Creating Basic Charts and Tables

Learn how to create a basic chart and table using Explore.

For the guide on creating charts and tables in Define (Storyboards), please click here

TL;DR: The Core Workflow

Creating charts and tables in One Model follows a simple logic: select your Metrics (the numbers you want to measure) and your Dimensions (the categories you want to group them by). The system then uses these selections to generate a live visualization that can be toggled between table and chart formats.

Dig into the details - step by step

To create a new Basic Chart and Table, click on Explore.

There are two default selections: Basic Chart as the Visualization Type, and a default Time Period in the Pivoted Dimensions. At least one Metric will need to be selected to create the chart. 

Metrics are grouped by Categories. Categories are designed by an Admin User who has access to create Metrics. Categories are sorted alphabetically and can be numbered.

Metrics can also be grouped into Sub-Categories. To access the Sub-Categories underneath a specific Category, click the > next to the Category. 

To access individual Metrics, click the > next to the Sub-Category. 

All Metrics under the Sub-Category will show up.

To select a specific Metric, click the Metric name. A green bar will show identifying the Metric has been selected. 

For this example, select Headcount.

The Metric will also show as selected in Metrics under Selection in the main part of the screen.

Alternatively, Metrics can be found by using the search bar under the Run query button. A list of potential Metrics will appear as you type. The search bar is not case sensitive and will search all parts of the Metric name. Some characters, like brackets, may cause expected metric names to not appear in the search results. 

To select a Metric to use in the query, click on the Metric Name and it will display a green bar next to the Metric. 

For this example, select and add Separations to the query.

Remember to click on the x in the search bar to return to the full Metrics panel.

With a metric and time period in place,  click the Run query button to create a Basic Chart. A Table display is also provided in the panel below the Basic Chart.

Note: customers can nominate their default Time Period dimension, e.g. Calendar or Fiscal. 

To change the Time selection to look at data by day, month, quarter or year, click on “Calendar” in the Pivoted Dimensions selection. 

The first section is the levels of the Time Dimension, in this case, Year, Quarter, Month and Day; equivalent to level 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the dimension. 

The default selection is Year, and as shown when you clicked on Run query, all years will apply. Clicking on Quarter would display all quarters across all years, i.e. all level 2 nodes. As you can imagine, clicking on Day would create an unreadable chart! But it is useful when filtered for a particular month, for example;

Under the Nodes section, the individual years or level 1 nodes are shown. 

Similar to selections of Metrics, clicking on the > next to the year will open up to show quarters. Clicking on the > next to the quarter will open up to show the months.

Time Models are an option for dynamically displaying time in your visual, rather than selecting a specific, fixed time period. Time Models will update automatically as new data is added to the site, e.g. “Today” moves forward with each daily refresh. More info here Time models are found below the Nodes section.

For this example, select the Time Model ‘This Year’, which will equate to the current year (2025)  until 1 January 2026  data is added to the site. The Pivoted Dimensions update to show this selection.

Note, the results for the query will not update until you click the Run query button.
 

The query is now displaying Headcount and Separations for this year. To make other selections or changes to the query, click Close under the Run query button to return to the full side panel.

To select a different Time dimension, expand Time Periods and click on Calendar - All Time. Only one time dimension can be used in a query, so the Selection is replaced. Clicking on Calendar - All Time in Pivoted Dimensions will open the dimension details with some additional levels in this dimension.
 

Time Models are not currently available for future time periods, but your All Time dimension will provide options for selecting future time periods available in your data set, e.g. future dated hires or separations

Again, a list of available specific options and Time Models will be available for this dimension. 

Click the checkmark next to Last 3 Months, and Run query. The checkmark is for a filter selection.

Note the results. The data is displayed as one aggregate per metric. Last 3 Months is displayed in the Filters section, but no year or month is shown in the chart display (unlike 2025 previously in the This Year example). 

Now untick Last 3 Months but keep the green bar selection, and Run query. The Last 3 Months are shown separately and displayed in the chart.

To remove a Metric from the query, click on the x next to the Metric name, and Run query to update. 

To add a non-Time dimension to the query, click Close (if needed) to get out of the dimension details and return to the full side panel. Scroll down to access the Dimensions.

Dimensions will be categorized. 
 

To access a specific Dimension, click the > next to the Category or use the Search panel. For this example, select he Age dimension by clicking on the name. Age is found under the Personal  category. Dimensions do not have a sub category

Click the Run query button to update the results. 

Note: level 1 of dimension nodes will display by default. 

To change the default selection, or simply view the details of the dimension, select the filter icon next to the Dimension name in the side panel, or select the Dimension name in the Selection panel next to Dimensions.

Filter icon next to the Dimension name in the side panel

Dimension name in the Selection panel

The only difference between the time dimensions and non-time dimensions is you won’t have Time Models available. You can select all Level 1 nodes, level 2 etc as described above. 

Selection of nodes or filters / checkmarks can allow for non-grouped or grouped results, and there are limitless opportunities for analysis within and across dimensions. Some examples are provided below but note that the Time Model has been changed to filter This Year, and Age dimension has been pivoted for a better visual representation.

Headcount by individual age years - level 3 node selected

The checkmark will include the selections and filter the results. If you select the checkmark and not the node name, the displayed results will be the sum of the checkmarks. Checkmarks are inclusive filters.

Headcount aged 50+ years (grouped result, inclusive filter)

The x will exclude the selections and filter the results. Xs are exclusive filters and show the summed results for those nodes that are not excluded.

For  example, you could exclude all age groups except for the 50+ summed above to show the different methods of producing the same results.

Headcount aged 50+ years (grouped result, exclusive filter)

To split the result into 5 year age brackets, simply select level 2. This ‘ungroups’ the result and uses the pre-configured 5 year age brackets rather than 10 year age brackets at level 1. Selecting Level 2 saves you from having to select > 50 to <60, > 60 to <70, > 70 to <80 and 80+ nodes. Noting that in this data, only employees aged 50 to < 60 make up the over 50 population.

Headcount aged 50+ years (ungrouped result, exclusive filter)

You can find many more guides and videos in the Help Center related to creating and editing your visualizations:

Using Explore

Using Storyboards