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The Kitchen Table

Explore the product knowledge we've built up together

2115 Topics

sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Lookerbot Error: "s3: access denied"Knowledge Drop

  Last tested: Jan 2019 You'll want to check that all the keys have write access and are set up according to the repo. One useful tidbit is that the access keys need the s3:PutObjectAcl permission. This content is subject to limited support.                

420
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

What happens when an actively logged-in user is disabled by a second user? Does the first user's session immediately end?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Dec 3, 2020  Yes. They are immediately logged out and see the above screen. This content is subject to limited support.                  

80
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

Weekly Rollup CalculationKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Mar 17, 2020 Like many people out there, you like to automate processes and cringe at the idea that is "manual." Contrary to popular belief, also like many people out there you like to create weekly rollup ranges in you Explore. Well by golly do I have a solution for you.The Dirty:(${week_field} >= add_days(-1 * mod(diff_days(date(2008,01,01), now()) + 1, 7), now()) AND ${week_field} <= add_days(28,now()) AND (extract_years(${week_field}) = extract_years(now())))OR(${week_field} <= add_days(-1 * mod(diff_days(date(2008,01,01),now()) + 1, 7), now()) AND ${week_field} >= add_days(-28,now()) AND (extract_years(${week_field}) = extract_years(now())))To-Note: Order of the two filter conditions doesn't particularly matter here. The only substitutions necessary are swapping out week_field for your week date field.The first filter condition calculates for 4 weeks from now. Whereas the second calculates for weeks prior to now. Within each calc we are comparing a week fi

1080
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

Expand Tables in PDF - APIKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Jul 20, 2020 We have the pdf_paper_size option for the render_task() endpoint, so where's the Expand Tables option, like in the UI?There isn't one. Pendo feature request here.WorkaroundUse anything from the ScheduledPlan set of endpoints. Instead of downloading, we are creating a schedule of the dashboard to deliver this as a PDF. We can use the create_scheduled_plan() endpoint, since this gives us the long_tables option."long_tables": true This should give us the same behavior as expanding tables in the UI. For one-off downloads, we should be able to use scheduled_plan_run_once() for this. This content is subject to limited support.                  

1270
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

Query execution failed: - FULL OUTER JOIN cannot be used without a condition that is an equality of fields from both sides of the joinKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Aug 28, 2020 We see this happen in Standard SQL (BigQuery uses Standard SQL as the default dialect). It comes up when we have multiple conditions for one join using OR - apparently Standard SQL doesn't like this.The workaround here is to join this table multiple times, once for each new condition. If we're using multiple conditions due to null values, we can then add a COALESCE() like: COALESCE(table1.customer_name,table1_alias1.customer_name,table1_alias2.customer_name) in the SELECT statement.If we're writing this in the Explore definition itself, we'll want to make use of the from parameter (joins) and join the same underlying view multiple times to the base explore - then, we'll want to make sure that we bring the correct fields into the explore per joined view, depending on which of the multiple conditions each view is associated with.The cited Stackoverflow article helps describe the behavior a bit further with a full example.cite: Stackoverflow This content is subje

8790
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

RendererNoDataError, while rendering pdf/png.Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Apr 19, 2020  2020-04-08 10:05:54.770 +0000 [INFO|0097a|event:render] :: Render job data not found by user 12020-04-08 10:05:54.772 +0000 [ERROR|0097a|] :: Looker::Render::RendererNoDataError : Render job 9d16e8a23065a16edc63f09c21a04a51 data not found uri:classloader:/helltool-component-build/lib/helltool/render/manager.class:491:in `get_render_results' uri:classloader:/helltool-component-build/lib/helltool/controllers/render_controller.class:163:in `block in GET /render/result/:slug/:filename'2020-04-08 10:05:55.021 +0000 [WARN|0097a|http] :: (0.306463s) Request complete: 500 /render/result/9d16e8a23065a16edc63f09c21a04a51/Internal%20Price%20Checker%202020-04-08T0304.pdf One of the possible causes that might trigger this exception that I came across was the fact that time was out of sync on one of the new nodes that were added to the cluster. We essentially treat nodes that have a bad heartbeat as impostors. It'll still pick up tasks but it won't be allowed to talk to th

