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The Kitchen Table

The Kitchen Table

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MorganLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How can I quickly test dev mode PDTs without generating the entire PDT?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Sep 27, 2019 Working Faster in Development Mode (Docs)There are cases when the PDT you're creating may take a long time to generate, which can be frustrating when testing lots of changes in development mode. Looker supports a conditional WHERE clause for development mode that helps manage this:view: my_view {derived_table: {sql:SELECT columnsFROMmy_tableWHERE-- if prod -- date > '2000-01-01'-- if dev -- date > '2015-01-01';;}} Note: if no filtering is wanted in prod, you can do -- if prod -- 1=1, or you can put the WHERE inside the --if dev. Link to full PDT Documentation (Docs). This content is subject to limited support.

1160

1 year ago

MorganLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

FAQ: "Rebuild Derived Tables and Run" with PDTsKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Dec 27, 2018 What is it?The "Rebuild Derived Tables and Run" button will initiate a rebuild of all persistent derived tables involved in the query. It will also initiate a rebuild of all upstream PDTs. When can you see this option?The "Rebuild Derived Tables and Run" button will appear in the cog of an explore or look if:The user has the "develop" permission (as of 4.18) The query uses a PDT that has already been built. The query has finished running. Note: The option will not appear in an Embedded context (with /embed/ in the URL) - public or private, regardless of permissions Another note: not available on dashboardsDoes it affect other users?Sort of. Only the user that clicked the button will have to wait for the rebuild to finish. All other users use the existing table. However, all users will use the new version of the table once it is complete. Other users may also be impacted by the database strain that the rebuild may cause. If you hit this button while in dev mode

2770

1 year ago

milli.kochLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Liquid workaround for creating OR logic in front end filtersKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Nov 19, 2019 The ProblemYou want to allow their users to implement OR logic between two separate filters (e.g. Age >= 25 OR State="New York") but this is not possible using Looker's default filter options. Usually we'll recommend using custom filters to get around this however these are not available on dashboards and are not always business user friendly.A SolutionWe can use templated filters and liquid parameters in a sql_always_where parameter on the Explore to get around these limitations. This will ask a bit more of developers but will ultimately allow them to provide a better solution for their front-end users.Create filter-only fields for the fields that you want users to be able filter with OR logic.filter: state_filter {type: stringsuggest_dimension: state} filter: age_filter {type: number}Create a liquid parameter to allow users to input the filter logic of choice.parameter: filter_logic {type: unquotedallowed_value: {label: "OR"value: "OR"} allowed_value: {la

1700

1 year ago

MorganLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Can you use CTEs (WITH syntax) in a PDT? (common table expressions, aka WITH param)Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jul 1, 2020 You can use CTEs in PDTs, and you can use them in DTs. However, it’s not recommended to use CTEs in PDTs or DTs. Using a CTE can work…but it can also break, and we don’t know when it will nor do we test for it.Ephemeral Derived Tables are created using a WITH statement. Therefore, using a CTE in a DT would create nested WITH statements, which is not allowed in SQL. You may see an error like Syntax error at or near WITHRecommended Fix: take the sql from your CTE and use that in a derived table, then reference that back in the PDT/DT that you are pulling the CTE out ofview: cte_replacement {derived_table: {sql: SELECT id FROM analyst ;;}} view: users_b {derived_table: {sql: SELECT * FROM ${cte_replacement.SQL_TABLE_NAME} ;;}} This content is subject to limited support.

10990

1 year ago

MorganLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Does the scheduler listen to cache?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jun 22, 2017 Yes, a scheduled query will behave the same way as a normal query.In addition, a schedule may use the render cache. This content is subject to limited support.

150

1 year ago

MorganLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Is there a way to see unused fields, explores, views, etc?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jan 21, 2019 You can currently do this with the API, or use the Henry tool for instance cleanup!Note that Henry is an open source tool, and therefore not supported by Looker’s normal support channels. This content is subject to limited support.

3460

1 year ago

MorganLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

What are Query Slugs?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Mar 26, 2020 We currently have 3 kinds of queries: Normal Queries, SQL Runner Queries, and Merge Queries. Information about each resides in its own table in the internal database (normal queries in the query table, sql runner queries in the sql_query table, merge queries in merge_query ). So query id 8 is unrelated to sql query id 8.A query slug is like a string ID. The thing that makes them great is that they are unique across all tables in the database. So if you give me a query slug, I can tell you what kind of query it is.Query slugs looks like this: drhGIqAK7qSRksKg6Y3UWs and are often found at the end of explore URLs. This content is subject to limited support.

