Running the Data and Viewing the Visualization

Owned by Chellie Esters
Last updated: Jun 08, 2020
5 min read

Whenever you add or remove data fields, or filter data, click Run in the top-right corner to recalculate the data and refresh the visualization. 

  • A dark-colored (purple) Run button signifies the data has changed and needs to be refreshed.

  • A white Run button means the data is up to date.

Following the example we have been working on, let's take a look at the current visualization.

  1. In our example, we have added the Region to the data where WO Status and WO Count already exists, and then we clicked Run.

  2. Above the data, click Visualization to see your data in a visualized form. Based on the data you are using, this area will default to the best visualization to represent your data. (You can change this to suit your needs, which we will see later in Customizing Visualizations.)

Your visualization is driven by two key items:

  1. What data is listed under the visualization and;

  2. How the data is listed.

To demonstrate this concept, let's become familiar with the Data Controls.

Understanding the Data Controls

  • Section A: Row Limits and other controls. By default, Row Limit only displays the first 500 rows so performance does not degrade while calculating large quantities of data. (You can download data larger than 500 rows into a spreadsheet.) Adjust the Row Limit to the number of rows you wish the visualization to display.

    • Note that this does not mean the top information is automatically displayed (such as the top 10 Regions or highest WO Counts). Instead, you are seeing 10 rows of data based on how it is sorted across the Dimensions and Measures selected. See Understanding Row Limits, Sorting, and Hide from Visualization, below, for more information.

    • You may see other controls next to Row Limits, such as Subtotal and Total. These are primarily used for the Table visualization type but can be used in any visualization.

  • Section B: Column Gear Icon. Hovering over any column header (Dimension or Measure) shows a menu that helps you control that data field. From here, you can:

    • filter your data by this data point;

    • pivot your data (for Dimensions only) to rotate data and create sub-categories, thereby changing the perspective of the data; 

    • hide from the visualization the data field, where the data from that column is pulled into the visualization but the data field itself does not appear as, say, a separate chart bar or column or pie slice. (This feature is illustrated briefly with Row Limits, but it is mostly used by advanced users when creating custom fields.)

    • remove the data field altogether, where you would have to go back into the data fields on the left-hand of the page to find it again.

    • You can also fill in missing values whenever you have dates that skip a time frame due to no data.

      • For example, when there is data for January and March but not February, February might be omitted from the data list which may make your chart look weird. Use Fill In Missing Values to fill in empty dates or other consecutive data to help your charts look better.

    • Finally, you can copy the values of that column and paste them elsewhere.

  • Section C: Sorting. Click any of the column headers to sort the data from lowest to highest, or alphabetically/reverse alphabetically.

    Sorting is ultra-important because the way the data is sorted here dictates how your visualization appears!

  • You can also 'drag-and-drop' the column headers to rearrange the data. Note that Dimensions can only be rearranged with other Dimensions, and Measures only with other Measures.

Using Run and the Data Controls Together

Let's circle back to the two concepts of what data is listed under the visualization and how the data is listed, and when you would need to run the data so your visualization tells the right story. To reiterate, when the Run button is a dark color (purple), you must click it to update your visualization.

Data need to be Run when:

  • data fields are added

  • Row Limits, Totals, or Subtotals are used

  • Dimensions and Measures columns are 'dragged-and-dropped' and rearranged

  • data columns are selected as a Filter or Pivot

  • data columns are removed

Visualizations automatically update when:

  • the columns are sorted

  • Hide from Visualization is turned on

Using Row Limits, Sorting, and Hide from Visualization

Using Row Limits, you can control the number of data rows your visualization displays, up to 500 rows. This is useful when you want to limit the drill-down data to only that data set.

What is important to note about Row Limits is that it does not automatically calculate the top information (for example, limiting this to 10 rows does not mean you are seeing, say, the top 10 regions). You are instead seeing the top information based on how the data is sorted across all Dimensions and Measures.

Let's start by limiting the rows in our example to 5:

Notice that the visualization restructures, showing only 5 rows. The data, in this instance, is sorted by WO Count.

Now, let's sort by a different field, say, Region:

Notice that the visualization is different: it is mainly representing work orders in the West region, and the WO Count is unsorted.

Finally, let's hide Region from the visualization and sort by WO Status:

Notice that only work orders in the Open status are represented because the Region data is still being calculated in the visualization, even though it is hidden from it. Also, the WO Count is unsorted.

Next Section: Filters and Pivots

Using the Data Controls is one way to adjust the data. You will also want to filter or pivot the data to hone in on, say, how many work orders from the past 90 days are in each status. Let's go to the next section to learn more.

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