Calculated fields

Calculated fields are ad-hoc dimensions and measures you add only to the current workbook report. They do not change the shared data model.

As described in Semantic SQL, Cube routes analysis through the semantic layer instead of sending arbitrary SQL straight to the warehouse. The runtime validates every request and applies your security policies. Semantic SQL builds on Postgres-compatible SQL—including the MEASURE() function—so you can express derived logic on top of existing semantic definitions with both flexibility and governance.

Calculated fields are expressed as Semantic SQL and pushed down to the Cube backend for evaluation. The semantic layer compiles them with the rest of the query—rather than applying them only in the browser—so the same validation, governance, and warehouse execution path apply as for any other Semantic SQL analysis.

Using AI to create calculated fields

You can ask the Cube AI agent to create custom calculations in natural language. The agent can add or refine calculated fields from different parts of the product—for example while exploring in Analytics chat or working in Workbooks—so you are not limited to a single entry point when you want a new metric or dimension for the analysis in front of you.

Creating calculated fields in UI

You can also build and edit calculated fields directly in the workbook. New fields appear in the Query fields section of the field picker sidebar.

Aggregations from existing dimensions

Right-click a dimension column header and choose an aggregation to create a calculated field automatically. Available aggregations depend on the column type:

Calculations from existing measures

Open the menu on a measure column header and use the Calculations submenu for derived calculations:

% of previous, % change from previous, and Running total require at least one dimension in the query.

Which calculations are offered depends on the measure’s aggregation type:

Filtered measures

When working with query Results, pivot so at least one dimension is on columns, then open the header menu on a pivoted measure column and choose Create filtered measure. Cube adds a calculated measure that applies the column’s slice—for example, from Count broken down by Status, you get a measure that only aggregates rows matching that status (such as completed orders only).

The option appears only for native measures on pivoted columns, not for calculated fields. The same flow works in Explore when results are pivoted the same way.

Bins and value groups

You can also bucket an existing dimension without writing SQL. Open its menu in the field picker sidebar and choose Create bins… on a number dimension, or Group values… on a string one. Time dimensions have granularities instead, and an already derived field cannot be bucketed again.

Bins take their boundaries either as a list (Custom ranges) or from a Start, Width, and number of Ranges (Equal width). Each boundary opens a bucket that includes its lower bound and excludes the upper one, and two open-ended buckets are added at the edges—so 0, 18, 25 yields < 0, [0, 18), [18, 25), >= 25, and no row is dropped. Label style renders a bucket as [10, 20), >= 10 and < 20, or 10 to 19; the last is offered only while every boundary is a whole number. Rows where the dimension is NULL are reported as Unknown.

Value groups collect the dimension's values into named sets: pick values, name the group, and choose Add group. A value belongs to one group at a time. Whatever you did not pick—including empty values—falls under Everything else, which defaults to Other.

Bucket labels carry their position as a prefix (1., 2., zero-padded past nine buckets) so that sorting the column sorts it by value rather than alphabetically, which would put >= 25 before [0, 18). The prefix is visible in results, chart legends, and axes.

The panel previews the Semantic SQL it generates as you build:

CASE WHEN orders_view.age IS NULL THEN 'Unknown'
  WHEN orders_view.age < 0 THEN '1. < 0'
  WHEN orders_view.age < 18 THEN '2. [0, 18)'
  ELSE '3. >= 18' END

Equal width ranges are resolved into boundaries when the field is created, not recomputed from the data. Values arriving later outside the range join the first and last buckets instead of extending them.

To change a bucketed field, choose Edit bins… or Edit groups… from its menu—either in the sidebar or on its column header in the results. Only fields this panel generated offer the action; a CASE expression written by hand does not.

Editing a calculated field

Select a calculated field in the sidebar to open the editor. You can change its name and SQL expression, then choose Update to apply.