Explore recipe: Joining attributes

What's my plan?

In some cases joining attributes together can be more beneficial than using them separately. Use this article to learn how to combine multiple attributes under one calculated attribute. 

 

Creating joined attributes

The formula's logic is very simple. You add one attribute to another and make sure that there is a clear visual separator in between, like the space or dash:  

[Attribute A]+"-"+[Attribute B]

Note: If one of the attributes you are using contains a NULL value, the joined attribute will also return a NULL value.

If you need help creating the attribute, see Creating standard calculated metrics and attributes.

Tip: If you're working in a language other than English, read this article to help you enter Explore formulas in your language.

To create a combined attribute

1. Open a new report using the required dataset.
2. In the calculations menu (), click Standard calculated attribute.
3. On the Standard calculated attribute page, give your attribute a name like Ticket created - Year/month.
4. In the formula field, enter or paste the following formula:

   [Ticket created - Year]+" "+[Ticket created - Month]

5. Click Save.

Note that if you want to sort the results returned by this attribute in date order, you'll need to create an ordered set (which works best if you have a small number of dates) or else format the month as a number instead:

STRING([Ticket created - Year])+" "+ DATE_FORMAT([Ticket created - Date],"MM")

Joined attribute examples

Day of week/hour

If you need to filter a report by the business hours you can combine the day of the week and hour time dimensions in one attribute and then filter the report via it. To join Ticket created - Day of week and Ticket created - Hour attributes use this formula:

[Ticket created - Day of week]+" "+STRING([Ticket created - Hour])

Year/month

Joining the year and month time dimensions can be useful for sorting or enhancing the report visually. To join Ticket solved - Year and Ticket solved - Month attributes use this formula:

STRING([Ticket solved - Year])+" "+[Ticket solved - Month]

Ticket group/assignee

Joined ticket group and assignee attribute can be used as the dashboard filter for the small teams to speed-up the value selection process:

[Ticket group]+"-"+[Assignee name]

Two custom fields

Let's say you have two custom drop-down fields Category and Subcategory and you need to look at the specific combinations of these attributes then use this formula:

[Category]+"-"+[Subcategory]

Multiple custom fields with conditions

If you are using the conditional fields feature in Zendesk Support, you might have one category field and multiple subcategory fields that are displayed in the ticket only when a particular category is selected. Placing all the subcategory fields in one report creates a big unusable chart. Instead, use the Explore IF THEN ELSE function to define conditions base on which the subcategories should be joined with the categories. Use this formula and adjust it according to your needs:

IF [Category]="Category A" THEN [Category]+"-"+[Subcategory A]
ELIF [Category]="Category B" THEN [Category]+"-"+[Subcategory B]
ELIF [Category]="Category C" THEN [Category]+"-"+[Subcategory C]
ELIF [Category]="Category D" THEN [Category]+"-"+[Subcategory D]
ELIF ([Category]="Category E" OR [Category]="Category F") THEN [Category]
ENDIF

Using text strings

In this final example, you'll include text to construct a friendly text string for one of your table rows to provide a more detailed status for each ticket.

Use the following formula to accomplish this:

"Status is"+ " " +[Ticket status]+ 
". Ticket was created in "+ " " +STRING([Ticket created - Year])+ "."