The Compare to Attribute criterion allows you to create a criterion that compares an attribute against another attribute – for example, you might be interested in the first product a customer bought; this could be achieved by comparing a ‘Purchase date’ attribute to a ‘Date became customer’ attribute.
The following criterion properties must be defined:
•Operator: select an operator using a drop-down list that contains the following values:
o is equal to
o does not equal
o is less than
o is less than or equal to
o is more than
o is more than or equal to
o is within (datetime attribute only)
•Attribute: either drag the attribute that you wish to compare against the first attribute into the field to the right of the dialog or browse for an appropriate attribute using the recent items chooser or File System Dialog. Note that the attribute you drag in must be compatible with the data type of the attribute that the new criterion is based upon – if it is not, a warning message is displayed and you will not be able to add it. Also note that you cannot compare an attribute to itself; nor can you compare an attribute to an Exists in Table or Aggregate attribute. It is, however, possible to compare attributes with different resolution tables (provided that the joins linking them are configured correctly).
Having provided an attribute, you can view its details in the File Information dialog or clear it.
A warning message is displayed if you attempt to select a cross-database Attribute in this context.