Timeline chart parameters for LookML dashboards

Under Construction: We're working on adding more to this page. In the meantime, check out the Timeline chart options documentation page to view information about creating and editing timeline charts using the visualization option menu.

The parameters described on this page can be used with LookML dashboard elements of type: looker_timeline in a dashboard.lkml file.

For information about building a timeline chart through the Looker UI, see the Timeline chart options documentation page.

Basic parameters

When defining a LookML dashboard element, you must specify values for at least the name and type basic parameters. Other basic parameters like title, height, and width affect the appearance and position of an element on a dashboard.

name

This section refers to the name parameter that is part of a dashboard element.

name can also be used as part of a dashboard filter, described on the Dashboard parameters documentation page.

Each name declaration creates a new dashboard element and assigns it a name. Element names must be unique. Names are sometimes referenced in the elements parameter when you're using layout: grid dashboards.

- name: orders_by_date

title

This section refers to the title parameter that is part of a dashboard element.

title can also be used as part of a dashboard, described on the Dashboard parameters documentation page.

title can also be used as part of a dashboard filter, described on the Dashboard parameters documentation page.

The title parameter lets you change how an element's name will appear to users. If unspecified, the title defaults to the element name.

Consider this example:

- name: sales_overview
  title: '1) Sales Overview'

If you used this format, instead of the element appearing as Sales Overview, it would appear as 1) Sales Overview.

type

This section refers to the type parameter that is part of a dashboard element.

type can also be used as part of a dashboard filter, described on the Dashboard parameters documentation page.

type can also be used as part of a join, described on the type (for joins) parameter documentation page.

type can also be used as part of a dimension, described on the Dimension, filter, and parameter types documentation page.

type can also be used as part of a measure, described on the Measure types documentation page.

The type parameter determines the type of visualization to be used in the element.

- name: element_name
  type: text | looker_grid | table | single_value | looker_single_record |
        looker_column | looker_bar | looker_scatter | looker_line | looker_area |
        looker_pie | looker_donut_multiples | looker_funnel | looker_timeline |
        looker_map | looker_google_map | looker_geo_coordinates | looker_geo_choropleth | looker_waterfall | looker_wordcloud | looker_boxplot

See the type (for LookML dashboards) documentation page for an overview of the different types of LookML dashboard elements.

height

This section refers to the height parameter that is part of a dashboard element.

height can also be used as part of a dashboard row, described on the Dashboard parameters documentation page.

For dashboards with tile or static layouts

The height parameter defines the height of an element, in units of tile_size (which is defined in pixels), for layout: tile and layout: static dashboards.

For example, the following code specifies tile_size: 100 and height: 4, making the orders_by_date element 400 pixels in height.

- dashboard: sales_overview
  tile_size: 100
  ...

  elements:
  - name: orders_by_date
    height: 4
    ...

For dashboards with newspaper layout

The height parameter defines the height of an element, in units of row, for layout: newspaper dashboards.

A dashboard with newspaper layout defaults to an element height of 6 rows, or about 300 pixels. The minimum height is 1 row for dashboards with a preferred viewer parameter set to dashboards-next. The minimum height is 2 rows for dashboards with a preferred viewer parameter set to dashboards.

For example, the following code sets an element to be 12 rows tall, or twice as tall as other elements that are set to the default:

- dashboard: sales_overview
  layout: newspaper
  ...

  elements:
  - name: orders_by_date
    height: 12
    ...

width

This section refers to the width parameter that is part of a dashboard element.

width can also be used as part of a dashboard, described on the Dashboard parameters documentation page.

The width parameter defines the width of an element, in units of tile_size, for layout: tile and layout: static dashboards.

For example, the following code specifies tile_size: 100 and width: 4, making the orders_by_date element 400 pixels in width.

- dashboard: sales_overview
  tile_size: 100
  ...

  elements:
  - name: orders_by_date
    width: 4
    ...

The width parameter defines the width of an element, in units of columns, for layout: newspaper dashboards.

