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🆕 Astrato Release Notes
🆕 Astrato Release Notes

Feature releases & customer facing improvements for Astrato

Piers Batchelor avatar
Written by Piers Batchelor
Updated this week

Release Index

ℹ️ For support, click on the icon on the bottom right

HISTORICAL: 2021 Beta | 2022 | 2023 |

RECENT: 2.55 | 2.58 | 2.58.3 | 2.59 | 2.60 | 2.62 | 2.63 | 2.64 | 2.65 |2.66 | 2.67 | 2.68 | 2.69


2.69 - 25 Mar 2024

🆕 Dot Plot chart

Our new dot plot visualization is great for uncovering high-level and detailed insights in one chart.
The dot plot supports these use cases:

Compare the distribution of users by age and gender for products, showing the overall distributions and the individual user value for all of your users.
​ Read the documentation

Save Tables Layout

Tables layout in the semantic view can be saved and retrieved.

So whether you prefer star schema or tree, you can arrange the tables in your preferred way.


​

2.68.18a - 19 Mar 2024

🆕 Map Visualization: Heatmap Layer

Our new heatmap layer is here, as our 4th map layer - extending geospatial analytics. Our heatmap is highgly customisable, enabling color customisation, multiple ways to adjust scale and intensity to match the meaning of your data, creating a familiar map experience for all of your users. Read the documentation

2.68.18 - 12 Mar 2024

Advanced calculations: Enhanced user experience and description

Advanced calculations now have descriptions in tooltips for each component, making familiarisation effortless. We've renamed a couple of components to make it easier for you. Thank you all for the early feedback!

🆕 Smart data labels for the scatter and line chart

Enhanced labeling has arrived at the line and scatter chart 🙌

We all know we can't label every data point, otherwise we'd not be able a thing, they'd all overlap! We've introduced super smart labels that will never overlap. Understand the shape and scale of your data at a glance with our smart labels without relying on aligning with axes, gridlines, or tooltips. - great for scheduled reporting!

🆕 Searching in Filters

We have a new unified approach to searching across various elements, including tables, schemas, data views, workbooks, connections, and user information. This functionality spans both frontend and backend operations, facilitating efficient navigation and data manipulation within our system. Our search uses pushdown SQL, which runs ultrafast, super flexible and always up to date. Find exactly what you are looking for, searching from hundreds to even billions of rows.

The example below - you can try it out here on our gallery by adding a new filter. Condition Description

To learn more about searching in filters, check this article.

🆕 New user role: Designer

Ideal for citizen developers, our new designer role offers access to create and edit workbooks without the ability to manage data connections and views.

Let your creativity flow, working on unchanging governed data, using already created dimensions and measures.

ℹ️ The new designer role can be accessed from the admin section

Gartner: A citizen developer is an employee who creates application capabilities for consumption by themselves or others, using tools that are not actively forbidden by IT or business units. A citizen developer is a persona, not a title or targeted role. They report to a business unit or function other than IT.

🆕 Bookmarks: Introducing the Enhanced Bookmarks Panel

We're excited to announce a significant update to our bookmarks feature! With the new Bookmarks Panel, users now have the ability to organise their bookmarks more efficiently using a folder structure.

Creating and Organizing Bookmarks:

  • When adding or editing a bookmark, simply use the "Folder" field to specify the folder where you'd like to place the bookmark.

  • To create a subfolder within a folder, use the "/" symbol. For example, entering "Work/Projects" in the Folder field will create a "Projects" subfolder under "Work".

This update is designed to make bookmark management more intuitive and structured, allowing you to navigate your saved sites with ease.


2.66 - 22 Feb 2024

🆕 Advanced Chart Calculation

in-chart 📊 advanced calculations in your analytics:
📆 Period on Period (# or %) for comparative analytics.
📈 Moving Averages for powerful trend analysis, filtering out the noise in the data
📶 Running/Accumulating Total - transform monthly sales into a visible YTD total visualization.
Implemented with just a click in the UI by any business user: no scripting Astrato writes the SQL for you.

