The Send option lets you send data once, directly from an Explore, Look, or Dashboard. With Send, you have the same destination and formatting options that are available for scheduled data deliveries, without having to save the Explore or set up a schedule for the saved content in a Look or dashboard.
Sending a Query from an Explore
The Send option for on-the-fly queries is available in the gear menu of an Explore.
From here, you can choose your delivery method, destination, and format.
Sending a Look or Dashboard
The Send option for saved content is available in the gear menu on a Look.
From here, you can choose your delivery method, destination, and format.
Options and Formatting
Data formats available for sending will differ depending on whether you are sending an Explore, Look, or Dashboard.
Naming the Delivery
Give the content a unique title in the Title field. The title is used for the email's subject line, and as part of the file name if you select a format that uses an email attachment.
Sending to Email
In the Who should it be emailed to section, enter the email addresses of the recipients. Enter a single email address, or multiple addresses separated by commas, and click Add.
Click Include a custom message to add a customized message in the body of the email.
Choosing a Data Format
In Format data as, choose the format for the data in your delivery.
For dashboards, you can choose:
- PDF: Your dashboard as a PDF attachment. The default layout displays tiles as they are arranged in the dashboard, but other layouts and sizing options are available under Advanced Options.
- Visualization: A visualization of your dashboard in the body of the email in a single image file. The default layout displays tiles as they are arranged in the dashboard, but other layouts and sizing options are available under Advanced Options.
- CSV ZIP File: The unformatted data from your dashboard, delivered as a collection of comma-separated values (CSV) files in a zipped directory.
For Looks and Explores, you can choose:
- Data Table: The data table in the body of the email in HTML.
- Visualization: A visualization of your data in the body of the email as an image.
- CSV: The data table as a comma-separated text file attachment.
- XLSX: The data table as an Excel file attachment.
- JSON — Simple: The data table as a JSON file attachment.
- Text: The data table as a tab-delimited text file attachment.
- HTML: The data table as an HTML file attachment.
Applying Filters to the Delivery
If you are delivering a Look or dashboard that has filters, you can filter the results delivered to each set of recipients. For example, you might send data only for the past 7 days.
Click Filters to see and modify the filters associated with this Look or dashboard for your data delivery. Changing these filter options in the Send or Schedule window does not change the filters in your Look or dashboard.
Using Advanced Delivery Options
The Advanced options section provides additional customization for your delivery. Click the arrow next to Advanced options to expand this menu.
Sending Limits
When sending Looks and Explores, you can limit the size of your email to stay within your email server's message size limitations. Select one of the following limit options for your data:
- Results in Table: Data is sent with a 5,000 row limit. This is the only choice available for emails using the Data Table or Visualization format options. Emails with over 5,000 rows will not be sent.
- All Results: If you are using the Text, CSV, JSON — Simple, XLSX, or HTML format options, you can send all of the rows of the results of a saved Look. This option ignores any limits set on a saved Look or Looker's typical 5,000 row limit. There is, however, a total data limit of 15 MB so that email applications will accept the attachment. Emails over 15 MB will not be sent. If you specify a Data Table or Visualization format and then select All Results, Looker automatically changes the format to use a Text attachment to support sending all results.
To verify that you are within the row or data limit for scheduled emails, you can enter your own email address as the recipient and click Send to send the test data to yourself immediately. If you do not receive the email, it is likely that you have reached the row limit or the data limit for emails.
Email Options
Include Links - we have this feature turned off for embedded users, so it shouldn't matter what you choose here.
Format Options
The following options are available when sending data delivery over email.
Apply Visualization Options
For Looks, Explores, and CSV-formatted dashboards, you can configure whether you want the data delivery to use the same options as your visualization:
Select Apply visualization options to apply some of the visualization settings to your delivery, causing your delivery to appear similar to a table chart. Any of the following settings in the Plot, Series, and Formatting menus that are configured for the visualization will be applied to the data delivery:
- Show Row Numbers
- Hide Totals
- Hide Row Totals
- Limit Displayed Rows to a maximum of 500 rows shown or hidden.
- Show Full Field Name
- Custom labels for each column (note that JSON files will always use raw field names, not the field label)
- Conditional Formatting for deliveries of table chart visualizations in Excel format
Unselect Apply visualization options if you do not want these visualization options applied. Looker sends the data as it appears in the Data section of the Look or a dashboard tile's Explore from Here window.
Formatted Data Values
For Looks, Explores, and the CSV format of dashboards, you can configure the data's formatting:
Select Formatted data values if you want the data to appear more similar to the Explore experience in Looker, although some features (such as linking) aren't supported by all file types.
Unselect Formatted data values if you do not want to apply any special formatting of your query results, such as rounding long numbers or adding special characters your Looker developers may have put in place. This is often preferred when data is being fed into another tool for processing.
Single Column Layout
For dashboard deliveries in PDF or Visualization format, you have the option to print your PDF in a single column layout, which displays dashboard tiles in a single vertical column. Check the Use single column layout box to use this option, or leave the box unchecked to show the tiles as they are arranged in the dashboard.
Expand Tables
To display all rows of a data table — rather than just those rows that display in the dashboard tile thumbnail — in a PDF dashboard delivery or download, check the Expand tables box.
Paper Size
You have the option to specify the optimal size and orientation of dashboard PDFs by selecting from the Paper size drop-down menu. Large visualizations or groups of overlapping dashboard tiles may need to be resized to fit cleanly on a PDF page.
Send Your Content
When you have selected all the options for your delivery, click the Send button to send your content.
Conclusion
If your business has the schedule data deliveries feature turned on, you can also schedule your Looks and Dashboards. Next, learn how to explore data.