Explore parameters

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This page links to all the LookML parameters that are children of the explore parameter.

An Explore serves as the starting point for a query in the Looker application. Explores reference views and each Explore can contain joins to other views. Explores should typically be declared in a model file.

Example usage

Hover over a parameter name to see a quick description; click it to jump to that page.
When a parameter can be set to one of several specific options, the default value is listed first.

# STRUCTURAL PARAMETERS
explore: explore_name {
  extension: required
  extends: [explore_name, explore_name, …]
  fields: [field_or_set, field_or_set, …]
  tags: ["string1", "string2", …]

  # DISPLAY PARAMETERS
  description: "Description I want"
  group_label: "Label to use as a heading in the Explore menu"
  hidden: yes | no
  label: "desired label"
  query: {
      # Desired query parameters (described on the query page)
  }
  view_label: "Field picker heading I want for the Explore’s fields"

  # FILTER PARAMETERS
  access_filter: {
    field: fully_scoped_field
    user_attribute: user_attribute_name
  }
  # Possibly more access_filter declarations
  always_filter: {
    filters: [field_name: "filter expression", field_name: "filter expression", …]
  }
  case_sensitive: yes | no
  conditionally_filter: {
    filters: [field_name: "filter expression", field_name: "filter expression", …]
    unless: [field_name, field_name, …]
  }
  sql_always_having: SQL HAVING condition ;;
  sql_always_where: SQL WHERE condition ;;

  # JOIN PARAMETERS
  always_join: [view_name, view_name, …]
  join: view_name {
    # Desired join parameters (described on Join Parameters page)
  }
  # Possibly more join declarations

  # QUERY PARAMETERS
  cancel_grouping_fields: [fully_scoped_field, fully_scoped_field, …]
  from: view_name
  persist_for: "N (seconds | minutes | hours)"
  persist_with: datagroup_name
  required_access_grants: [access_grant_name, access_grant_name, …]
  sql_table_name: table_name ;;
  symmetric_aggregates: yes | no
  view_name: view_name

  # AGGREGATE TABLE PARAMETERS
  aggregate_table: table_name {
    query: {
      # Desired query parameters (described on the aggregate_table page)
    }
    materialization: {
      # Desired materialization parameters (described on the aggregate_table page)
    }
  }
  # Possibly more aggregate_table declarations

}

# REFINEMENT PARAMETERS
explore: +explore_name {
  final: yes
}

Parameter definitions

Parameter Name	Description
Structural Parameters
`extends` (for Explore)	Specifies Explore(s) that will be extended by this Explore
`extension` (for Explore)	Specifies that the Explore requires extension and cannot itself be exposed to users
`explore` (for model)	Exposes a view in the Explore menu
`fields` (for Explore)	Limits the fields available in an Explore from its base view and through the Explore’s joins
`tags` (for Explore)	Specifies text that can be passed to other applications
Display Parameters
`description` (for Explore)	Adds a description for an Explore that appears to users in the UI
`group_label` (for Explore)	Creates a group label to use as a heading in the Explore menu
`hidden` (for Explore)	Hides an Explore from the Explore menu
`label` (for Explore)	Changes the way an Explore appears in the Explore menu
`query` (for Explore)	Creates a predefined query for users to select in an Explore’s Quick Start menu.
`view_label` (for Explore)	Specifies how a group of fields from the Explore’s base view will be labeled in the field picker
Filter Parameters
`access_filter`	Adds user-specific filters to an Explore
`always_filter`	Adds filters a user can change, but not remove, to an Explore
`case_sensitive` (for Explore)	Specifies whether filters are case-sensitive for an Explore
`conditionally_filter`	Adds filters to an Explore if a user does not add their own filter from a specific list
`sql_always_having`	Inserts conditions into the query’s `HAVING` clause that a user cannot change or remove for this Explore
`sql_always_where`	Inserts conditions into the query’s `WHERE` clause that a user cannot change or remove for this Explore
Join Parameters
`always_join`	Specifies which joins must always be applied to an Explore
`join`	Joins an additional view to an Explore. For more information about joins and their parameters, see the Join Parameters reference page.
Query Parameters
`cancel_grouping_fields`	Cancels the `GROUP BY` clause when certain fields are chosen in an Explore
`from` (for Explore)	Specifies the view on which an Explore will be based, and reference the fields of that view by the Explore’s name
`persist_for` (for Explore)	Changes the cache settings for an Explore
`persist_with` (for Explore)	Specifies the datagroup to use for the Explore’s caching policy
`required_access_grants` (for Explore)	Limits access to the Explore to only users whose user attribute values match the access grants
`sql_table_name` (for Explore)	Specifies the database table on which an Explore will be based
`symmetric_aggregates`	Specifies whether symmetric aggregates are enabled for an Explore
`view_name` (for Explore)	Specifies the view on which an Explore will be based, and references the fields of that view by the view’s name
Aggregate Table Parameters
`aggregate_table`	Creates an aggregate table in order to use aggregate awareness for queries on the Explore. For information on the `aggregate_table` parameter, see the `aggregate_table` parameter page. For an overview of aggregate awareness, see the Aggregate awareness documentation page.
`query`	Defines the query for the aggregate table. For information on `query` and its subparameters, see the `aggregate_table` parameter page.
`materialization`	Defines the persistence strategy for the aggregate table. For information on `materialization` and its subparameters, see the `aggregate_table` parameter page.
Refinement Parameters
`explore: +explore_name`	Adds a plus sign (`+`) in front of an existing Explore name to add a refinement to the existing Explore. See the LookML refinements documentation page for more information and use cases.
`final`	Indicates that the current refinement is the final refinement allowed for the Explore. See the LookML refinements documentation page for more information and use cases.
Parameters to Avoid
`access_filter_fields`	REMOVED6.0 Replaced by `access_filter`