To learn more about advanced Chart calculation, check out this article.
​

Improved Variable Panel

The experience working with variables just got so much better. Enhancements include:

  • Filter to a specific variable type.

  • Improved variable search.

  • New filter creation improved the experience.
    ​
    ​


2.65 - 16 Feb 2024

🆕 Frame Properties Panel

The new frame properties panel consolidates all the common properties of visualization in one place, making it easier and quicker to customize the visualization display, including new properties such as precision size and position.

To learn more about the frame properties panel, check out this article.

Titles in all visualizations

Titles and subtitles are important parts of the story a visualization tells.
With the frame properties panel's introduction, all visualizations in Astrato now support titles and subtitles.

Copy Actions Between Workbooks

Action blocks can now be copied between workbooks; this new feature will speed up data app development and reduce repetitive tasks.


2.64.1 - 14 Feb 2024

Quick rename object

Double click the object or group in the layers panel to quickly rename it.

Action blocks updates

In this release we added new capabilities to lots of the action blocks, see below on what have change.

ℹ Changes & Deprecations for Action blocks

Some blocks (get/set variable, write-back, execute sql, call stored procedure, open report) have been deprecated as of February 2024, these will need to be replaced by the new blocks with new capabilities, by April 2024.

How to update deprecated blocks

  1. Add the new version of the block to the action workspace

  2. Configure it the same as the block to be updated

  3. Move the new block above the deprecated block in the block chain

  4. Remove the deprecated block

  5. Repeat for all deprecated blocks

Invert block is now the Not block

The invert block has a new label Not to make action chains more readable. The Not block changes the boolean input, if the value is true to false and if the value is false to true.

Variables blocks

The get and set variable blocks now except a block that outputs a string value for the variable name input. This makes it possible to reference variables by name, to support more advanced use cases.

SQL blocks

The SQL blocks have been updated with new labels to improve readability. The schema input has been removed from the Execute SQL block.

The Execute SQL blocks now except a block that outputs a string value for the variable name input. This makes it possible to reference variables by name, to support more advanced use cases.

The Write-back block

The write-back block now except a block that outputs a string value for the Field name input. This makes it possible to reference fields by name, to support more advanced use cases. The block has also got an new distinct color to improve readability and set it apart from other blocks.

Aggregate block

The Aggregate have improved labels for better readability.

Report blocks

The Report blocks has a new distinct color to improve readability and set it apart from other blocks. The open report block have new capabilities.

Use applied filters - If set to true the current applied filters will be passed to the report when it's generated. With this Astrato now support On demand report generations and truly dynamic cyclic reporting.

Max resolution (px) - Use this setting to control the height and width of the report. Depending on the aspect ratio of the sheet, the max resolution will be applied to the height if the aspect ratio is higher than wide, or the width if the aspect ratio is wider than high. If no aspect ratio is set on the sheet, A4 Landscape will be used.

DPI factor - Use 2 to double the pixel count when the report needs to be printed on paper. This affects the size of the report and the time to generate the report.

2.63.1 - 07 Feb 2024

🆕 Sankey Chart

Our new Sankey chart gives users a view of data flow between dimensions.
Sankey chart insights identify the significance of a path that connects all the dimensions in the chart.

Sankey chart common use cases are:

  • Energy Flow Diagrams

  • Material Flow Analysis

  • Cost Allocation Diagrams

  • Supply Chain and Logistics

  • Website Traffic Flow

  • Population Migration

  • Carbon Footprint Analysis
    ​

ℹ Changes & Deprecations for Action blocks

Some blocks (used to get/set object properties) have been deprecated as of February 2024 (initial release 13th March 2023), these will need to be updated to the new blocks defined in the article below, by April 2024.

🆕 Access removed workbooks

When a workbook is deleted, it can only be viewed in the "removed" tab of the user who originally created it. If someone other than the creator deletes the workbook, they won't see it in their "removed" tab. Additionally, if the creator has left the tenant, they won't see the deleted workbook, but if they return to the tenant before it's hard deleted, they will still be able to view it.

