This page demonstrates how to add and customize a LookML dashboard element of type: looker_column with LookML dashboard parameters in a dashboard.lkml file.

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

Example usage

Parameter definitions

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.

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:

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.

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.

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:

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.

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:

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.

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.

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:

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:

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:

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:

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, you must specify values for at least the model and explore query parameters, and at least one field must be specified using either the dimensions parameter or the measures parameter. You can also use the other query parameters described below to control the way data is displayed in a dashboard element.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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

Dashboards can have filters that allow users to change the data behind dashboard elements. These are set up by using the filters for dashboards parameter. For a filter to impact an element, the element must be set up to "listen" for that filter, using the listen parameter.

The syntax for listen is:

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:

This concept is described in more detail on the Building LookML dashboards documentation page.

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.

merged_queries

The merged_queries parameter defines how to merge results from several queries. You define the component queries under the merged_queries parameter and use the join_fields subparameter to define the merge rules.

The syntax for merged_queries is:

The first query defined under merged_results is the primary query, and the other queries will be merged with that one.

For example, by joining on the stock symbol, company name, and Twitter username, you can merge two queries to return results for company name, company Twitter username, IPO year, stock symbol, number of employees, and job count:

The data results would be formatted like this:

Then you can apply element parameters to style the visualization as you desire.

Plot parameters

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

stacking

The stacking parameter specifies how series are clustered visually on a chart.

• normal: Stacks bars, lines, and points one on top of each other, as in a normal stacked column chart.

• percent: Stack bars, lines, and points to total 100% fill of the chart and set the y-axis values to be percentages.

• '': Bars, lines, and points are not stacked and are instead grouped.

show_dropoff

The show_dropoff parameter toggles the appearance of percent change arrows across the chart. For each series, these arrows display the percent of the previous value from left to right.

ordering

The ordering parameter lets you order each slice of a stacked or stacked percentage chart by the size of each slice.

• none (or no value is specified): Series values will be ordered according to their positions in the data table.
• asc: The smallest series values will be positioned at the bottom, with values increasing in size toward the top of the column stack.
• desc: The largest values will be positioned at the bottom, with values decreasing in size toward the top.

column_spacing_ratio

The column_spacing_ratio parameter sets the spacing between columns within a group. This is available for charts that have stacking set to the default grouped setting, specified using '' in LookML. This parameter accepts values between 0 and 1. 0 is associated with minimum spacing between columns within a group, and 1 is associated with maximum spacing between columns within a group.

column_group_spacing_ratio

The column_group_spacing_ratio parameter sets the spacing between column groups. This parameter accepts values between 0 and 1. 0 is associated with minimum spacing between column groups, and 1 is associated with maximum spacing between column groups.

hide_legend

This declaration will hide the legend from the visualization.

legend_position

If hide_legend is set to false (and there is more than one series), you can use the legend_position parameter to specify whether the series legend will appear to the left, center, or right of the chart.

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.

limit_displayed_rows

The limit_displayed_rows parameter lets you show or hide rows in a visualization, based on their position in the results. For example, if your visualization displays a 7-day rolling average, you may want to hide the first 6 rows. Setting this to true lets you specify the values and positions in the visualization to which this applies using the limit_displays_rows_values parameter and its subparameters.

limit_displayed_rows_values

Use the limit_displayed_rows_values parameter, and its subparameters show_hide, first_last, and num_rows, with limit_displayed_rows to specify which rows to show or hide in a visualization. See limit_displayed_rows above for sample usage.

show_hide

The show_hide subparameter sets whether to hide certain rows from the visualization. Set show_hide to show to display only a limited number of rows in the visualization, and set show_hide to hide to exclude certain rows from the visualization.

first_last

The first_last subparameter sets whether the rows to be hidden or shown will be the first or last rows in the result set. Setting first_last to first shows or hides the first rows, while set first_last to last shows or hides the last rows.

num_rows

The num_rows subparameter sets the number of rows to be hidden or shown. For example, num_rows: '10' will show or hide either the first or last 10 rows of the result set from the visualization.

Series parameters

The parameters described in this section correspond to the options in the Series section of the visualization editor for column charts.

colors

The colors parameter specifies a list of colors for the series. The first color in the list corresponds to the first data series. If there are more series than listed colors, the colors will start over at the beginning.

For all chart attributes that specify a color, the color value can take a hex string, such as #2ca6cd, or a CSS named color string, such as mediumblue.

series_colors

Set the colors of the series based on the series name, using name: value pairs.

For a pivoted chart, the series names are the pivot names.

For a chart with multiple measures, the series names are the measure field names.

