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The Kitchen Table

The Kitchen Table

Explore the product knowledge we've built up together

2115 Topics

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molly.lippsettLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Can I force a user to use a filter but allow them to change which filter they use?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Aug 21, 2018 Yes! You can use the conditionally_filter parameter on your explore, which allows you to specify a filter that can be overridden with other filters that you also specify.Doc This content is subject to limited support.

molly.lippsettLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How do I check the Chromium version on an instance?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Sep 10, 2018 According to docs, after installing Chromium you can check the version on the instance with:chromium --version This content is subject to limited support.

molly.lippsettLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Does "Merge by Email" overwrite a SAML credential if one already exists?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Mar 13, 2019No - "Merge by Email" triggers if and only if an existing account with a matching saml_user_id doesn't already exist This content is subject to limited support.

molly.lippsettLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Can I query system activity via the API?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Nov 23, 2018 Yes! As long as the user whose API credentials are being used has the see_system_activity permission assigned, they can query system activity explores with the API. Then, query and look related API calls work, but model related API calls don't work, consistent with the Looker UI, once you can't see the system activity models there either. This content is subject to limited support.

Pieter_DeVriesLooker Staff

asked in Technical Tips & Tricks

More than three conditional/dynamic value formats. INCLUDING negative numbers

Those sweet sweet Bs Ms and Ks Huge shoutout goes to @Hugo_Selbie who came up with this formula. dimension: value { sql: CAST(${TABLE}.value as integer) ;; type: number html: {% if value > 1000000000 %} ${{value | divided_by: 1000000000 | round:2 }}B {% elsif value >= 1000000 and value < 1000000000 %} ${{value | divided_by: 1000000 | round:2 }}M {% elsif value >= 1000 and value < 1000000 %} ${{value | divided_by: 1000 | round:2 }}K {% elsif value >= 0 and value < 1000 %} ${{value | round:2 }} {% elsif value > -1000 and value < 0 %} ${{value | round:2 }} {% elsif value > -1000000 and value <= -1000 %} ${{value | divided_by: 1000 | round:2 }}k {% elsif value > -1000000000 and value <= -1000000 %} ${{value | divided_by: 1000000 | round:2 }}M {% elsif value <= -1000000000 %}

Pieter_DeVriesLooker Staff

posted in Technical Tips & Tricks

Using multiple values in a single parameter

In the event that you want to do something crazy like this:When you want parameters to be all they can be Parameters are incredibly useful tools, which basically work by injecting values into your sql or labels or wherever you put them. They are usually marred by the fact that you can only use a single value at a time per parameter field.However where we have SQL, there is a always a way to make things more complicated than they need to be, and more hacky than is feasible.Behind the method to the madness (Written in SNOWFLAKE): parameter: number_list { suggest_dimension: user_id type: string } dimension: secondary_dimension { type: string sql: array_construct( TO_NUMBER(SPLIT_PART({% parameter number_list %}, ',', 1)), TO_NUMBER( IFF( SPLIT_PART({% parameter number_list %}, ',', 2) = '', 0, SPLIT_PART({% parameter number_list %}, ',', 2))) ) ;; } dimension: change_value { type: string sql:

Pieter_DeVriesLooker Staff

posted in Technical Tips & Tricks

Creating a pie chart with over 50 rows using table calcs to create an "Other" bucket

It is sometimes the case that we need to create a pie chart, or any other chart that has row limits, but our raw data exceeds those limits.We can always make Lookml or SQL Database changes to create buckets, such as seen here:but that doesn’t always match our work flow.My solution is an explore-only purely table calc driven solution. There are 3 main parts.Creating a new dimension with “Others”, notice it is important to sort on your measure to make sure “others” matches the criteria: states_with_others: if(row()<50,${events.state},"Others") Creating a hide column, that allows us to use yes,no to hide certain rows so that they stay within our requirements: hide_after_50: if(row()>50,no,yes) This uses the “Hide No’s from Visualization” solution seen here: https://docs.looker.com/exploring-data/using-table-calculations#using_table_calculations_in_visualizations Integrating non-”other” dimensions with “other” dimensions: count_with_others: if(${states_with_others}="Others",sum(if($