680
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 migrate System Activity Dashboards?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Apr 13, 2020 YESScenario:I have a System Activity Dashboard that I've created on one of my instances and I want to migrate that over to another instance.How to (LookML Dashboard way [not gazer]):Access the System Activity Dashboard and get a copy of the lookML version of the dashboard Navigate to your other instance and go into the IDE of one of your existing projects Add the lookML dashboard file Paste your dashboard lookML from step 1 into this file Navigate to your model file and add an include statement to include dashboard lookML file. Go back to the LookML Dashboard file and click the upside down triangle and we should be able to see a View Dashboard option. Another way to access your newly migrated System Activity Dashboard is to access it from the LookML Dashboards Folder (All Folders > LookML Dashboards) Steps 4-6:Explanation:As you'll see when we get the LookML Dashboard file for our System Activity Dashboard, the model that it's based off is called system__ac

920
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 embed in Salesforce?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Nov 18, 2019 We have an article on how to privately embed Looker in Salesforce on Community: https://community.looker.com/embedding-looker-powered-by-looker-75/embedding-looks-and-dashboards-into-salesforce-sfdc-561OKay, but what if i want to use sso embed?If you are using SSO embed, you'll most likely want to create unique embed URL parameters based on the credentials of the Salesforce user. Normally this function would be performed in a script in your internal app, but you can use Salesforce Apex to write the script to generate your embed URLs inside Salesforce itself. You can retrieve the current Salesforce user’s email address, then use that to create a unique external_user_id from that address and specify permissions, models, user attributes, etc. accordingly. Here is an example script: https://github.com/looker/looker_embed_sso_examples/pull/3/files This content is subject to limited support.                  

6430
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 access_filter, sql_always_where, full_suggestions, and bypass_suggest_restrictions work with filter suggestions?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Sep 1, 2020 To understand how these parameters interact with filter suggestions, it's important to understand the full_suggestions parameter first. Here is the principle to remember:full_suggestions: no means the filter suggestion query will run against the view. full_suggestions: yes means the filter suggestion query will run against the explore.For a basic explore, the default value for full_suggestions is no. This is intended to make filter suggestions more performant, since the query can run against a single table without any joins, without using any of the logic defined in the explore. However, you can manually set full_suggestions to yes instead, and the query will use the logic of the explore that you are in, along with any of the joins that are required to query that dimension in the explore.Sql_always_where, ALWAYS_JOIN, and access_filterWhen the explore has the sql_always_where, always_join, and/or access_filter parameters, the default value of full_suggestions s

6200
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago
sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How secure are Public Look URLs, and can I make them more secure?Knowledge Drop

   Last tested: June 2021 Public Looks are completely public. In that way, they are not at all secure.However, the URL is a random hash, which should be unguessable. In that way, they're fairly secure.You can make your Public Look more secure by setting up IP allowlisting on your Looker instance. This content is subject to limited support.                

300
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Can I use Self-Signed Certificates with Lookerbot?Knowledge Drop

  Last tested: Jan 2019 The source of truth to answer this question is the lookerbot repo. It says:If your Looker instance uses a self-signed certificate, Lookerbot will refuse to connect to it by default.Setting the NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED environment variable to 0 will instruct Lookerbot to accept connections with invalid certificates. Please ensure you have thouroughly evaluated the security implications of this action for your infrastructure before setting this variable.This should only impact on-premise deployments of Looker. Do not set this environment variable if Looker hosts your instance.  This content is subject to limited support.                

