Looker Studio Drill Down for Data Analysis

Drill down in Looker Studio is a powerful feature that allows you to explore your data in a more detailed and granular way.

By using the drill down feature, you can see the underlying data that makes up a particular metric or dimension, giving you a deeper understanding of your data.

You can drill down on dimensions, which are essentially labels or categories that describe your data, such as date, location, or product.

This allows you to see the individual data points that make up a particular dimension, which can be incredibly useful for identifying trends and patterns.

For example, if you're analyzing sales data, you can drill down on the "Region" dimension to see the sales figures for each specific region.

This can help you identify which regions are performing well and which ones need more attention.

Drilling down on dimensions also allows you to see the data at a more granular level, such as individual customers or orders.

This can be particularly useful for identifying specific issues or opportunities that may not be apparent at a higher level of aggregation.

You can add drill actions to table charts by editing the report, adding a new chart, and clicking the Setup tab in the Properties panel.

To add a Drill Down action to table charts, you'll need to click the field's data type icon, edit the field, and then click Add Drill Action to open the menu.

You can add dimensions to the Drill Down section by dragging and dropping from the Data panel or clicking + Add Field. Each dimension becomes another level of detail that users can drill into.

The order of dimensions can be changed by dragging and dropping the dimensions in the Drill Down section to set the drill hierarchy.

To add drill actions to other chart types, you'll need to turn on the Drill down switch to expand the drill options section.

You can add dimensions to the Dimension section by dragging and dropping from the Data panel or clicking + Add Field. Each dimension becomes another level of detail that you can drill into.

Dimensions can be changed in order by dragging and dropping the dimensions in the Dimension section to set the drill hierarchy.

You can set a default dimension for the chart by selecting a dimension from the Default drill down level drop-down menu.

Here's a summary of the drill down options:

You can customize the way data is presented in drill tables by adding custom row limits, which can be up to 5,000 rows.

This feature allows you to control the amount of data displayed, making it easier to focus on the most relevant information.

You can also add sorts to a drill table, which enables you to display data in a specific order. For example, you can sort the top 20 results by sale price.

Here are some ways to customize data sorting in drill tables:

To drill down into specific values on your charts, you can follow a few simple steps. To start, view or edit your report and choose a table chart or other chart type with drill-down capabilities.

Drilling down into a selected value on a table chart involves hovering your cursor over the dimension value you want to drill into, viewing the tooltip, and clicking Drill actions at the bottom of the tooltip. This opens the Drill Actions menu.

To drill down further, turn on the Filter on switch and click the downward-facing Drill Down arrow at the top of the Drill Actions menu. Alternatively, select a dimension from the Drill Actions dimension list. You can also drill back up on a table chart by selecting the upward-facing Drill Up arrow at the top of the Drill Actions menu.

Drilling down into a selected value on other chart types is a bit different. To do this, select a value, right-click the chart, and then click Drill Down. Alternatively, hover your cursor over the chart and select Drill Down from the three-dot More menu or click the downward-facing arrow that appears in the chart's header.

To restore your chart to the default drill-down level, right-click the chart and select the Reset action option. This will also reset any filters or manual sorting you've applied to the chart.

To see cities in a specific state, you can drill down into a table chart. This allows you to view data by more granular dimensions.

Hover your cursor over the dimension value that you want to drill into, such as a state, to view the tooltip. Click Drill actions at the bottom of the tooltip to open the Drill Actions menu.

Turn on the Filter on switch to apply the filter. Then, select a dimension from the Drill Actions dimension list, like DestCityName, to view data by city.

You can also use the Drill Down arrow at the top of the Drill Actions menu to open the drill hierarchy. This will allow you to view data by multiple dimensions, such as state and city.

For example, if you have a table chart that displays FAA flight count by destination state, you can drill down to view the flight Record Count broken down by cities that are in the state of California.

Here's a step-by-step guide to drilling down to see cities in a state:

1. Hover your cursor over the state dimension value.

2. Click Drill actions to open the Drill Actions menu.

3. Turn on the Filter on switch.

4. Select a dimension from the Drill Actions dimension list, such as DestCityName.

5. Click the downward-facing Drill Down arrow to view data by city.

By following these steps, you can easily drill down to see cities in a specific state and view data by more granular dimensions.

Adding sorts to a drill table is a powerful feature that lets you control how data is presented to users. You can use the link parameter and set the url subparameter to "{{ link }}&sorts=order_items.sale_price" to sort data by a specific field, like Sale Price.

This allows users to drill into the top results by selecting Explore Top 20 Results by Sale Price from the Sale Price measure's drill menu. For example, you can use this feature to display the 20 results by Sale Price when a user drills into a Returned Count measure value.

You can combine custom sorting with a custom row limit in a drill table. This is done by using the link parameter and setting the url subparameter to "{{ link }}&sorts=order_items.sale_price&limit=20".

By doing so, users can drill into the top 20 results by sale price by selecting Explore Top 20 Results by Sale Price from the Sale Price measure's drill menu. This feature is particularly useful when you want to present data in a specific order.

Here's a quick rundown of how to add sorts to a drill table:

Financial dashboards can be incredibly useful for getting a quick overview of your financial data. They can be designed specifically for certain accounting software, like QuickBooks.

