Filter controls and drop-downs in Data Studio
A filter is a decision you make for the viewer; a control hands it to them. All the control types — there are more than six — scoping, cross-source filtering, and why your drop-down is empty.
Getting Started
Onboarding, the interface, and your first Looker Studio reports — connecting Google Analytics 4, Search Console and Google Ads. Start here if you’re new to Data Studio.
Date range controls in Data Studio
Adding the control takes ten seconds. The confusing part is that three different places can set a date range, and the most specific one always wins — which explains almost every chart that ignores it.
Data sources vs datasets in Data Studio
Not an academic distinction: editing the wrong kind of data source silently changes reports you have never opened. The chain from dataset to report, and the two one-way doors in it.
How to share and schedule a Data Studio report
Six ways to get a report in front of someone, and picking the wrong one is why your client can’t open it. Includes what changed in scheduled delivery, and why schedules stop working weeks later.
The Data Studio interface explained
Four regions, and once you know which one owns which decision the tool stops feeling large. Plus the Setup vs Style rule that saves the most time, and four features most people never find.
How to connect Google Sheets to Data Studio
The most underrated data source in Data Studio: free, native, and the escape hatch for every platform with no connector. Plus the formatting rules that prevent most breakage.
How to connect Google Ads to Data Studio
Google Ads connects in under two minutes. The connection is easy — the single vs manager account choice is what decides whether your report can cover more than one client.
How to connect Google Search Console to Data Studio
Search Console connects through a free, Google-built connector — but one choice on the setup screen catches almost everyone, and picking wrong means rebuilding.
Data Studio chart types explained — and when to use each
Twenty chart types; most reports need five. A decision matrix keyed on the shape of your data, verdicts on line vs bar and pie vs bar, and the row-limit behaviour that changes your numbers without telling you.
How to create your first Data Studio report
A working report in about ten minutes: connect a source, add charts, add controls, share. Plus the four decisions that separate a dashboard people use from one nobody opens.