If the series name is not listed in series_colors, the chart will default to the list of colors provided in colors. If colors is not set, the chart will fall back to the default color scheme.

series_labels

Set the labels of one or more series based on the series name, using name: label pairs.

For a pivoted chart, the series names are the pivot names.

For a chart with multiple measures, the series names are the measure field names.

series_types

The series_type parameter lets you use different Cartesian chart types in the same visualization. Use this parameter to assign a chart type to each series that you want to change. The type options are line, column, bar, area, and scatter.

All series default to the initial chart type that you choose; you can then modify individual series.

show_view_names

The show_view_names parameter determines whether view names are displayed in chart labels, such as axis names and column names.

Value parameters

The parameters described in this section correspond to the options in the Values section of the visualization editor for column charts.

show_value_labels

Display the value of a bar, line, or point next to the data point.

show_null_labels

Determine whether labels should be shown for null columns or bars, when show_value_labels is set to true.

label_color

The label_color parameter accepts a comma-separated list of one or more color values. The color values can be formatted as RGB hex strings, such as #2ca6cd, or as CSS color names, such as mediumblue.

font_size

Set the font size of value labels using any valid CSS size, such as 10px or 12px.

label_rotation

Set the rotation of the value labels. This parameter accepts values between -360 and 360, denoting the number of degrees to rotate the labels. This parameter is only available when stacking is set to the default ('').

label_value_format

The label_value_format parameter specifies the formatting to apply to a value, independent of any formatting applied to the underlying dimension or measure. The field accepts Excel-style formatting. If label_value_format is not specified, the value will be displayed in the format of the underlying dimension or measure.

You can read about how to specify these formats on the Adding custom formatting to numeric fields documentation page. However, color formatting is not supported in Looker.

The formatting used in the label_value_format LookML dashboard parameter is the same as formatting used with the value_format LookML parameter, except that the value_format LookML parameter requires the formatting string to be enclosed in double quotes.

show_totals_labels

Set whether totals are displayed for each stacked group of data points on a chart. This parameter is only available when stacking is set to normal.

hidden_series

The hidden_series parameter specifies which series will be disabled in the chart, meaning that the series will appear in the chart legend, but grayed out. Users can enable disabled series by clicking them in the chart legend. Consequently, hidden_series may not worked as desired with hide_legend: true.

For a pivoted chart, the series names are the pivot names:

For a chart with multiple measures, the series names are the measure field names:

Used together with the show_silhouette parameter, you can specify whether disabled series are shown as a lightly shaded representation in the chart itself.

show_silhouette

When the show_silhouette parameter is set to true and stacking is set to normal, a disabled series will be displayed as a lightly shaded silhouette.

totals_color

This parameter defines the color of the totals labels in a chart. The totals_color parameter is only available when stacking is set to normal.

X-axis parameters

The parameters described in this section correspond to the options in the X section of the visualization editor for column charts.

x_axis_scale

This parameter determines how the x-axis scale is calculated.

• auto: The scale will be inferred from the underlying data. This is the default setting.
• ordinal: The data will be plotted as evenly spaced, discrete entries.
• time: The data will be plotted as time and the axis will be labeled appropriately. This will not work if the underlying data can't be converted to dates.

x_axis_reversed

This parameter sets the direction of the x-axis. When x_axis_reversed is set to false, values increase from left to right. When it is set to true, values decrease from left to right.

show_x_axis_label

This parameter determines whether labels are shown on the x-axis.

x_axis_label

This parameter specifies a label for the x-axis. You can use this parameter when show_x_axis_label is set to true.

show_x_axis_ticks

This parameter determines whether value labels are shown on the x-axis.

x_axis_gridlines

This parameter determines whether gridlines are extended from the x-axis.

x_axis_label_rotation

The x_axis_label_rotation parameter defines the rotation of the x-axis labels in degrees. This parameter accepts values between -360 and 360, denoting the number of degrees to rotate the labels.

x_axis_datetime_label

This parameter specifies a format string for the x-axis labels, if they are dates. If x_axis_scale is not set to time, this does nothing.

See the Time formatting for charts documentation page for information on formatting times.

Y-axis parameters

Under construction: We are working on updating this section of the page. Meanwhile, you can check out the Column chart options documentation page to view equivalent visualization menu options for the y-axis.

The parameters described in this section correspond to the options in the Y section of the visualization editor for column charts.

y_axis_gridlines

This parameter determines whether gridlines are extended from the y-axis.

y_axis_reversed

This parameter sets the direction of the y-axis. When y_axis_reversed is set to false, values increase going up the axis. When it is set to true, values decrease going down the axis.

reference_lines

This parameter specifies an array of values for specifying reference lines and regions.

See the Dashboard reference line parameters documentation page for information on setting up reference lines.