Explore parameters

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 REMOVED 6.0 Replaced by access_filter