[Looker Studio] How to Add Charts and Tables to Report | Clear explanations with illustrations

In this article, we will explain in a clear and illustrated manner how to add components—such as charts, tables, and controls—to Looker Studio. Additionally, we will cover how to edit and move each of these components.

Add charts to the report

By opening the Looker Studio report screen and clicking 'Edit' in the upper right corner, you can switch to the editing screen where you can add or modify charts. 

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Add a chart from the 'Add a chart' menu

From the top menu, select 'Add a chart,' then choose the chart or table you want to create.

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Move the mouse cursor to the desired location where you want to create a graph, and click to add the graph to the report. In this instance, we’ve added a time period graph.

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Add a chart from the Insert menu

The graph can also be added in another way. From the Insert menu at the top, select the chart or table you want to place.

 

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 Move your mouse cursor to the place where you want to create a graph, and click to add the graph to the report, just as before. This time, a pie chart has been added.

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 Graphs and tables can be added to reports in various ways.

Edit the properties of graphs and tables

The added charts and tables can be modified to reflect changes in data, as well as adjustments to style and color. You can fine-tune the display format of the charts and tables using the settings menu and style menu that appear when you select them.

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 In the settings menu, you can primarily configure the data to be displayed on the graph, while in the style menu, you can mainly set the display format of the graph.

 Editing Settings

I will explain how to change the metric selected in the graph from impressions to sessions. Click on 'Impressions' in the metrics section within the settings menu.

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 A list of available metrics will be displayed, so please select a session.

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 The metric has been changed from impressions to sessions, and the graph now displays the daily trend of sessions.

 

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 In a similar manner, you can also modify dimensions and adjust settings, such as changing the time period. For instance, by setting a comparison period as shown below, you can display the sessions from the previous period and check the increase or decrease in sessions.

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Style Editing

Next, you will change the graph's display format from the style menu. The options available in the style menu vary depending on the type of graph or chart selected. Here, we'll specifically introduce some of the items you can modify in the style menu for time-based graphs.

First, let's change the graph displayed as a line chart to a bar chart. You can make this change by selecting the bar chart option in the style menu.

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Next, you can change the colors of the graph by selecting a color.

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 You can also display a title on the graph by setting a title.

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You can also change the color of the grid lines. In this case, we set them to transparent to hide the grid lines.

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Change the type of graph

You can also change an existing chart or table to a different one. Select the chart you want to modify, then choose the desired chart type from the menu that appears on the right.

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By selecting the graph or chart you want to modify from the displayed list, you can change its type.

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In this example, the pie chart was displayed correctly just by changing the chart type, but since the settings available differ depending on the type of chart or table, you may need to edit the settings after changing the chart type.

Add a control to the report

Components called "Controls" are elements that allow you to dynamically change the data displayed in graphs and tables within a report. For example, you can arbitrarily change the period of data displayed or show data from specific traffic sources only.

As a specific example, let's add a date range control. From the top menu, select "Add Control" and choose "Date Range." Then, click on the desired location where you want to place it.

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Change the default date range as the initial setting. This time, we will set last month as the default date range. Select last month from the date options and click apply.

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 The control that allows you to freely set the date range for the data displayed in the report has now been added. 

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Next, add a dropdown list control that allows you to filter specific data. From the top menu, select 'Add Control' and then choose 'Dropdown List.' Click on the location where you want to place it.

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This time, we want to filter the sample data, which comes from GA4, by device. Therefore, we will change the control field to "Device Category.

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 The addition of controls that allow dynamic data filtering under specific conditions is now complete.

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By utilizing control features in this way, you can make it easier to analyze report data in Looker Studio.

Add other components to the report

There are several types of components that can be added to reports beyond just graphs, tables, and controls. This guide explains how to add images, text, and external content.

Add images to the report

You can add images such as logos or banners to the report. Images can be added either by uploading a file or by specifying a URL. In this section, we'll explain how to add images by uploading them.

From the top menu, select the image icon and choose "Upload from computer."

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Once you select the image you want to upload, it will be displayed in the report. You can drag and drop it to the desired location where you want the image to appear.

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Now, we've successfully displayed the images in the report.

Add the text to the report

Add a text box to the report just like an image. You can enter any text in the text box, allowing you to display explanations of the data, among other things.

Click the text box icon at the top and then click on the location where you want it to appear. 

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 You can now enter text into the newly added text box. Additionally, just like with graphs and tables, you can edit the text's color, size, and alignment in the properties menu on the right side.

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Text has now been successfully added.

Add external content to the report

By adding external content, you can embed and display items such as Google Documents, YouTube videos, and Looker Studio reports by simply adding a URL. This time, let's try embedding a YouTube video.

Click on the URL embed icon in the top menu, and then click on the location where you want to place it.

 

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When you enter the video URL you want to embed in the external content URL field on the right, a video preview will be displayed. 

 

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You have now successfully added and displayed external YouTube content in the report.

Change the placement and layout of components

So far, we have explained how to add various types of components. Now, we will explain how to change the size and layout of the components.

Resize the component

When a component is selected, you can resize it by selecting and dragging the border of the component that appears.

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Adjust the placement of the components

You can rearrange components by selecting and dragging them, but using grid lines will allow for a more organized layout.

Set the alignment option to "Grid" from the top display menu.

 

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Next, change the grid size to 10. While it's not necessary to set it specifically to 10, specifying a smaller grid size allows for finer adjustments in component placement.

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This allows components to move in grid units, making it easier to align them with other components.