To visualize date-based data, you'll configure one or more of the following settings:
The dimension that governs the timeframe of the report (the date range dimension).
The dimension that determines how date-based data in a chart is handled (the time dimension).
The default date range for components that can display or interact with date-based data.
How to compare the current period to a previous period, if desired (the comparison date range).
Date range dimension
The date range dimension tells Insights which of the available dimensions controls the selected component's timeframe.
Set the date range dimension
You may need to set this manually if Insights cannot find a valid date dimension, or if your data source contains a different dimension you want to use.
Select a chart or control.
Select the DATA tab.
In the Data Source section, click the Date Range Dimension, then use the dimension picker to select a valid date dimension.
Default date range
The default date range for your charts and controls depends on their data source. You can change the amount of data shown by setting the Default Date Range property. You can set this property for your entire report, specific page, or for one or more charts and controls on a page.
Set the default date range
To change the default date range for one or more charts or controls, select them.
Next:
In the Properties panel on the right, select the DATA tab.
Scroll down to find the Default Date Range property.
Select Custom.
Click the currently selected range to display the date range options.
Date range options
When you configure date range properties for a chart, or use a date range control, you have four kinds of date ranges to choose from:
Auto
Fixed
Preset
Advanced
For comparison periods, you can also select:
Previous period
Previous year
Auto date ranges are set as the default based on the data source for the selected chart. For example, Sheets data sources default to the entire date range found in the Sheet.
Fixed date ranges specify exact beginning and ending dates. For example, January 1, 2019 to January 31, 2019. Charts with this fixed range will always show data for those dates only.
Preset date ranges give you options such as "Today," "Last week (Mon-Sun)," and "This year to date." Preset date ranges are relative to "today" and adjust as time passes.
Advanced date ranges let you create flexible custom rolling dates. See below for more details.
Previous period--compares the currently selected period for the chart to the previous matching period. For example, if the current period is Last 28 days, the comparison is to the previous 28 day period prior to the last 28 days.
Previous year--compares the current selected period to the same period last year. For example, if the current period is This week to date (Sun-Sat), the chart displays comparison data for the matching dates last year.
Use the Include today check box to include any data collected so far for the current day (if applicable).
Insights defaults to starting the weekly rolling window on Sunday. You can change this to start on Monday by selecting This week (Mon-Sun) or Last week (Mon-Sun) in the date options list.
Advanced date ranges
Advanced date ranges let you configure custom date periods for both the current date range and the comparison date range. For example, you can create date ranges such as "last 90 days from yesterday," or "last 52 weeks from last week" or compare the "current 30 days to the last 30 days, aligned by day of the week."
Configure an advanced date range
In edit mode:
Open the calendar widget in the date range properties for the selected chart, the current page, or the report.
In view mode:
Open the date range control.
Scroll to the bottom of the list of preset date options.
Click Advanced.
Set the Start date:
Select Today to make the start date a rolling date.
Select Fixed to make the start date a specific calendar date.
Select Minus to make the start date a date in the past, or select Plus to make the start date a date in the future.
Enter the number of date units.
Specify what date units to use.
Repeat steps 4 - 7 for the end date.
Click APPLY.
Examples
Last 90 days from yesterday.
Last 30 days from today.
Next 2 quarters from this quarter.
You can see other examples by selecting a preset date range, then viewing how it is configured as custom rolling date range. For example, configure your chart to use the "Last week (starts Monday)" preset range. Then open the advanced settings dialog to see how to it is set up as a custom rolling date range.
Visualize dates in charts
Any chart in Insights can display date dimensions. However the time series and area chart are optimized to display date-based information, because they include a time dimension. The time dimension specifies how you want to aggregate the data according to the date unit.
For example, if you use a time dimension that has a type of Date, your chart shows aggregated data by year, month, and day. If you choose a time dimension with a type of Year Month, your data is aggregated by those units (year and month). In addition, the time series and area charts automatically sort by date, whereas other charts allow sorting by any dimension or metric.
Comparison date range
Some charts can compare the current date range to another range in the past. For example, in a time series, the comparison data appears as a line of a different color from the current data. In a table, the comparison data is shown as the delta from the current data, with an increase or decrease indicator.
Set up a comparison date range
Select a time series, table, area chart, or scorecard.
On the right, in the DATA tab of the properties panel, scroll down to the Default Date Range section.
Under Comparison date range, choose the comparison period.
Click APPLY.
Examples
Previous period / previous year
Assume today's date is January 1, 2019, and the currently selected period for the chart is Last 7 days:
Now, assume today's date is January 2, 2019:
Advanced date comparison
Compare the last 30 days from yesterday to the 30 days prior to that, aligned by day of the week (e.g., compare Monday to Monday).
Compare year to date to two years ago.
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