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Interactivity & controls beginner 5 min

Date range controls

Report-level dates, chart overrides, and comparison periods.

What you'll be able to do
  • Add a date range control
  • Understand the date hierarchy
  • Set up period comparisons

Adding one

Add → Control → Date range control. It filters every chart on the page that uses a source with a date dimension.

Set a sensible default in its Setup panel. Last 28 days is a common choice; Auto uses whatever the data source defines.

The hierarchy

Dates resolve in this order, most specific winning:

  1. A date range set on the individual chart
  2. The date range control on the page
  3. The report default
Why one chart ignores your control

If a chart has its own date range set in Setup, the page control does not affect it. That is deliberate — it lets you show a fixed twelve-month trend beside filterable cards — but it is also the usual explanation when a chart seems to ignore the control.

Comparison ranges

In a chart's Setup, Comparison date range adds previous period or previous year. Scorecards show the delta; time series can show both periods as lines.

Previous year is usually more meaningful than previous period for anything seasonal — comparing December to November tells you about Christmas, not about performance.

Scope

A control placed on a page filters that page. Placed in the report header (drag it to the top area), it applies to every page — which is what you normally want for a date range in a multi-page report.

Key points
  • Chart-level date ranges override the page control
  • Put a date control in the report header to apply it across all pages
  • Previous year beats previous period for seasonal data
Check yourself