Verifying data

Concept Information

Verifying data checks for data validity errors in the active table. Verification ensures that data in a table conforms to the table layout and is consistent with the specified data types.

Checks performed by verifying

Verifying performs the following checks:

Character fields contain only valid, printable characters, such as letters, numbers, and symbols
Numeric fields contain only valid numeric characters, such as numbers, decimal points, and currency symbols
Datetime fields contain only valid dates, datetimes, or times

If errors are found, the relevant record number, field name, and the hexadecimal code for the invalid data are included in the output and recorded in the log.

Steps

You can verify that data conforms to the table layout, including the specified data types, and output any validity errors.

Show me how

Select Data > Verify.
On the Main tab, do one of the following:

Select the field(s) to verify from the Verify Fields list.

Click Verify Fields to select the field(s), or to create an expression.

The order in which you select the fields is the order in which the columns appear in the results.
If there are records in the current view that you want to exclude from processing, enter a condition in the If text box, or click If to create an IF statement using the Expression Builder.

Note

The If condition is evaluated against only the records remaining in a table after any scope options have been applied (First, Next, While).
Click the Output tab.
Select the appropriate output option in the To panel:
- Screen – Select this option to display the results in the Analytics display area.
  Tip
  You can click any linked result value in the display area to drill down to the associated record or records in the source table.
  If the output table contains a large number of records, it is faster and more useful to save the results to a file than to display the results on the screen.
- Print – Select this option to send the results to the default printer.
- Graph – Select this option to create a graph of the results and display it in the Analytics display area.
- File – Select this option to save or append the results to a text file. The file is saved outside Analytics.
Note
Output options that do not apply to a particular analytical operation are disabled.
If you selected File as the output type, specify the following information in the As panel:
- File Type – ASCII Text File or Unicode Text file (depending on which edition of Analytics you are using) is the only option. Saves the results to a new text file, or appends the results to an existing text file.
- Name – Enter a file name in the Name text box. Or click Name and enter the file name, or select an existing file in the Save or Save File As dialog box to overwrite or append to the file. If Analytics prefills a file name, you can accept the prefilled name, or change it.
  You can also specify an absolute or relative file path, or navigate to a different folder, to save or append the file in a location other than the project location. For example: C:\Results\Output.txt or Results\Output.txt.
- Local – Disabled and selected. Saving the file locally is the only option.
Click the More tab.

Select the appropriate option in the Scope panel:

All
First
Next
While

Show me more

All	This option is selected by default. Leave it selected to specify that all records in the view are processed.
First	Select this option and enter a number in the text box to start processing at the first record in the view and include only the specified number of records.
Next	Select this option and enter a number in the text box to start processing at the currently selected record in the view and include only the specified number of records. The actual record number in the leftmost column must be selected, not data in the row.
While	Select this option to use a WHILE statement to limit the processing of records in the view based on a particular criterion or set of criteria. You can enter a condition in the While text box, or click While to create a WHILE statement using the Expression Builder. A WHILE statement allows records in the view to be processed only while the specified condition evaluates to true. As soon as the condition evaluates to false, the processing terminates, and no further records are considered. You can use the While option in conjunction with the All, First, or Next options. Record processing stops as soon as one limit is reached.
Note The number of records specified in the First or Next options references either the physical or the indexed order of records in a table, and disregards any filtering or quick sorting applied to the view. However, results of analytical operations respect any filtering. If a view is quick sorted, Next behaves like First.

In the Error Limit text box, specify the maximum number of invalid records to list, or keep the default of 10.

If the limit is reached, Analytics stops processing and outputs the invalid records found to that point.

Note

You can change the default error limit by selecting Tools > Options, Command tab and updating the Error Limit value.
If you selected File as the output type, and want to append the output results to the end of an existing text file, select Append To Existing File.
Click OK.
If the overwrite prompt appears, select the appropriate option.

Enable automatic verifying

You can configure Analytics to automatically verify data every time a table is opened. If this option is enabled, it applies to all Analytics tables.