Controls allow you to make your dashboard interactive by adding, buttons, menus etc. Basically, they allow you to slice and dice your data in the same chart.
To create a control click the 'create a control' icon in the toolbar.
A new window will be displayed, showing your codebook on the left-hand side of the page and control-creation options in the middle of the window.
To add variables or categories to your control simply drag and drop them as in crosstab.
Control settings are in the 'Look and feel' section.
There are types of controls:
Buttons – are perfect when the variables have short titles and there are multiple options under that variable e.g. gender.
Dropdown – is a compact solution that is best for a single variable selection e.g. list of countries.
Option groups - useful when you have multiple variables with their subsequent categories as a control e.g. list of continents and the countries within them.
Accordion – is good for complicated multi-level lists and is required for creating groups.
Range – is good when you want to select from a range of variables.
Text - the same use as buttons but with a different visual style.
Selection mode defines whether you can have a single select or multiple selections on the control.
The orientation of the control can be switched between horizontal and vertical.
Default spacing between elements is set at zero - click to change this when required
Add a title to your control, you can also choose a font size and position for the title
Once you have created your control click the 'save control' button.
Now your control appears on the dashboard and you can assign it to other widgets.