Defining table quotas
1 In the list pane, click one of the variables that forms part of the quota you are defining, and drag it onto one of the drop lines in the Quota Construction Area.
The variable’s name and categories appear on the drop line, and an empty grid appears in which to define the targets.
2 If you are defining a two-dimensional quota, drag the second variable from the list pane into the quota construction area, but this time drop it on the other line.
The variable’s name and categories appear on the drop line and additional cells are added to the target grid.
3 If you are defining a quota with more than two dimensions, drag the additional variables to the appropriate positions relative to the other variables in the grid. You can place the new variables above, below, and to the left or right of existing variables, but in the context of defining quotas, the most logical positions are above or below the top variable and to the left or right of the side variable.
4 When the structure of the quota grid is complete, you can start defining targets. Select one or more cells in the target grid:
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To select
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Do the following
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A single cell
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Click in the cell.
Double‑click to select the cell and open the Quota information dialog all in one go.
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A number of nonadjacent cells
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Press Ctrl, and then click each cell in turn.
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All cells in a row
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Right‑click a cell in the row, and then click Select Row.
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All cells in a column
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Right‑click a cell in the column, and then click Select Column.
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All cells in the grid
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Right‑click any cell, and then click Select Table.
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The selected cells turn blue and are the ones that will be affected by your next actions.
5 Right-click, and then click Edit.
The Quota information dialog opens.
6 In Quota target, type the target for the selected cell or cells.
7 To allow interviewing to continue all the time that the number of completed interviews in this cell is less that the target, click Allow Over Quota. When the target is met, any interviews that were already in progress are allowed to continue and complete, so it is possible that the final number of completed interviews exceeds the target. When the target has been met, all new interviews in the cell fail the quota test and are dealt with as specified by the scriptwriter (usually the interview is terminated).
8 To count the number of interviews that take place for these cells without specifying targets, click Counter Quota. These cells then have no quota control, but a record of the number of interviews achieved for each cell is maintained.
9 Click OK.
The quota table shows the targets for each cell. The symbol in the corner of each cell shows the quota type: N for a normal quota, an up-arrow for allow over quota, and C for a counter quota.
10 Repeat these steps until you have defined a target for each cell.
11 In Title, replace the default title with something that describes the quota.
The scriptwriter can use the title that you define to identify the quota in the script. Replace the default title with a title that reflects the content of the quota, because this makes the script easier to follow.
12 To save the definition, choose File > Save.
You must give the .mqd file the same name as the project and save it in the project’s source directory otherwise the activation process fails when the scriptwriter tries to activate the project.
See also