  • When restoring a workbook, previous embed links will need to be re-created

  • If the data view is removed, recovery of the workbook will not be possible.

  • If a report was scheduled on a workbook that has later been removed, it will fail


​

2.62.7 - 05 Feb 2024

Workbook Editor: Reference lines variable input

Variables can now be used to drive reference lines.

💡 Use case: Data driven reference lines

Variables in Astrato are extremely powerful, even more so when combined with actions and visualizations, enabling new ways of dynamic data storytelling. In under 60 seconds, see how we use variables as part of our own Astrato workbooks.

2.60 - 25 Jan 2024

Workbook Editor: Object/Layer naming

We have improved the workbook editor experience by making object management and identification easier. This will make identifying objects for use in Actions and Astrato AI Insights, and more, as we continue to grow the capabilities in the product.

  • New Naming System: Objects will have unique default names (e.g., "Filter1," "Filter2").

  • Distinct Naming Rule: Objects can be renamed to the same name, however these will be made unique, by the system adding a unique number at the end.

  • Copying Objects: Duplicated objects will receive additional numbers at the end to make the name

  • You will notice: Automatic update to all object names for seamless transition - nothing for you to do.

Embedded Analytics: Embed Expiration and Description

Embeds are now even easier to manage, with expiry enabled and a description to describe each use case.

ℹ Expiry and description cna be updated at any time, including for pre-existing links.

🆕 Map Object

Our new map object has layer based visuals, with support for various geo-data input types.

🆕 Waterfall Chart

Our new Waterfall Chart enables many use cases for analyzing the flow from a starting measure to an end measure.
Some use cases are:

  • Analyzing financial statements

  • Budget usage tracking

Workbook Import/Export: Add from Gallery

You can now add workbook directly to your workspace, from our data apps gallery.

Please note: Import and export options are now available to users in the lobby. This exports workbook properties, field names and some queries. No data connection details, or data from the CDW, will be exported.

2.59 - 19 Jan 2024

Transfer ownership of Astrato Workspace/Tenant

It is now possible for owners to self-manage the transfer of ownership of an Astrato workspace to another user.

2.58.3 - 15 Jan 2024

🆕 Conditional Measure

  • Conditional measures allow for checking a condition fulfillment on aggregated values.

  • Some use cases for this new type of measure are comparing actual to target on category level when targets are set at the product level.
    Compared to values that are stored in different tables

  • Creating and editing Conditional measures is simple and intuitive and is done with a no-code wizard that guides users through editing and building a measure.

  • For more information check out this article.
    ​

🆕 Parameters in Measures

  • Parameters in measures convert measure to a dynamic calculation that end-users can change, either by actions or input controls.

  • Parameters in measure enable these use cases: what-if scenarios, multi-currency display, and dynamic range periods. comparison, compare individual entities to the whole population average, and more.

  • Creating and working with parameters in measures is done with a complete no-code experience.

  • For more information check out this article.

2.58 - 12 Jan 2024

🆕 Word cloud Vizualization

  • Word-cloud visualization is good for showing the whole data points and highlighting the most important data point

    Some use cases for Word cloud are the most common words in social media analytics,
    Search results for products.

  • Astrato's Word cloud is simple to build and modify.

For more details on how to use a Word Cloud visualization check out this article

2.55 - 03 Jan 2024

Embedded analytics: Loader animation

Loader animation added to embedded objects, sheets and workbooks. This is the existing loader animation which appears in native objects/workbooks.

2.54 - 18 Dec 2023

New Data Selection Panel - Semantic View

  • The new select panel works 50% faster than the previous one.

  • Select tables quicker.

  • Support any number of schemas and tables.

Bug Fixes

  • Table Limit: setting a table limit in the properties panel is now reflected in the table.
    (This setting is only recommended to be used when using a straight table)

  • Global filters support in combination with "Full Outer Join":
    Global filters are now applied to visualizations that have the show all from a dimension activated.

