Hands On With Google Data Studio

CHAPTER 3Enhancing Basic Graphs

In Chapter 2, “Cooking with Google Data Studio,” we went through the basics of building a simple Data Studio report. In this chapter, we'll take the report further using time comparisons and table graphing elements to allow the user to gain more insight into the data. In addition, we'll be using some time‐saving methods for report creation and sharing.

You'll want to keep the purpose of the report and the needs of the user in mind when you build a new report. This new report will be designed to be saved as a PDF file and then printed. The interactive live nature of Data Studio is one of its most attractive features, but there are times when a static report is necessary.

Static Report Design

In this example, we'll replace the interactive features of the report with new components that use the same data. Since the user won't be able to interact with and explore the data, we'll enhance the charts to provide more information to the user.

The report from the previous chapter had some interactive elements that will not work on a static PDF or printed output. The Date Range control allowed the user to focus on any desired time range, and that is not an option for a printed report. We'll limit the time range to include only 2018 transactions. To provide the viewer with more context, we'll add comparisons to the previous year.

Furthermore, the detail table that allowed the user to scroll through all of the transactions and sort by different columns ...