Bucket columns
What it is. A column you invent, which sorts existing values into groups you name yourself.
What it does. You take a field and say "these values are Small, these are Medium, these are Large". The report then has a column holding those names.
Why it helps. You can group and total by categories that matter to your business without anybody adding a field to the database. No developer, no waiting.
Creating one
Where: Reports → a folder → the report's name → Edit → Outline → Add column… → Add Bucket Column
- Click Reports in the top menu.
- Click the folder, then the report's name, then Edit.
- In the Outline tab, click the Add column… box.
- Choose Add Bucket Column.
- Pick the field whose values you want to sort.
- Name each bucket, and put values into it.
- Click Apply.
The new column appears in the preview straight away.
How values are sorted depends on the field
| Field type | How you define the buckets |
|---|---|
| Picklist | Drag the available values into named buckets. |
| Number | Set ranges, such as 0–99, 100–999, 1000 and above. |
| Text | List which exact values belong in each bucket. |
Anything left over
Values you do not place land in Unbucketed Values. You can rename that to something clearer, such as "Other" or "Not set".
Always check what has fallen in there. A large Unbucketed group usually means values you did not expect — which is itself worth knowing.
Using the column
A bucket column behaves like any other column. You can:
- Group rows by it, to get a subtotal per bucket.
- Group columns by it in a matrix.
- Filter on it.
- Sort by it.
Changing one
Click Column actions on the bucket column, then edit it. The report updates immediately; no data is changed, because a bucket exists only inside this report.
It lives in one report
A bucket column belongs to the report you made it in. To use the same grouping elsewhere, either copy the report with Save As, or ask an administrator for a real field if you need it everywhere.