Numeric Banding

Numeric bandings allow you to manipulate and segment numeric fields, e.g. grouping customers into age brackets.

To get started:

  1. Press the + icon in the main navigation bar.

  2. Select Numeric Banding from the available options.

    The banding workspace will open on the editor tab.

Creating a numeric banding

On the editor tab:

  1. In the properties pane, select the table containing your numeric data.

  2. On the editor tab, select a source field from the dropdown menu.

    The chart will update to display your data as a graph and the bands for that data.

    • The vertical axis shows the count of database matches, e.g. number of people.

    • The horizontal axis displays the data in the field, e.g. individual's age.

    Tip: by default, Audiences will create bands with equal widths.

  3. To change the metric used for determining band widths, use the radio buttons to:

    • Group by value - divides the difference between the upper and lower values by the number of divisions to create equal width bands.

    • Group by count - ensures each of your bands has an equal count of individuals. Widths will change depending on how each bracket is represented within the database.

    Alternatively, select manual grouping to define custom band widths.

  4. When creating equal width bands, you may get band limits with decimal values.

    If you require whole numbers for your band values, e.g. 26-30 instead of 25.68 to 30.44, select the integer bounds checkbox.

  5. To change the number of bands in your banding, enter a new value in the divisions textbox.

  6. To set the lower and upper values used by your banding, uncheck the Use field min and Use field max boxes and overwrite the default values.

    By default, Audiences uses the highest and lowest values from your source field.

  7. In the function menu, press the Count Bands button to update the counts for each band.

  8. In the function menu, press the Refresh button to update the records table.

  9. When you are happy with your banding, save your banding.

Defining custom band widths

Select the manual grouping radio button to adjust the bounds of data bands.

  1. On the chart tab, select a division line and drag it to adjust the width of the bands either side of that line.

  2. On the table tab, press the pen icon next to a row to edit its values.

  3. Enter new upper and lower bounds for the band.

  4. Press the tick icon to accept your changes.

    Note: any other bands affected by your change will also update, e.g. adjusting the upper bound of one row will force the next band to adopt that value for its lower bound.

  5. When manually setting band widths, you will not be able to change the Divisions, Lower Value, or Upper Value fields.

    Either set these values before switching to manual grouping or:

    • Add more divisions using the add button on the table tab. This will add a new band at the upper end of your existing data range.

    • Adjust the upper and lower values of the banding by editing the lower bound of your first band and the upper bound of your last band.

Tip: you can also rename each division on the table tab.

Editing banding properties

Located to the right of the workspace, the properties pane allows you to refine your banding's settings.

Fields

The 'fields to show' options allow you to customise the record number table.

  1. Use the radio buttons to select the type of data template you wish to apply to the results of your banding.

    • User defined - allows you to drag and drop the fields you want to see in your results table.

    • Default data template - uses a default data template if one has been set up in your settings.

    • Specific data template - allows you to select a data template. Once selected, the fields from that template will show in the record view.

  2. For the specific data template option, select a data template using the dropdown menu.

The 'syntax fields' option allows you to display fields related to your syntax in the results table.

  1. Use the radio buttons to select if you want to display syntax fields before or after the other fields in your results table.

Saving a banding

  1. In the function menu, press the Save or Save as button.

  2. Enter a name for your banding.

  3. Enter a description.

    Tip: you can also enter a description in the properties pane. This description will pre-populate the field when saving.

  4. Select a location to save the calculated field within Audiences.

    Tip: create folders and subfolders to organise your saved elements.

  5. Press the Save button.