A dashboard with newspaper layout defaults to a width of 24 columns.

For example, the following code sets the element to half the width of the dashboard:

- dashboard: sales_overview
  layout: newspaper
  ...

  elements:
  - name: orders_by_date
    width: 12
    ...

top

The top parameter defines the top-to-bottom position of an element, in units of tile_size, for layout: static dashboards.

For example, the following code specifies tile_size: 100 and top: 4, positioning the top edge of the orders_by_date element 400 pixels from the top of the dashboard.

- dashboard: sales_overview
  tile_size: 100
  ...

  elements:
  - name: orders_by_date
    top: 4
    ...

left

The left parameter defines the left-to-right position of an element, in units of tile_size, for layout: static dashboards.

For example, the following code specifies tile_size: 100 and left: 4, positioning the left edge of the orders_by_date element 400 pixels from the left side of the dashboard.

- dashboard: sales_overview
  tile_size: 100
  ...

  elements:
  - name: orders_by_date
    left: 4
    ...

row

For layout: newspaper dashboards, the row parameter defines the row that the top edge of an element is placed on.

A dashboard begins with row 0 at the top of the dashboard. A dashboard with newspaper layout defaults to an element height of 6 rows, meaning the dashboard elements at the top of a dashboard (row: 0) would default to taking up rows 0-5.

Each row is 50 pixels tall, which means the default element height of 6 rows is 300 pixels.

For example, the following code sets an element to be set on the second row of elements in the dashboard, assuming elements are set at the default height:

- dashboard: sales_overview
  layout: newspaper
  ...

  elements:
  - name: orders_by_date
    row: 6
    ...

col

For layout: newspaper dashboards, the col parameter defines the column that the left edge of the element is placed on.

Dashboards are divided into 24 columns. A dashboard begins with column 0 at the left of the dashboard. A dashboard with newspaper layout defaults to an element width of 8 columns, meaning the dashboard elements at the left of a dashboard (col: 0) would default to taking up columns 0-7.

For example, the following code sets an element to be set in the third column of elements in the dashboard:

- dashboard: sales_overview
  layout: newspaper
  ...

  elements:
  - name: orders_by_date
    col: 16
    ...

refresh

This section refers to the refresh parameter that is part of a dashboard element.

refresh can also be used as part of a dashboard, described on the Dashboard parameters documentation page.

The refresh parameter allows an element to reload automatically on some periodic basis, thereby retrieving fresh data. This is often helpful in settings where a dashboard is constantly displayed, such as on an office TV. Note that the dashboard must be open in a browser window for this parameter to have an effect. This setting does not run in the background to "pre-warm" the dashboard cache.

The refresh rate can be any number (without decimals) of seconds, minutes, hours, or days. For example:

- name: orders_by_date
  refresh: 2 hours

Use caution when setting short refresh intervals. If the query behind the element is resource-intensive, certain elements may strain your database more than desired.

note

You can add descriptive notes to elements like this:

- name: element_name
  note:
    text: 'note text'
    state: collapsed | expanded
    display: above | below | hover

note has the subparameters text, state, and display.

text

The text subparameter specifies the text displayed in the note. The text can be localized.

state

The state subparameter determines whether the note will be collapsed or expanded if it is too big to fit on a single row within the element's width. If you choose collapsed and the note is too long, the note will end in a clickable ellipsis (...) that can be used to read the full note.

display

The display subparameter determines where the note is displayed on an element. above places the note at the top of an element, below places it at the bottom of an element, and hover requires the user to hover their mouse over the element to see the note.

Query parameters

When defining a LookML dashboard element of type: looker_timeline, you must specify values for at least the model and explore query parameters. Your query must also include values for the dimensions and measures parameters, including at least one dimension representing the label field, such as a name, as well as a start field and end field, which can be a date or number. See the Timeline chart options documentation page for more information about the minimum requirements for creating timeline charts in Looker.

model

The model parameter defines the model to use for the element query. If unspecified, it will default to the model where the dashboard resides.