120
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How to write a PDT Trigger Value that rebuilds multiple times per dayKnowledge Drop

  Last tested: June 2019 The ProblemI want to set a PDT Trigger value which rebuilds twice a day. The docs only say how to build once a day! In this example, let's say I want to build at 0900 and 1700 daily.A SolutionWhen approaching trigger problems, it helps to envision a table of desired values. In this case, you want to make sure that the trigger value changes at 0900, but doesn't change back at 0901. It needs to be exactly the same value from 0900 to 1659, then change at 1700, then be the same value from 1700 to 0859 the next day. In tabular form:Time Value 0859 0 0900 1 0901 1 1659 1 1700 0 1701 0 We can achieve this pretty easily with a CASE WHEN!CASE WHEN [current time is between 0900 and 1700]THEN 1 ELSE 0ENDGeneral FormGenerally, for n desired times:CASEWHEN [current time is in between time 1 and 2] THEN 1 WHEN [current time is in between time 2 and 3] THEN 2...WHEN [current time is in between time _n-1_ and _n_] THEN _n-1_ELSE _n_ END  This content is su

1510
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How can I find out who added a dashboard tile to my dashboard, and when?Knowledge Drop

  Last tested: May 2021 You can't see this in the UI at the moment, but you can use the dashboard explore in System Activity to see the created date of each dashboard element.https://[HOSTNAME]/explore/system__activity/dashboard?fields=dashboard_element.created_date,dashboard_element.id,dashboard_element.type,dashboard.id,user.name&f[dashboard.id]=999&sorts=dashboard.id+desc&limit=500&query_timezone=America%2FLos_Angeles&vis=%7B%7D&filter_config=%7B%22dashboard.id%22%3A%5B%7B%22type%22%3A%22%3D%22%2C%22values%22%3A%5B%7B%22constant%22%3A%22999%22%7D%2C%7B%7D%5D%2C%22id%22%3A0%2C%22error%22%3Afalse%7D%5D%7D&dynamic_fields=%5B%5D&origin=share-expandedNote: Make sure to replace the [HOSTNAME] above by your company url, and then filter on the proper dashboard ID!If you need to know which element ID corresponds to which query, you'll have to use the "get dashboard" API call.There is a feature request you can vote for to add this metadata on the system activit

3160
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Error: 'time' param is not within 5 minutes of the server's system timeKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Oct 2020 This error comes up for SSO embed URLs. Basically, there are two main reasons: The link needs to be hit within 5 minutes of it being generated. Try generating the link again. The time on the server generating the URL is actually 5 minutes off of the time on the Looker server. Check what the servers think the current time is with the date command line call. This portion is mentioned in our docs right here: https://docs.looker.com/reference/embedding/security#sso_embed_parameters"The signed part of the URL contains a timestamp. Once the URL is used to sign on, that time must be +/- 5 minutes from the current time." This content is subject to limited support.                

400
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Error "Could not find a view named x" when extending a viewKnowledge Drop

  Last tested: April 2020 When extending a view, remember to include the view you're extending.include: "base.view"view: new {extends: [base]}Make sure that the string inside include is the filename (what you see on the list on the left hand side), and that the string inside extends is the actual view name. (The string defined at: view: view_name inside the view file).Extending a view (docs)This content is subject to limited support.                

410
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Can I use pagination on query results?Knowledge Drop

  Last tested: May 2021 Pagination is a method by which users can download "chunks" of results rather than the whole dataset at one time. Wikipedia has some nice details.Currently, Looker doesn't offer anything like that. To be able to get all results you need to download/schedule "all results". You can vote for the Feature request here: Pagination Support. This content is subject to limited support.                

2460
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

SMTP Error: `failed to send mail: execution expired`Knowledge Drop

  Last tested: Jan 2019 Make sure ports are opened. According to the outbound ports doc you should allow traffic to smtp.sendgrid.net on port 587 and allowlist noreply@looker.com and noreply@lookermail.comIf you are self-hosted in Google Cloud, then you should follow this article for SMTP setup. This content is subject to limited support.                

2040
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Lookerbot Error: 401 "Unauthorized"Knowledge Drop

  Last tested: Sep 2019 This is a generic error message that can mean a lot of things.The first thing to check would be to go view the content as the Lookerbot user and make sure you have access in Looker.One user ran into this because they didn't set lookerbot environment variables, specifically the LOOKER_WEBHOOK_TOKEN. This content is subject to limited support.                

