Forum Discussion
Add a data field that does NOT impact visual
I think that with measures, you only get the ability to choose the actual measure at the top-level and not any specific values, as this is how selectors work. I would anticipate that you would get the same functionality as the core maxtrix visual's properties, e.g. if I have two measures in my matrix data view I get the following in the properties pane:
I can't do anything with the measure values here, just configure properties at a measure level.
With the categorical mapping you can get distinct group or series values, but I don't think that the matrix mapping has similar levels of aggregation when it comes to selectors.
I'm of the opinion that you're going to have to ask the custom visuals team for the functionality you're looking for, as this still would involve adding a secondary dataset to the visual, which is currently not possible.
The field dropdown is used to assign properties to a measure or column based on selection ID, much like for the core visuals when properties will swap out based on what you choose in this dropdown. The changes you make will place corresponding objects in the data view based on the selection ID of the entry. Selection IDs must pertain to existing measures or columns in the data view, so unfortunately it doesn't provide any additional functionality for querying the data mode (just pushing things to the metadata).
Thank you for your helpful answer (again). Just one final question:
Based on your description of the formatting settings field picker, it may actually be exactly what I'm looking for. Specifically, the custom visual shows a matrix table. Part of our core feature is that users can edit the data directly in the table. It has been a requested feature that users could configure a drop down menu that appears when a user clicks a cell, with some default value choices (helpful in cases where end-users should only have limited choices, or in cases of often repeated inputs). I am adding a picture to illustrate this:
We imagined this would happen on a per-measure level. So in this case, the measure is quantity and the choices would then be different typical quantities. If the field picker "hooks into" a specific measure, would I be able to use it to allow users to add their own data fields for each measure they want to have a dropdown, thereby achieving what I want?
I apologize for the lengthy question and talk. I really have looked around all over for documentation or use-cases of the field picker (with code), but I simply could not find any.
Best regards
I think that with measures, you only get the ability to choose the actual measure at the top-level and not any specific values, as this is how selectors work. I would anticipate that you would get the same functionality as the core maxtrix visual's properties, e.g. if I have two measures in my matrix data view I get the following in the properties pane:
I can't do anything with the measure values here, just configure properties at a measure level.
With the categorical mapping you can get distinct group or series values, but I don't think that the matrix mapping has similar levels of aggregation when it comes to selectors.
I'm of the opinion that you're going to have to ask the custom visuals team for the functionality you're looking for, as this still would involve adding a secondary dataset to the visual, which is currently not possible.
Thanks for your help (again).
We have gone with your workaround of ConcatenateX. While this complicates things slightly for users (and ourselves, given the deserialization and "matching" of data), it seems this is the easiest solution for all parties. We have a rudimentary solution running now.
Thank you for your help. It has been invaluable.