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The Kitchen Table

Explore the product knowledge we've built up together

2111 Topics

milli.koch
Looker Staff
milli.kochLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How do I track which users have unsubscribed from schedules?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Apr 11, 2019 We can use the event_attribute explore to view unsubscribe events. The following URL will display user unsubscribe events by date. System Activity:/explore/system__activity/event_attribute?fields=event.created_time,user.name,event_attribute.value,event_attribute.name&f[event.category]=scheduler&f[event.name]=unsubscribe&sorts=event.created_time+desc&limit=500&query_timezone=America%2FLos_Angeles&vis=%7B%7D&filter_config=%7B%22event.category%22%3A%5B%7B%22type%22%3A%22%3D%22%2C%22values%22%3A%5B%7B%22constant%22%3A%22scheduler%22%7D%2C%7B%7D%5D%2C%22id%22%3A0%2C%22error%22%3Afalse%7D%5D%2C%22event.name%22%3A%5B%7B%22type%22%3A%22%3D%22%2C%22values%22%3A%5B%7B%22constant%22%3A%22unsubscribe%22%7D%2C%7B%7D%5D%2C%22id%22%3A1%2C%22error%22%3Afalse%7D%5D%7D&origin=share-expanded There's also a community post here. This content is subject to limited support.                   

650
milli.koch
Looker Staff
1 year ago
milli.koch
Looker Staff
milli.kochLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How do I change the base Looker URL for links in emails?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Sep 27, 2018 You can change this in Admin > General Settings in Host URL. This is the base instance URL used for links in emails. This includes scheduled emails, password reset emails, and setup emails.Note: Make sure the Host URL uses http:// or https:// appropriately, based on your instance’s server configuration. This content is subject to limited support.                   

160
milli.koch
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Morgan
Looker Staff
MorganLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Difference between downloading PDFs in Dev and Production ModeKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Jun 4, 2019 Regardless of what mode you are in, PDF downloads always come from the production code.There is an existing discussion on allowing downloads of dev mode versions in Pendo feedback if you search for ID 17678. This content is subject to limited support.                  

310
Morgan
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Morgan
Looker Staff
MorganLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Error Starting Looker: Version XX initial fork failed: Cannot allocate memoryKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Oct 24, 2017 This probably means that a Looker instance is already running on this server. Kill the other process then try again! This content is subject to limited support.                   

210
Morgan
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Morgan
Looker Staff
MorganLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Unexpected WITH near XXXKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Dec 1, 2020 This is one example of an error you can get by using a CTE in a derived table. See ​this post for more info.More examples:BigQuery:Syntax Error: Expected \"(\" or keyword SELECT but got keyword WITH at... This content is subject to limited support.                   

280
Morgan
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Morgan
Looker Staff
MorganLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Is development mode or production mode used for downloads and schedules?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Dec 8, 2017 Production mode is always used for schedules. Production mode is also always used for rendered jobs (ie PNG/PDF downloads).For downloads that are not png or pdf, we use the mode that the user is in when they download. So, it is possible to export a CSV using dev mode results. But, if you're trying to download PNG or PDF, the resulting export will pull from Production.There is a feature request to use dev mode for PNGs/PDFs. This content is subject to limited support.                   

850
Morgan
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Morgan
Looker Staff
MorganLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

What does "Cache Reset At" mean in the Datagroups tab?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jul 4, 2018 "Cache Reset At" refers to the last time the datagroup was "triggered" and cleared all of the cache for the explore/model/pdt. This corresponds to the sql_trigger parameter used in the datagroup definition."Cache Reset At" does not account for max_cache_age parameters. It only refers to triggered cache clears. The reason is that max_cache_age does not specify a universal cache expiration across the entire datagroup; it only specifies cache expiration for individual queries.  For example, if you have max_cache_age: "1 hour" , and you run queries at 9:00 and 9:05, those cached queries will expire at 10:00 and 10:05 respectively (assuming they have not been busted by a sql_trigger change first).  So there is no single time that would make sense to display for when the max_cache_age resets. This content is subject to limited support.                  

290
Morgan
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Morgan
Looker Staff
MorganLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Can you change the background color of a dashboard?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Oct 19, 2020 Only for Embed dashboards.For Dashboards-Next, it is one of the settings under Dashboard Page in Custom Themes (note that this is a license feature, so it will need to be enabled on an instance).For regular dashboards, there is an "embed settings" option that lets you edit certain options for an embedded dashboard. There are LookML dashboard parameters too. The options look like this:You can't do this for dashboards in the Looker UI. This content is subject to limited support.                  