2.53 - 15 Dec 2023

Actions: Fetch Dimension

Fetch dimension, reads in values from a given dimension, to help you make truly data-driven, guided analytics dashboard and data apps.

This action block loops through a given field, and filters on each value, to generate a report.

Scheduled reporting

Scheduled dashboard reporting isn't just a relic of the past; it's the espresso shot in your data-driven morning. Imagine you're running a 24/7 operation. Real-time dashboards are great, but what you need is a snapshot at specific intervals to see trends, anomalies, or even the calm before the storm.

  • Generate reports in Astrato, on-demand

  • Schedule emailed PDF reports for on-the-go analytics

2.52 - 11 Dec 2023

Measure Axis Brushing and Filtering

  • Filter your data by defining a range on the measuring axis and answering business questions like focusing on customers with less than three orders.

  • Supported only on Bar Chart, Combo Chart, and Line Chart.

Change the data-view for a workbook

  • Changing the data-view for a workbook to move from different environments, for example, from Development to Production.

  • Get the summary of the difference between the source and target data-views, including measures, dimensions, fields, and tables.

Bug Fixes

  • Duplicating a published workbook resulted in errors in visualizations.

  • Show the impact of global filtering in a chart when the ignore global filtering is disabled.
    ​

2.51 - 05 Dec 2023

Change the data connection for a data-view

  • Changing the data connection for a data-view to move from different environments, for example, from Development to Production.

  • Get a different summary if there are missing fields in the Target environment.

Bug Fixes

  • Weekday in dynamic range filters.

  • Deletion of a media gallery object doesn't sync with reference objects.

2.49 - 21 Nov 2023

Workbook Objects: Pivot Table - Improved row expand, reordering

  • Dragging and reordering: Reordering dimensions apply for both Pivot and expandable table, using the chips in the table

  • Expand and collapse: now improved for pivot and expandable table

  • Auto column width: Cells in the pivot fit to screen as best as possible. Scrolling is used where necessary, depending on the min width set.

Workbook Objects: Custom report - data sets

One custom report, for many use cases. Data sets introduce the option of having different sets of dimensions, measures and filters, all available in a single custom report object!

Additional information:

  • Defer layout settings have been moved to the data sets, instead of the previous global setting.

  • Other properties have changed placement, and we added the ability to change the Font and font style.

  • Dimensions and measures can be used in different data sets.

AI Insights: Analyze whole dashboard

A whole dashboard can be easily analyzed using Insights Describe. This can also be added to the sheet using the Insights Describe object.

Workbook: AI Title Generation

Simplify charting with effortless titles! We generate titles, subtitles, and footers for your charts based on the SQL query used in the visualization. Save time for analysis and deep work. Update, store, or disable titles as needed.


User management: Groups

Groups can be used for managing access to:

  • Data Connections

  • Workbook Collections

Enterprise Authentication: Azure SCIM

You can now integrate Azure for SSO and SCIM provisioning, manage users and groups, and configure enterprise applications. True enterprise user provisioning for Astrato.


Data View Editor: Semantic layer Static Filters

Set a Static filter on the source tables in your semantic view. Focus users on the relevant part of the your source data without the need to create a view. Limit the dataset size by applying filter on larger volume tables.

Data View Editor: Field Comparison Filter

Compare field values directly within measures. Ideal for identifying underperforming products or service level discrepancies.

Answer a broader range of data questions such as:

  • Show sales only when sale price is lower than list price - to identify lagging products.

  • Show orders only is delivered date is earlier or equal promised date - find service level



​

Actions: Lists & loops

Actions can now be repeated to iterate through lists, opening up many more use cases and reducing the number of repeated action blocks.

2.48.6 - 7 Nov 2023

Actions: Get/Set [Category] - Set object properties

In our Get [Category] block we have added the ability to change object properties including:

  • titles (title, subtitle, footer)

  • position

  • margin

  • padding

  • border (type, width)

Export/Printing: Performance improvement

🚀 Printed exports are now produced faster, across all file types (image and PDF).

