# Include or exclude list

It is possible to define include and exclude lists when working with **selector** or **numeric** pattern match aggregations.

## Selector

Let's imagine that you want to identify people who have repeatedly visited the same European destination.

To create the pattern match:

1. Open a new Expression and click on**Add Aggregation** button and then on the tab entitled **Frequency(Bookings)** that opens up.
2. In the Type drop down select **Pattern Match**.
3. Set the Grouping Table to **People** and Transactional Table to **Bookings**.
4. Drag the **Booking Date** variable onto the **Order records by** drop-box and leave the **From** as **Earliest to Latest**.
5. Drag the **Destination** selector variable onto the **Pattern Match Variable** drop box.

   The above settings allow us to search for patterns in people's holiday choices, ordered by their booking date.

   Next:
6. Click **Set pattern** - a new window will open.

   By default, patterns using a selector variable default to displaying **Descriptions**
7. Click on the Value 1 cell drop-down menu and select **\=**.
8. Right-click on the Value 1 cell to access the copy and fill options - select **Fill cells across and down**.

   We know that the maximum number of bookings any one person has made on the Holidays system is 8, so:
9. Complete settings as per the screenshot below and OK.

   By default, the system will look for your defined pattern across all destinations. However, to limit this, you can choose to **include** or **exclude** specific categories using the and icons at the bottom of the window. For example, to only include European destinations visited:
10. Click on the **include** list icon
11. Select the required categories from the left-hand column and drag them across to the **Pattern Code List** column on the right

Now only European destinations will be considered for the longest sequences of the same destination visited.

## Numeric

It is possible to select a set of numeric ranges for an include or exclude list when defining a numeric pattern match aggregation. This allows you to answer questions such as, what is the longest sequence of holidays a person has had, excluding any that cost less than £500 or more than £1000.

To create the pattern match:

1. Open a new Expression and click on**Add Aggregation** button and then on the tab entitled **Frequency(Bookings)** that opens up.
2. In the Type drop down select **Pattern Match**.
3. Set the Grouping Table to **People** and Transactional Table to **Bookings**.
4. Drag the **Booking Date** variable onto the **Order records by** drop-box and leave the **From** as **Earliest to Latest**.
5. Select **Pattern Match Numeric Variable** and then drag the **Cost** numeric variable onto the **Pattern Match Variable** drop-box.
6. Set the type to **Longest Strictly Increasing**.
7. Click **Exclude List** and enter the required ranges:
8. Name the expression and then drag and drop it onto a data grid to review the results.

The highlighted example demonstrates that, with the exclude list applied, this person has 2 holiday bookings where the cost is strictly increasing.

Related topics:

[Pattern match](<https://help.apteco.com/en/faststats/expressions/aggregations-on-the-fly/pattern-match/index.md>)

[Aggregations on the fly](<https://help.apteco.com/en/faststats/expressions/aggregations-on-the-fly/index.md>)