Explorer

Explorer lets you explore SQL run results, chart data sources, and table preview data through a GUI. You can analyze data with filtering, sorting, aggregation, and pivoting without writing SQL, and even add charts or SQL blocks to the notebook from the results.

Key features

Feature	Description
Switching views	Switch the exploration approach between Raw data, Aggregated data, and Pivot.
Setting conditions	Specify Filter, Sort, Limit, and more through a GUI.
Result tabs	Switch between Processed data, Distribution, Chart, SQL, and Source data.
Column header operations	Add sorting, filters, or column statistics from a table's column.
Using exploration results	Add a chart or SQL block, or download data.

Opening Explorer

You can open Explorer in any of the following ways.

Doc page

• Once a SQL block has run successfully, select Explore in the run result header.
• Select Explore from the float menu of a chart, or Open in Explorer in the chart's fullscreen view header.
• Select Explore on a Table preview block.
• On a run result or table preview table, select Open Explorer from the float menu, or Open in Explorer in the fullscreen view header.
• Right-click a table cell and select Open in Explorer to open Explorer filtered by that cell's value.
• From the icon on a value cell in column stats, select Open explorer.

Grid page

• On a grid page, select Open Explorer from the float menu of a Query result table, or Explore from the float menu of a Chart.
• Open in Explorer is also available in the fullscreen view header of a query result or chart, and in the right-click menu on a table cell.

When opened from a grid page, you can't add a chart or SQL block. Only exploration and downloading (if allowed) are available.

Layout

Explorer opens as a full-screen view, divided mainly into the following areas.

Area	Content
Header	Title, auto-run toggle, adding a chart or SQL block, Download.
Left pane	Data source (column list) and the condition form.
Right pane	Result tabs.

Exploring data

1. At the top of the condition form in the left pane, choose Raw data, Aggregated data, or Pivot.
2. Drag and drop columns from Data source, or add fields using each item's selector. Use Filter columns to narrow the list. You can toggle the display between By data type and In original order.
3. Set Filter, Sort, and Limit in common conditions.
4. If the right pane shows Conditions changed. Please re-run the query., select Run query, or turn on Auto-run in the header.
5. Review the results in the tabs of the right pane.

Turning on Auto-run re-runs SQL automatically whenever conditions change, for as long as Explorer stays open. It turns off again when you close Explorer.

Using exploration results

When opened from a doc page and you have edit permission on the notebook, you can do the following.

Operation	Description
Add chart	Adds a chart suggested from the current exploration conditions, and closes Explorer.
Add chart and continue	Adds the chart while keeping Explorer open.
Edit in chart editor	Opens the chart editor, and closes Explorer.
Add SQL block	Creates a new SQL block with SQL equivalent to the current conditions, and closes Explorer.
Add SQL block and continue	Adds the SQL block while keeping Explorer open.
Download	Downloads data based on the current Explorer conditions.

Adding a chart is available when Explorer was opened from a SQL block's run result (or a chart under it). When opened from a table preview, select Add SQL block first, then add the chart.

Views

Field settings carry over as much as possible when you switch views in the condition form. Details for each view are as follows.

Raw data

Explores unaggregated raw data.

Item	Description
Target data > Columns	Specifies the columns to display.
Common conditions	Filter / Sort / Limit.

Aggregated data

Explores data grouped and aggregated by selected columns.

Item	Description
Aggregation conditions > Group by	Specifies the columns to group by (equivalent to a chart's dimensions).
Aggregation conditions > Values	Specifies the columns to aggregate and the aggregation method (equivalent to a chart's metrics).
Aggregate display settings	When you specify multi-level Group by fields, you can choose Flat (default) or Grid for the row hierarchy. Grid is initially expanded and doesn't show subtotals. Collapsing a group displays its aggregate values in the parent row.
Common conditions	Filter / Sort / Limit.

Either Group by or Values is required. See Dimensions and metrics for details on aggregation method.

Pivot

Explores data aggregated across two dimensions: rows and columns.

