We are delighted to announce a handful of updates that have been integrated into the DataTie software over the past spring and summer months. With each innovation, we strive to empower your data journey, making it more insightful, efficient, and customizable.

A new feature allows variable and category labels to be overwritten when SPSS files are reloaded. This is an indispensable feature when tidying long surveys where the wording of questions or answers change but consistency and integrity must be maintained.

We have started to support the Parquet file format with a very fast and convenient data-loading process. This is extremely useful for large syndicated studies where data can be stored in different formats.

The heatmap is a 2-dimensional data visualization technique that represents the magnitude of individual values within a dataset as a color. It's applicable to a graphical representation of data in crosstabs and grid charts. You can enable the heatmap in the menu panel in the DVI interface.

Another small but useful enhancement is the ability to set a distinct decimal precision for each metric in the crosstab separately. Right-click on any row/column and change the defined precision for it.

When working with tables, you can now use complex MATH formulas similar to the Excel principle. Although instead of selecting cells, you select row or column labels.

New counting capabilities have been added to the MATH functionality. Enter one of these expressions in the MATH window and click the 'Add' button:
​CUMULATE('label') to get cumulative totals for rows/columns,
​ROUND('label','decimal') to obtain a value rounded to a certain decimal point,
​ABS('formula') to get the absolute value of the difference between the variables.

Previously, the principle of sum and average calculation was that all visible values in a row or column were involved. Now you can use more complex formulas and select particular values to be counted.
For example, using the expression SUM('AquaZen','Belle Vue') we will get the sum only for these two values, ignoring 'Wellspring'.

Now the math works for residuals in the same way as it does for ordinary values.

If you have a stack of decks and need to add/change filters for all of them, drag the option to the root deck and it will replace the previous one in all filters. If there was nothing to replace, the filter would simply be added.

Introducing an impressive new visualization feature for charts, enabling you to split your chart whilst the ‘Split by’ pane is empty. Click the Split toggle to display the chart as a series of column-divided charts, or a split grid of charts.
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By default, the split grid is displayed as a single row of consecutive charts, but you can customize the number of charts in the row and wrap the split grid in several rows. Here is the way: the Chart settings → Split menu → Columns → Enter the number of columns in a row.
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Previously, conditional formatting allowed expressions of ‘greater than', 'less than', or 'equal’ to a certain value. Now you can also specify value intervals for a condition:

Now we can set ‘Dots’ as a new chart type for a particular series only, as a result we get a simultaneous display of different chart types on one widget, which is very useful and illustrative.

DataTile offers new additions to ‘Widget-Style’ to make widget performance custom and vivid on the dashboard.

Similar to the primary color, you can now customize the secondary color for a Control widget. Switch a dashboard to EDIT mode and go to
​Dashboard settings → Common styles → Color and styles → Primary/Secondary,
and choose preferable colors from the palettes or enter HEX codes.

A new widget customisation options are now available in both the general dashboard menu (‘Common Styles’), and in the menu for any selected widget (‘Widget Style').
Here you can:

A nice improvement in usability is the feature that allows you to lock the position and size of the widget on the dashboard. Select any widget and tick a checkbox ‘Lock position and size’ in the widget setting menu to prevent unintended widget displacement.

With this feature, you can logically group categories from different variables that share identical labels. Connect them using either OR-join or AND-join functions, streamlining the process. No more manual pairing – save time by linking multiple categories at once, all based on name matches.

Now you can easily apply math operations DIFF & DIV directly when creating a control. Just pick the options you want to calculate and drag them onto the control. Choose DIFF or DIV from the popup menu, and you're all set!

We’re excited to introduce a significant advancement in the use of string variables, which are now available on dashboards. String variables were previously limited to raw data representation, they can now be harnessed in controls with operational capabilities, albeit with certain limitations. String variables were previously limited to raw data representation, they can now be harnessed in controls with operational capabilities, albeit with certain limitations. This marks a significant advancement, empowering you to do more with your string variables than ever before.

One of the advantages of our platform is the ability to work with different databases simultaneously. We are committed to creating new improvements that connect databases on our dashboards. The latest improvement is the possibility to join tables built on data from different databases, and after use joint tables to build a scatter plot chart using metrics from different databases as axes.

DataTile supports the embedding of an entity on the dashboard using an iframe. This functionality extends from integrating configurations from third-party services, to embedding manageable charts. When you possess an external entity that you wish to showcase on the dashboard, the most suitable approach is to use an iframe. Once you have the appropriate link for embedding, go to EDIT mode within the control panel. Within the top menu, click on the 'Embed' icon, opt for the iframe option, and then paste the link into the pop-up window. Go to the VIEW mode to check if it’s working.
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The portlet functionality introduces a more comprehensive approach compared to iframes, allowing you to connect a third-party entity with a DataTile data source. By doing so, you gain expansive control through controls on the dashboard. Here we already get a fully controllable dashboard element, embedded via a link paired with a unique API key. In this process, it’s essential to specify the names of dashboard elements within the source code, which will later serve as the dynamic data sources for the portlet operations.

Both types of embedded entities - iframes and portlets - can be displayed in a separate pop-up window on the dashboard. Tick the ‘Display in popup’ checkbox in the left pane of widget settings.
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