5500

1 year ago

MorganLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Is there a way to remove Looker links from scheduled emails?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jun 21, 2017 Per-ScheduleIn Looker 4.20+, there is an option in the scheduler modal to "Include Links" for each scheduled report.Instance-wideThere is also a Whitelabel section of the Admin page where you can turn this off globally.Note: This requires the Whitelabel license feature to be turned on, contact your Looker account manager if you want to make use of this feature. This content is subject to limited support.

350

1 year ago

MorganLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Putting a Dashboard or Look on a TV , Raspberry Pi, Airtame, Display, BroadcastKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Mar 22, 2021 You can only put a dashboard on a TV if the streaming service you use will allow you to log in to Looker. This isn't possible with a Raspberry Pi or Airtame since they only take a web address and don't let you navigate or use any input.The options here are public look or SSO embed.As of Looker 6.24, content can be made public but restricted by IP address - so a public look could be made accessible to the Raspberry Pi's IP address and prohibited for all others.If you are using SSO embed, you can also just have the raspberry Pi web server generate an SSO Url with a particular embed user configuration and you can display a dashboard. You may want to refresh the Looker content you want to display on the TV screen periodically (dashboard refresh?). It's recommended that the Raspberry Pi device generate a new SSO URl periodically as well, perhaps daily. This content is subject to limited support.

2720

1 year ago

MorganLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

What changes will break a look?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jul 1, 2018 The long url of a look is of the form:http://instance.looker.com/explore/MODEL_NAME/EXPLORE_NAME?fields=...filter_config=... This means a look will break or change in the following situations:-model is changed or deleted such that MODEL NAME is no longer valid-explore is changed, moved or deleted such that EXPLORE NAME is no longer valid-field is changed or deleted such that a field name is no longer valid.This means you can move a model to a new project, for example, and the look will not break as long as the explore and model have the same name. This content is subject to limited support.

1 year ago

MorganLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

When does a PDT make upstream (dependent) PDTs get rebuiltKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Jan 16, 2019 Hitting the "rebuild derived tables and run" button will rebuild the current PDTs and any upstream PDTs.A trigger will not cause upstream PDTs to rebuild, unless those PDTs don't exist This content is subject to limited support.

1 year ago

MorganLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

When are semicolons used in LookML?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Jun 15, 2017 The double semicolon is used to end SQL and HTML blocks. It should not be used to end a query in SQL Runner. This content is subject to limited support.

830

1 year ago

MorganLooker 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 card 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.

1280

1 year ago

MorganLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Why don't I have the option to enable pull requests in the git settings?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Apr 27, 2021 Pull requests are only an option for supported providers. If you've chosen "Custom Git Provider" from the dropdown when configuring your git connection, you won't get the option for pull requests.Also, if the repository is hosted by Looker, pull requests are disabled. You will need to host your own repositories if you want to use them. This content is subject to limited support.

350

1 year ago

nathaniel.thompsonModerator

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Who can save in Project Settings?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Apr 1, 2019 Only users with the manage_models permission can save project settings. Some other users (e.g. those with the Develop permission) can see the project settings page, but are unable to save any changes on the page. However, only deploy is required to reset the git connection. This content is subject to limited support.

230

1 year ago

MorganLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

PDF resolutionKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Mar 15, 2019 The default PDF resolution for looks is 800x600px.The default resolution for dashboards is a width of 1680px - height will be adjusted accordingly. the width of the dashboard is locked at 1680 for a dashboard.NOTE: For old PhantomJS rendering, the figure is actually 1280px. The height is set to 1 but the render script that is ran in phantomjs sets the height of the image taken, and cuts off the image if it would go beyond a page break in a pdf file.These are both configurable using API render task endpoints.Note that tables with many columns may get cut off in the "tiled" dashboard pdf format. In this case, the "single tile" format is usually preferable, as the tile will get scaled to a width of 1680, though there is still a limit (somewhere around 20 columns it will get cut off). This content is subject to limited support.

