Applying categories to variables
Hover over a variable and click on the Categories button to apply an existing category to a variable. This is what we call explicitly applying a category, which is where you're able to manually set different values/formulas for each category item. This is useful for input variables that differ by category item, e.g. Pay increase % by Department.
You can also create new variables via the Data Tables, which will automatically have the selected category applied to them. Click on the + in the far-right column to create a new categorical variable. You can change its type by clicking on the dropdown in the column header.
You can also dynamically filter & sort the Data Tables. If you sort the category items, the new order is saved and applied to any variables in the model that have that category applied.
Implicit or inherited categories (by contrast), is where a formula uses a variable that already has categories, so the output variable implicitly also has the category applied. For example, our Monthly Salaries calculation uses the Adjusted Base Salary & Headcount input variables (both of which are broken down by Employee), so the Monthly Salaries variable inherits the Employee category.
Note: you can choose to have a different formula for each category item, by unchecking the category box under "Inherited from Dependencies" in screenshot above, however this is very rare, and goes against the power of categories in Causal.
Last modified 5mo ago