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How to use Looker Studio

View a Looker Studio report

Learn the basics of viewing Looker Studio reports.

Looker Studio reports tell stories with data. These stories can persuade, provide insights, validate decisions, or argue for a change of course. Good reports help you find actionable information quickly and easily. This article provides a quick overview of Looker Studio reports for viewers: the people who consume the report.

In this article:

View a report

Looker Studio reports can come to you in the following ways:

  • The report's creator can send you a direct email invitation to view or edit the report.
  • The report can be sent to you via scheduled email distribution. To view the report, click the link in the email.
  • The report can be downloaded as a PDF and stored on a web server. To view the report in Looker Studio, click the link in the PDF, if it's included.
  • The report can be embedded in another website or social media post. To view the report in Looker Studio, click the link at the bottom of the report.
  • Finally, you can view the all reports that have been shared with you in the Looker Studio home page:

Find and view reports in Looker Studio

  1. Sign in to Looker Studio.
  2. Locate the report in the list. To find a report:
    1. Use the search bar (1) at the top of the page.
    2. Use the "Owned by ..." (2) and "Last opened ..." (3) filters in the list column headers.
  3. Click the report name in the list to open it.

The Looker Studio home page displays the search bar and report list with the Owned by and Last opened by filters, which can be used to find reports.

Once you're viewing a Looker Studio report, here are some of the things you can do with.

The features of any given report depend on what the creator of that report intended.

Dive into your data

Mouse over the visual elements of a chart (lines, bars, segments, maps, etc.) to display the detailed data under that section of the graph.

A user hovers their cursor over a time series chart to display a tooltip that provides more information about a data point.

Keep it fresh

Data in your report is cached to enhance performance. When all the charts in the report are being served from the cache, a lightning bolt icon appears in the bottom left corner.cache icon

Report editors can update the cache by click refresh data. Refresh

Learn more about how Looker Studio caches data.

Change the date range

Charts have a different default date ranges, depending on the data source they are based on. For example, charts from Google Analytics show the previous 28 days' worth of data by default. The report's author might include a Date Range control, giving you the option of displaying a different date range.

To change the date range:
  1. View the report.
  2. Click the Date Range dropdown.
  3. Use one of the preset date options, such as Last week, Yesterday, or This quarter, or use the calendar to select your beginning and ending dates.
  4. Click Apply.

Date Range controls are optional objects that can be included by the report author. The control will often (but not always) be in the report header.

Learn more about creating charts with date and time data.

Refine your view

Reports can include controls. Controls make your report interactive by letting viewers focus on the data that is important to them.

Filters are optional objects that can be included by the report author.

Learn more about using controls.

Turn the page

Looker Studio reports can have multiple pages. Use the Page menu or page controls in the toolbar to navigate through the report.

Learn how to add pages to your report.

Share the report

Sharing is caring! Use the File > Share menu option to invite other people to view or collaborate on your report.

To share a report that was created by someone else, the report owner needs to give you permission to do so.

Learn how to share a report.

Make it yours

Use the File > Make a copy menu option to save an editable version of a report.

Report editors can limit the ability to make copies or download reports.

Learn more about copying reports.

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