# Selector and multi-response variables

Selector and multi-response variables hold categories from a fixed list, such as income bands or contact permissions. You filter by them by ticking the categories to include or exclude. There are two kinds:

- **Selector variables** have one category for each record, such as a supporter's income band. The data picker shows them with a tick.
- **Multi-response variables**, also called arrays, can have several categories for each record, such as all the ways a supporter has agreed to be contacted. The data picker shows them with two ticks.

## Filter by a selector variable

Each record has only one category, so a record matches if its category is one you tick.

To filter by a selector variable:

1. Choose an option from the dropdown:

   - **Is any of**: Includes records in any of the categories you tick
   - **Is none of**: Excludes records in any of the categories you tick
2. On the **Values** tab, tick the categories. To use a file of category codes instead, see [Use a file of categories](<#use-a-file-of-categories>).
3. Select **Apply**.

> [!NOTE]
>
> **Example**
>
> To find supporters who earn £10,000 to £40,000 a year, filter by an Income variable, choose **Is any of**, and tick the £10-20k, £20-30k, and £30-40k bands.

## Filter by a multi-response variable

A record can have several categories, so you also choose whether it must match any or all of the categories you tick.

To filter by a multi-response variable:

1. Choose an option from the dropdown:

   - **Has any of**: Includes records with at least one of the categories you tick
   - **Has none of**: Excludes records with any of the categories you tick
   - **Has all of**: Includes only records with every category you tick
   - **Does not have all of**: Excludes records with every category you tick
2. On the **Values** tab, tick the categories. To use a file of category codes instead, see [Use a file of categories](<#use-a-file-of-categories>).
3. Select **Apply**.

> [!NOTE]
>
> **Example**
>
> To find supporters who've agreed to both email and SMS, filter by a Contact Permissions variable, choose **Has all of**, and tick **Email** and **SMS**. With **Has any of**, you'd also include supporters who've agreed to only one of them.

## Find and choose categories

A variable can have hundreds of categories. On the **Values** tab, you can:

- **Search**: Find a category by its code or description
- **Sort by**: Choose **Selected First** to bring the categories you've ticked to the top
- **Select all**: Tick the box in the header row. Categories load as you scroll, and this only works once they've all loaded.

Select **View** to choose what the list shows:

- **Codes**: The category codes
- **Descriptions**: The category descriptions
- **Countbars**: A bar showing how many records each category has, compared with the others
- **The table's name**, such as **People**: The number of records in each category, counted on that table
- **Zero Values**: Categories with no records

To go back to the default columns, select **Reset Columns**.

> [!TIP]
>
> Turn on **Countbars** to see at a glance which categories hold the most records.

## Use a file of categories

To include or exclude many categories, such as a list of postcode sectors for an ad hoc territory, use a file of their codes. Use the **Upload File** or **Existing File** tab, as described in [Use a file of values](<https://help.apteco.com/en/orbit/data/variables/#use-a-file-of-values>).

For a selector or multi-response variable, the file must:

- Be a `.TXT` file, up to 25 MB
- Hold each category's code exactly as it appears in FastStats, not its description

> [!TIP]
>
> To create a file of codes in FastStats, export a fixed file with no headers.