Skip to main content

How do I manage my metrics?

Updated

This article contains the following sections:

Finding your metrics

There are several options to help you quickly find the metrics you're looking for: 

Creating a list of favourite metrics

To get quick access to the metrics you refer to most often, add them to your Starred list. If you set the metric list Filter to Display > Starred metrics, only starred metrics will show up in the list.

There are a few ways to add a metric to your Starred list:

  • On the Metric List page, click the metric's 3-dot menu and click Add to Starred. Alternatively, you can hover to the left of the metric's name in the list and perform the same actions.
  • In an open metric, click the 3-dot menu in the top-right corner of the window and select Add to Starred. Alternatively, you can click the Add to Starred (star icon) in the upper-right corner of the window.

Note: Your 5 most recently viewed, unstarred metrics display in the left navigation sidebar under Recent, sorted alphabetically.

Filtering by date range

On the Metric List page, choose the date range for which you want to see data. Select from our pre-set options, for example, "Auto", "Maximum date range", "Today", and "Last 7 days", or click Custom to apply a unique date range.

Note: All plans include a 3-year date range window. If you select the “Auto” date range, you’ll be able to see up to 3 years of data, counting backward from 11:59 today, for all metrics in the list. If you select the “Maximum date range” option, you’ll be able to see up to 3 years of data, counting backward from the last date in your data, for each metric in the list. Learn more about the difference between “Auto” and “Maximum” date range filters.

Note: Date range window restrictions don’t apply to direct to warehouse, semantic layer, or dbt Semantic Layer metrics.

Filtering by name

On the Metric List page, enter a metric name or the name of a service in the Filter by name field. For example, to see a list of your Google Analytics metrics, enter "Google Analytics".

Filtering by service

On the Metric List page, click Filter and use the dropdown beside Service to display metrics for all services or for specific services, as shown below.  For example, show all of the Google Analytics metrics or only the metrics created from uploaded files. This list grows as you add more services to your account. You can choose a service by entering its name in the field or by selecting it from the drop-down list. Note: Select "Sample metrics" to see a list of the sample metrics in your account.

filter by service

Filtering to display the metrics you created

On the Metric List page, filter to see only the metrics you created.

To display the metrics you created:

  • On the Metric List page, click Filter > Display > Created by me, as shown below.

display metrics you created

Filtering by tag

On the metric list page, click Filter. At Tags, click the drop-down to include or exclude specific tags. If you know the name of the tag you want to filter by, start typing it into the Search field. Tip: You can also filter the list by clicking a tag in the Tags column.

Seeing details for a metric

When you’re viewing a metric on a dashboard or in your list of metrics, you can select its 3-dot menu and click About to see the following details. You can also click the About tab for an open metric to access similar information.

The name of the metric view (if applicable). (This displays at the top of the window.)

The name of the source metric. Clicking this link for a metric on a dashboard or in the metric list opens the metric in a new tab.

The metric’s owner.

When the metric was last edited.

The tag(s) applied to the metric. Learn more about tags.

A description (dbt™ Semantic Layer metrics only). The description from the dbt Semantic Layer project or one that was modified when editing the metric in PowerMetrics.

The metric's certification status. If a metric is certified the name of the person who certified it and the date and time of certification displays. If a metric has had its certification removed, the name of the person who removed the certification and the date and time it was removed displays. If a metric is not, and has never been, certified, “None” displays. Learn more about certifying metrics.

The amount of data history that’s being stored.

When the metric was last refreshed. For dbt Semantic Layer metrics, this is the last time your dbt metrics in PowerMetrics were updated to align with changes in your dbt Semantic Layer project. For all other metric types, this is the last time the data feed associated with the metric was manually or automatically refreshed.

The type of metric (instant, instant (calculated), custom, calculated, direct to warehouse, semantic layer, or dbt Semantic Layer).

For instant data feed metrics, you'll see the associated service (for example, Google Analytics) and a metric definition. You'll also be able to access a link to Metric HQ (if applicable).

For instant calculated metrics, the information you see is similar to that of instant metrics, except you’ll also be able to see and access the instant metrics being used in the calculation.

For calculated metrics, you'll see the calculation – the formula that was used to create the metric. You can click each metric in the calculation to open its overview page.

The default value (aggregation type) (instant data feed and data feed metrics only) that was selected when creating the metric.

The date or time dimension (name of the date or time column in the associated data source or data feed) (instant data feed and data feed metrics only) and available segments. These items display as pink text, indicating they are settings that were selected when the metric was created.

A link to the associated data feed (instant data feed and data feed metrics only). If the data feed is in an error state, click on the data feed link to investigate.

The semantic layer metric name (dbt Semantic Layer metrics only). The name of the metric in the dbt Semantic Layer project.

The service (data warehouse, Cube semantic layer, and dbt Semantic Layer metrics only). The name of the data source service.

Adding and removing metric tags

Applying tags to metrics is a great way to categorize them for specific audiences or around related themes. Learn how to add and remove metric tags here.

Changing metric icons

When you create metrics they’re represented by an icon that reflects the source of their data, for example, a Google Analytics 4 logo for Google Analytics 4 metrics or an uploaded file icon for data that comes from local spreadsheets. (See example below.)
service icon example

You can customize metric icons to provide more context, align similar metrics, or change the look and feel of your metrics wherever they display in PowerMetrics (for example, in your list of metrics, in Explorer, in a metric overview, or in a dashboard).

Note: The following procedure describes changing metric icons from the Metric List page. You can also change metric icons from a metric’s overview page. Learn more here.

To change icons for one or more metrics (from your list of metrics):

  1. On the Metric List page, click the checkbox beside the metric(s) for which you want to change the icon.
    Note: You can select multiple metrics if you want them all to use the same, new icon.
  2. In the upper-left corner, click the 3-dot menu and select Edit metric image.
  3. In the Edit metric image dialog:
    • If you have an image you want to use for the metric icon, click Upload image. Set the image size as desired, and click Apply.
      Note: If you apply an uploaded image and, later, upload and apply a different image, the first image will be deleted.
    • If you want to use a pre-built icon, select one from the Icon library. Optionally, select an icon colour, background colour, and background shape.
  4. Click Apply (for single metrics) or Apply to all metrics (for multiple metrics).

Adding metrics to a dashboard

To add a metric to a dashboard from your list of metrics:

  1. In the left navigation sidebar, click Metrics, to open your Metric List page.
  2. Select the metric you want to add to a dashboard.
  3. In the upper-right corner of the window, click the 3-dot menu and select Add to dashboard.
  4. Either select an existing metric dashboard or click + New dashboard.
  5. Click Save.

Deleting metrics from the account

You can delete a metric either from your Metric List page or from an open metric. When deleting a metric, associated dashboards or calculated metrics display in a list. On hover, you can select each one and open it in a new tab for consideration before confirming deletion.

To enable account asset management, if you're an account admin, you can delete any metric in the account, even those that aren't shared with you. However, the data within those unshared metrics will be set to "private" or "locked" and you will not be able to see it. Tip: As an account admin, you can display a list of metrics that aren't shared with you by selecting Not shared with me from the drop-down list on the Metric List page (see below).

display unshared metrics

To delete a metric from your Metric List page:

  • To delete a single metric, click the 3-dot menu for the metric and select Delete.
  • To delete multiple metrics, select the checkbox beside each metric in the list you want to delete. Then, click the Delete button, located in the top-left of the window.

To delete a metric from an open metric:

  1. On the Metric List page, select the metric you want to delete to open it.
  2. Click the 3-dot menu in the upper-right corner of the window and select Delete.
  3. Click Delete.

Related articles