- name: orders_by_date
  model: ecommerce

The model parameter accepts LookML constants. You can define a constant in the manifest file for your project, then use the syntax "@{constant_name}" to set the constant as the value for model. Using a constant lets you define the name of a model in one place, which is particularly useful if you're updating the name of a model that is used by multiple dashboard elements.

For more information and an example of using constants with LookML dashboards, see the constant parameter documentation page.

explore

This section refers to the explore parameter that is part of a dashboard element.

explore can also be used as part of a model, described on the explore parameter documentation page.

explore can also be used as part of a dashboard filter, described on the Dashboard parameters documentation page.

The explore parameter defines the Explore to use for the element query.

- name: orders_by_date
  explore: order

The explore parameter accepts LookML constants. You can define a constant in the manifest file for your project, then use the syntax "@{constant_name}" to set the constant as the value for explore. Using a constant lets you define the name of an Explore in one place, which is particularly useful if you're updating the name of an Explore that is used by multiple dashboard elements.

For more information and an example of using constants with LookML dashboards, see the constant parameter documentation page.

dimensions

The dimensions parameter defines the dimension or dimensions to use for the element query. Use the syntax view_name.dimension_name to specify the dimension. Don't include dimensions if the query doesn't have any.

## single dimension example
- name: orders_by_date
  dimensions: order.order_date

## multiple dimension example
- name: orders_by_date
  dimensions: [order.order_date, customer.name]

measures

The measures parameter defines the measure or measures to use for the element query. Use the syntax view_name.measure_name to specify the measure. Don't include measures if the query doesn't have any.

## single measure example
- name: orders_by_date
  measures: order.count

## multiple measure example
- name: orders_by_date
  measures: [order.count, order_item.count]

sorts

The sorts parameter defines the sorts to be used for the element query. The primary sort is listed first, then the secondary sort, and so on. Use the syntax view_name.field_name to specify the dimension or measure. Don't include sorts if you want to use Looker's default sort order. Descending sorts are suffixed with desc; ascending sorts don't need a suffix.

## single sort example
- name: orders_by_date
  sorts: order.order_date desc

## multiple sort example
- name: orders_by_date
  sorts: [order.order_date desc, customer.name]

pivots

The pivots parameter defines the dimensions that should be pivoted for the element query. Use the syntax view_name.dimension_name to specify the dimension. Don't include pivots if the query doesn't have any.

## single pivot example
- name: orders_by_date
  pivots: customer.gender

## multiple pivot example
- name: orders_by_date
  pivots: [customer.gender, customer.age_tier]

limit

The limit parameter defines the row limit that should be used for the element query. The limit applies to the number of rows before any pivots are applied.

- name: orders_by_date
  limit: 100

filters

This section refers to the filters parameter that is part of a dashboard element.

filters can also be used as part of a dashboard, described on the Dashboard parameters documentation page.

filters can also be used as part of a measure, described on the filters parameter documentation page.

The filters parameter defines the non-changeable filters that should be used for the element's query. If you would like filters that a user can change in the dashboard, you should set up the filters using filters for dashboards, then apply them to the elements using listen.

The syntax for filters is:

- name: element_name
  filters:
    orders.created_date: 2020/01/10 for 3 days
    orders.status: Shipped
    # You can create multiple filter statements

Each filter can accept a Looker filter expression or a value constant. You can also use the _localization or _user_attributes Liquid variables in the filter expression for flexible filter values.

listen

Dashboard filters let viewers interactively refine the data that is shown in dashboard elements. Define dashboard filters with the filters parameter for LookML dashboards. Then, use the listen parameter to link dashboard elements to the dashboard filter.

The syntax for listen is as follows:

- name: element_name
  listen:
    filter_name_goes_here: dimension or measure on which to apply
                           the filter using view_name.field_name syntax
    # You can add more than one listen statement

Add the listen parameter to an element, and then provide the name of the filter followed by a colon and a reference to the field to which the filter should apply, using the view_name.field_name syntax. For example, you might create a filter called Date that requires a user to enter a date into the filter field in the UI. You could then apply the value that the user enters to the orders_by_date element like this:

- dashboard: sales_overview
  ...

  filters:
  - name: date
    type: date_filter

  elements:
 - name: orders_by_date
    listen:
      date: order.order_date
    ...

