Create a custom analysis in a report

Introduction

Should you wish to have complete control over the content of your analyses, notably to display cross-calculated data or other custom items, you can create a custom analysis.

To do this, open the menu editing panel, select the "+ Analyses" option (1), then click the "Custom" tab (2). You will have the choice to either:

• Edit a custom analysis (click the pencil that appears when hovering your mouse)
• Create a new analysis (Click on "+ Custom analysis"):

Click on "+ Custom analysis" to get started with a blank analysis. The workspace is structured in the following way:

1. Site providing the data source for the report
2. Button to add filters
3. Analysis name (click to rename)
4. Options specific to the analysis' setup
5. Field to add dimensions to the data set
6. Field to add metrics to the data set
7. Display area for the analysis' data

Prepare the analysis' context

You must specify which site(s) is/are the data source for the analyses. When you create a new report, your site will be automatically selected by default. If you wish to delete this site or add one, open the "site" menu, then click the "Edit" button:

In the field, enter the name of the sites you want to appear in the report, or delete the sites you no longer want to use. Then select the site which should be displayed by default when the report is opened.  Remember to save your changes in order for them to be taken into account.

Create a data set

A data set is a combination of dimensions and metrics used to provide your data. It is therefore necessary to create a data set in order to generate content for your analyses. Start by selecting the dimension(s) to integrate into your analysis. To do this, you can click on the field to display a list of all available dimensions, or directly enter the name of the desired dimensions. Items with a coloured stripe are custom items (site variables, custom metrics, etc.).

Click an item to add it to the list. You can then proceed in the same manner to add metrics.

Once the elements have been added, the analysis will show up in the display area, in the form of a graph followed by a table:

You can take several different actions on the data set's items:

• Change the order of metrics or dimensions: To do this, simply drag and drop the item wherever you wish to place it:

• Filter on one or several items to only take into account certain characteristics in your analysis: To do this, click the item. A settings pop-up will open:

1. Test to apply to the item ("contains", "does not contain", "is equal to", "is greater than", etc.)
2. Value of the item on which the test is to be made (for example, Visitors > 10,000)
3. AND or OR operators to use, in case several conditions must be met. Click the operator to toggle between AND and OR.
4. Add a new condition to the filter (for example, names of chapters containing "XXX" or "YYY")

• Hide an item: You may very well use an item to generate the required data, but prefer to hide this item from your graphs and/or tables. To hide an item, click on the eye icon. To display the item, click the eye icon again:

• Delete an item: To delete an item from the data set, simply click on the delete icon (1). You can delete all items by clicking the "empty" button (2).

You may also use data sets created in Data Query by importing a Data Query 2 template. To do this, simply click on the cog icon ("More options") in the analysis' settings bar, then on "Import a Data Query 2 template". Select the desired template to import.

Dimensions, metrics and filters from your Data Query 2 template will automatically be added to your analysis. You can then edit these items, delete or add them, as with any other custom analysis.

Adding filters

For each analysis created, you may add filters which will allow users to segment data based on data exploration approaches you've defined, such as studying user behaviour on the site according to certain browsing characteristics (device used, browser used, traffic sources, etc.).

You may add up to three filters per analysis. To do this, click the "+ Filters" button in the analysis' options bar (1), then tick the filters you wish to add. The filters will be added to the options bar as they are selected (2):

You can test the filters by applying them directly. To do this, click on (1), then select the filter to apply by clicking on it (2). The name of the filtered item will appear just below the filter's name. To disable a filter, open the filter by clicking on (1), then click on "Reset the filter". Finally, to delete a filter, simply click on the X next to the filter name.

Finalise your analysis

For all created analyses, a layout is applied by default. This layout includes a graph followed by a table. Two other layouts are available: graph/graph followed by a table, or table only.

To select a layout other than the default option, click the "More options" button at the top-right of the analysis area, select "Change layout", and then select the layout that you wish to apply. Your analysis will be automatically updated with the new layout.

Modify the analysis' final result

Should you wish to create a more personalised final result, you can also customise the items that should be displayed by default when the analysis is opened:

• Graph(s)
• Graph metric(s)
• Width of columns in the table

To do this, display the analysis as you want it to appear by selecting the metric to use in the graph (1), the type of graph to use (2), and adjusting the column width if necessary (3). If you're using a layout containing two graphs, carry out steps 1 and 2 for each graph.

Your setup will be saved for both viewing and editing in the future.

In order for these adjustments to be taken into account, please remember to save your report.