Item	Description
Pivot conditions > Rows	Specifies the columns to use as the row axis.
Pivot conditions > Columns	Specifies the columns to use as the column axis.
Pivot conditions > Values	Specifies the aggregated values shown in each cell. Required.
Pivot conditions > Row sort / Column sort	Specifies the order of each axis. Defaults to descending value order when the first Value supports subtotals, and ascending label order otherwise.
Pivot display settings	For multi-level row axes, you can choose Grid (default) or Tree for the row hierarchy. Multi-level column axes are displayed as collapsible groups. Both are initially expanded. When all Value aggregation methods cannot be re-aggregated, totals are not displayed and the aggregate cells of collapsed groups are left empty.
Pivot conditions > Max row items / Max column items	Shown when both rows and columns are specified and SQL-based processing is used. Sets the unique-item limit for each axis (default 30 each if both are unset; excess items are grouped into (Others) at the end of the axis). (Max row items + 1) × (Max column items + 1) must be 1,000 or less. If you set only one of them, the unspecified side is treated as the maximum that fits within the rendering limit when checking this product. See Pivot Table for details.
Common conditions	Filter (no Sort or Limit).

Common conditions and options

Filter

Filter narrows down data by combining a column, an operator, and a value. Operators and the handling of Custom SQL are the same as a chart's source filter. Custom SQL isn't available for snapshot sharing (such as reports).

Sort

Raw data and Aggregated data let you specify Sort. You can sort by multiple columns.

Limit

Raw data and Aggregated data let you specify Limit between 1 and 1000. See Limits for the upper bound.

Disabling in-memory processing

Turning on Options > Disable in-memory processing re-runs SQL according to the current conditions instead of processing already-fetched data.

By default, if the result has 1000 rows or fewer and there's no Custom SQL, filtering and aggregation can be done through in-memory processing in the browser. If the source data has more than 1000 rows and has been truncated, SQL needs to be re-run. See Chart concepts for how this relates to the same option on charts.

Result tabs

Tab	Description
Data / Processed data	Shows a table as Data when no conditions are set, or Processed data once conditions are set. In the pivot view, this is a pivot table.
Distribution	Choose Parallel or Scatter plot matrix as the display method, and check the distribution of up to 5 target columns. Requires 2 or more columns.
Chart	Switch between suggested chart candidates for the current conditions using chart type, and preview the appearance after adjusting quick settings.
SQL	Shows the processing SQL issued based on the current conditions.
Source data	Shows the source data before processing.

Column header operations

Select a column header in the Processed data table to access the following operations. For columns generated as Pivot values, subtotals, or totals, Column width operations are available. Column statistics are also available when Explorer can identify the source column. Applying a filter operation replaces the filter conditions already applied to that column.

Operation	Description
Sort	Sorts by Asc or Desc. Use Append to add to existing sort conditions.
Filter by value	Switch between Filter by value (IN) and Exclude by value (NOT IN), select candidate values, then select Apply. If the result is truncated, use Fetch non-sampled values to load candidates from all rows.
Filter by condition	Applies a condition such as Equal, Not equal, Between, or Greater than.
Filter NULL	Applies IS NULL or IS NOT NULL.
Column statistics	Shows statistics for the source column over all rows of the SQL result before processing in a modal: Count, Unique count, and Number of NULL, plus Max value / Min value / Avg value depending on the values. Statistics are computed by running SQL.
Pin to left / Pin to right	In Raw data, pins an individual column. In Aggregated data, only Group by columns are eligible, and in Pivot, only row-axis columns are eligible; Pin all aggregate columns to left pins all eligible columns in their configured order. Select the active option again to unpin them.
Column width	Use Fit to values or Reset to initial width for the selected column. Use Fit all columns to values or Reset all columns to initial widths for every column.

Where you can use it

Location	Availability
Notebook (doc page / grid page)	Available. Add operations are limited to editing a doc page.
Report	Available for interactive reports with Enable explorer turned on in the publish settings. Disabled by default.
Signed embed	Available when Enable explorer is turned on in the publish options. Disabled by default.
Public link	Not available.

See Sharing for a comparison of notebook sharing methods.