For additional examples of using the filters parameter and the listen parameter to apply dashboard filters to individual dashboard elements, see Building LookML dashboards.

query_timezone

The query_timezone parameter specifies the time zone in which the query will be run. The time zone options are shown on the Values for timezone documentation page. If you want the query to run using the viewer's time zone, you can assign the value as user_timezone.

- name: orders_by_date
  query_timezone: America/Los Angeles

- name: orders_by_customer
  query_timezone: user_timezone

merged_queries

The merged_queries parameter lets you combine the results of multiple queries into a single dashboard element. Define each source query within the element's merged_queries parameter and use the join_fieldssubparameter to specify how the results should be merged.

The following sample LookML code creates a merged results element of type: looker_grid. In this example, the merged_queries parameter is used to create a dashboard element that combines data from two separate queries into a single table chart:

- name: merged_results_element
  title: Merged Results Tile
  type: looker_grid
  merged_queries:
  - model: ecommerce
    explore: users
    type: table
    fields: [users.state, users.count, users.city]
    sorts: [users.count desc 0]
    limit: 5000
    column_limit: 50
    query_timezone: UTC
    listen:
    - State: users.state
  - model: ecommerce
    explore: users
    type: table
    fields: [users.state, users.city]
    sorts: [users.state]
    limit: 500
    column_limit: 50
    query_timezone: UTC
    join_fields:
    - field_name: users.state
      source_field_name: users.state
    - field_name: users.city
      source_field_name: users.city
    listen:
    - State: users.state

In this example, the dashboard element combines data from two source queries that are based on the users Explore in the ecommerce model. The primary query includes the users.state, users.count, and users.city fields, and it sorts the results by the users.count field. The second source query includes the users.state and users.city fields and sorts the results by the users.state field.

The join_field parameter merges the source queries based on matching values in the users.state and users.city fields.

The listen parameter applies a State filter to both queries, which lets dashboard viewers refine the query results that are displayed in the dashboard tile by selecting a specific state.

Example: Merging company data

Suppose you want to create a merged query that combines information about companies from two different Explores: company_info and companies. You want to join the queries on the ipo.stock_symbol, companies.name, and companies.contact_email fields from each Explore to create a query that returns results for company name, company contact email, IPO year, stock symbol, number of employees, and job count. You can define the merged query element in LookML as follows:

- name: merged_results_element
  title: Merged Results Tile
  merged_queries:
  - model: market_research
    explore: company_info
    fields: [companies.name, companies.contact_email, ipo.public_year, ipo.stock_symbol]
    filters:
      companies.contact_email: "-NULL"
      ipo.valuation_amount: NOT NULL
    sorts: [ipo.public_year desc]
  - model: company_data
    explore: companies
    fields: [companies.name, ipo.stock_symbol, companies.contact_email,
      companies.number_of_employees, jobs.job_count]
    filters:
      companies.number_of_employees: NOT NULL
      ipo.stock_symbol: "-NULL"
      companies.contact_email: "-NULL"
    sorts: [jobs.job_count desc]
    join_fields:
    - field_name: ipo.stock_symbol
      source_field_name: ipo.stock_symbol
    - field_name: companies.name
      source_field_name: companies.name
    - field_name: companies.contact_email
      source_field_name: companies.contact_email

Applying filters to merged query elements

The previous example of a merged query element demonstrates how to apply hard-coded filters directly within each source query by using the filters parameter. For example, the filters companies.contact_email: "-NULL" and ipo.valuation_amount: NOT NULL in the primary query restrict the results to companies that have valid contact emails and valuations. These query-level filters pre-filter the data before merging the queries and cannot be changed by the user.

