Time Lapse widgets

[ 1 About time lapse widgets ] [ 2 What data do I need for this widget? ] [ 3 Widget settings ] [ 4 Tips for using a time lapse chart ] [ 5 Query example ]

About time lapse widgets

Time Lapse is a type of line chart that allows you to superimpose data from different moments in a series to see the differences they present. This is useful for when you have seasonality-affected data that needs to be systematically analyzed for variations, as well as its evolution over the different stages.

What data do I need for this widget?

The source query must include fields with a timestamp value (typically the eventdate) and a numerical value, which will be automatically recognized and displayed in the diagram. If the query contains more than two, the first two will be selected automatically although you can change the selection in the widget's visual settings, as explained below.

If your query groups events, only the first of the grouping keys will be used to plot data on the chart.

Widget settings

To edit the widget settings, you must first be in Edit mode.

Click the widget title bar to open its settings. Alternatively, the settings are accessible via the Ellipsis icon → Properties. The widget settings are contained in three tabs, Data, Visual, and Raw.

The settings in the Data and Raw tabs are described in the Create a widget article, while the Visual settings are explained below:

Category	Setting	Description

Category	Setting	Description
Fields	X-Axis (Number)	This is the field whose values are used to plot the x-axis. It must be a date so only timestamp values will be shown in the dropdown for you to select.
Fields	Y-Axis (Number)	This is the field whose values are used to plot the y-axis. It must be a metric so only numeric values will be shown in the dropdown for you to select.
Time Gaps	Exclude boundary periods	If your query has a grouping clause, there might be incomplete periods at the beginning or end of the graph depending on the selected time range. To prevent any possible misinterpretation derived from that, you can decide what to do with them: None: neither of the periods will be hidden, allowing you to see the real situation with incomplete periods in your time range. Both periods: both the first and last periods will be hidden, allowing you to focus only on the full periods in your time range. First period: only the first period will be hidden, allowing you to see exactly where your meaningful data starts. Last period: only the last period will be hidden, allowing you to see exactly where your meaningful data ends.
Time Gaps	Fill gaps	Choose how to plot periods with no data. As zero: Plots the empty values as zero so they have nodes representing them on the chart. As null: Leaves the empty values as null so they do not have nodes representing them on the chart. Connected: Represents on the chart a line that connects each of the nodes with values, bypassing those without them.
Lapses	Configure each of the lapses created on the upper part of the chart (see the section below for lapse creation).
	ID	Unique, internal identifier for this data series.
	Name	The label for the series. This will appear in the tooltip and in the chart legend.
	Color	Set the color you want for the data series.

Tips for using a time lapse chart

The time lapse chart is divided into two different parts: the upper part mainly for configuration and the lower part mainly for visualization.

Upper part: configuration

The upper part represents the whole time range selected for analysis. Here you can create and configure the different lapses to be compared.

Click on New Lapse at the bottom right to set a new one.
Click on one of the presets at the top left to establish a duration for all the lapses (establishing different durations for each lapse is not possible).
- When using a Custom period, click on a lapse's starting time and drag it to resize them all. Alternatively, place the cursor inside a lapse and use the mouse scroll wheel to resize them all. Resizing a lapse will automatically enable the custom period, even if you had a preset period selected.
Click on a lapse and drag it to move it to the desired position. Alternatively, you can click a lapse to select it and then use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move it.
- Whenever you click on a lapse on the upper part you will see above it three different metrics: the Amount of events contained in that period, the Average of their values, and the Highest/Lowest of those values.
Click on the Link slider at the top right to consider all lapses as a single entity when moving them, keeping the distance between them. Alternatively, you can click the link icon on any of the lapses.
Click on the Snap slider at the top right to adapt lapses to rounded times units when moving them.
Click on a lapse from the legend to remove it.

Lower part: visualization

The lower part reflects in real-time the lapse configuration performed in the upper part, plotting all of them on top of each other on the canvas to analyze data in equivalent moments of the different lapses.

Hover over a point on the chart to see a tooltip with the values of each of the series on that moment.
Click and drag to zoom on a specific range. Click Reset Zoom at the top right.
Click on a series from the legend to hide/show it on the chart. Click Hide/Show all series at the top right.

Query example

This is the source query used and the fields mapped to generate the widget shown above:

query(from demo.ecommerce.data)

X-axis	eventdate
Y-axis	bytesTransferred

Lapse 1	First sale	08:30-08:47
Lapse 2	Second sale	09:30-09:47
Lapse 3	Third sale	10:30-10:47