The List Subsets feature allows you to pick a set of Items from a Dimension List, and use the selection in your models just like another Dimension. This page explains how to use the feature, with use cases and examples.

How List Subsets can help you

List Subsets give you the flexibility to address situations such as the following:

• You want to create a pool of candidate Items in a List, selecting approved ones for a separate modeling List.
• You use different sets of Items for Lists in different Metrics, but want a ‘master’ set of Items for easy maintenance.
• You want to use only a selection of most recent Calendar items in your Metrics’ structures, without deleting the others.
• You want to build a Metric structured on data twice from the same Dimension List.

Before you begin

Only Dimension Lists can have Subsets. Transaction Lists cannot have Subsets. Additionally, you cannot convert a Dimension List into a Transaction List if it has a Subset or is itself a Subset.

All general references to Lists in this article refer to Dimension Lists only, and the terms Subsets and List Subsets are used interchangeably. The Dimension from which you would like to create a Subset is called the Parent List.

How to create List Subsets

You can create Subsets from any Dimension Lists except Lists meant for Security management (meaning any List in the Security folder). To make a List Subset, follow these steps:

1. In your Application’s left sidebar, go to the Dimension where you want to create a Subset. This is the Parent List.
2. Select New Subset from the top toolbar (see image below).
    

   

    

3. Enter a name for your Subset and select Create Subset. This name must be different from any existing Property in the Parent List.
4. Select the checkbox by each Item from your Parent List to be included in the Subset. The image below shows the Subset column:
    

   

    

How to manage List Subsets

The Subset icon appears by the Parent List title to flag that you have created Subsets for it. Hover over the icon to display the names of all the Subsets:
 

You can manage your Subsets from the Configure Data pane. With the Parent List Dimension open, select Subsets from the top toolbar to open it (see image below).

• To create additional Subsets, select + New Subset.
• To hide, show, rename, and delete your existing Subsets, select the three dots by their names.
• To reorder Subsets, select and drag them.
   

  

   

You can also manage Subsets from the Parent List’s settings. With the Parent List Dimension open, select the Settings icon in the top right corner of the screen, followed by Subsets.

Using Subsets

Adding data

There are two ways to add Items to a Subset from the Parent List: manually or using a formula.

• Manually
  
  Select the Booleans by each Item in the Subset. This manually adds or removes the Item. Any Member with Write access rights on that Property can do this.

• By formula
  
  Use a formula to set the Booleans and automatically add or remove new Items appearing in the Parent List. A simple example is a function such as CONTAINS, in the form CONTAINS("citrus",'Lemonade Stand'.Name) to add Items.
   

  

  
  Alternatively, your formula could reference a Metric as explained in the example below.

How Pigment treats List Subsets in your formulas and Metrics

Pigment treats List Subsets in formulas in the same way as Dimensions. For example:

• To call a Subset into a formula, start typing its name. A pop-up provides a menu of possible Dimensions and Subsets containing those characters for you to choose from.
• You can Filter and Sort based on a Subset, so that the View is just of Subset Items.
• A Metric can reference the Items in a Parent List and its Subset as if they are separate Dimensions. It can also use both as independent Dimensions in its structure.

Parent List interaction with List Subsets

Some modifications made to the Parent List also affect the List Subsets:

• Deletion:
  • You can’t delete a Parent List if it has dependent Subsets. You have to delete all Subsets before deletion of the Parent List is made possible.
  • Deleting a List Subset or its Items does not delete its Parent List or its Items.
  • You can’t delete a List Subset when it is shared for use in the structure of a Metric, just like ordinary Dimensions Lists.
  • You can check Block Usages on the Parent List for the List Subset before deleting.
• Automating Item management on a Subset:
  • You can write a formula in a Subset that automates the addition of Items from the Parent List (see example above).
• Duplication:
  • Duplicating a Parent List duplicates the Dimension and its data, but not any Subsets already created on the Dimension.
• Movement of Parent Lists or Subsets:
  • You can’t move a Parent List that has Subsets into the Security Folder. 
  • If you move the Parent List to another Application, Pigment also moves all the Subsets of that Dimension.
  • You can’t move a Subset without its Parent List.
• Identical behaviors. A Parent List and its Subset are identical in the following regards:
  • The order of List Items
  • The Lists’ Properties
  • The Sharing settings
  • Access rights (see next section for more information)

Control access to List Subsets

The access rights on List Subsets’ data derive from the Parent List’s access rights. Any access rights applied to the Parent List apply to all of their Subsets as well.