550
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Action Hub query never completesKnowledge Drop

  Last tested: Sep 2019If a query runs forever in Action Hub, it might be because it's too large or because there are multiple streaming queries.Try reducing size and load and see if it goes through.Self-hosted customers might also experience issues sending/scheduling data via Action Hub and some streamed destination if your repo is not public. You might try : Making your repo public. Switching to a Looker-hosted instance.   This content is subject to limited support.                

110
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Why isn't "PNG visualization" showing up as an option in the 'Download' modal?Knowledge Drop

  Last tested: Sep 2109To send or download data in image-based formats, such as PNG or PDF files, Looker requires a rendering software. So, the option only appears if you have the rendering software installed.The rendering software that is currently used is Chromium . This is automatically installed for Looker-hosted customers. If you have a self-hosted instance, you can follow this docs page to set it up on your instance.Then the option should appear.There is one corner case in which the png option might not appear even after installing Chromium: trying to download a Lookless tile while not having the explore permission. This is by design.  This content is subject to limited support.                

730
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Can you use Git Stash with Looker?Knowledge Drop

  Last tested: Sep 2020"Stash" has multiple meanings with respect to Git: It's the old name for Bitbucket. They rebranded in early 2018. Looker does support using a Bitbucket repository for Git integration. git stash is also a Git CLI command. Basically it stores away the changes in your working directory so you can start fresh. Git docs. The same effect could be achieved by committing to a branch, and then moving to a branch that has been restored to production. Looker does not implement the stash command, and you may run into errors if you use stash on your repository while it is connected to Looker.   This content is subject to limited support.                

2060
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Which order do I write my join in sql_on?Knowledge Drop

  Last tested: Sep 2020 It doesn't matter. According to docs, you can write the join in any order. Thus these two are equivalent:sql_on: ${order.user_id} = ${user.id} ;;sql_on: ${user.id} = ${order.user_id} ;; This content is subject to limited support.                

530
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Why is my single value visualization font so small?Knowledge Drop

  Last tested: May 2021 ExplanationSingle value visualisations do auto-size, however all single value visualisations on a dashboard will have the same font size. So if you have some tiny tiles next to some large tiles, the font size will scale to match the tiny tiles.Also, if there is more than just the value in the visualisation (e.g. the "Comparison" label in the visualisation settings) then that can make the font size smaller.Workarounds Make sure that the "Comparison label" in the visualisation settings is off. Enlarge the tile size of the smallest tile on the dashboard, which should increase the font size of the other single value visualisations Use HTML on the LookML field as in this community link. Vote for this request in our Feedback system Example of Expected Behaviour This content is subject to limited support.                

2310
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
sam
Looker Staff
samLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Why is hitting the samlcallback returning a 403 error?Knowledge Drop

  Last tested: Aug 2020  Check to make sure the callback URL is just myinstance.looker.com/samlcallback. If the URL has anything else in it, like login, then you might get a 403.The only exception is with Okta. Okta automatically injects /samlcallback so we'll just need the base url for the instance with no trailing slash.This content is subject to limited support.                

2080
sam
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
Department of Customer LoveLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How often are datagroup triggers checked?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jan 25, 2021 The frequency of datagroup triggers is determined by two things:1. The PDT & Datagroup Maintenance setting in the connection setting.2. The duration of the regenerator cycle.Datagroup trigger checks happen at the beginning of the regenerator cycle. They are a part of the regenerator cycle. This means that if the regenerator is currently running, then the next datagroup trigger check will happen at the beginning of the next regenerator cycle. If the regenerator cycle takes a while to complete, then datagroup triggers may not be checked as frequently as the PDT & Datagroup Maintenance setting dictates.TL;DRDatagroup triggers are checked at most as frequently as specified in the PDT & Datagroup Maintenance setting. If the regenerator is currently running, datagroup triggers will not be checked until the current regenerator cycle has completed. This is outlined in our 'Troubleshooting PDT Regeneration' help article here. This content is subject to limi

3400
Department of Customer Love
Looker Staff
1 year ago

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