Quick start guide
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This article explains six key steps that will help you get started quickly using Insights.
Throughout this User Guide, Glossary provides more information on selected terms. Hover over the link to display a summary, or click the link to jump to the full definition. There is table at the end of this article summarizing the terms used here.
Insights are flexible tools: there are often multiple ways to achieve the same results. The workflow described here is just a basic example.
let you visualize your data, gain insights, and share those insights with others.
When you sign in Insights, you'll see the default page is Report with the My Reports tab selected. All the reports to which you are owner appear in the screen. The plus buttons let you create a new blank report, or start with a pre-built report template.
In the top left, click .
Select a default data source for your report by how to select to a source data in the new mailbox and the select Continue.
In a moment, you'll see the report editor, with a blank canvas.
On the toolbar, select a component (chart, control, or others)
Move and resize the chart, as desired.
Add or change the dimensions and metrics by clicking the fields in the properties panel, or dragging and dropping them from the Available Fields panel (to the right of the properties panel).
See your report the way it looks to other viewers.
View mode lets you see all the data and use any interactive controls you've placed on the report to change that data. You can not change the structure of the report in view mode.
Share reports with other viewers. Collaborate with other editors.
Editors need to sign into Insights to edit the report but viewers do not need to be signed in.
Select Invite people from the drop-down list.
Specify the people and/or groups with whom you want to share your data source.
Sharing a report doesn't share its data source.
Let other people create their own reports based on your data source.
There is no need to share a data source if you only want other people to view or edit your reports.
To share a data source, you must access it directly from the DATA SOURCES home page (not via the report). You must be signed into Insights to view or edit a data source.
Hover your mouse over Data, choose Sources.
Find the data source you want to share and click on it to go to the details page.
Go to Settings tab, then access Data Freshness and Share.
Specify the people and/or groups with whom you want to share your data source
Use caution when sharing a data source with edit access. While sharing does not grant access to the underlying data, modifying a data source could cause it to be incompatible with existing charts that use that data source. Sharing a data source with view access lets people create reports without being able to change its structure.
Here is a recap of the terms and concepts used in this article and throughout this Help Center.
Report
An Insights file that contains a collection of components whose purpose is to present to viewers information and insights derived from your data.
Component
A widget you add to a report to display your data, such as charts, tables, and interactive date range controls and filter controls. Data components get their information from a data source.
You can also annotate your report with text, shape, image, and embedded content components.
Connector / Data source
Connecting to your data involves two components that work together:
Connectors connect Insights to your underlying data. Connecting to your data creates a data source in Insights.
Data sources represent a particular instance of a connector: for example, a connection to a specific MySQL table, or Google Sheet. Data sources let you configure the fields and options provided by the connector used to create that connection instance. In addition, the data source gives you a secure way to share information and insights with report viewers who may not be able to directly access the underlying data.
Field
A column of data.
There are 2 basic kinds of fields in Insights:
Dimensions are things you want to measure, or that serve as ways to categorize your data.
Metrics are numbers that measure the things contained in dimensions.
View mode / Edit mode
Edit mode allows you to edit the structure of a report and change, add, or remove data sources.
People who can edit a report or data source are referred to as editors.
View mode allows you to see all the data you are authorized to see, and to use interactive viewer controls. View mode does not allow you to modify the report structure.
People who can only view a report or data source are referred to as viewers.
Sharing and file access
When you share reports and data sources, you determine how other people can access the file:
Can edit access lets people modify the file (making them editors).
Can view access lets people view the file, but they can't modify it (making them viewers).
The advanced sharing options let you control other aspects of file access, such as the ability to download the data or print the report.
The link sharing options let you share your files more broadly around the internet.
Notes: The report is created from the selected data source. To , please read it.
Use the menus and toolbar to add to the report canvas. Use the properties panel on the right to configure the data and style options for the selected items.
In the upper right, clicks . You are now in view mode.
To return to edit mode, click .
In the upper right, click
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