Blend data in charts

Learn how to create blended charts and configure blended data sources.

You can create charts that show data from multiple data sources. In Insights, this is called blending data. There are two ways to create a chart with blended data:

Add data sources to an existing chart

This method blends new data sources into an existing, single data source chart.

1. Edit your report.

2. Select an existing unblended chart.

3. On the right, in the Data Source section of the DATA properties panel, click +BLEND DATA.

This creates a blended data source. The Blend Data panel opens, where you can configure the blended chart by adding more data sources, specifying the join keys, adding or removing fields, etc. See below for details.

Edit a blended data source

Blending data in a chart creates a blended data source and attaches it to the chart. To edit the blended data source:

1. Edit the report.

2. Select the chart that uses the blended data source.

3. In the DATA properties tab, under Data Source, click to the left of the data source name.

This opens the Blend Data panel, where you can configure the blended data source.

Add a new data source

You can blend up to five data sources in a single chart.

To add a data source, click ADD ANOTHER DATA SOURCE in an empty data source panel.

Select a different data source

Click the data source name in a panel to select a different data source. You can select any data source that has already been added to the report. You can also add any data source to which you have access.

If the new data source has different fields from the old one, you may see missing fields in the join key.

Shift a data source

The position of a data source in the Blend Data panel matters: data sources to the left take precedence over those to the right when selecting records to join. The leftmost data source provides the master set of records to include in the blend, while records in data sources to the right are included only if they match the join keys.

To shift a data source, in that data source's panel, click More , then click Shift left/right.

Remove a data source

To remove a data source, in that data source's panel, click More , then click Remove data source.

Removing a data source only removes it from the blended data, not from the report.

Edit the join key

When you create a blend from a set of charts, Insights automatically creates a join key for you. You can change how the data sources are joined by adding to or removing dimensions from the join key.

When customizing the join key, only select fields that exist in all the data sources. The field names can differ, but the data must match in order to establish the relationship between the data sources. For example, you could use fields called "Date" in one data source, and "Day" in another as long as both fields contain matching dates.

To add a dimension, drag it from the Available Fields list to the right of each data source panel. (If the Available Fields panel is hidden, expand it by clicking >.)

To remove a dimension, hover over it and click .

Missing fields in join keys

If Insights can't join your data with the currently selected dimensions, you will see one or more pink "Missing" fields in the join key. To fix this, add different dimensions to the key, or remove the missing fields.

Example of missing join keys.

Add fields to the blended data source

A blended data source contains only the fields you specify. The Fields to include in data source section of each data source panel shows the fields contributed by that data source. You can see the complete list of fields in the blended data source on the far right, under Included Fields.

To add fields to the blended data source, drag them from the Available Fields panel in the selected data source to an open slot under Fields to include in data source. To replace an existing field, drop the new field on top of the old one.

You can edit field names, aggregations, and date display types by clicking the field's data type icon (to the left of the field name).

Limit the number of records in the blended data source

To improve performance, as well as help you focus on the data that's most important to you, limit the size of the blended data by applying a filter or date range. These options appear below the Fields to include in data source section of each data source in the blend.

Restricting the records in the leftmost data source controls the overall selection of records for the blended data source.

Rename the blended data source

Edit the Data source name field at the top right of the Blend Data panel.