19270
Morgan
Looker Staff
1 year ago
nathaniel.thompson
Moderator
nathaniel.thompsonModerator
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Will changing the default value in a Dashboard filter update the filter values for existing schedules on that Dashboard?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Sep 18, 2019 No, the default values for the filters on the Dashboard set at the time the schedule is created are the values that will be applied to the schedule (until they are changed manually in the schedule). Changing the default values for the filters on the Dashboard after the schedule is created will not update filters for existing schedules.To apply the new default values to a schedule, you can either create a new schedule with the same settings (save for the filters) as the old one, or manually update the filter values on the older schedule.You can add your vote to allowing a schedule to automatically inherit a saved Look default filter values here. This content is subject to limited support.                   

760
nathaniel.thompson
Moderator
1 year ago
nathaniel.thompson
Moderator
nathaniel.thompsonModerator
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Does using derived_table or sql_table_name in an extending view override the original view's derived_table or sql_table_name?Knowledge Drop

Last tested; Mar 11, 2021 Yes! Even though usually, extends will only replace parameters that have the same name definition, sql_table_name and derived_table are special, since they're mutually exclusive. They cannot both be used at once in a single view file. Therefore they follow standard extends logic as if they were the same parameter, and the losing view's table parameter is ignored.Example: When using an explore with view_a, my_fancy_table is used in the generated SQL. When using an explore with view_b, the derived table with my_favorite_table is used in the generated SQL.view: view_a {sql_table_name: my_cool_schema.my_fancy_table ;;...} view: view_b {extends: [view_a]derived_table: { sql: SELECT * FROM my_cool_schema.my_favorite_table ;;}...}  This content is subject to limited support.                   

1150
nathaniel.thompson
Moderator
1 year ago
noah.kawasaki
Looker Staff
noah.kawasakiLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Can I set the caching policy for an individual Look or Dashboard?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Sep 24, 2018 No, currently you can set the persist_for parameter for the model and explore level.There is a feature request open for votes for more granular caching settings This content is subject to limited support.                   

90
noah.kawasaki
Looker Staff
1 year ago
noah.kawasaki
Looker Staff
noah.kawasakiLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How to set an embedded dashboard filter name as a saved variable with JSON.stringify()Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Dec 24, 2018 When using embedded Javascript events you might use JSON.stringify() to pass a string into the postMessage() function.Example function that takes in filter and value and tries to pass them into the JSON inside of JSON.stringify()function updateFilters(filter, value) {var iframe = document.getElementById('looker');var update_request = JSON.stringify({"type": "dashboard:filters:update","filters": {filter : value}})iframe.contentWindow.postMessage(update_request, "https://{{ domain }}")} This will not work, the value variable will be turned into a value like "Sweaters", but the filter will turn into "filter" and not the name of the filter on the dashboard like "Category"To get both the key AND the value passed in, we need to add this data into the JSON differently...filter_name = "Category"var object = { "type": "dashboard:filters:update", "filters": {}}object['filters'][filter_name] = value... This will go into the filters hash of object, and then set "Category"

730
noah.kawasaki
Looker Staff
1 year ago
noah.kawasaki
Looker Staff
noah.kawasakiLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Error: An error occurred for action looker-integration://1::segment_event. The action could not be executed.Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Sep 12, 2018 Did you forget the tags parameter?If you have access, you can check for this line in logs:[ERROR|00846|] :: Looker::Scheduler::Webhook::ActionHubExecuteError : Query requires a field tagged email or user_id or segment_anonymous_id.Side_note: Looks like once you have added tags[] parameter the code needs to be pushed to production too.Docs for Segment This content is subject to limited support.                  

1070
noah.kawasaki
Looker Staff
1 year ago
paola
Looker Staff
paolaLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Can non-admins find their API Client ID and Secret in Looker?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Apr 6, 2018 Only Admin users can see a user's API Client ID and Secret. Non-Admin users who have the see_users permission can see Client ID's but not secrets.If a non-admin user is given a Client ID and Secret for the API, they should store it somewhere secure. This content is subject to limited support.                  

800
paola
Looker Staff
1 year ago
paola
Looker Staff
paolaLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Is it possible to manage access for the Embed Groups space/folder?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Dec 24, 2019 An admin user will see a "Manage Access" option when viewing the folder. However, we can't manually specify which groups/users have access to this folder. This is defined in an SSO embed script.When an embed user is given access to the embed groups folder via an SSO external_group_id, they will be given Manage Access / Edit permission on that folder by default. At that point, an Admin user can Manage Access on the folder for that group and change the access level to View for that specific group. Then, the next time the user logs in, they will not have the option to save or edit content in their group folder: This content is subject to limited support.                  