2120

1 year ago

MorganLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Embedded Domain WhitelistKnowledge Drop

Last tested: Jul 21, 2018Want to know what your embedded users are up to? You can do this by broadcasting iframe events to the parent page. For security reasons, we can't go broadcasting Looker events to anyone, so if you want to accept the events, your domain needs to be in the "Embedded Domain Whitelist" in the Embed section of the admin panel. Cite Docs. This content is subject to limited support.

1170

1 year ago

noah.kawasakiLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

Liquid variable {{ view.field._value }} in HTML/link parameters add fields into the SQL or "Why is this field appearing in my query?"Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Dec 7, 2020 When you define an html/link parameter that references a foreign value {{ view.field._value }} or {{ field._value }} Looker will pull this field into the SQL query in order to grab the value to assign this liquid variable to. Because of this, liquid can affect how SQL queries are generated, and how many columns the GROUP BY clause uses.measure: count_without_liquid_link {type: count}measure: count_with_liquid_link {type: countlink: {label: "Hello World!"url: "https://www.google.com/search?q={{ status._value }}"}} SQL Query generated without using foreign liquid variable:SQL Query generated when using foreign liquid variable:Example of how returned results can be confusingAlternative:You can use row[] based liquid reference as shown below, which does not force the referenced field into the query. Note that when using this syntax, the link will only work if the field WAS selected or included in the query by some other means.link: {label: "{% if row['view_name.fie

2900

1 year ago

noah.kawasakiLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

noahmacLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How can I examine the query response objects?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Apr 29, 2020 If you're curious about:what's inside the query response object which field type a table calculation resolves to how the data object is structuredyou might be interested in the Viz Inspector: https://github.com/noahamac/viz-inspectorThis visualization outputs to the screen the visualization objects which are accessible via the custom viz api: data, queryResponse, config, and details. You can copy to clipboard and expand/collapse the object. This content is subject to limited support.

520

1 year ago

noahmacLooker Staff

published in Technical Tips & Tricks

How do I add Custom Visualizations to Looker?Knowledge Drop

Last tested: Aug 13, 2020 More Reading:Visualization LookML object syntax: https://app.getguru.com/card/cpM55dxi/Custom-Visualizations-in-LookML\Network Requirements for On-Prem Instances Connecting to Marketplace: https://app.getguru.com/card/i8gzyyeT/Network-Requirements-for-OnPrem-Instances-Connecting-to-MarketplaceWhat’s in a Marketplace Visualization? https://app.getguru.com/card/c5Gj5X7i/Whats-in-a-Marketplace-VisualizationExamples 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.

910

1 year ago

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The Kitchen Table

How can I quickly test dev mode PDTs without generating the entire PDT?Knowledge Drop

FAQ: "Rebuild Derived Tables and Run" with PDTsKnowledge Drop

Liquid workaround for creating OR logic in front end filtersKnowledge Drop

Can you use CTEs (WITH syntax) in a PDT? (common table expressions, aka WITH param)Knowledge Drop

Does the scheduler listen to cache?Knowledge Drop

Is there a way to see unused fields, explores, views, etc?Knowledge Drop

What are Query Slugs?Knowledge Drop

Is there a way to remove Looker links from scheduled emails?Knowledge Drop

Putting a Dashboard or Look on a TV , Raspberry Pi, Airtame, Display, BroadcastKnowledge Drop

What changes will break a look?Knowledge Drop

When does a PDT make upstream (dependent) PDTs get rebuiltKnowledge Drop

When are semicolons used in LookML?Knowledge Drop

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

Why don't I have the option to enable pull requests in the git settings?Knowledge Drop

Who can save in Project Settings?Knowledge Drop

PDF resolutionKnowledge Drop

Embedded Domain WhitelistKnowledge Drop

Liquid variable {{ view.field._value }} in HTML/link parameters add fields into the SQL or "Why is this field appearing in my query?"Knowledge Drop

How can I use more than one dimension in suggest_dimension?Knowledge Drop

How LookML constants interact with Project ImportKnowledge Drop

Git branches showing up for other developers after being deletedKnowledge Drop

Download Look as PDFKnowledge Drop

When I run ./looker start nothing happensKnowledge Drop

How can I examine the query response objects?Knowledge Drop

How do I add Custom Visualizations to Looker?Knowledge Drop

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