Reporter > Reference > Table specification syntax > Element syntax
 
Element syntax
Element list syntax describes the syntax that you use to specify the elements to include in the axis of a table. This topic documents the special elements that you can include in an axis.
By default, the element name is the same as the element type. For example, by default, a Standard Error element is called stderr. However, if you create multiple elements of the same type, you must specify names to ensure that each element is uniquely identified.
Element type syntax
The majority of these items can also be added using the Insert Categories dialog box. The Combine and Net elements can be added using the relevant options on the Edit Variable menu.
Description
Syntax
Base
base(['Expression Text'])
Unweighted base
unweightedbase(['Expression Text'])
Mean
mean([NumericVariable], ['Expression Text'])
Standard deviation
stddev([NumericVariable], ['Expression Text'])
Standard error
stderr([ NumericVariable ], ['Expression Text'])
Sample variance
sampvar([NumericVariable], ['Expression Text'])
Total
total()
Subtotal
subtotal()
Text (Subheading)
text()
Minimum
min( NumericVariable, ['Expression Text'] )
Maximum
max( NumericVariable, ['Expression Text'] )
Net
net({ ElementList })
Combine
combine({ ElementList })
Expression (User-defined category)
expression(' ExpressionText ')
Numeric
numeric( NumericVariable, ['Expression Text'] )
Paired Preference
ppt()
Derived
derived( 'Expression Text' )
Sum
sum( NumericVariable , ['Expression Text'])
Effective base
effectivebase()
Median
median( NumericVariable, ['Expression Text'] )
Percentile
percentile( NumericVariable, CutOffValue, ['Expression Text'])
Mode
mode( NumericVariable, ['Expression Text'] )
Net Difference
ntd()
Note NumericVariable (AnalysisVariable), Multiplier, and Weight properties need to be specified as absolute references. However, variable references in expressions need to be specified as relative references. Using the Household.mdd sample as an example, when editing a categorical variable at the person level, if you want to display the mean of man’s weight, you can add the following mean element: mean(person[..].weight, 'gender.ContainsAny({Male})')
Note on naming nets
When you create a net, if the name of the net is the same as that of any of the categories in the net, a net expression will be generated on the category, which will slow performance. Because of this, it is recommended that you do not use the same name for a net as for any of the categories in the net (though you can use the same description). For example, instead of:
Blue 'Blue' net({Blue, PaleBlue, DarkBlue})
use:
Blue_net 'Blue' net({Blue, PaleBlue, DarkBlue})
See also
Table specification syntax