Viz-1.16 - 24 Oct 2023

Workbook: Slider control

Welcoming a new control object - the slider makes it easier than ever for you to drive interactions as an end user/viewer.

A slider can be used to update parameters that are using in custom SQL code, used in ML models, or even as part of writeback.

Workbook: Pivot Tables expansion

Pivot tables can now stay fully expanded - keeping all of your data in view, all the time.

Workbook: Pivot Tables column sizing

You can now change the width of the very first column by dragging the header divider as you can with other columns. We have also added property to set the min-width of the first column.

Workbook: Data objects export limit

We've added a new limiting property to the properties panel of data objects. You can now specify a row limit for the visualization as well as the data export.

Workbook: Tooltips for Table/Pivot/Expandable Tables

Now, when users hover over a truncated value in any table, a tooltip will appear displaying the complete value.

2.46 - 5 October 2023

Workbook: Performance boost - published workbooks 🚀⚡

When publishing a workbook, we have made it even leaner by loading only the resources your browser needs - super efficient.

Complex workbooks load considerably faster, with up to 4x faster load times observed on multi-sheet workbooks.

Workbook: Introducing Design-first approach, with manual data

A first in BI! Users can build and design dashboards before connecting data, by by adding manual mockup data sets that create a specific desired visualization that more closely represents your use case.

  • 🎨 DESIGN FIRST | Prototype dashboards before connecting live data. Agile, over waterfall dashboard development.

  • 👨‍🍳 BLEND DATA | Blend live data from the cloud, with data from static sources

  • 📚 DATA STORIES | Effortless storytelling with infographics

Viz-1.151 - 22 Sep 2023

Workbook: Introducing Astrato Insights

Insights democratizes analytical understanding, catering to all users, whether they're builders or analytics consumers. From interpreting charts and tables to elucidating industry-specific metrics, Insights saves you hours of research while instantaneously making sense of any data.

Generative AI is supporting Astrato in transforming the landscape of analytics, enabling anyone to harness the power of data.

ℹ Insights can be enabled/disabled by your Astrato admin in system settings. Learn more here.

Viz-1.15 - 15 Sep 2023

Workbook: Filtering enhancements

Keep showing the context in your visualizations, by toggling "show effect of global filters" on in the filter section (ensure "ignore global filters" is enabled first as shown below).

2.44 - 29 Aug 2023

DVE & Workbook: Drill-Through Dimension

A new type of dimension is built from a list of fields from various tables.
The new dimension can be used in all visualization, allowing users to change the display of multiple charts in one click, making Astrato workbooks even more interactive.

DVE: Filter in Row-level measures

Row-level measures now support filters, extending the range of measures created in Astrato no code measures dialogue.

Workbook: Change Dataview

Workbook's source dataview can be changed to another dataview.

This feature enables moving workbooks between environments and data sources.
When changing the dataview, a list will appear if there are some missing items.

Viz-1.14 - 29 Aug 2023

Workbook: Line chart conditional coloring

Conditional coloring is now available on the line chart, when a second dimension is in use on the line chart.

Workbook: Number object titles

Titles are now available on the number object. ℹ Make sure the object is appropriately size to display a menu

Viz-1.13 - 21 Aug 2023

Workbook: New format and settings for table progress bars

Table progress bars (available on straight table and expandable table) can now be further customized by changing position as well as using a dynamic scale, which uses the largest value to determine the top end of the scale.

Workbook: Filter bar - limit fields available to filter on

When limiting filters, you can use all defined dimensions from the Data View, or select fields manually. This will limit the field offered in the filter bar, to ensure a more guided end user experience.


​

2.43 - 16 Aug 2023

Databricks: New data connection available

With this release we have added Databricks as a new connection option. This expands and complements the existing data source connections with a new option for users.

DVE: Width buckets

New type of dimension, The new dimension allows user to create a calculated dimension that groups numeric values into equal range groups.

