Time slices and date picker in Filters

Ajay Khanna Updated by Ajay Khanna

Why time slices?

With our custom time slice picker, you can visualize data for different time slices (e.g., calculate percentage change or absolute change). These time slices can either be 3 weeks over 3 weeks change or last 3 weeks compared to the same 3 weeks last year. Support for such custom time ranges allows users to define their own Time Period and compare the data for different time frames as required. Also, scroll down to know how to customize the calendar view.

Where to find the time slices?

Time slices can be created for any date range filter under Explore and Discover tabs.

In Release 4.0, the date picker has been dramatically redesigned to enhance the user experience.

Date picker under Explore tab

When you filter using a date-based column, the following window appears:

Redesigned date picker/time slicer
  1. The left pane Pick Time Period displays a list of pre-defined date ranges. Select the required date range. 
  2. The Time Period displays the exact ‘From’ and ‘To’ dates in MM/DD/YYYY format.
  3. The corresponding range will be highlighted accordingly and displayed on the calendar.
If you select any of the preset date ranges from Pick Time Period, you won’t be able to manually interact with the calendar or apply changes to the Time Period fields.
  1. If you select Custom Date Range in the left pane, you can manually change the Time Period fields. Alternatively, you can interact with the calendar to select the required dates, and the Time Period fields will be updated accordingly.
Custom date range picker
  1. Custom Time Slicer allows you to create a custom time period instead of date ranges.
  2. Select Custom Time Slicer in the left pane; you can find another row of fields added under Time Period.
  3. Click on each field to view the corresponding dropdown list, where you can select the required time slice. The dates on the calendar will be highlighted accordingly.
  4. Using Custom Time Slicer, you can select previous/next ‘n’ number of days/weeks/months/quarters/years that exist in this/last/last to last year.
Custom time slicer
  1. Below the calendar, you can find the following details:
  • Available dates: The available date range according to the selected Business View.
  • Last refresh: The date on which the dataset from the Business View was last refreshed.
  • Current date: The current system date.
Redesigned date picker

Date picker under Discover tab

  1. When you’re creating Trend Insights from Discover → Create new Insight, the following window appears for you to select the date range for the Between field.
  2. An additional section to compare the required date ranges appears in the window.
Comparing two different date ranges or time slices
  1. If you select Preceding Period, then an equal number of days that immediately precede the selected date range will be highlighted.
  2. The primary time period will be highlighted in orange, and the date range you compare against will be highlighted in blue.

The following GIF illustrates the comparison between

  • Today and its preceding period (yesterday)
  • Last 7 days and its preceding period (the previous 7 days)
  • This month and its preceding period (last month)
  • This month and a custom date range
Date range picker and time slicer with comparison segment

How to customize the calendar view

The calendar view can be changed per your requirements. Navigate to Settings --> Application Settings --> Time Configuration.

Customize the calendar view
  1. Click on the dropdown under First Day of Week to change the first day to be displayed in the calendar view.
  2. Switch on the toggle under Time Slices Reference Point to use your current system date as the reference point.
Tellius uses the Max Data Date as default. Switching to the current system date may cause errors if your data is not regularly updated.
  1. Switch on the toggle under Include current time to include the current day as a part of specific time periods (e.g., show me revenue from the last 7 days should include today or not?) in search queries.

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