What is a subset?

A subset is a group of records in the WebCATS database that all have one or more things in common. What do they have in common? That's entirely up to you. For example, you could create a subset of client records that consists of all companies that have a Web site. Or, you could create a subset of counseling session records that consists of all counseling sessions with a duration of one hour or more in contact time.

There is no limit to the number of criteria you can specify when creating a subset (well, technically, you're limited to the fields carried by the database); the more criteria you string together, the more specific and narrow the results of your subset will be.

Subsets are created per record type. For example, if you were trying to isolate all clients and contacts located in a particular ZIP code, you would need to create two separate subsets: one to isolate the client records and one to isolate the contact records.

How do subsets differ from reports?

Subsets and reports are two very different features. And while their functionality sometimes overlaps, typically they are used in conjunction with one another. Subsets are used to organize a group of records based on criteria they have in common. Reports are used to format and display the data found within a grouping of records. For example, you could create a subset to isolate all woman-owned businesses and then generate a report that displays the addresses of those woman-owned businesses.

For more information on subsets, view our other popular resources on this topic:

FAQ: How do I create a subset?
FAQ: Can I save my subset for future use or to share it with other WebCATS users?
Flash Tutorial: Creating Subsets

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