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Previously internal product knowledge now available for you to explore!

  • 1,744 Topics
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1744 Topics

Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

BIGQUERY (Concept): BigQuery ClusteringKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Oct 23, 2018 In August of 2018, Google introduced a beta feature called "Clustering," which allows you to organize, or sort, the contents of your tables by one or more columns. This optimizes performance when filtering or aggregating by those columns. This allows you to optimize performance on a string, because the partitioning can only be done on dates.When to use clustering (for user managing tables in BQ)Currently, BigQuery supports clustering over a partitioned table. Use clustering over a partitioned table when:Your data is already partitioned on a date or timestamp column. You commonly use filters or aggregation against particular columns in your queries.Using with PDTsThere are some downsides that come with clustering discussed in this blog, because the data is only clustered or sorted at the time of the table creation. This means any new data coming into the table will not be sorted or clustered. However, because PDTs need to be consistently rebuilt this does not a

1460
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

413 Request Entity Too Large ErrorKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Jan 21, 2019 This error can be returned by the proxy that sits in front of the Looker server.This seems to be controlled by the client_max_body_size on the proxy side, documented here:http://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_core_module.html#client_max_body_sizeThe default is set to 1M but we set it to 100M on our proxies for our hosted Lookers. This content is subject to limited support.                  

1260
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

What's up with joining on date?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jan 21, 2019 We recommend against joining on date, because it is incredibly non performant.However, if you wants to do it anyway, they need to use the raw timeframe to ensure that time zone conversion happens properly.Merge results should alleviate most join-on-date use cases. This content is subject to limited support.                  

1590
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Why aren't my logs showing up in the admin/logs window?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jan 21, 2019 What to do when admin/logs is showing a blank screen instead of the usual code feed?The first thing to check is whether the logs are being written to the looker/log directory. To check this:cd into the looker/log directory run tail -f looker.logIf logs aren't printed, they are possibly not being written or being redirected to another location. Looker needs the logs to be in the looker/log directory to make the admin/logs window work, so they will need to be both written and stored in that directory. This content is subject to limited support.                  

150
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Why am I seeing outdated branches when I select them in Git Actions?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jul 28, 2020The Problem:After selecting someone else's personal branch, I'm not seeing the changes they had just committed. But when we sudo as the user, we clearly see the new code!The Fix:When you've selected the branch, On the top right corner, Validate the LookML and Pull Remote Changes. This content is subject to limited support.                  

400
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

BIGQUERY (Error): Failed to retrieve data - Not found: Files /gdrive/id/..etc.Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jan 21, 2019 This error can pop up when connecting to/querying from google sheets, and possibly means the sheets file isn't shared with the service account.Below are some steps you can follow to check for this:Go to IAM & Admin Copy the Service Account Email you use for the BigQuery connection (should look something like ****@.iam.gserviceaccount.com) Share the spreadsheet with the above service account emailSource:https://help.looker.com/hc/en-us/articles/360023623234-Live-Spreadsheets-in-Databases This content is subject to limited support.                  

630
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Starting Looker Web Application looker ERROR! You are running Java Version (OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM) which is unsupported. Please ensure that you are running Oracle Java 8 update 161+ or higher.Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Apr 26, 2019 As the install docs say, you needed to use Oracle Java. This stackoverflow article might help you move over.UPDATE: We support OpenJDK 8 181+, however our Startup Scripts have a check that looks for 'java version' as opposed to 'openjdk version', so if you switch to Open JDK,  update the line in your startup script from this:JAVA_VER=$(java -version 2>&1 | sed 's/java version "\(.*\)\.\(.*\)\..*"/\1\2/; 1q') to this:JAVA_VER=$(java -version 2>&1 | sed 's/openjdk version "\(.*\)\.\(.*\)\..*"/\1\2/; 1q') This content is subject to limited support.                  

790
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
molly.lippsettLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Why do I need to specify a type: for my dimension?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jun 1, 2020 The type: of a dimension impacts two things:1. The filter dropdown options list2. How the values are rendered on the front endFor filter options, you'll notice the list of available options for a type: date field differ than those of a type: string -- Looker determines which list to use based on the type: parameter defined for the field.In terms of how values are rendered, if an underlying column is a string datatype but the type: parameter declares number, all values will appear as NULL in an explore since the JavaScript expects a number, as told to it by the type: parameter, but the values themselves are actually strings not numbers so NULLs are returned.The type: parameter does not do any casting. This is a common point of confusion for customers.If you don't specify a type: parameter, the type will default to string This content is subject to limited support.                  

640
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
1 year ago
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
molly.lippsettLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Can I use a dimension in a sql_trigger_value?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Dec 1, 2020 Currently no. You can, however, select from ${view.SQL_TABLE_NAME} This content is subject to limited support.                  

150
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
1 year ago
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
molly.lippsettLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Unable to access SSH key storage, system configuration errorKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Apr 8, 2020 This error can appear when trying to work with git branches in Looker with an SSH-connected repo if the looker user does not have proper permissions over the deploy key directory  This content is subject to limited support.                  

610
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
1 year ago
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
molly.lippsettLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Why are there events in the Events explore without associated users?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Oct 20, 2020There are some events, likeupdate_user_facts_chunk or mail_sent that are performed by the Looker application, rather than any user. These appear in system activity without associated user ids. This content is subject to limited support.                  