With this new type of dimensions, user will be able to easily see insights about distributions and identify the groups to focus on.

Administration: Table improvements

Tables in the Administration are of Astrato now have the ability to be sorted, filtered, and change columns width to make them more readable, as part of the upgrade of this section

2.42 - 31 July 2023

DVE: Layout Improvements

The button for Join suggestions is now more visible and easy to find, rather than being positioned in the top menu of the DVE

Workbooks and Collections: List View

You will now see that Workbooks and Collections can be viewed as lists rather than a grid, allowing more detailed information on the screen at once

2.41 - 01 Aug 2023

Workbook: Reduce initial load time (Performance boost)

🚀 We are excited to share that we have made significant performance improvements by streamlining the initial load time for workbooks. By (1) eliminating unnecessary components per object, (2) re-using loaded resources, and (3) reducing the number of requests, you can now enjoy a faster and smoother experience.

Workbook: Result filters

After a result is calculated, the resultant values are then filtered. This is performed using 'HAVING' in SQL. ℹ Custom measures are not yet supported. You can now automatically filter results following a calculation, using result filters.

Workbook: Improvements to guidance on Group Property Panels

When a User selects a Group, instead of a blank property panel you will now receive a message reminding them that Property Panels are only available for individual items

Data view editor: Filter bucketing dimension in the Data Explorer

With this update, users can now leverage bucketing dimensions to apply more precise filtering. Instead of relying solely on sliders, users can easily filter data by specific buckets, providing greater flexibility and control over data analysis.

Workbook - Export to PDF\Image includes theme settings

The export of a sheet or an object now respects all theme settings.

Authentication: Direct Login link for SSO

To improve SSO set-up processes, it is now possible to view your direct SSO login link

Viz-1.11 - 27 July 2023

Workbook: Date picker quick-select

Workbook: Duplicating measures

Measures can now be easily duplicated and modified, further enabling more complex analysis, having identical measures and applying different filters to each of the measures. In the example below, we demonstrate Porsche’s average horsepower vs the average of all cars in our records. This is also represented in the SQL query.

Workbook: Pivot horizontal paging

Better performance, only loading data needed for display on screen.


Workbook: Hide Table header row

The table header (row) can easily be hidden using the new toggle section, located in the style tab at the bottom of the header section.

Workbook: Table fixed row height option

The table now includes an option to set a fixed row height, which can be set to a pixel row height of your choosing. When this option is disabled, the default/automatic row height is chosen.

Workbook: Pivot/Expandable Tables - update subtotal font format to bold

2.41 - 19 July 2023

DVE: Support for "OR" in measures filters

New option in measures filters to select the operator between any two filters,
And adding brackets in the filter blocks to define the right combination of filters.
This new option allows the measure to answer broader business questions.
All in an easy-to-use no-code experience.

DVE: New Style Sidebar in The DVE

The new sidebar of the Data screen provides users access from the left panel to all the items they've created.
This new sidebar allows users to create and edit any item while keeping the content of the data layer always visible.

The new sidebar will improve the ease and efficiency of building the Data Layer
​

2.40 - 05 July 2023

DVE: Control when to view join suggestions

The Astrato Data Engine can create join suggestions if your data enters the Define stage without any joins. Click the View Join Suggestion button on the toolbar to allow the Astrato Data Engine to generate the list of join suggestions.

From the list displayed, you can apply all joins suggestions or review them one at a time. The Joins suggestion button is always visible, so you can run the request at any time.

Please note: if the database is extensive or the data view has a lot of tables, requesting joins suggestions can take time.

Lobby: View your Workbooks as a list or as tiles

Workbooks are, by default, shown as tiles with an image, but they can be viewed as a list. Click on the icons beside the Search Workbooks field to move between your workbook's tiled or list views.

Click on the column headings to sort the list by: Data Connection type, Workbook name, Description, Date created, Last opened, or Type.


