Scorecards display a summary of a single metric. Scorecards are commonly used to visualize key performance indicators or some other variable that measures the relative health or performance of your business or area of activity. For example, a scorecard can summarize total sales, average bounce rate, count of ad impressions, maximum hold time, minimum failure rate, etc.
In this article:Scorecards in Looker Studio
Scorecards in Looker Studio appear as numbers and, optionally, with the name of the metric that is being summarized. The format of the displayed number depends on how the metric is configured in your data source.
Example:
The data source for a fictional pet store contains the metrics Qty Sold, Avg Qty Sold, Total Items, and Unique Items. The Qty Sold metric is a number from the dataset. The Avg Qty Sold metric is a duplicate of the Qty Sold field, with the Average aggregation type. Total Items and Unique Items are calculated fields.
| Name | Calculation | Aggregation Type |
|---|---|---|
| Qty Sold | none | Sum |
| Avg Qty Sold | none | Average |
| Total Items | COUNT(Items) | Auto |
| Unique Items | COUNT_DISTINCT(Items) | Auto |
Scorecards for these metrics might look like this:
Other types of scorecards
In addition to the basic scorecard, from the toolbar, you can also add a preset scorecard that displays compact numbers.
Configure the chart
Add a new chart or select an existing chart. Then, use the Properties panel to configure the chart's Setup and Style tab properties.
Set up the chart data
The options in the Setup tab of the Properties panel determine how the chart's data is organized and displayed.
Data source
A data source provides the connection between the component and the underlying dataset.
- To change the chart's data source, click the current data source name.
- To view or edit the data source, click
. (You must have at least Viewer permission to see this icon.)
- Click +BLEND DATA to see data from multiple data sources in the same chart. Learn more about data blending.
. (You must have at least Date range dimension
This option appears if your data source has a valid date dimension.
Note: This option does not appear for Google Ads or Google Analytics data sources, as these automatically select a dimension of type Date from the data source.
The Date range dimension is used as the basis for limiting the date range of the chart. For example, this is the dimension that is used if you set a date range property for the chart or if a viewer of the report uses a date range control to limit the time frame.
Primary field
This option lets you choose whether to display a Dimension or a Metric value in your scorecard chart.
Dimensions are categories of information. The values contained in those categories are typically names, descriptions or other characteristics of that data. See the Dimension page for more information about dimensions.
Metrics are aggregations that come from the underlying data set or that are the result of implicitly or explicitly applying an aggregation function, such as COUNT(), SUM(), or AVG(). The metric itself has no defined set of values, so you can’t group by a metric as you can with a dimension.
After you click either the Dimension or the Metric option, you can choose a field from your data source.
Sort
This option lets you choose to sort the Primary field values in either Ascending or Descending order in the scorecard chart.
When Dimension is selected as Primary field, you can select a different field for sorting the dimension values. For example, if a user chooses to display the values for a dimension called Country name in the scorecard chart, they can choose a Total first clicks metric to display the Country name with the most or the least Total first clicks in the scorecard chart. This field is optional.
Optional metrics
When Metric is selected as Primary field, you can define a list of additional metrics that can be displayed by the chart or table. Learn more about optional metrics.
Sparkline
When Metric is selected as Primary field, you can add a sparkline to a scorecard chart to visualize your primary metric's trends over time. For example, in the following scorecard chart, a blue sparkline shows the trend over time for the primary metric, New Users. The sparkline is displayed below both the value for the primary metric and the percentage for the optional comparison metric:
To add a sparkline to a scorecard chart, follow these steps:
- In the Sparkline section of the Setup tab, select the Add dimension option.
- From the drop-down menu, select the desired date dimension.
- To customize the appearance of the sparkline, use the options in the Sparkline section of the Style tab of the Properties panel.
Other Comparison Options property
When Metric is selected as Primary field, the Other Comparison Options property lets you specify a period of time, a specific metric, or a specific value against which to compare the primary metric for your scorecard chart.
You can configure the visual format of the comparison value in the Comparison Fields section of the Style tab of the Properties panel.
Comparison type options
In the Comparison type section of the Setup tab, set whether the primary metric will be compared against a period of time that you specify, a specific metric, or a specific value.
| Period |
Specify a date range for comparison with the primary metric. This option is the default. When this option is selected, configure a time period for comparison against the primary metric by using the Comparison date range selector in the Default date range section of the Setup tab. |
| Value |
Enter a numerical value or use the upward or downward arrows to select a number to use for comparison with the primary metric. When you select this option, enter a numeric value against which to compare the primary metric's value in the Target value field. |
| Metric |
Select another metric to compare with the primary metric. When you select this option, specify another metric against which to compare the primary metric by selecting a field from the the Add metric drop-down in the Target metric field. |
| None | Select None to remove the comparison from the scorecard chart. |
Show as progress
Select the Show as progress checkbox to treat the comparison data as a target against which to measure the percentage of progress of the primary metric.
When the Show as progress checkbox is not selected, the calculation is displayed as the percent change for the primary metric's value in relation to the comparison data. This setting is the default.
When the Show as progress checkbox is selected, the calculation is depicted as the percentage of change for the primary metric's value in relation to the comparison data. This is the default setting.
When Show as progress is selected, progress is depicted with a progress bar by default. You can configure how progress will be presented in the Progress Visual section of the Style tab.
Starting value
When Metric is selected as Primary field, and the Show as progress checkbox is selected, you can specify a custom numeric value as the starting value for comparison with the primary metric.
Default date range
The Default date range property lets you set a timeframe for an individual chart.
