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What is Drill Down?

Drill Down lets users interact with data visualizations dynamically. By clicking a specific data point (e.g., a bar in a bar chart), users can expand and analyze the underlying or related dimensions. It moves from aggregated data to detailed views — for example, from total revenue by region to revenue by country or city. When you click a data point, the system adds a WHERE filter for the clicked value and re-groups by the next dimension in the hierarchy. Each level triggers a new database query, so drill-down is always working with live, accurate data.

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When to Use Drill Down

Drill Down is ideal for datasets with hierarchical or multi-level structures, such as:
  • Geographical data — Region > Country > City
  • Time-series data — Year > Quarter > Month
  • Organizational structures — Department > Team > Employee
  • Product categories — Category > Subcategory > Product

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Requirements

To enable and use the Drill Down feature, ensure:
  1. Data Structure: The dataset must include hierarchical relationships or dimensions that can be broken down into subcategories.
  2. Visualization Type: Must be a supported chart type (see list below).
  3. Dimensions and Measures: The metric must have at least two dimensions and at least one aggregate measure (e.g., SUM, COUNT, AVG).

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Setting Up Drill Down

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1. Enable Drill Down

On the metric page, click the “Settings” icon, go to the “Actions” tab, and turn on the “Drill down” toggle.
Settings panel showing how to enable drill down action

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2. Configure the Data Layer

Drag and drop the dimensions you want to use for drill-down, in order. The order defines the drill hierarchy: the first dimension is the top level, the second is the first drill, and so on.
Dragging and dropping dimensions into the data layer configuration panel

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3. Configure Drill Levels

Set up all drill-down levels and define the chart settings associated with each level. With Drill-Down 2.0, each level can have its own:
  • Chart type — switch from a bar chart at level 1 to a line chart at level 2 to a table at level 3
  • Dimensions and measures — customize which columns appear at each level
  • Filters — apply level-specific filters to narrow the data further
This lets you build rich, multi-perspective analytical paths rather than a single rigid hierarchy.
GIF showing configuration of multiple drill-down levels

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4. Save to Dashboard

After configuring the drill-down, save the chart to your dashboard.
Save button used to publish drill-down chart to dashboard

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5. Use Drill Down in Your Chart

  • Drill down: Click on any data point (e.g., a bar or pie slice) to drill into the next level.
  • Drill back: Click the drilled dimension label or use the breadcrumb navigation to go back one or more levels.
  • For example, drilling on Store State: “Oregon” shows its cities, and drilling on Store City: “East Kristin” shows product categories.
GIF showing interactive drill-down transitions on a chart

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Common Drill-Down Patterns

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Geographic Hierarchy

LevelDimensionSuggested Chart Type
1RegionBar chart (overview of regions)
2CountryBar chart or table (countries within the selected region)
3CityPie or doughnut (city-level breakdown)

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Time-Based Hierarchy

LevelDimensionSuggested Chart Type
1YearLine chart (trend over years)
2QuarterBar chart (quarterly breakdown)
3MonthArea chart or table (monthly detail)

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Product Hierarchy

LevelDimensionSuggested Chart Type
1CategoryBar chart (top categories)
2SubcategoryStacked bar (subcategories within a category)
3ProductTable (individual products)

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Custom SQL Metrics and Drill Down

Drill-down works the same way for custom SQL metrics. The key requirement is that the columns you use in the drill hierarchy must exist in your custom SQL result set — by alias or column name. If a drill level does not appear or the drill fails:
  • Verify that the columns referenced in your drill levels are included in your SQL SELECT clause.
  • Check that column aliases match the dimension names configured in the drill hierarchy.
  • Ensure the query returns enough data for the hierarchy to be meaningful.
Example: 
SELECT
  region,
  country,
  city,
  SUM(revenue) AS total_revenue
FROM sales
GROUP BY region, country, city
With this query, you can set up a 3-level drill: Region > Country > City with total_revenue as the measure.

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Supported Chart Types

  • Table chart
  • Line chart
  • Step chart
  • Bar & Bar Stack Chart (horizontal & vertical)
  • Combo Single-scale and Multi-scales (horizontal & vertical)
  • Area Charts (Area, Stacked Area)
  • Pie/Doughnut/Rose charts
  • Histogram
  • Scatter plot
  • Bubble chart
  • Waterfall chart (including Waterfall V2)
  • Network chart
  • Tree map
  • Bullet chart
Drill-down is not available for: Boxplot, Funnel, Gauge, Geo maps, Horizontal Stack Table, Pivot, Sankey, Single Value, and Time series. If you don’t see the option, switch to one of the supported chart types and ensure you have at least two dimensions.

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Troubleshooting

Cause: The chart type is not supported, or the metric does not have enough dimensions.Fix:
  • Switch to a supported chart type.
  • Ensure the metric has at least two dimensions and at least one measure (aggregate).
Cause: Drill down is not enabled or the data layer is not configured.Fix:
  • Confirm Drill down is toggled on in Settings > Actions.
  • Check the Data Layer has at least two dimensions in the correct order.
  • Save the metric to the dashboard after configuring drill-down.
Cause: Dimensions are in the wrong order in the data layer.Fix: Reorder dimensions in the Data Layer: the first dimension is the top level (broadest), the next is the first drill (more detail), and so on.
Cause: The drill hierarchy references columns that don’t exist in the SQL result.Fix:
  • Verify that all hierarchy columns appear in your SQL SELECT clause (by name or alias).
  • Check that the aliases match exactly what is configured in the drill levels.
  • Run the query standalone to confirm it returns the expected columns.
Cause: Table drill-down removes the GROUP BY and shows individual rows matching the drilled value.Fix:
  • This is expected behavior — table drill shows raw detail rows.
  • For large datasets, consider adding filters at the drill level to limit results, or use a non-table chart type for drill levels that may return many rows.
Cause: Cross Dashboard Drill Down is not enabled, or other metrics don’t share the drilled dimension.Fix:
  • Ensure Cross Dashboard Drill Down is enabled in the Actions tab.
  • The drilled filter is applied to all metrics on the dashboard. For best results, ensure other metrics include the same dimension column as the drilled value.
  • See Cross Dashboard Drill Down for full details.

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How Drill-Down Queries Work

Understanding what happens behind the scenes can help you design better drill-down experiences:
  1. Level 0 (initial view): Your metric runs its normal query — e.g., SELECT region, SUM(revenue) FROM sales GROUP BY region.
  2. Level 1 (first drill): You click “West”. The system generates a new query that adds WHERE region = 'West' and changes GROUP BY to the next dimension — e.g., SELECT country, SUM(revenue) FROM sales WHERE region = 'West' GROUP BY country.
  3. Level 2 (second drill): You click “USA”. Another query adds the additional filter — e.g., WHERE region = 'West' AND country = 'USA' and groups by the next dimension (e.g., city).
Each level builds on the previous filters, creating a progressively narrower and more detailed view of the data.
You’ve successfully enabled Drill Down. Your charts can now expand into deeper layers of data, helping users explore insights with precision and clarity.