Import definitions
If your team has already defined its measures in another tool, you can bring them in. Imports are for workspace admins. Two rules hold for every format:
- You check first. A check shows what maps and what doesn't, and changes nothing.
- A data owner decides. An imported definition is a proposal. It answers no question until a data owner approves it on Metrics.
| You have | Where to import it | What you can upload |
|---|---|---|
| dbt, Looker, Cube, Cortex Analyst | Knowledge, Metrics, Import definitions | Files, or one zip of the project (.zip, .yml, .yaml, .json, .lkml) |
| Power BI, Tableau | Knowledge, Import | A Power BI project folder as a .zip, a single .tmdl or model.bim file, or a Tableau workbook (.twb, .twbx) |
An upload can be up to 25 MB.
dbt, Looker, Cube and Cortex Analyst
- Open Knowledge, Metrics and choose Import definitions.
- Add your files and leave the format on Auto-detect, or choose dbt, Looker LookML, Cube or Cortex Analyst.
- Choose Check. The report lists what maps to a table in your workspace and what isn't imported, with the reason.
- If a model's table can't be found, the report asks where it is. Choose the table and Check again.
- Choose Send to owners to approve.
What to upload for dbt
target/semantic_manifest.json is the most exact file. dbt's newer models: layout in YAML is refused, and the message tells you to upload the manifest instead. profiles.yml is never sent on, so a warehouse password in a project stays out of the import.
What comes across
A definition measures one table, so a construct comes across exactly or is listed as not imported. These are listed with their reason:
- a filter on another model's dimension
- a cumulative or conversion metric, an offset or a percentile
- Looker filter expressions beyond a value, a list or a negation
- Cortex Analyst named filters, verified queries and custom instructions
A many-to-one join on one column of each table is proposed the same way as a definition.
Files are read as data. Nothing in them is run, and a file's custom instructions are never followed. Once approved, a definition's description and synonyms do reach the model that writes answers, so the owner sees them with the proposal.
Importing again
- A proposal already answered keeps its answer while its content is the same.
- A changed definition is asked again, naming what it replaces. The current definition stands until the owner decides.
- A definition missing from a new upload is listed and left as it is, because an upload may be part of a project.
Power BI and Tableau
- Open Knowledge, Import.
- Choose the file and the connection the model reads.
- Choose Check (changes nothing) and read the report.
- Choose Import. Measures go to that connection's data owner, and report pages become one draft dashboard, with a tab per page. Review the dashboard before publishing it.
A .pbix file can't be read. In Power BI Desktop, use File, Save as, Power BI project and zip the folder.
What each status means
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Mapped | Carried over exactly and proposed. |
| Approximated | Proposed, with the difference written into the definition's description and the report. |
| Needs review | Not sent. The report keeps the original so someone can define it by hand. |
| Not carried over | Listed with the reason. |
What comes across
- Power BI measures: Plain aggregations, measure references, arithmetic,
DIVIDE, andCALCULATEwith column filters on the aggregation's own table. Anything else needs review, with its DAX kept in the report. - Period-to-date and prior-period measures need review. Define the base measure and ask with the period in the question.
- Tableau calculated fields are reported with their formula and aren't translated.
- Tables: A Power BI table resolves only when its query plainly reads one warehouse table. Renames, filters, merges and native SQL queries mean it needs review.
- Relationships and hierarchies are listed, not sent. Check that a join you rely on was found.
- Dashboards: Each tile runs as whoever views it. Slicers and Tableau filters become dashboard filters on their own page, with no value set. A filter on a single visual or worksheet isn't carried over.
Importing the same file again keeps the answers owners have already given.
After the import
Data owners find the proposals under Questions for the data owner on Metrics. Each proposal names the file it came from. Once approved, the definition is an ordinary approved definition, and answers built on it show that.