Default date range options
| Auto | Uses the default date range, which is determined by the chart's data source. |
| Custom | Lets you use the calendar widget to select a custom date range for the chart. |
| Date compare type | Displays comparison data for the selected time period. |
Filter
Filters restrict the data that is displayed in the component by including or excluding the values that you specify. Learn more about the filter property.
Filter options
| Filter name | Click an existing filter to edit it. Mouse over the filter name and click X to delete it. |
| +Add a filter | Click this option to create a new filter for the chart. |
Stylize the chart
The options in the Style tab control the overall presentation and appearance of the chart.
Title
Enable the Show title option to add a title to your chart. Looker Studio can automatically generate a title, or you can create a custom title for the chart. You can also customize the title's styling and placement.
Autogenerate
This option is enabled by default. When Autogenerate is selected, Looker Studio generates a title based on the chart type and the fields that are used in the chart. The autogenerated title will update if you change the chart type or make changes to the fields that are used in the chart.
To add a custom title to your chart, enter it into the Title field. This will clear the Autogenerate checkbox and turn off this setting.
Title options
| Title | Provides a text field where report editors can enter a custom title for the chart. |
|
Title font type |
Sets the font type for the title text. |
| Title font size | Sets the font size for the title text. |
| Font styling options | Applies bold, italic, or underline styling to the title text. |
| Title font color | Sets the font color for the title text. |
| Left | Aligns the chart title to the left side of the chart. |
| Center |
Centers the chart title above or below the chart. |
| Right | Aligns the chart title to the right side of the chart. |
| Top | Positions the chart title at the top of the chart. |
| Bottom | Positions the chart title at the bottom of the chart. |
Conditional formatting
Apply conditional formatting rules to the chart.
Primary metric
These options control the appearance of the scorecard's current data.
| Compact Numbers |
Rounds numbers and displays the unit indicator. For example, 553,939 becomes 553.9K. |
| Decimal Precision | Sets the number of decimal places in metric values. |
Comparison Fields
Thes Comparison Fields options control the appearance of the scorecard's comparison data, which you can add to the chart from the Other Comparison Options section of the Setup tab.
| Positive change color | Changes the font color that is used to indicate positively changing (upward trending) data. |
| Negative change color | Changes the font color that is used to indicate negatively changing (downward trending) data. |
| Show absolute change | Changes the comparison display from percentage of change to absolute numeric difference. |
| Compact Numbers |
Rounds numbers and displays the unit indicator. For example, 553,939 becomes 553.9K. |
| Decimal Precision | Sets the number of decimal places in metric values. |
| Hide comparison label |
Hides the label that shows the comparison period. |
Comparison label
When the Hide comparison label checkbox is not selected, you can edit the label for the comparison. For example, you can add the label "Q4 new users" to a scorecard chart with a primary metric of New Users that compares the number of new users in Q1 to the number of users in a past time period, Q4 of the previous year.
Sparkline
This section controls the appearance of sparkline visualizations for comparison metrics.
| Sparkline color | Changes the color of the sparkline. |
| Fill | Fills the sparkline with a lighter shade of the sparkline color. |
| Smooth |
Displays series lines as curves. |
| Missing data | Sets how the sparkline will display missing data. |
Missing data for sparkline
When your sparkline is missing data, you can choose one of the following options.
| Line to Zero | When this option is selected, a line series will drop to zero for the missing dates. |
| Line Breaks | When this option is selected, missing data appears as breaks in the data series. |
| Linear Interpolation | When this option is selected, Looker Studio will continue the series by connecting the data points on either side of the missing data. This option is the default. |
Progress visual
When the Show as progress checkbox is selected on the Setup tab, you can specify how the progress visualization will be displayed by selecting an option from the Progress Visual Type section.
| Bar |
Displays the progress of the primary metric toward the target as a bar. This setting is the default. |
| Circle | Displays the progress of the primary metric toward the target as a circle. |
| None | Removes the progress bar or progress circle from the scorecard chart. |
Missing data
When your scorecard chart is missing data, you can choose from the following options to indicate that there is no data.
| Show "No data" | Displays the text "No data" on the scorecard chart. |
| Show "0" | Displays the number "0" on the scorecard chart. |
| Show "-" | Displays the text "-" on the scorecard chart. |
| Show "null" | Displays the text "null" on the scorecard chart. |
| Show " " (blank) | Displays no text on the scorecard chart. |
Labels
This section controls the appearance of the chart labels.
| Font color | Changes the font color of the scorecard label. |
| Font size | Changes the font size of the scorecard label. |
| Font family | Changes the font family of the scorecard label. |
| Hide Metric Name | Hides the default metric name (which comes from the data source). You can use the Text tool to add a custom metric label. |
| Alignment | Aligns the metric name, primary value, and comparison value. |
Background and border
These options control the appearance of the chart background container.
| Background | Sets the chart background color. |
| Border Radius | Adds rounded borders to the chart background. When the radius is 0, the background shape has 90° corners. A border radius of 100° produces a circular shape. |
| Opacity | Sets the chart opacity. 100% opacity completely hides objects behind the chart. 0% opacity makes the chart invisible. |
| Border Color | Sets the chart border color. |
| Border Weight | Sets the chart border line thickness. |
| Border Style | Sets the chart border line style. |
| Add border shadow | Adds a shadow to the chart's lower and right borders. |
Padding
Use these options to control the line height and left, right, and top padding within the chart.
Chart Header
The chart header lets viewers perform various actions on the chart such as exporting the data or sorting the chart. The following chart header options are available:
| Show on hover (default) | Three vertical dots appear when you mouse over the chart header. Click these dots to access the header options. |
| Always show | The header options always appear. |
| Do not show | The header options never appear. Note that report viewers can always access the options by right-clicking the chart. |
| Color | Sets the color of the chart header options. |