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The cover is the same capture as the article's grid still - 1024 CSS px at 2x, clipped to the rows - so the derived columns are legible on the feed card rather than a thumbnail of a mostly-empty page. It also stops promising the next release, which is about to be stale.
40 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
40 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: 'The column that is not in the table'
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description: 'Derived variables give the EDIT screen columns that do not exist in the table - computed on every read, never stored, and filterable like any other column. The full story is in the article.'
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date: '2026-10-27 09:00:00'
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author: 'Data Controller'
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authorLink: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/data-controller-for-sas
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tags:
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- Announcements
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- Features
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previewImg: './derived-fx.png'
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---
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# The column that is not in the table
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Every reporting team has a version of this request, and it always sounds like a five minute job: "can we have a region column? It is just the state, mapped. And a line value - quantity times price. We do not need it stored, we just need it on the screen."
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It is never a five minute job - so Data Controller now does the obvious thing instead. You write the expression, and the EDIT screen shows the column: computed on every read, never stored, marked `fx` and read-only, so nobody has to wonder whether it is locked or simply has nothing to edit.
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The part that took the thinking is that they filter like any other column. That needed a DATA step view rather than a data step, and the reasoning is worth reading: [Derived variables: computed columns you can filter on](/derived-variables/).
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Reference: [Derived Variables](https://docs.datacontroller.io/derived-variables/).
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If a table of yours has been waiting for "just one more column", we would love to [hear from you](/contact).
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<!--
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Feed teaser for the article at /derived-variables/. The article carries the
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engineering - why a computed column is not automatically filterable, the DATA
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step view, the configuration table, the limits - so this post links to it
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rather than repeating it.
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Image prompt (cover): a clean, modern illustration on a white background: a
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spreadsheet grid rendered in soft slate and light blue, with the leftmost four
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columns showing plain data and three further columns floating slightly to the
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right, detached from the table, tinted light blue and italicised, each marked
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with a small "fx" badge. A thin left border separates the floating block from
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the stored columns. No text other than the fx badges. Flat vector style, brand
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palette: slate #314351, light blue #d3e5f2, accent green #79a843 used sparingly
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as a single dot.
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-->
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