Parameters are named variables that can transfer a value for use by an action or an object. By using parameters, you can create an easier way for a dashboard user to interact with dashboard features in a less technical way. Parameters can also connect one dashboard to another, allowing a dashboard user to drill down into data that's in a different analysis.
For example, a dashboard user can use a list to choose a value. That value sets a parameter that in turn sets a filter, calculation, or URL action to the chosen value. Then the visuals in the dashboard react to the user's choices.
To make the parameters accessible to the dashboard viewer, you add a parameter control. You can set up cascading controls, so that a selection in one control filters the options that display in another control. A control can appear as a list of options, a slider, or a text entry area. If you don't create a control, you can still pass a value to your parameter in the dashboard URL.
For a parameter to work, it needs to be connected to something in your analysis, regardless of whether it has a related control. You can reference parameters in the following:
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Calculated fields (except for multivalue parameters)
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Filters
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Dashboard and analysis URLs
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Actions
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Titles and descriptions throughout an analysis
Some ways that you can use parameters are the following:
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Using a calculation, you can transform data that is shown in an analysis.
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If you add a control with a filter to an analysis you are publishing, the dashboard users can filter the data without creating their own filters.
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Using controls and custom actions, you can let dashboard users set values for the URL actions.
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