In this article
You can apply filters to a CrossTab report to focus your analysis on specific time periods or variable groups. This guide shows you how to use filters, including time-based filters, categorical variables, and hierarchical filters, to customize your CrossTab outputs.
Note: If your table contains more than 50,000 cells, you’ll see this message: “Generating table with more than 50,000 cells could take a significant amount of time.”
1: Adding Filters to CrossTab
Once you’ve added variables to the Rows and Columns tabs, you can either generate the table immediately or apply filters to narrow your results.
1.1: Time Filters
Use the Time Selection menu to define a specific date range. By default, the full project period is selected.
Available options include:
Select start and stop date : Choose a specific date range using the calendar picker.
Year to date : Includes data from January 1st to today.
Full period: Includes all respondents.
Select last: Choose a period such as the last 4 weeks or 3 months.
Note: Some options may be hidden depending on your project setup.
1.2: Categorical and Hierarchical Filters
All categorical variables, as well as hierarchical filters, can be used to filter your CrossTab report.
To add a filter:
1. Hover over a variable in the list.
2. Select Add filters or drag the variable into the Filter section.
3.Use the selection controls to define filter values i.e you can select individual elements of the question.
You can select multiple filter values by holding Shift or Ctrl while clicking.
Note: A variable cannot be used as both a filter and a split (row/column) at the same time. If a variable is unavailable in the Filter tab, it will be because it is already being used in the Rows or Columns tab, and vice versa
2: Using Hierarchical Filters
If your project includes a hierarchical filter, it is applied by default. If you remove it from the filter section, it will automatically appear as a split in the Rows or Columns tab. Likewise, if you remove it from the split section, it will return to the filter section.
Important: Hierarchical filters determine user access and must always be applied, either as a filter or as a split, to ensure accurate, permission-based calculations.
3: Generating and Exporting the Table
Click Generate table to create the CrossTab report. You can also download the table as an Excel file using the Export to Excel button in the top-right corner.
Tip: The decimal and thousand separators in the exported Excel file will match your current online display settings. To change the decimal separator, go to the Settings tab under Table formatting.
To learn more see: CrossTable: The Generate Table Toolbar
3.1: Sorting the Table
To sort your table:
Click a column header if your variables are in rows.
Click a row header if your variables are in columns.
If your table includes multiple calculation types (such as percentage, mean, correlation), you’ll need to select the calculation type used for sorting. This option appears in the top-left of the Generate tab when multiple types are present.
Important: Sorting is disabled when the table includes both numeric and categorical variables, as they use different calculation types and cannot be sorted consistently.
3.2: Sorting Categorical Variables
If your table includes questions with multiple response options, sorting is applied within each question.
If all questions have a single response option, sorting is applied across questions.
4: Static Filters
Static filters are always applied to the CrossTab tool and cannot be modified by users. They’re useful for permanently excluding certain data from calculations.
Common examples include:
Excluding incomplete interviews
Limiting results to completed months only
Note: Use static filters to control which records are included in the dataset to ensure consistent, reliable reporting across users.
5: Using the Hierarchical Filter Tree
The Hierarchical Filter Tree now includes a search function that makes it easier to find specific nodes.
In the left image, the full tree is shown. In the right image, the result after searching for Stockholm is displayed.
6: Sorting Hierarchical Filter Nodes
When displaying multiple hierarchical filter nodes in columns or rows, you can sort them by branch or level.
This setting is available in the Hierarchical Filter Selection Panel under the Columns and Rows tabs.
Sorted by level: Groups countries and cities separately
Sorted by branch: Displays cities within their respective countries (e.g., cities in Denmark appear before cities in Sweden).
7: Quick Selection Options
Quick selection options allow you to efficiently select multiple hierarchical nodes at once.
You can use quick options to:
Select all child nodes of the selected node.
Select all sibling nodes of the selected node.
Select all nodes X levels below the selected node.
These options save time by eliminating the need to select each node manually.
Note: The access rights are always considered, only the nodes the user has access to are selected and displayed in the table. Each quick option includes a tooltip that explains what will be selected.
8. Displaying Upper-Level Hierarchy Labels
When hierarchical filters are used as splits in tables, you can display the labels of upper-level units in a nested format.
Here is an example where the region of each store is displayed in a nested structure.
This option is only available if the nodes selected are all on the same level of the hierarchy. If a mixture of nodes are selected, e.g. regions and stores, then only the labels for the selected items are shown.
To display upper-level unit labels:
1. Go to the Hierarchical Filter Splits panel.
2. Choose one of the following:
Nest selected group(s) + all levels above – Shows all higher-level units.
Nest selected group(s) + X levels above – Shows a specified number of upper-levels.