ruth.mcelroyLooker Staff

asked in Technical Tips & Tricks

User does not have bigquery.jobs.create permission in project error

If we are hitting the error “BigQuery connection is hitting this error User does not have bigquery.jobs.create permission in project `project_name`” for a connection where we have granted the user the BigQuery Data Editor and BigQuery Job User role already then we may need to check our value for the `Project Name` parameter in the connection.For bigQuery connections `Project Name` in the connection panel needs to be the `Google project ID` rather than the name per our docs here. In this example we click on the project name Actions in the BQ console which shows us the project ID is actions-279322. actions-279322 is the value we need for our looker connection in this case:

medha.acharNew Member

published in Common Account Questions

How can I stop my instance from getting automatic release updates?Knowledge Drop

Whether you want to explore our early access release option, our extended support release program, or would just like to temporarily pause updates on your instance, please reach out to your dedicated account manager to make any changes to your release schedule. If you choose to pause your schedule, please also work with your account manager to unpause release updates when the time is right for you, as your schedule will not go back to default automatically. Be sure to refer to our documentation on our release overview to better understand our update processes and your release options.

medha.acharNew Member

published in Common Account Questions

Where can I submit a feature request?Knowledge Drop

Please refer to this community post which describes our new Pendo feedback process. You can now see a link in the help dropdown in Looker that says “Product Idea?”. Click that link and you’ll be taken to their request dashboard. From there, you can see what’s coming, what others have suggested, and what’s recently been released.Please note that we review requests regularly to read and tag them, but you may not get a direct response immediately. Our roadmap doesn’t change that frequently, so if a feature isn’t already on it, the most likely situation is that we’ll mark it as “Awaiting Feedback”. This means we’ll keep an eye on the request, see if other users are running into similar problems, and think about how we can address it in the future.

medha.acharNew Member

published in Common Account Questions

My looker instance is down. Who do I talk to?Knowledge Drop

If you are experiencing a complete loss of application functionality, causing a critical impact on business operations, the fastest way to get in touch with technical support is to reach out to urgent@looker.com. You can expect a response time within 1 hour during business hours for critical cases, and within 2 hours during off hours. Be sure to reference our help article for more information on business hours and support details. For general matters, you can reach Looker Support by using our in-app chat application. Click the Chat option from the Help Menu in the upper right-hand corner of the app, and type your question. Alternatively, you can submit a request using this request form.

jamesnestlerLooker Staff

posted in Technical Tips & Tricks

No Matching Signature for operator >= for argument types: TYPE, OTHER TYPE

SQL Error Series #1: Type Errors Post Context: This content is adapted from our internal SME (Subject Matter Expert) curricula. Similar to knowledge drops, this content may be highly Looker specific and may become out of date in the future. The goal is to convey a high level understanding of a common SQL query issue and convey next steps for troubleshooting and resolving. What does it mean?This is a SQL error that is complaining about comparing two different datatypes. You may see a specific error that complains about DATE, TIMESTAMP; VARCHAR, INT; or really any other combination of datatypes. See your dialect's documentation for more information.An ELI5 example is if you tried to compare a number to a string. Is 1 >= 'orange' ? These ambiguities freak out computers and throw an error. For most dialects, all comparison's must be between compatible datatypes (eg a string vs a string, a number to a number, etc).The high level steps to resolve this issue would be:Identify the specific

published in DCL Mic Drops

New DCL Mic Drop: Annie HeMic Drop

DCL Mic Drop #4 The Department of Customer Love (DCL) is Looker’s all-knowing support team. Yes, they're actually called that. They’re kind of the brains behind this whole operation! You may have talked to them via support chat or on a ticket, or maybe even in the Looker Community. Besides being true Looker savants and genuinely interesting characters, DCLers deeply understand our users’ experiences and challenges because they’re in the code with our users every day, helping work through it. We’re super excited that now each month, we’ll publish a new Mic Drop to give you a glimpse behind the curtain to meet one of these fabled DCLers. We will learn a little more about the individual behind the chat magic, as well as leverage their expertise as they select 3-5 Knowledge Drops that you should definitely check out! This month, we are lucky enough to have chatted with @Annie_He! Looker Name: Icebreaker Looker Michael: Annie! Hello - so glad to get the chance to speak with you! I feel lik

jamesnestlerLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How Looker does timezones and how to troubleshoot themKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Feb 1, 2021 Timezones, yikes!You may need to troubleshoot timezones to answer questions like:Why isn't Looker converting timezones correctly? Why is the timezone CONVERT SQL wrong? Inaccurate? Is there a timezone conversion bug? My finance team says timezone conversions are incorrect because order X is missing from our Explore. Why is Looker not doing this correctly?The goal is this article is to help you understand how Looker does timezones and how that interacts with your database.How Looker does timezonesConnections Panel, Database Timezone: This is the timezone Looker THINKS dates are stored in. Will show up as one of the parameters in the SQL Looker generates to convert_timezone in generated SQL, on most dialects. Connections Panel, Query Timezone: This is the timezone Looker will attempt to convert timestamps TO. Shows up as the other parameter in the SQL Looker generates to convert_timezone. User Setting: User Timezone; "User Specific Timezones" related. This will r

adina.katzLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Configuring your Connection for PDTsKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Feb 20, 2020 Requirements:In order to use PDTs, your database will need to be configured to allow Looker to build and maintain tables on the database.Main database connection must support writes. Read-only databases cannot use PDTs* A scratch schema that the Looker database user has adequate permissions to write to. Instructions for setting this up here: https://docs.looker.com/setup-and-management/database-config The connection in Admin > Connections must have the Persistent Derived Tables enabled. This can be enabled here: https://docs.looker.com/admin-options/database/pdtsPDT Override:Once you enable PDTs for your connection, you’ll notice that there is a “PDT Override” column. In the PDT Override column, you can enter separate JDBC parameters (host, port, database, username, password, schema, and additional parameters) that are specific to PDT processes.More information as well as use cases for configuring separate login credentials for PDT processes located in our

ryan.dunlavyLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Can you change the file name of a scheduled report?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: May 31, 2019 No. Please comment on the feature request: https://feedback.us.pendo.io/app/#/case/17616See this page for how files sent to SFTP and S3 are named: How are files sent to SFTP and S3 buckets named? This content is subject to limited support.

ryan.dunlavyLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How does the renderer work?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Feb 11, 2020 When a render job starts to generate a PNG or PDF of a look, explore or dashboard, it goes through the following steps:The render job enters the caching queue, waiting until a caching spot is open. By default, there are 2 render threads but this can be changed with a startup flag (change with caution) Once a spot opens up, the render job enters the cacher. This is where Looker runs all queries in a dashboard, or the single query for an explore or look, and caches the results. This step ensures that once Chromium starts up, it doesn't have to wait around for the SQL to finish. Once the queries are cached, the job enters the render queue where it waits for a render thread. Once a spot opens up, the render job starts. The renderer then starts a Chromium process, and Looker connects to the Chromium process via its developer tools. Chromium then loads the content from Looker from the cache it set in step 2 (as long as the cache has not expired), waits to receive a

noahmacLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How do I add Custom Visualizations to Looker?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Aug 13, 2020 Examples of repos that can be installed through Marketplace:https://github.com/ContrastingSounds/vis-report_tablehttps://github.com/noahamac/viz-inspectorhttps://github.com/looker/viz-multiple_value-marketplaceIf nothing else works: https://github.com/looker/custom_visualizations_v2 This content is subject to limited support.

adina.katzLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

What is a hung PDT regenerator?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Oct 15, 2020 The PDT Regenerator is the process responsible for checking sql triggers and rebuilding derived tables that are persisted using a sql trigger (either via a datagroup or a sql_trigger_value).The regenerator is considered hung when:1. It reports that it is executing sql for a PDT build/ trigger check and that sql is not executing on the database.2. The regenerator process has not begun since the previous regenerator process has completed within the timeframe dictated by the "PDT And Datagroup Maintenance Schedule".If you suspect a hung regenerator, see How to determine if the regenerator is hung.Why do hung regenerators happen?The source of a hung regenerator is usually difficult to track down, as it typically involves something on the network or database side interrupting the regeneration process. We have seen a number of reports of hung regenerators coinciding with Redshift database maintenance, including a mass maintenance Redshift performed that caused a cri

adina.katzLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Can you use sql_trigger_value in a PDT that has liquid in it?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jan 16, 2019 No.You can use persist_for in order to persist the PDT or create different views for your different liquid conditions and use sql_trigger_value in those PDTs (basically, remove the liquid). This content is subject to limited support.

