Quickfields: analysis

Summary

We already saw that Quickfields are a special kind of hashtag for factors and links. They are a refinement of hashtags for when you have a set of categories which is mutually exclusive.

You can add information about one or more dimensions using a format like this:

Crops improved / time:before

Crops improved / time:after

You can search for and display this information across all your tables and maps, not separately as they would be if you used ordinary hashtags like #before and #after, but together.

This feature is automatic and does not need to be switched on with any filter.

Quickfields can be hidden in labels using the hide_quickfields filter. This can provide a kind of zoom.

Uses

  • to search, filter, and organise the factors, links and mentions tables image-20220124101850661
    • e.g. to summarise all the factors marked as before image-20220124102017772
  • to filter the map to show only factors marked as before . image-20220124102148729
  • to filter the map to exclude factors marked as after.
  • to colour factor backgrounds, borders and/or text, or to scale the factors, according to the value of the quick field time.

If you set numerical values e.g. time:0, time:1, time:2 then the quick field time will be treated as numerical and so in particular continuous formatting for colours will be used e.g. a fade from red to blue.

Quickfields are also ordinary hashtags

Quick field hashtags are still hashtags, so you can still also do all the things you would do with hashtags, for example search for “time:after” as a complete hashtag just as you would if it did not contain an : sign.

find factors label contains time:after

is equivalent to

`find factors time=after

Hiding quickfields

Quickfields can be hidden in labels using the hide quickfields filter,

image-20220210163307815
image-20220210163307815

to go from this:

image-20220124103710109
image-20220124103710109

to this:

image-20220124103637546
image-20220124103637546

Slashes and spaces and any leading semicolon will be removed.

Current limitation

When you use filters which merge factors together (zooming and bundling factors) the values of quickfields for any factors which are lost because they are nested into the higher levels are not available.