780
paola
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
Peggy_BeardLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Why is lookVR spinning when I choose a look?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Mar 6, 2018 LookVR doesn’t show error messages well at the moment. Ensure the user you are using with LookVR has credentials to see the look you are trying to view in VR. You can test this by sudoing as the user in Looker and opening the look in the native Looker UI.It is also helpful to find find lookvr in steam and right click it and choose Properties > Local Files> Browse Local files and in the folder LookVR_Data there is a file called output_log.txt This content is subject to limited support.                  

60
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
Peggy_BeardLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

What causes "The requested file failed to load" on a lookML file?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Nov 1, 2018 One reason could be a non-utf8 character in the file. This would result in a log message similar toJSON::GeneratorError : source sequence is illegal/malformed utf-8 From the Linux command line, this command will show lines containing non-utf8 charactersgrep -axv '.*' file.txt where file.txt is replaced with myview.lkml , for example.Another possible reason you should keep in mind is browser extensions, especially Add blockers like ABP can prevent a file from being loaded. This usually happens if the file contains dimensions/measures related to advertisement or ads. This content is subject to limited support.                   

30
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
Peggy_BeardLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Why won't a lookML error go away?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: May 22, 2018 A user may correct a lookML error or warning, re-validate, and the error just won't clear. In some cases it is referencing a field which can't even be found in the project. For example, you had a typo, found it when doing a validation check, corrected the typo, but the validation error or warning still won't clear.Some things to try are toggling dev mode on and off, and doing a hard refresh on the browser. If the changes have been pushed to production, another user can try the validation.Note that The LookML Validator scans only LookML files that have been updated since the last LookML validation, or files that are affected by updates, for more reference check our docs about Validating your LookML This content is subject to limited support.                  

460
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
Peggy_BeardLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How do I reference a parameter of type date in a dimension?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: May 15, 2019 Here is an example:parameter: testDate { type: date} This content is subject to limited support.                   

160
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
Peggy_BeardLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

What causes a 'having' clause in generated SQL?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jan 31, 2019 A filter on a dimension will generally result in a WHERE clause, and a filter on a measure (aggregation) will result in a HAVING clauseSee this doc This content is subject to limited support.                   

830
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
Peggy_BeardLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

What causes duplicate explores in the explore menu?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Oct 29, 2019 One cause is including a model file in a view file. This is sometimes done in an NDT view file. Then when another model is added which includes this NDT view file, all of the explores from the original model file will show up in both models!One way around this is to use a separate explore file, and another is to not include the NDT view file in the new model file. This content is subject to limited support.                  

1360
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
Peggy_BeardLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

A cookie associated with a cross-site resource was set without the `SameSite` attribute. A future release of Chrome will only deliver cookies if they are set with `SameSite=None` and `Secure`Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Nov 4, 2019 This is a change made in Chrome version 80. Looker has made the necessary change to cookies on our end, however, we work with some vendors, such as Doubleclick, that have not made the change yet.The last Looker version that does NOT have the necessary change to our cookies is 6.24.6. Anything after that (6.24.7+, 7.x) should have the fix.Instances started with the no-ssl flag may not set the necessary cookie directives. If self-hosted customers are using this flag to do ssl termination at their load balancer, they should instead use the ssl-provided-externally-by flag. See list of startup flags. This content is subject to limited support.                  

1080
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
Peggy_BeardLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How do you use refinements to change a view in only one explore in a model?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jan 19, 2021 Use the ordering of refinements, as mentioned in this articleLogical example: Model file includes view file for view: aand hasexplore: bjoin: aview: +adimension: newfieldexplore cjoin: aOnly explore c should include the newfield dimension. This content is subject to limited support.                   

2840
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
Peggy_BeardLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Why does my project still have the "Deploy to Production" option when I have enabled pull requestsKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Dec 16, 2020Has the project been deployed to production at least once? The very first deploy can't be via pull request. This content is subject to limited support.                  

130
Peggy_Beard
Looker Staff
1 year ago
Pieter_DeVries
Looker Staff
Pieter_DeVriesLooker Staff
published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How to extract names from email address in table calcKnowledge Drop

Last tested: May 7, 2020 The ProblemUsers will sometimes want to get a substring of their dimension, for example, extracting first.last from first.last@gmail.comA SolutionWe can pretty easily do this with a table calc. We can either use 2 columns or combine them.Create a "position" column to get the length of the string before the value we want. For emails this will be @.Position: position(${users.email}, "@") Then, we create the substring table calc;Name: substring(${users.email},0,${position}-1) The above 2 steps will extract the names, if you would like to combine those into a single column it would look like:Name: substring(${users.email},0, position(${users.email}, "@")-1) This content is subject to limited support.                   

1900
Pieter_DeVries
Looker Staff
1 year ago

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