Add visuals to Insights analyses

A visual is a graphical representation of your data. You can create a wide variety of visuals in an analysis, using different datasets and visual types.

Insights supports up to fifty datasets in a single analysis, up to thirty visuals in a single sheet, and up to twenty sheets per analysis. Two visuals fit on each row.

Prerequisites

  • You have the Insights Reader license.

  • You have the Insights Author license.

  • You know the specific question you are trying to answer with the visual.

Page location

Insights > Analyses > Click an analysis

Types of data fields

Each type of data in Insights is either a dimension or a measure. In the Data pane, dimension fields have blue icons, and measure fields have orange icons. Dimensions are text or date fields, like group names. Or they can be attributes that are related to measures and can be used to partition them, like contact start time. Measures are numeric values that you use for measurement, comparison, and aggregation. You typically use a combination of dimension and measure fields to produce a visual, for example number of contacts (a measure) by date evaluated (a dimension). For more information about the types of fields expected by the different visual types, see the specific visual type topics in the Visual types in Insights section.

Field limitations

You can only use one date field per visual. This limitation applies to all visual types.

You can't use the same field for more than one dimension field well or drop target on a visual. For more information about how expected field type is indicated by field wells and drop targets, see Using visual field controls.

Procedures

(Optional) Add a dataset to the analysis

Follow these steps if you want to create a visual based on a dataset that is not part of the analysis.

  1. Select Add a new dataset from the Dataset drop-down list in the Data panel on the left. The Choose dataset to add window opens.

  2. Select the dataset.

    BEST PRACTICE   Use the smallest dataset that can answer your question. Doing this helps you create simpler visuals that are easier to analyze.

  3. Click Select. The Choose dataset to add window changes to the Datasets in this analysis window.
  4. Click Close.

Search for a data field

  • Enter a search term in the Search fields field. Any field whose name contains the search term appears. Search is case-insensitive, and wildcards aren't supported.
  • Click the cancel icon (X) to the right of the search box to return to viewing all fields.

Create a new visual

  1. Click Add in the Visuals panel. A new, blank visual is created and receives focus.
  2. Drag a dimension or measure from the Data panel into the Add a dimension or measure field well. Insights creates the visual, using the visual type it determines is most compatible with the data you selected. For more information about AutoGraph, see Use AutoGraph. The Add Data pane updates based on the item you added.
  3. Continue dragging measures and dimensions into the field wells. Typically, you want to use dimension or measure fields as indicated by the color of the target field well. If you choose to use a dimension field to populate a Value field well, Insights automatically applies the Count aggregate function to it to create a numeric value.

After you have created a visual, you can modify it in a range of ways to customize it to your needs. Possible customizations include changing what fields map to visual elements, changing the visual type, sorting visual data, or applying a filter.

Resize a visual

  1. Click the visual so that a dark outline appears around it.
  2. Click and drag one of the white squares in the outline to make the visual bigger or smaller.

Rearrange visuals

  1. Click the visual so that a dark outline appears around it.
  2. Place your mouse over the outline so that it turns into a four-pointed arrow.
  3. Click and drag the visual to a different place on the analysis.

Related topics