You can filter data by date for:

• Individual metrics, on the metric's homepage, where the filter applies to all views of the metric.
• In Explorer, where the filter applies to the metric visualization being explored.
• Metrics on a dashboard, where the filter applies to all metrics on the dashboard.
• Your list of metrics, where the filter applies to all metrics on the page. (Each page can display up to 10 metrics.)

There are several date filtering options to choose from, including Auto and Maximum date range. This article explains these two options to help you understand which one will work best for you and your data.

The Auto option

The Auto option is used to display data in the past.

The data that's accessible is based on your plan limits, for example, if  your plan includes a date range of 62 days, you can access up to 62 days of data.

The end date for the Auto date range setting is always today at 11:59 pm. When you apply the Auto option, you’ll see data for the number of days allowed by your plan, counting backward from today at 11:59.

Example: I have a metric that includes data from Jan 1st to Dec 31st. Today is Jun 30th. My plan includes 62 days of data. I apply the "Auto" filter. Data displays for today minus 62 days (April 30th to Jun 30th).

Note: Pricing plan date range restrictions don’t apply to direct to warehouse, semantic layer, or dbt Semantic Layer metrics. For these metric types, the “Auto” setting uses the most appropriate date range based on the time ranges available in the source data.

When you select this option, the same date range is applied to all of the metrics on a dashboard or in your metric list. This can be helpful when comparing metric data and potentially provides a more contextual dashboard.

The Auto option is especially well-suited for comparing metrics on a dashboard, potentially providing a more contextual perspective. This option ensures your dashboard displays as much historical data as possible, while keeping the dashboard date range and charts’ x-axis in alignment to support easier comparisons between metrics.

As metrics are added to the dashboard, the dashboard date range auto-adjusts to align with the metric with the most historical data. In addition, the scale of each chart’s x-axis dynamically updates to maintain consistency across all charts. For example, if you add a metric to a dashboard with a date range of only one day, the date range and the x-axis show the relevant date range for that metric. (See below.)

If you add a second metric to the dashboard, with a different time range (in this example, one month), the date range and x-axis for both charts dynamically update to make it easier to compare your data. (See below.)

The Maximum date range option

The Maximum date range option can be used to display data in the past and the future.

The data that's accessible is based on your plan limits, for example, if your plan includes a date range of 62 days, you can access up to 62 days of data.

The end date for the Maximum date range setting is the last day in your data. You’ll see data for each metric based on the number of days allowed by your plan, counting backward from the last day in your data.

Example: I have a metric that includes data from Jan 1st to Dec 31st. Today is Jun 30th. My plan includes 62 days of data. I apply the "Maximum date range" filter. Data displays for the last date in my data minus 62 days (Oct 31st to Dec 31st).

Note: Pricing plan date range restrictions don’t apply to direct to warehouse, semantic layer, or dbt Semantic Layer metrics. For these metric types, the “Maximum date range” includes the number of days available in your source data.

When you select this option, it's applied on a per metric basis in the metric list and applied on a per visualization basis for metric visualizations on a dashboard. (See below for an example from the metric list.)

Comparative example: Maximum vs Auto filtering

The following example shows the impact of applying Maximum vs Auto filtering.

Each metric in the example is accessing the same data (that spans from May 2021 to Dec 2021) and has the same data history limit (90 days). This example assumes today = July 31, 2021.

The metric with the Maximum date range filter applied displays the last 90 days, starting with the last day that includes data (Dec 31, 2021). That's why it shows future data - Oct, Nov, and Dec 2021.

The metric with the Auto date range filter applied displays the last 90 days, starting with today (Jul 31, 2021). That's why it shows past data - May, Jun, and Jul 2021.