You can also apply dashboard filters to merged query elements by using the listen parameter within the definition of each source query. For example, suppose you have a dashboard filter named Industry that you defined at the dashboard level by using the filters parameter for LookML dashboards:

filters:
- name: Industry
  title: Industry
  type: field_filter
  ui_config:
    type: dropdown_menu
    display: inline
  model: market_research
  explore: company_info
  field: companies.industry

To apply the Industry filter to the companies.industry field in both source queries, add the listen parameter to each of the merged query's source query definitions as follows:

listen:
  Industry: companies.industry

For example, the following sample code adds the Industry filter to both source queries in the merged results element from the previous example.

- name: merged_results_element
  title: Merged Results Tile
  merged_queries:
  - model: market_research
    explore: company_info
    fields: [companies.name, companies.contact_email, ipo.public_year, ipo.stock_symbol]
    filters:
      companies.contact_email: "-NULL"
      ipo.valuation_amount: NOT NULL
    sorts: [ipo.public_year desc]
    listen:
      Industry: companies.industry
  - model: company_data
    explore: companies
    fields: [companies.name, ipo.stock_symbol, companies.contact_email,
      companies.number_of_employees, jobs.job_count]
    filters:
      companies.number_of_employees: NOT NULL
      ipo.stock_symbol: "-NULL"
      companies.contact_email: "-NULL"
    sorts: [jobs.job_count desc]
    join_fields:
    - field_name: ipo.stock_symbol
      source_field_name: ipo.stock_symbol
    - field_name: companies.name
      source_field_name: companies.name
    - field_name: companies.contact_email
      source_field_name: companies.contact_email
    listen:
      Industry: companies.industry

With this addition, when a user interacts with the Industry dashboard filter, the corresponding source query in the merged query element will be filtered accordingly.

Tip: Each source query can listen to one or more dashboard filters. This lets you define filter logic for each source query independently, regardless of the number of source queries in your merged results element. If a query does not have a listen parameter, then it won't be affected by any dashboard filters.

hidden_fields

The hidden_fields parameter indicates which fields, if any, are used in the query but hidden in the chart. Any hidden fields will appear in the data table section of an Explore.

hidden_fields: [inventory_items.count, distribution_centers.id]

Option parameters

Most of the parameters described in this section correspond to the options in the Options section of the visualization editor for timeline charts.

color_application

The color_application parameter, and its subparameters collection_id and palette_id, can be used to apply a specific color collection and palette to a dashboard element. For an overview of Looker's native color collections, see the Color collections documentation page.

If you have the collection ID and palette ID for the palette you want to use, you can enter those IDs into the collection_id and palette_id subparameters. A collection ID or a palette ID may be an alphanumeric code or be based on the name of the color collection. Alphanumeric codes are used for Looker's native collections. They are instance-specific and look like this:

color_application:
  collection_id: 1297dk12-86a7-4xe0-8dfc-82de20b3806a
  palette_id: 93c8aeb7-3f8a-4ca7-6fee-88c3617516a1

Custom color collections use collection and palette IDs based on the name of the color collection, which are portable across instances and look like this:

color_application:
  collection_id: blue-tone-collection
  palette_id: blue-tone-collection-categorical-0

You can also use the UI to find the colors, collections, or palettes that you want and generate the LookML to add them to your dashboard. Navigate to a piece of user-defined content (like a Look, a dashboard, or an Explore), and apply the colors, collection, or palette that you want to that content's visualization using the UI. Once you've done that, you can follow the steps to get dashboard LookML, copy the LookML that was produced, and paste it in the color_application section.

groupBars

Determine whether the visualization should display each record bar in its own row, or if the record bars for each label value should all be in the same row. If you set groupBars to true, all records that share the same label value appear as individual bars on the same row in the visualization.

groupBars: true | false

labelSize

Specify a font size for the labels. For example:

labelSize: 12pt

valueFormat

Specify the number format or date format for the value. The parameter accepts Excel-style formatting. If no formatting is specified, the value will be displayed in the format of the underlying dimension or measure.

showLegend

Display or hide a legend at the bottom of the visualization.

showLegend: true | false