Reverse Lasso in SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio

Lasso Selection capability is a powerful feature that comes with SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio.  Using the Lasso selection functionality allows you to select a particular chart area and zoom into it. For more information on creating a lasso selection, click here.

In this blog we will discuss the merits of reverse lasso functionality.  Reverse lasso is unique because allows you to remove a particular selection from the chart. This is useful when the user wishes to see only particular KPIs on the chart during runtime.

Since we are selecting multiple members on the chart, it is mandatory to set the “Selection Mode” for the chart under the “Additional Properties” panel to “Inclusive”. This setting will let you select multiple series on the Chart.

The reverse lasso feature is also very effective and flexible because it can be incorporated into any chart. Reverse lasso functionality can be achieved by excluding the selection and then passing it as a filter to the data source.

This can be achieved in pie charts as well.

To incorporate the reverse lasso feature, you would require a simple script:

In the above script, ‘previous_selection’ is a global variable and is initialized with null value.

A ‘CLEAR SELECTION’ button is also added to clear the reverse lasso selection. On clicking this button, the filter is also cleared and the global variables are also set to null values. The script on the button is as follows:

In a scatter plot, the reverse lasso feature works in a similar fashion. Sometimes a Scatter plot may get crowded at a particular point. This feature allows the user to declutter the cluttered part for better clarity. In the following image, reverse lasso selection is applied to a crowded part in a Scatter plot.

Once the reverse lasso selection is applied, the cluttered part of the plot is removed.

Lasso and reverse lasso feature can be applied to all the charts. Have fun applying this very useful feature to any chart.