50
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
1 year ago
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
molly.lippsettLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Does changing the default color palette change visualizations colors?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Aug 24, 2020 Yes! But if you tweaked any part of the color palette, the vis no longer is attached to the default palette, so those custom colors will stay. This content is subject to limited support.                  

780
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Can I store non-lookml files in my git repo? For example: readmes, documentation, sql schema charts, etc.Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Sep 14, 2020 Yes, Looker won't delete files that it didn't create. While deleting a project in Looker may delete the local project directory and its contents, Looker doesn't delete the project's remote repo so files you checked into the remote repo should be ok.However, avoid putting large files into the git repo, especially in project directories in the repo, as project directoriess and all their contents are replicated on disk for every user that has access to that project and enters dev mode. This content is subject to limited support.                  

290
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
molly.lippsettLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found response to deploy webhookKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Aug 6, 2020 This can happen if you're using the wrong webhook secret. Try updating the webhook secret for the deploy webhook and trying again.This can also happen if they are using the wrong project name. Underscores vs dashes is a situation that returned a 404 - error not found when using the cURL webhook with secret. This content is subject to limited support.                  

1950
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
1 year ago
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
molly.lippsettLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

This key will be valid until ACTION_HUB_SECRET is changedKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Jul 24, 2020 If you are seeing this error when setting up a self-hosted action hub, even though you have changed the ACTION_HUB_SECRET, check if you restarted the Action Hub server after changing that variable.Environment variables, like ACTION_HUB_SECRET, are loaded into the server at start. This means a restart of that server would be required to load up the changes This content is subject to limited support.                  

120
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Calculation references field "xx.xxx" not in queryKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Jul 6, 2018 You've probably seen this in the content validator! This refers to a table calc or custom field that relied on a measure or dimension that were removed from your look! The table calc is looking for that field, and it can't find it.The solution would be to either:1) Add the measure or field that was removed2) Remove the table calc or custom field This content is subject to limited support.                 

770
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
molly.lippsettLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Are there any repercussions for changing a project name?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Apr 6, 2020 Must update deploy webhooks externally Will effect projects that remotely import this project, as that reference is hardcoded This content is subject to limited support.                  

630
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
1 year ago
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
molly.lippsettLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

What does a bad cron string look like in logs?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Aug 3, 2018You will see something like: ArgumentError::Bad Vixie-style specification /10 This content is subject to limited support.                  

160
molly.lippsett
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Git Error -- Pull Production Failed Failed: Checkout conflict with filesKnowledge Drop

Last tested: May 20, 2019 This error occurs when we try to pull from production while uncommitted changes are in the local dev branch. As a result, git rejects the pull request altogether. Committing changes, then pulling from production will surface the merge conflict.The same applies when we try to pull from remote with uncommitted changes in the local dev branch.If you don't care about losing the changes: Commit changes --> Merge Conflict --> Select Revert to Production This content is subject to limited support.                 

15160
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Do we currently support git merging between branches other than between the production and current branches?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Apr 13, 2021Short answer, no. If you have a shared branch that you want to merge into your personal branch, for instance, you cannot do this within the Looker UI. You can, however, start a new shared branch from any other branch. This content is subject to limited support.                   

430
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Logic behind "drill_fields" that gets auto-generated when we "create view from table"Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jul 2, 2019 When a view file is generated by "create view from table", measures(count) gets created with drill_fields with the following fields:count fields joined in IDs from other views auto-joined (when multiple views/project is created) the primary key dimensions that end with name or created_timeAfter this, the drill_fields parameter is created. It may or may not involve a set:If the number of fields from above is > 5, then a set called "details" is created. If the number of fields from above is < 5, then the drill_fields parameter is added directly to the measure like so: drill_fields: [id, users.id, users.first_name, users.last_name]  This content is subject to limited support.                   

700
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Can I send System Activity data to other users or non-admins?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Mar 9, 2018 Yes, you can send System Activity content to other users, even non-Admins. For example you could schedule a csv attachment to go to any user. Just note that only Admins and users with the see_system_activity permission can view that data back in the Looker platform. This content is subject to limited support.                   

120
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

What to do if you see "The resource 'LexpLang could not be loaded'" error when loading dashboards but not individual looks?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Sep 12, 2017 This is most commonly a browser hiccup. Try the following:Clear browser data/cache Open the dashboard in incognito Disable extensions like AdBlock This content is subject to limited support.                   

40
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How do I exclude fields from the base explore view file?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Feb 9, 2018 You can do this as expected, just be sure to include the ALL_FIELDS* lineThis worksexplore: a_explore {fields: [ALL_FIELDS*,-a_explore.category]And this works:explore: a_explore {fields: [ALL_FIELDS*,-category] This content is subject to limited support.                   

1530
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

As an Admin, can I edit or change other user's schedule emails?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Dec 9, 2020 It is possible to access and edit existing schedules created by other users. There are actually three ways of accomplishing this:Using Scheduler Plans page in the Admin panel. There you can reassign yourself as the owner for existing schedules. After reassignment you can then edit as needed and save changes, and if needed, reassign back to the original user. Using the ability to Sudo as other users on your Looker instance. Once you Sudo as a given user, you can edit their schedules as needed, save changes and you're all set. Using the update_scheduled_plan() API Endpoint.For more details on email schedules, you can go to the docs. There is also a feature request you can vote for this to be simpler. This content is subject to limited support.                   

9750
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago

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