Widget types
A dashboard is made of widgets. In the editor, click Add and choose one of two options:
- Add Chart opens the Chart Builder, where you build a chart, table, or KPI card from your data.
- Add metric adds a card for a metric already defined on the Metrics page.
Building a chart
The Chart Builder has a settings panel with two tabs, a live preview, and the Assistant beside them.
On the Data tab you set:
- Data Connection: the connection to query.
- Base Table: the main table, plus Join Tables if you need columns from related tables.
- Visualization Type: the kind of chart.
- The measures to calculate and the dimensions to group them by.
- Sort, Filters, and Row Limit for the query.
The Format tab holds the visual settings, such as titles, colors, axes, and legend. The options change with the chart type.
Instead of filling in the fields, you can describe the chart to the Assistant and it builds the chart for you. Click View SQL to see the query the widget will run. When you are done, click Add to Dashboard. When you edit an existing widget, the button reads Update Chart.
Visualization types
The Visualization Type section groups charts into categories. Click All to see them all.
| Category | Types |
|---|---|
| Trend | Line, Area, Candlestick, Theme River, Calendar Heatmap |
| Comparison | Column, Bar, Radar, Parallel Coordinates, Gauge |
| Distribution | Pie, Donut, Funnel, Treemap, Sunburst, Box Plot |
| Relationship | Scatter, Heatmap, Sankey, Chord |
| Table | Table, KPI |
Each type needs a certain number of measures and dimensions. Types that do not fit your current selection are dimmed. Hover over a type to see what it needs.
KPI cards
A KPI widget shows one number in large text. When the widget has earlier results, the card also shows the change from the previous value and a small trend line. If you pick a comparison period under Compare to in the date range menu, the card shows the change against that period instead.
Metric cards
Add metric opens a searchable list of the metrics in your workspace. Pick one to add it as a card that shows its value and trend.
A metric card stays linked to its metric and shows a Linked label in the editor. When someone changes the metric's definition, the card follows the new definition. To edit the widget on its own, click Detach from metric. The widget keeps its current data and stops following the metric.
If the list is empty, create a metric first. See Metric definitions.
Next steps
- Arrange and change widgets in Editing a dashboard.