Parameter Types Available in Stories
Add Defaults to Parameters in Stories
Parameters in the Global Filter Bar
Current Limitations of Parameters in Stories
Definitions
What is a Parameter?
Parameters allow you to change a variable, such as a number, date, string, or Boolean, in the definition of a query, which can change the values in the data powering the Story.
How is it different than a filter in the Global Filter Bar?
Filters allow you to see and use a subset of the existing rows of the data powering the Story. Parameters allow you to change the underlying query logic of a view based on the current value of the parameter
Parameter Types Available in Stories
Parameters are built into derived views, meaning any parameters configured in the data can be available in a Story!
Types of Parameters:
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Text
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Number
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Date
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Checkbox (Boolean)
For information on how to configure parameters in the Exploration Canvas, click here.
Add parameters to a Story
Parameters are available through the Global Filter Bar. This means that you must add a Global Filter Bar to your Story and connect it to the parameterized view you’ve created.
Once you’ve connected your parameterized view, you can then begin adding parameters to the filter bar by opening the Data & Filtering panel and clicking on the “Add Filter” Dropdown under “Filters & Parameters”.
Note: Stories with a global filter and parameters in them that existed before we released the ability to link parameters together will render all parameters from all data sources in the global filter bar automatically.
Linking Parameters Together
To start adding parameters to the global filter, users must click the “Add Filter” dropdown in the Data & Filtering side panel. Once a parameter is added under “Filters & Parameters”, users will see it automatically added to the horizontal global filter bar in their Story draft.
Parameters have an icon to delineate them as parameters within each data source in the global filter bar.
Once a user has added the parameters they want to power their global filter, they can begin to associate it with other parameters from other data sources to that initial parameter.
Users can do this by clicking “Edit” in the (…) next to the parameter name under “Filters and Parameters”. This immediately takes them to the “Parameter Options” panel where they can select other parameters to link to the initial parameter.
Parameters that can be linked together must have the same parameter type as the initial parameter selected for the global filter bar.
When there are no available parameters to link, users will see the “+Link” option disabled.
Parameters Visibility
Users can choose to show or hide a parameter or any linked parameters in the global filter bar.
This can be done easily by clicking on the “…” for a given parameter under “Filters & Parameters” and selecting “Show” or “Hide”.
Choosing to hide a parameter means it will not appear in the global filter bar for others to use but it will still query the data.
Choosing to show a parameter means it will appear in the global filter bar for others to use to query data in the Story.
Removing a linked column from a filter
Users can remove a linked parameter from a given parameter in the global filter by navigating to the Parameter Options for the parameter and clicking the “X” next to the linked parameter.
Important Notes
- If you removed a linked parameter, it will reset the parameter value. This is so we can ensure the available values contained in the data sources are generated accurately.
- If there is only a single column tied to the parameter, users will not be able to remove it without navigating to the Data & Filtering panel and removing the filter under “Filters and Parameters”.
Add defaults for parameters
Each parameter comes with a default value at the derived view level. However, you can change that default to be Story page-specific – meaning you can tailor the parameters to the audience of the Story!
To change the default of any parameter:
- Navigate to the Story draft
- Set another value for a given parameter
- Update the Story
Using parameters
Parameters are single-select input, meaning, unlike filters, you cannot select multiple values to input.
For Text Parameters
You will need to enter the text value, these are case and space sensitive.
For Number Parameters
For Date Parameters
For Checkbox Parameters
You will need to select whether to set it to True or False by unchecking or checking the box.
Current Limitations of Parameters in Stories
- Resetting a parameter in the global filter bar means it will set to it’s original view level default value. It is not possible to have a parameter query “Null” or empty like a filter.
- Visually, parameters look similar to filters.
- Parameters require single select and exact match input. You cannot add multiple values, like you can with filters in Stories.
- Exported data from table visualizations in Stories will not include any parameter variable.
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