Design and Troubleshoot Calculations and Workbooks40% of the exam

Window, nested and multi-directional table calculations

Set partitioning and addressing with Compute Using (including across then down and pane options), write window, running, PREVIOUS_VALUE and LOOKUP functions with offsets from the current row or from FIRST() and LAST(), and configure each layer of a nested table calculation separately.

Official exam objective
Implement advanced table calculations, such as window, nested table, or multi-directional.

~8 min read · 9 practice questions ·

What the exam expects

  • Choose the Compute Using option, including the multi-directional Table and Pane options, that moves a calculation in the direction a requirement describes.
  • Write window functions with start and end offsets, and know what omitting them does.
  • Pick between running, PREVIOUS_VALUE, LOOKUP and position functions (FIRST, LAST, INDEX, SIZE) for cumulative, recursive, shifted or position-based results.
  • Configure a nested table calculation so each underlying calculation has its own Compute Using.
  • Know which customizations need Specific Dimensions and which calculation types allow a secondary calculation.

Key terms:

  • Partitioning fields: the dimensions that scope a table calculation; it runs separately in each partition.
  • Addressing fields: the remaining dimensions, which set the direction the calculation moves.
  • Window: the rows a WINDOW_ function covers, given as offsets from the current row.
  • Nested table calculation: a calculated field that combines, or itself is, a table calculation built on another table-calculation field.

Key facts

Local data
Detail
Table calculations ignore what is filtered out of the view
Table (across) and (down)
Detail
Restart after every partition
At the level
Detail
Specific Dimensions with more than one addressing field; Deepest by default
Window offsets omitted
Detail
The entire partition is used
INDEX()
Detail
Starts at 1, without sorting by value
LAST()
Detail
Rows from the current row to the last row of the partition
PREVIOUS_VALUE
Detail
Returns the given expression on the first row of the partition
LOOKUP target missing
Detail
Returns NULL
Nested table calculations
Detail
Compute Using set independently per calculation
Secondary calculation
Detail
Running Total and Moving Calculation only
Relative to default
Detail
Previous
Sources for this section (4)
  • When is the At the level option available in the Table Calculation dialog?
  • Why does a table calculation not count rows that a dimension filter removed from the view?
  • Which button in the calculation editor opens a table-calculation field's settings in the Table Calculation dialog?
  • Why can INDEX() differ from a rank of the same rows?

The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.

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