How do I drill down in my report?

Owned by Corrine Krauss
Last updated: Mar 26, 2021
3 min read

Certain visualizations use data that has a hierarchical structure.  Where such a hierarchy exists, a user can drill down to reveal additional details.  Selecting an element of a visualization (e.g. a summary line in a table, a bar in a graph) can allow the user to display an increasingly more detailed picture.

To determine if there is a data hierarchy available, hover over a visual and look for a combination of these drill controls:

There are two ways to access the drill features:

  • Hover over a visual and use the icons as noted above
  • Right-click a visual and use the menu


Right-Click Drill OptionsVisualization IconsWhat does it do?
Expand > SelectionN/AExpands to the next level of detail only for the item selected, retaining and showing the parent/child relationship between the levels
Expand > Entire level

Expands to the next level of detail for all items, retaining and showing the parent/child relationship between the levels
Expand > AllN/AExpands all levels of detail for all items, retaining and showing the parent/child relationship between the levels
Collapse > Selection

Collapses the detail the selection (only active if data has been expanded or drilled)
Collapse > Entire level

Collapses the detail for the entire level (only active if data has been expanded or drilled)
Collapse > AllN/ACollapses the detail for the entire level (only active if data has been expanded or drilled)
Drill down

OFF:   

ON:   

Expands the selected item (as in Expand > Selection), and also filters to only show results for that selection


Note: Select the drill down icon to turn it on for double-click drilldown.  If drill down is not turned on, selecting a visual element will instead cross-filter or cross-highlight the other visualizations on the report page.

Show next level

Shows the entire next level of detail without any grouping or headings to show the parent/child relationship between the levels
Expand to next level

Equivalent to Expand > Entire level; expands to the next level of detail for all items, retaining and showing the parent/child relationship between the levels


Different drill down methods work better for different visualizations and different types of data.  Try out different methods to find the one that works best for you.