Ad-hoc Fields

Introduction

You're building a report to answer a business question, but you notice that the formula you need is not available in the current dataset yet, which means you either have to ask the Data Team to add that formula for you, or you have to add it yourself. In both cases, it takes longer, and the formula is exposed to other dataset users who may it confusing.

Now, you can define custom formula directly within a report/exploration with our AQL Ad-hoc Fields, so that you can answer more business questions yourself.

Ad-hoc Fields are Ad-hoc Dimensions and Ad-hoc Metrics which are defined within a report (unlike Dataset Dimensions and Dataset Metrics which are defined in datasets)

Walkthrough video

This video walks you through an example where defining AQL Ad-hoc Fields is useful:

How to create define Ad-hoc Fields?

Create an Ad-hoc Metric

Create an Ad-hoc Dimension

How to distinguish between Ad-hoc Fields and Dataset Fields?

There are two ways to distinguish Ad-hoc Fields from Dataset Fields:

• Ad-hoc Fields have the color purple, while Dataset Fields are blue.
• Ad-hoc Fields are of type "Ad-hoc Metric" or "Ad-hoc Dimension", while Dataset Fields are of type "Metric" or "Dimension"

FAQ

If I define Ad-hoc Fields in a Development dashboard and deploy to Production, will end users see my Ad-hoc Fields on Production as well?

Yes, your Ad-hoc Fields will be deployed along with your Canvas Dashboard to Production. They will still be Ad-hoc Fields and are editable in Production.

When I edit a report in Production and modify their Ad-hoc Fields, will these changes be made available in Development?

Yes, when you edit a report in Production, modify their Ad-hoc Fields and save the report, changes made to Ad-hoc Fields will be saved to the report in Development.

If I define Ad-hoc Fields in a report, and then duplicate that report, will my Ad-hoc Fields be duplicated as well?

Yes, your Ad-hoc Fields will be duplicated along with your report. However, the Ad-hoc Fields in the duplicated report are not synchronized with the original report. If you edit Ad-hoc Fields in the duplicated report, it doesn't affect Ad-hoc Fields in the original one.

Can I connvert Ad-hoc Fields into Dataset Fields?

No, this is currently not possible, although we have plans to work on this in the future.