Hidden Data Items in Visualize

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Article Goal

Understand how to use Hidden Data Items in Visualize to perform operations like filtering, sorting, and Top N conditions—without displaying the underlying fields on the dashboard.

What Are Hidden Data Items?

Hidden Data Items allow you to work with data fields in your Visualize dashboard without showing them in the visual output. This is useful when you want to filter, sort, or rank data behind the scenes.

Use Case: Apply filters using a field like Order Date (Quarter) to show only Q2 results, without displaying the Order Date field on the chart or grid.

Why Use Hidden Data Items?

Hidden Data Items provide extra flexibility when designing dashboards, especially for background operations.

Note: Hidden data items can only be seen and used in the Designer and do not appear in the final dashboard output.

Where Can You Use Hidden Data Items?

Hidden Data Items are available in the Visualize Designer in VDM and apply to most visual elements (Grids, Charts, etc.).

Features and Steps

Step 1: Add a Hidden Dimension for Filtering

• Inside Visualize Designer, locate the Hidden Data Items section.

• Drag a field (e.g., OrderDate) into the Dimension section under Hidden Data Items.

• Set its format as needed (e.g., Quarter).

• Right-click a dashboard item and open the Filter Editor.

• Apply your filter using the hidden dimension.

Example: Filter results to only show data from the second quarter without displaying the Order Date in your chart.

Step 2: Use a Hidden Measure for Sorting

• Drag the field you'd like to sort by (e.g., Freight) into the Measure section of Hidden Data Items.

• On the dashboard element, click the dropdown of the value to be sorted.

• Navigate to Sort By and select the hidden measure.

Tip: Sorting by hidden metrics lets you control the display order without adding clutter to your dashboard.

Step 3: Apply Top N Using a Hidden Measure

• On a Grid or Chart element, right-click and open the Top N Values dialog.

• Select your hidden measure from the dropdown list.

• Define how many top values you want to show (e.g., Top 3).

Use Case: Show the top 3 Freight categories using a hidden measure, even though Freight is not displayed directly in the grid.

Article Summary

Hidden Data Items let you perform behind-the-scenes data manipulations in your Visualize dashboards. Whether you're filtering by a hidden date, sorting based on an invisible measure, or displaying the Top N results, these tools help refine your dashboard logic while keeping the visual presentation clean.

Use Case: Designers can use fields like Order Date, Freight, or Region for logical controls while keeping them hidden from the end user for a simplified, focused dashboard experience.