Viz-1.10 - 22 June 2023

Workbook Editor: Graphics - Variable support for text and images

In the toolbar's Graphics section, you can use the text object to enter static text or select a string from your list of Variables to the field in the properties panel.

Images can be updated using base64 and image URLs.

Using a Variable allows you to update the content in multiple sheets in your workbook with a single change. If you use an Action block to update your variable, you’ll never need to type in static text again.

💡 This enabled dynamic guided analytics workflows and Data Apps use cases, re-use the same object, allow text & images to change whilst navigating your data.

Workbook Editor: Controls - Text Area element for line breaks and long-form text in Variables

Use our new Text area control with any long-form text content, and add comments, context, and procedural steps you’ve created as string Variables.

As with all our text options, you can enter plain text or a SQL query if desired. And you can combine the Text area element with Actions to create interactive dashboards and data apps.

Workbook Editor: Controls - Toggle and Checkbox elements for Boolean variables

Use toggle (show/hide or enable/disable) and checkbox elements to add interactivity to your dashboards or as part of an input form in a data app. Style format choices include outlined and filled, so they're not just a great feature; they help make your dashboards and data apps look good too.

Workbook Editor: Theme support & updated object default styles

Visualizations now support theming, including categorical color palettes, font and axis styling.

The default styles for the charts have been updated. When placing new objects on the canvas, the style has been updated to improve visual appeal.

💡 Use themes to synchronise your brand styles across multiple workbooks. Design once and repeat.

Workbook Editor: Date picker expanded mode

The date picker can now be fully expanded, for instant access to selecting data and simply visualisation of dates that are present in your data.


2.39 - 22 June 2023

Visuals: show data tips when a chart measure or dimensions displays an unexpected null result.

Combining filters and measures as part of data analysis can occasionally result in unexpected null results. Astrato’s data tip displays a high-level description of why the query resulted in the issue. Click on the data tip to view suggested resolutions.

Please note: This feature applies to joined tables with arrows in the same direction.

Administration: Updating Demo data to view the new Astrato Tutorial workbook

A new addition to the Demo Workbooks is the option to view an Astrato Tutorial built as an Astrato workbook.

Please ask your Administrator to update the Demo data to add this new walkthrough to get started with Astrato.

Data: Updating time-limited PATs quickly for Dremio data connections

You can now update your existing Dremio connection rather than deleting and adding new connections to your data source. Time-limited PATs for Dremio can be updated without breaking existing data connections.


Viz-1.9 - 02 June 2023

Workbook Editor: Table - slide the toggle to show totals of all measures in your table

Scroll down to view the Totals section and slide the toggle to the right to show the totals.

A new row displays above the data provides the totals of all the measures in your table.

Workbook Editor: Visuals - Create Custom Measures from the workbook

Previously you could only create Custom Measures within the DVE; you can now create them within your workbook.

Click on Visuals, click Data, click Measures, and click the button Create measure.


2.38 - 02 June 2023

Data Connection: Amazon Red Shift

In addition to Snowflake, PostgreSQL, and Dremio, you can create data connections to Amazon Redshift.

DVE: Manage dimensions and measures directly in the data selection pane.

You can now view your Dimensions and Measures directly from the data selection pane in the Data View Editor (DVE). Click on the eye icon beside the list of your Dimensions or Measures to view the details. From the list that displays, click the box to select the fields to edit.

Actions: Replace filters

With the Apply filters block, you could always add filters to a field - however, there may be a use case where you want to toggle or clear filters for a specific field using actions.

With this release, the Replace filters block allows you to replace existing filters within a field with a new set of filters.

Actions: Export Objects and Sheets

You can print objects, groups, or sheets directly from within an Action flow. Pair with hidden sheets to design print-optimized sheets that can be printed with the click of a button on the visible worksheet.

Actions: Clear Filters in Dimensions/Fields

This action block allows you to clear filters within a dimension or field. It’s useful when you want to reset a specific field and not the entire filtering state.


