Use the suppress zero flag from the design menu in conjunction with global filters to control what users see in the project tree and the analysis area. Items that have not been mentioned or have not been asked (where the numerator is zero) do not have to be specified in the global filter if you apply the suppress zero flag.
In this article
1. Suppress Zero Flag
Global filters let you control what items are shown in the project tree and the analysis area. When you setup the global filter spreadsheet, you can enter items to appear for specific filters. This is a great feature to show only what should be shown.
But, by using the suppress zero flag, it's even easier to remove items where there is no data for a specific global filter option. If you have a project where data is collected, for example, across multiple markets, and some brands only exist in certain markets, you can use the suppress zero flag to easily remove brands that don't have data for a market. Without needing to specify brands for certain markets in the the global filter spreadsheet, you can add the suppress zero flag on the appropriate axes to ensure the brands with no data do not display.
The suppress zero flag is available for standard and linked axes, and cannot be applied to measures.
Do not apply the suppress zero flag to the whole project. Select the applicable items and apply the flag where needed.
Setup a Suppress Zero Flag
In this example, the global filter spreadsheet includes the Country of Origin filter category with three markets to filter by: New Zealand, UK and USA.
Respondents were surveyed about their favorite ice-cream brand and brands were only asked in the markets where they are sold.
The global spreadsheet simply contains the markets to filter by:
Crossing the Favorite Ice Cream Brand axis by Country of Origin shows us which markets have zero data.
Applying the suppress zero flag takes care of the brands with zero data. In this case, the suppress flag is applied to the axis, Favorite Ice Cream Brand. When the Country of Origin is selected in the global filter, Harmoni only shows the brands with data, which are those that are available in the selected market.
- Switch on Edit mode
- Select the item and click the suppress zero flag
The suppress flag removes valid zeros. If a brand is asked but there are no responses, it will not be visible until there is data.
Suppress Zero Flag in Action
Project Owners cannot see this feature in action. They can use the preview eye to see an Explorer or Creator's view to check that the analysis displays correctly, but in the project tree, the full brand list will show.
Project Owner's View
- The Project Owner's view displays all brands in the analysis
- Click the preview eye to see the Explorer's view
- The axis in the project tree displays all brands
Explorer and Creator (non-owner) View
In the example below, we can see an Explorer's view. The project currently has no market selected in the global filter and the analysis shows all the brands by market, including the zero data.
Once a filter is selected, the brands with zero data are suppressed and the brand lists match between the project tree and the analysis table.
- An Explorer changes the global filter and the correct brands are shown in the analysis and project tree
Suppress in the Modify Menu
It's possible to achieve this result in the analysis table by using the Suppress option from the modify menu. Without the suppress flag applied you can turn on the modify menu Suppress option and the zero data brands are removed.
However, users will still see these brands in the project tree and they are reliant on selecting the Suppress option. By adding the suppress flag during setup, suppressing the brands in the tree and the analysis table is done automatically.
Where to from here?
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