In order to manage which Members can add or remove items from a List Subset, you need to apply access rights to the Property used to manage the Subset in the Parent List.

Modeling examples

Populating List Subsets automatically with a formula

You can use a formula to populate a Subset automatically based on different conditions. This is a powerful way to manage your model based on dynamic rules. However, note the following:

• Automatic recalculation: Formulas automatically run each time a referenced Block is updated.
• Impact on List Subsets: If your formula references a Boolean Metric that is used to populate List Subsets, Items are removed and added automatically each time the Boolean Metric values are updated.
• Risk of data loss: If you have manual inputs on Metrics using Subsets as Dimensions, those inputs could be lost irreversibly when the formula automatically runs the automation on the Subset.

We recommend testing the behavior of any formula you use in a Subset thoroughly in order to ensure its output is as you expect. Consider using a Metric to maintain the Subset and managing the updates of that Metric’s data using another Metric, through a Metric to Metric Import. This safeguards against undesired data loss. It separates adding and removing Subset Items, allowing Members to review changes before confirming.

Let’s say you have a Dimension List called Country. You would like it set up with a Property called Region, comprising Items such as EMEA, US and so on. Whenever a new country is added, if it has a Property EMEA, you want that country to be added automatically to a Subset called Subset EMEA.

1. Create a Metric called “STORE_Subset”. This Metric stores the data used to populate the Subset.
2. Have the Subset formula bar simply reference this Metric: STORE_Subset

3. Create another Metric called “CALC_Subset”. This Metric contains the formula to dynamically check TRUE if EMEA is selected for the Region Property:
   IF(Country.Region = Region."EMEA",TRUE) EEXCLUDE: STORE_Subset]
   
   The formula expressly excludes “STORE_Subset”, to ensure the Booleans are only TRUE for net new countries, not countries already added to the Subset. This also ensures the user does not inadvertently uncheck Booleans in “STORE_Subset”, which would remove Items from the EMEA Subset and cause data loss in Metrics using that Subset.

4. Set up a Pigment Metric to Metric Import to import data from “CALC_Subset” to “STORE_Subset”. Make sure Clear values prior to import is unchecked.
5. Save this import configuration and add it as an action button on a Board to be triggered each time the Member wants to populate the Subset.

6. Finally, set up your overall flow for the Member on a Board. The flow includes:
   1. Add a new country.
   2. Select the Region, which then automatically checks the “CALC_Subset” Metric for that new country.
   3. Select the Metric to Metric Import Action button to import the data from “CALC_Subset” into “STORE_Subset”
   4. The EMEA Subset is automatically updated by the formula.

Remapping Subset Items back to the Parent List

Subset Items do not remap automatically to the Parent List Items when used in Metrics or formulas, as Subsets and Parent Lists are treated as separate Dimensions. However, there are times when Subset Items need to be remapped back to the Parent List Items.

Here’s a use case. Let’s say:

• A Metric called Testing Subsets uses a Dimension called Lemonade Stand.
• Another Metric Subset A datapoints uses a Dimension called Subset A, which is a Subset containing Items from Lemonade Stand.
• Another Metric Subset B datapoints uses a Dimension called Subset B, which also is a Subset of Lemonade Stand.
• You want the Metric Testing Subsets to gather data points both from Subset A and Subset B.

To do this:

1. Create a Property on the Parent List, Lemonade Stand, called Subset A property, of type Dimension, selecting Subset A as the Dimension:

2. In the Property, map the Items of Subset A back to the Parent List using the ITEM function:
   ITEM('Lemonade Stand'.Name,'Subset A'.Name)
    

   

   
    
3. Repeat for Subset B:

   

   
    

4. Call data points into Testing Subsets from each, with a formula such as:
   'Subset A datapoints'>BY:'Lemonade Stand'.'Subset A property'] + 'Subset B datapoints'bBY:'Lemonade Stand'.'Subset B property']
    

   

   
   This compiles data stored under two Subsets into one Metric that uses the Parent List as its Dimension.

Learn more

• About Access Rights Metrics and Rules
• Define the Structure of your Model with Lists