One of the MicroStrategy features I have often overlooked are report limits. A report limit is a simple mechanism which allow you to limit the returned data set upfront (as the name suggests). In SQL terms, think of the report limit as a "having" clause in the SQL.
Instead of creating you own filters, in the report filter, or build the logic into a view filter, report limits are a quick and easy way to only get the filtered/qualified data you're looking for. You may also see a performance increase when using a report limits vs report filters/view filters too.
Report limits qualify on metrics and includes the standard break by and other options you'll need when filtering down a data set. You can limit by value, rank and rank percentage. You can also embed prompts into the limit to allow a more flexible user experience.
In the example below I have a report which shows me various Counties and their GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
Now I want to limit this list to the top 10. To do this I first select the "Data" options within the report developer.
In the "Report Data Options", select "Report Limit", then Modify
With the Report Limit editor open, Drag and drop or browse to the metric you would like the qualify on. In my case I've selected my GDP Metric and applied a Top 10 ranking.
Let's take a look at the SQL now that I've applied the report limit.
Now let's look at the report.
And that's it!
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