May 2023 Product Release

Platform Updates

Exploration Canvas Updates

We are excited to announce that we have made multiple improvements to the Exploration Canvas!

First, we have attached SoQL documentation to the SoQL editor within the Visual Query Editor. This means that publishers will no longer have to open a new tab or navigate away from the Exploration Canvas in order to reference SoQL documentation when writing queries within the editor.

Coming Soon

We will be defaulting to case-insensitive filtering options within the Filter Tab of Exploration Canvas. Case-insensitive functions will appear in the drop-down menu of functions within the Filter Tab, the same way that case-sensitive functions display today. Case-sensitive functions will still be available as advanced functionality for publishers that wish to be more granular with their queries.

Please see this support article for more details on the Exploration Canvas: Exploration Canvas

Default Metadata For Computed Region Columns

We have added default metadata for computed region columns. Due to the fact that Exploration Canvas mirrors the queries powering a data table, Exploration Canvas displays computed region columns in the data table in order to preserve the ability to use those columns. We have added default metadata to these computed region columns to better communicate why these columns are visible and what they are representing. For consistency and clarity, users will now see computed region columns and the associated metadata on the Primer.

Please see this support article for more details: Default Column Metadata For Computed Region Columns

Visualization Usability Improvements

Based on user feedback, we’ve made minor improvements to the visualization creation workflow. These improvements make creating and updating visualizations more intuitive. Users can now:

• Search for column names for any chart-type dimension​. Previously users had to scroll through a dropdown to find a column which was time-consuming,

• Remove any dimension or measure when multiple are selected. Previously users had to remove dimensions or measures from the bottom up.

• Select multiple columns at once when creating a table​ visualization in Stories. Previously users had to select one at a time, making it time-consuming when choosing a large number of columns.

• Columns in dropdowns are in alphabetical order. Previously, columns rendered in the order presented in the data source.

Please see this support article for more details on visualization improvements: Creating a Visualization in the Visualization Canvas

Please see this support article for more details on table improvements: Table Visualization in Stories

Deprecations & Removals

On May 31, 2023, we will disable the ability for users to edit their Data Lens pages. This means that when users, who can modify a Data Lens, land on a Data Lens page, they will not be able to utilize the “Customize,” “Revert,” “Save,” or “Save As” options. Users and viewers will still be able to view all existing Data Lenses on a given domain. This is in preparation for the upcoming migration of Data Lenses to Story pages.

Perspectives Stories is a single, dynamic space to collaboratively tell a story or track a problem. With the improvements to Stories that we have made over the last couple of years, we believe that Stories offers a superior experience for your programs and citizens, compared to Data Lens, in terms of data exploration, reporting, and public engagement.

Please see this support article for a side-by-side comparison of Perspectives and Data Lenses: How to Replace Data Lens Pages with Story Pages

Please see the Deprecation Roadmap for more details.