Connecting a financial dashboard to your QuickBooks account can take around 2 minutes, and it will populate with your up-to-date data. This is a great solution if you need to share your results with stakeholders.

A financial dashboard for QuickBooks can help you identify the best-performing products and customers. You can also track invoices and other important financial metrics.

Some common metrics you might see on a financial dashboard for QuickBooks include:

Customizing data presentation is a powerful feature in Looker Studio drill down. You can add custom row limits up to 5,000 rows to a drill table.

Adding custom row limits lets you control how the data is presented to users when they drill on measure values. For example, you can display only the first 20 results in a drill table by using the link parameter and setting the url subparameter to "{{ link }}&limit=20".

You can also add sorts and pivots to a drill table to further customize the data presentation. This allows you to tailor the drill table to your specific needs and provide a more intuitive user experience.

To edit or remove fields from your report, you need to access the Properties panel. Editing your report is the first step, as it allows you to make changes to the existing chart.

To edit the chart, select it and click on the Setup tab in the Properties panel. This will give you access to the Dimension section, where you can edit or remove fields.

You can edit or remove drill-down fields from a table chart by following these steps:

To add or remove fields from other chart types, you'll need to access the Dimension section in the Properties panel. This is where you can drag and drop dimensions from the Data panel or click + Add Field to add new dimensions.

You can remove fields from the Dimension section by clicking on the X next to the field you want to remove. This will delete the field and any associated drill-down actions.

Adding links to your data presentation can be a game-changer for user engagement. You can let users drill to a custom visualization by including the custom visualization in the visualization settings you specify for the link parameter.

To enable drill actions, you'll need to follow different steps depending on the type of chart. For table charts, it's a bit more involved.

To add drill actions to table charts, you'll need to edit your report, add a new chart or select an existing one, and then click the Setup tab in the Properties panel. From there, you can click the field's data type icon to edit the field and add a drill action.

Adding drill through links to table charts is a similar process. You'll need to click + Add URL to expand the drill through link customization options and enter the webpage URL. This will allow users to drill through to a related webpage.

You can also add additional drill through links by repeating the process. Just click the Save button to save your settings and the Apply button to apply the changes.

If you want to add pivots to a drill table, you can use the link parameter and set the url subparameter to "&pivots=users.age_tier". This will allow users to drill into the year and gross margin percentage for each age group.

Here's a quick rundown of the steps to add drill through links to table charts:

You can customize how values are presented in basic drill data tables by using Looker's web-native modern architecture. This allows you to build out any custom drill path with just a few parameters.

Adding custom row limits to a drill table is possible, with a maximum of 5,000 rows. This can be particularly useful when dealing with large datasets.

Adding sorts to a drill table is another customization option. This can help you quickly identify patterns and trends in your data.

You can also add pivots to a drill table, giving you even more flexibility in how you present your data. This can be especially useful when working with complex datasets.

Here are some key customization options for drill data tables:

Drilling down into specific values on table charts is also possible, allowing you to learn more about individual data points.

Visualizing drill data can be done in various ways beyond data tables. You can display drill data in different visualization types, such as scatter plots, stacked line charts, and custom visualizations.

One simple option is to use the Visual Drilling Labs feature, which lets users drill into an Explore or a Look with zero customization and a limited drill set. This feature is preselected based on the data by Looker.

You can also let users drill to a custom visualization by including it in the visualization settings you specify for the link parameter. For example, you can create a scatter plot chart with a moving average trend line to display how many items have been sold by day.

Here are some examples of drill visualizations:

These options provide more control over what type of visualization is displayed to users when they drill.

You can create a visual drilling experience that's more engaging than a traditional data table. Data tables convey data in effective ways, but what if you want to visualize the data a user sees when they drill?

There are several ways to display drill data in visualizations. You can drill with the Visual Drilling Labs feature, which lets users drill into an Explore or a Look with zero customization and a limited drill set.

Drilling to a custom visualization is also an option. You can include the custom visualization in the visualization settings you specify for the link parameter.

Here are some examples of how to create a visual drilling experience:

Each of these options offers a unique way to display drill data in a visualization that's tailored to your specific needs.

Creating a scatter plot with a limit is a great way to visualize data, and it's actually quite easy to do. You can let users drill to a scatter plot chart that includes a moving average trend line, as we saw in Example 3.

To control how the data is presented, you can add row limits to the drill table. This is useful when you want to display only the most relevant results, like the top 20 results in a drill table.

You can specify visualization settings in a URL using Liquid variables, which control the visualization that appears in the drill. For example, you can use the link parameter and set the url subparameter to "{{ link }}&limit=20", as shown in Example 2.

This is especially useful when you want to display a moving average trend line, like in a scatter plot chart with a 30-day moving average. You can use the same Liquid variables to control the visualization settings.

Here are some examples of scatter plots with limits:

Stacked Line visualizations can display multiple series of data, making it easier to compare trends and patterns.

You can drill down to a stacked line chart, such as a chart that shows Total Sale Price for each Month Number, pivoted by Created Year.

This type of chart is useful for analyzing data over time and across different categories.

The LookML settings for a stacked line chart can specify the fields to be displayed, like Month Number and Created Year.

By drilling down to a stacked line chart, users can gain a deeper understanding of their data and make more informed decisions.