Date and time Find Linked criteria
You can set the rules for finding items that are linked to the original selection based on the relative dates and times of chart items that are linked to the selection.
Searching forward or backward in time
You can search for items that are linked to the original selection along which the date and time of each successive item must be later (forward) or earlier (backward) in time than the previous item.
Limiting the search to a specified period
You can limit the items that are found to a fixed time period. Items with dates and times outside this period are not selected.
When you select the Earliest Date and Time check box, the specified time defaults to the earliest date and time on the chart.
When you select the Latest Date and Time check box, the specified time defaults to the latest date and time on the chart.
Setting date and time options
When you find linked items, you can specify whether the date and time is considered on entities, links, or both.
An item does not need a date or time to be considered in relation to the times of other items.
If an item has just a date, it is included in the selection, if the date does not contradict the specified flow of time. For example, the date must be the same as or after the date of the previous selected item when the time flow is forwards.
You can specify the behavior for items without a date.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Stop | Does not find the item. No further items that are linked to this item are considered, but
items up to the item without a date are found. This option might be useful for charts that contain telephone call data or financial transactions, when all links are expected to have both a date and a time. |
| Continue | Finds the item and continues to look for further linked items, according to the
Search Depth setting. This option might be useful when you want to continue through theme lines that do not have a date. |
| Continue if Ordered | If the item is Ordered and is in the correct position, it is included. Otherwise, no further linked items are searched. |
Specifying each item on a path is within a certain time of the previous item
You can restrict the linked items to contain only successive items that have a date and time within a time gap that you specify. For example, you can specify that every link on a path must take place within an hour of the previous link. This option can apply to just links, just entities, or both entities and links, depending on the options selected in the Date and Time area.