Explore Parameters

Go to Functional Reference for All Parameters

This page links to all of 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"
  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: field_name
      value: "Looker filter expression"
    }
    # Possibly more filters declarations
  }
  case_sensitive: yes | no
  conditionally_filter: {
    filters: {
      field: field_name
      value: "Looker filter expression"
    }
    # Possibly more filters declarations
    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
}

Parameter Definitions

Parameter Name	Description
Structural Parameters
`extends` (for Explore)	Specify Explore(s) that will be extended by this Explore
`extension` (for Explore)	Specify that the Explore requires extension and cannot itself be exposed to users
`explore` (for model)	Expose a view in the Explore menu
`fields` (for Explore)	Limit the fields available in an Explore from its base view and through the Explore’s joins
`tags` (for Explore)	ADDED6.20 Specify text that can be passed to other applications
Display Parameters
`description` (for Explore)	Add a description for an Explore that appears to users in the UI
`group_label` (for Explore)	Create a group label to use as a heading in the Explore menu
`hidden` (for Explore)	Hide an Explore from the Explore menu
`label` (for Explore)	Change the way an Explore appears in the Explore menu
`view_label` (for Explore)	Specify how a group of fields from the Explore’s base view will be labeled in the field picker
Filter Parameters
`access_filter`	Add user-specific filters to an Explore
`always_filter`	Add filters a user can change, but not remove, to an Explore
`case_sensitive` (for Explore)	Specify whether filters are case sensitive for an Explore
`conditionally_filter`	Add filters to an Explore if a user does not add their own filter from a specific list
`sql_always_having`	Insert conditions into the query’s `HAVING` clause that a user cannot change or remove for this Explore
`sql_always_where`	Insert conditions into the query’s `WHERE` clause that a user cannot change or remove for this Explore
Join Parameters
`always_join`	Specify which joins must always be applied to an Explore
`join`	Join 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`	Cancel the `GROUP BY` clause when certain fields are chosen in an Explore
`from` (for Explore)	Specify 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)	Change the cache settings for an Explore
`persist_with` (for Explore)	Specify the datagroup to use for the Explore’s caching policy
`required_access_grants` (for Explore)	ADDED6.0 Limit access to the Explore to only users whose user attribute values match the access grants
`sql_table_name` (for Explore)	Specify the database table on which an Explore will be based
`symmetric_aggregates`	Specify whether symmetric aggregates are enabled for an Explore
`view_name` (for Explore)	Specify the view on which an Explore will be based, and reference the fields of that view by the view’s name
Parameters to Avoid
`access_filter_fields`	REMOVED6.0 Replaced by `access_filter`