adina.katzLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Filter a column on multiple values from another columnKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Sep 7, 2019 Say you want to filter a column by multiple values in a "sub column", i.e you have a column order id's and a column product id's, and you want to filter for order id's that contain product id A AND product id B.The issue: You can't use a custom filter because that filter is a row based filter and won't account for multiple row values of product id for one value of order id.The bad solution: You can use a PDT to filter on product id A then filter on product id B in the explore (or in a derived table with the filter for A as a sub select)The better solution: A group concatenation aggregate function! How this works: The aggregate function works like any other function and will concat values based on the grouping. Implementation: We can either useApproach 1: Create measure type listmeasure: product_id_list { type: list list_field: product_id;;} Approach 2: Create measure of type string and use appropriate sql dialect for group_concatmeasure: group_concat_product_

adina.katzLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

What is a PDT?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: May 26, 2020 A Persistent Derived Table is a table that is defined in LookML and is by built by Looker on a user's database.Looker uses a CREATE TABLE in SQL and persists the tables built on the database scratch schema, maintaining them (dropping and rebuilding) according to the type of persistence that is used. This content is subject to limited support.

adina.katzLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Does adding the always_filter parameter affect all looks and tiles previously created?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Aug 14, 2018 Yes.Adding always_filter to an existing explore definition adds the set of filters with the default values to any Looks, Explores, or dashboard tiles based on that explore, including previously saved Looks and dashboard tiles that are based on the explore.What this means is:You can have a LookML filter for California Usersexplore: users {label: "users_california"always_filter: {filters: {field: statevalue: "California" } }}But, if you have a filter for "Texas" in the dashboard it will change to a "Texas" Filter.Fun Fact, Exploring from Tile will have "Texas" filter, editing tile will have "California" FilterDocs: https://docs.looker.com/reference/explore-params/always_filter This content is subject to limited support.

adina.katzLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

persist_for PDTs and dev mode PDTsKnowledge Drop

Last tested: May 11, 2020 The creation of PDTs that are persisted using the persist_for parameter is only triggered manually from an explore query. When a user first queries the PDT via an explore/look/dashboard, a table is created on the scratch schema. When a persist_for PDT is created, it is assigned an expiration time that is equal to the create time + amount of time specified in the persist_for parameter. For example, if I have a PDT with persist_for: "5 hours" and I query this PDT for the first time at 12:04 UTC, this PDT will have an expiration time of 17:04 UTC.When a persist_for PDT reaches its expiration time, the PDT is dropped from the scratch schema by the "PDT reaper."PDTs that are defined in LookML that have not been pushed to production (dev mode PDTs) are treated as PDTs that have been persisted for 24 hours, even if they are persisted with the datagroup_trigger or sql_trigger_value parameter. Once the PDT LookML has been pushed to production, PDTs persisted with the d

adina.katzLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Parallel PDTs (Concurrent PDT Builds)Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Feb 15, 2021 As of 7.8, you can configure Looker to build multiple PDTs at a time, per connection. Prior to 7.8, the regenerator is only capable of building one PDT at a time, per connection.Note: Parallel PDTs only applies to PDT builds that are initiated by the regenerator. Builds of persist_for PDTs, dev mode PDT and PDTs build via "Rebuild Derived Tables & Run" are all initiated by an explore thread, and so the will be Build consecutively, not concurrently. How to enable parallel pdtsAdmins can set the number of concurrent builds allowed for their connection in the Max PDT Builder Connections section of the connection settings. This setting has a default of 1 and cannot exceed the Max Connections value. See "How to Optimize" section below for guidance on setting the Max PDT Builder Connection value.Note: Users should confirm their database can handle the increased load before increasing the Max PDT Builder Connections setting. How it worksUnder the hood, Looker bui

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