Insight Tool (Deprecated)
Insight Tool (Deprecated)
2024.1 Insight Tool Deprecation
The Insight tool* has been deprecated as of version 2024.1. To access the tool, right-click the Designer tool palette and select Show Deprecated Tools.
Additionally, we have removed the Insight tool's Preview functionality due to compatibility issues with the Alteryx upgrade to Python v3.10. You can continue to view your data and design via the Design tab of the Insights tool.
*This note is specific to the Insight tool and not the Business Insights Data Product.
Use the Insight tool to create interactive dashboards to use to gain deeper insights into your data. You can create and arrange multiple charts and text elements on the dashboard, create filters for viewing specific data, and create drilldowns to let you change the detail level of data displayed. When you use the filters and drilldowns to view data, all related charts in the insight dynamically update. The insight can be published to a Gallery for others to view.
Configure the Tool
Run the workflow to read the data into the Insight tool, and then select Configure Insight to open the configuration window. An insight can include one or more chart and text elements, filters, and drilldowns.
Create an Insight
Run the workflow.
Select Configure Insight.
Drag a Chart or Text element and drop it on the page.
Create a Chart
Hover over the chart element and select Edit.
Under Create > Layer, select Add Layer.
Enter a Name for the layer.
Select chart Type.
Area: Displays a relationship of how data changes over time.
Bar: Displays categorical data with rectangular bars of heights or lengths proportional to the values they represent.
Box and Whisker: Displays groups of numerical data distributed by their quartiles.
Candlestick: Displays the price movements of a financial asset for a specific period.
Heatmap: Displays a map in which data values are represented as colors.
Line: Displays information as a series of data points connected by straight line segments.
Scatter: Displays values that show the correlation between two numerical sets of data.
Pie: Displays data as a circle divided into slices to represent a numerical proportion.
Select columns to use as the values for the X and Y axes. To create an interactive chart, where you can drill down from summary data, and view different levels of details about the data, use a drilldown for the X or Y axes. To create a Drilldown...
Under Create > Drilldown, select CreateDrilldown.
Enter a Name for the drilldown.
Select the fields to include in the drilldown.
Under Create > Layer, select Add Layer
Select the drilldown to use as the value for the X or Y axes.
Split Data into Multiple Layers:
Under Create > Transforms, select Split to separate data into multiple layers and style each layer of a chart based on the number of different values within a column.
The Transforms option is available for Area, Bar, Box, Line, and Scatter charts.
For aggregations or calculations of the data, select a Field and Function. Options include Sum, Count, Min, Max, Mean.
Under Style, select to configure the Default Font, Layer, Sort, Chart, Axes, Legend, and Notes:
Font: Select the font, font size, and font color for the chart. Edits made to the font for the chart title, axes titles and labels, legend text, and notes will override the default font.
Layer: Select colors, show the layer in a legend, and show values when the cursor hovers over a data point on the chart. Many of the options depend on the type of chart selected.
Sort: Select a field and click Ascending or Descending to sort data on the chart.
Chart: Select the size, background color, margins, and padding for the chart, and add a chart title.
Axes: Add a title for each axis, and show grid lines and labels. The font for the axes titles and labels can be customized.
Legend: Show a legend for the chart, and select the legend box font, color, and location. Click and drag the legend to move it to a new location on the chart. For a layer to show in the legend, it must be enabled under Style > Layer.
Notes: Add a note and arrow to the chart. Select and drag the note to move it to a new location on the chart.
Note
The chart title, axes titles, legend text, and notes can be edited by selecting them directly on the chart. Add a link to text by specifying a URL. Hover over the area at the top of the Insight window to view Zoom, Pan, Zoom in, Zoom out, Reset axes, Toggle Spike Lines, and Save as PNG options.
Select Close Editor to close the chart editor and save changes.
Create a Stacked Bar Chart: A bar chart displays categorical data with rectangular bars of heights or lengths proportional to the values they represent. A stacked bar chart displays an extra level of detail within a simple bar chart and allows you to see how subgroups of data contribute to the total. To create a stacked bar chart...
Run the workflow.
Select Configure Chart in the tool configuration window.
Under Create > Layer, select Add Layer.
Select the chart Type of Bar.
Select columns to use as the values for the X and Y axes.
Under Create > Transforms, select Split.
Select the column to split the data on.
Under Style > Layer, select Stack from BarMode.
Save and Import a Chart Template: Save a chart and all settings as a template, which you can import into an Insight tool or a different Interactive Chart tool in a workflow.
To save a chart as a template...
Under Create, select Template.
Enter a TemplateName.
Select Save.
To import a saved template...
Under Create, select Template.
Select the name of the template.
Select Import.
Add a Text Element
Drag a text element and drop it on the page.
Hover over the text element, select in the text box, and enter text.
Select Close to close the text editor.
Add, edit, or delete elements on the page.
To move an element on the page, hover over the element, select, and drag the element to a different location.
To resize an element, hover over the element, select the resize handle, and drag it in any direction.
To delete an element from the page, hover over the element, and select the trash can icon.
Add a filter to select data that meets specific criteria.
Select Filters in the right-hand pane, and select + Filter.
Select a column via the ColumnName dropdown.
Enter a name in FilterName.
Select a FilterControl. Options include Dropdown, Multiselect, and DateRange.
Select the "X" icon to close the Insight window and return to the workflow.
Publish and Share an Insight
You can publish an insight to a Gallery and share it in a collection so others can view and interact with it.
Best Practices for Publishing an Insight
Include the name of the workflow as part of the name of the insight for easy reference when viewing the insight in the Gallery.
Add an annotation to an Insight tool in a workflow for an insight that will be published to the Gallery to easily track published insights.
Publish the insight to the Gallery first, and then save the workflow to the Gallery. This creates an insight ID and establishes the relationship between the insight and the workflow. At this point, you can run or schedule the workflow to refresh the data for the insight.
Once a workflow and an insight have been published, modifying the Insight tool in the workflow and publishing it again will overwrite the existing insight in the Gallery. To publish a new insight to the same Gallery, you must configure a new Insight tool in the workflow.
When you publish an insight to a Gallery, the insight is saved in the Insights tab. To publish an insight follow the below steps.
Publish an Insight
Create an insight with a chart or text element.
Select SelectGallery.
Select the name of the Gallery and select Publish.
In SaveInsight, enter the Insight Name and select Save.
Sign in to the Gallery and select the Insights tab to view the published insight.
Select the name of the insight to view and interact with the data.
You can share an insight with users by adding it to a collection. To share an insight follow the below steps.
Share an Insight
Select Collections and add a new collection.
Select the name of the collection.
Select the Users tab, enter the user name, and select the user to share the collection with.
Select the Insights tab, enter the insight name, and select the insight to add it to the collection.
Users can view the insights they have shared with others from within their collection but must view the insights shared with them from the Insights tab.