The Analytics Environment
In any situation, it is helpful to become familiar with your surroundings and analyzing data in Analytics is no different. The more knowledgeable and comfortable you are, the more accurate and efficient you will become. There are several organizational tools that are common to most work in Analytics: project, table layout, view, log file, and folder.
When the source file is not a fixed-width file, Analytics copies it into a fixed-width file during the import process. All fixed-width files created by Analytics have a .FIL file extension
Analytics environment process diagram
Project
The project is similar to a file folder within a filing cabinet; supporting documentation items for each audit are filed in separate, clearly named folders. For each new analysis or audit, a new project should be created to contain the relevant documentation. There are several item types within an Analytics project such as table layouts, Views, the log, folders, and scripts.
Table layout
When an Analytics project is first created, it's empty since the source file(s) are stored outside of the project. Creating a table layout links the source file to the project. In the Analytics Environment Process Diagram, the source data file (AP2016.dat) is linked to the project via the table layout AP2016. Table layouts contain various information:
- Data path to the location of the source data file
- Field names, start positions, lengths, types, number of decimal places and datetime formats
- Named expressions (calculated fields and named filters)
- View definitions
View
A View determines how data is displayed on the screen within Analytics. Whenever a table layout is created, a View (named Default_View) is automatically generated that contains all of the fields within the table.
Log file
The log records most analysis steps and results. While you can access the log from within the Analytics project, it's stored as its own file (e.g., ACL Demo.log) outside the project.
In the Analytics Environment process diagram, the log is named APAudit2016.log.
Consider the process of totaling a numeric field (running the TOTAL command on it). The result can't be written to the source file because Analytics is a read-only application. Instead, the result is written to the log. All log results include a datetime stamp along with the name of the table on which the result was produced.
Folder (not pictured)
You can use folders within the project to organize project items.