Merging/Splitting rows or columns

In the example given in §3, you might want to merge the quarter and year axes into a single axis (called quarter, perhaps). Ravel provides the ability to merge multiple consecutive rows or columns into a single axis descriptor. With RavelEx3.xlsx, select the top two rows, and then select “Merge” from the row context menu. The input spreadsheet will change to look like this:

Quarter		1990Q1	1990Q2	1990Q3	1990Q4	1990Q1	1990Q2	1990Q3	1990Q4
Country	Gender
Australia	Male	612	3060	2012	535	1036	833	2045	4013
Australia	Female	734	1296	456	3456	220	2102	21	623
UK	Male	$\cdots$
UK	Female	$\cdots$
$\cdots$

and the dataset has been transformed into a 3-dimension dataset. The inverse operation can be achieved by selecting the row labelled “Quarter”, and selecting “Split” from the context menu.