selection prompt rather than using it as an on-demand data table.
|
| Prompted and/or parameterized data connections | When the source data amount is huge, but the
end users of the data connection are allowed to determine what data to analyze
themselves.
Parameters defined in the data source can be configured as end user prompts. When you want to keep the data in the external data source (but data connections can also be used to import data). |
Using the installed client, prompts can be
defined in the
Views in Connection dialog or, for SAP BW
BEx query connections, in the
Data Selection in Connection dialog, as a
part of configuring the data connection.
Click Define Prompting and specify which column or parameter to prompt for. Mandatory parameters are automatically added as prompts. If the data connection has been created using the installed client and saved in the library, you can add it to analyses using the web client. See Data connections in the Spotfire web client for more information. |
| Details visualizations against external data sources | When you are analyzing in-database data
using a connection to an external data source you only load the requested data.
By setting up visualizations based on the in-db data as details visualizations limited by the marking or filtering in other visualizations you can make sure that the loaded data is limited to a subsection of the available data only. |
Details visualizations can be added using
any client but some in-database connections must be configured in the installed
client. Make sure that you have
added a relation between the main data table
and the in-db data table.
Right-click on the main visualization and select Create details visualization. Configure the new details visualization to use the in-db data table. See also Drilling down into details. |
| Prompted information links | When the source data amount is huge, but the
end users of the information link are allowed to determine what data to bring
in for analysis themselves. Information links are always analyzed in-memory.
Can in some cases be replaced by an on-demand data table. |
Using the installed client, prompts can be defined in Information Designer, Information Link tab, Prompts section. |
| Personalized information links | When you want the data source to return only information applicable for a certain user name (via a lookup table) or for a specified group or user domain. | Using the installed client, personalized information links can be configured on a filter or column element in Information Designer using the %CURRENT_USER%, %CURRENT_GROUPS% or %CURRENT_USER_DOMAIN% syntax. See Personalized Information Links for more information. |
| Parameterized information links | When you want the data source to return only information applicable for a certain user or group in a more flexible way than with personalized information links. | Using the installed client, parameters can be created in Information Designer (for example, as a part of an expression set on a column or filter) but their properties and definitions are defined using the API. By using a parameterized information link and a configuration block, it is possible to create an analysis with different input parameters (for example, to be used by an on-demand data table) for different groups of users. See Parameterized Information Links for more information. |