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Quick start guide

Learn the fundamentals of working with Looker Studio.

This article explains six key steps that will help you to quickly get started using Looker Studio.

Throughout this article, glossary links provide more information on selected terms. Hover over the link to display a summary, or click the link to jump to the full definition. A table at the end of this article summarizes the terms that are used here.
Note: Looker Studio is a flexible tool: There are often multiple ways to achieve the same results. The workflow described here is just a basic example that shows data from different sources. Your results may look different from what's shown here.

1Start with a report

Reports let you visualize your data, gain insights, and share those insights with others.

Instructions

When you sign in to Looker Studio,  the home page appears with the Reports tab selected. All the reports that you have access to appear in the middle of the screen. The plus buttons let you create a new blank report, or you can start with one of the pre-built report templates along the top.

A user selects the + Create button on the Looker Studio home page left navigation panel to create new content in Looker Studio.

View a report

To view a report that's been shared with you, click the report name in the list in the middle of the screen.

Edit a report

  1. View the report.
  2. In the upper right corner, click Edit iconEdit.

If you don't see an Edit button, then the report has been shared with only "Can View" access. If the owner of the report has allowed it, you can make a copy, which you can then edit.

Create a report

  1. In the top left, click The Create icon. Create.
  2. Select Report.

In a moment, the report editor appears, with the Add data to report panel open.

2Add data to the report

Data sources connect to your data and let you configure the fields that you can use in your report.

When you create a new report, the Add data to report panel opens. This lets you A) create a new data source or B) add an existing data source.

A) Create a new data source

For example, you might want to connect to a BigQuery public data set (to complete this step, you'll need a Google Cloud project that is associated with a valid Google Cloud billing account). Follow these steps:

  1. In the Add data to report panel, click Connect to data.
  2. Select the BigQuery connector.
  3. If prompted, click Authorize to allow Looker Studio to access your data on your behalf.
  4. Select Public datasets.
  5. Select your Billing project.
  6. Select the faa public dataset.
  7. Select the us_airports table.
  8. In the lower right corner of the screen, click Add, then confirm that you want to add the new data source to your report.
  9. In a moment, the report editor appears, and a table with fields from your data source is placed on the canvas.
  10. To customize the table's data and style, on the right side of the screen, use the properties panel.
  11. To rename your report, in the top left corner of the screen, click Untitled report and enter a new name.
B) Connect to an existing data source

For example, you might want to connect to the sample Google Analytics data source that comes with Looker Studio. Follow these steps:

  1. In the Add data to report panel, click My data sources.

  2. Select the [Sample] Google Analytics Data data source.

  3. In the lower right corner of the screen, click Add, and then confirm that you want to add the new data source to your report.
  4. In a moment, the report editor appears, and a table with fields from your data source is placed on the canvas.
  5. To customize the table's data and style, on the right side of the screen, use the properties panel.
  6. To rename your report, in the top left corner of the screen, click Untitled report and enter a new name.

The Add data to report panel has two tabs for finding data to add to reports: Connect to data and My data sources.

 

3Add charts and controls to the report

Use the menus and toolbar to add components to the report canvas.

Instructions
  1. In the toolbar at the top of the editor, click Add a chart and then select a chart from the list.
  2. Click the canvas where you want the chart to appear.
  3. Move and resize the chart, as desired.
    A user selects a time series chart from the Add a Chart menu and then repositions and resizes the chart on the report canvas.
  4. Add or change the dimensions and metrics by clicking the fields in the properties panel, or dragging and dropping them from the data panel (to the right of the chart panel) directly onto the chart.
    A user selects a time series chart, adds a field to the Breakdown Dimension section on the Setup tab, and adds a 3 px red border to the chart from the Style tab.
  5. You can also create new charts by dragging a field from the data panel onto the canvas.
    A user creates a Scorecard chart by selecting and dragging a Record count metric from the Data tab to the report canvas.

 

4View your report

See your report the way it looks to other viewers.

Instructions

View mode lets people see all the data and use any interactive controls you've placed on the report, but viewers can't change the structure of the report.

Switch between view and edit modes

  1. In the upper right, click Visibility iconView. You are now in view mode.
  2. To return to edit mode, click Edit icon.Edit.

5Share the report

Share reports with other viewers. Collaborate with other editors.

Instructions

Editors need to sign in to Google to edit the report; however, viewers don't need to be signed in.

Share a report

  1. In the upper right, click Share icon Share.
  2. Specify the people and/or groups with whom you want to share your report.
  3. Use the advanced options to change how individual addresses can access the report.
Sharing a report doesn't share its data source. The data source credentials determine if a viewer can see the data in your report.
 
However, if you the share report with others and give them edit access, they can still use the fields from that data source in charts, even if the data source itself has not been shared with them.

6Share the data source

Let other people create their own reports that are based on your data source.

Instructions
If you only want other people to view or edit your reports, you don't need to share the data source.

To share a data source, you must access it directly from the Data Sources home page (not through the report). You must be signed in to a Google account to view or edit a data source.

Share a data source

  1. In the upper left of your report, return to the Looker Studio HOME page by clicking the logoLooker Studio logo .
  2. On the left, click Data Sources.
  3. Locate the data source that you selected in step 2.
  4. On the right, click More More options.
  5. Click Share icon Share.
  6. Specify the people and/or groups with whom you want to share your data source.
  7. Use the advanced options to change how individual addressees can access the 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.

Key concepts

Here's a recap of the terms and concepts used in this article and throughout the Looker Studio Help Center.

Concept What it does
Report

A Looker Studio asset that contains a collection of components whose purpose is to present to viewers information and insights derived from your data.

Learn more about reports.
Component

A widget that 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

In Looker Studio, connecting to your data involves the following components:

  • Connectors connect Looker Studio to your underlying data. Connecting to your data creates a data source in Looker Studio.
  • Data sources represent a particular instance of a connector: for example, a connection to a specific BigQuery table or query, a Google Analytics property, or a 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.

Learn more about connecting to your data.
Field

A column of data.

Looker Studio uses two basic types of fields:

  • Dimensions are things that you want to measure, or that serve as ways to categorize your data.
  • Metrics are numbers that measure the things that are contained in dimensions.

Learn more about fields in reports.
Credentials

The mechanism by which a data source determines who can see the data it provides.

Learn more about data source credentials.
View mode / Edit mode
  • Edit mode allows you to edit the structure of a report and change, add, or remove data sources, and to use interactive controls.
    • People who can edit a report or data source are referred to as editors.
  • View mode lets you see all the data that you are authorized to see, and to use interactive 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 access permissions

When you share reports and data sources, you determine how other people can access the asset:

  • Can edit access lets people modify and share the asset (making them editors).
  • Can view access lets people view the asset, but they can't modify or share it (making them viewers).

The advanced sharing options let you control other aspects of asset access, such as the ability to download the data or print the report.

The link sharing options let you share your assets more broadly around the internet.

Learn more about sharing.

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