Viz-1.8 - 22 May 2023

Visuals: Enable continuous axis for date/number dimension type

A continuous axis is now available for numerical fields (integers, decimals) in addition to dates.

Select your graph on the Data tab of the Properties panel; in the Dimensions section, click the box beside Enable continuous axis.

Filter bar: Introduce date picker

Also added to the Filter bar, the date picker is now the default option for filtering date fields in Astrato. It can be added to a sheet as an object, found in the filter section.


2.37 - 22 May 2023

Actions: Split Text

The Split text blocks allow you to further manipulate text to be used as inputs into other blocks or as part of control statements. Examples of where the Split Text block is useful include: picking out a year from a date field or the domain name from an email address.

DVE: Measure with row-level calculation

A user should be able to create measures that combine aggregation and row-level calculation. For example, Sum (Sales/exchange rate), and use fields from different tables.

DVE: Create an Inline table and paste data

In the data explorer, you can create an inline table and paste in data to easily create mapping and reference tables.

Please note: the number of cells is limited to 100 cells (that is, 1x100, 2x50, or 10x10).

Admin: Manage a hybrid model of license seats and consumption-based

From the License & Usage section in Administration, you can now manage a hybrid model of license seats and consumption-based for your users.

Admin: Access Control for improved governance by member

We’ve added code-based entry management to role types. With Astrato, we take the first security layer from the data source, and now you can add a second layer to manage more granular levels of controlling access.

When you add a new data connection, you can add Members from your users' list into a secure second layer, narrowing the data views that each user is presented. That is, the list of data views for each user is filtered in alignment with the improved governance.

Workbook Editor: Click on Logo to update

By default, a space displays in the Navigation bar for you to add a logo. Click on it to open the Media Gallery and upload an image.


Viz-1.7 - 9 May 2023

Workbook Editor: Control - Text Input

As part of updating the Input control options, we're adding individual (atomic) control inputs to select from. The first to be released is the updated Text Input form.

You can manipulate string variable values used with the Actions Writeback block and create interactive dashboard actions.


2.36 - 9 May 2023

DVE: Add custom formatting for the outputs of your custom measures

Add custom formatting for the outputs of your custom measures. Create your custom format with comma separators, decimal places, etc., in the most useful format for your team.

When you create a measure, click the Custom format button at the end of the list of format options. Enter your custom format in the field, and click Apply to save it or Cancel to enter a different format.

Admin: Set a Default view for each user role

An Administrator can select the area of Astrato that displays after login by user role type.

An example of the use would be to have all Viewers open at the view of the list of Workbooks or Collections.

Admin: General settings - Allow Creators to upload shared media

Administrators can allow users with the Creator role to upload media available to other users.

The option is available in the Administration section, under System Settings, General. Slide the toggle to the right to enable the option to allow Creators to upload shared media.

Actions: General - Get [Category]

We've added a Get [Category] block with the new General section. This action block gets the current context values, including:

  • Current user's [email, name, or profile image URL].

  • Date and time - based on ISO8601 [Today's date, Today's Date and Time].

  • Workbook data source [Workbook ID, Name, Data source type].

  • Active sheet name [Sheet ID or Name].

You could add the block in an IF statement to check if the active sheet is [Name], then perform an action.

Actions: Right-click to Add a comment

Right-click on the Actions canvas, and select the option to Add Comment. Add a comment as a title or label for groups of Action flows, or a comment to describe your action flows.
​
The other options with the Right-click menu are: Undo, Redo, Clean up Blocks, and Delete [all] Blocks.


Viz-1.6 - 24 April 2023

Control: Button has Quick Styles

Use Quick styles for buttons; select from six template styles with font and color options.

To view the complete list of style options, scroll down the properties panel to view the options under the Default, Hover and Click sections in the properties panel.


2.35 - 24 April 2023

DVE: Join quality checks on user-selected pairs

Astrato’s data engine displays Joins suggestions based on checks for content pairs. If tables have been added, or table names and contents haven’t been named as well as they should, our Join quality checks now provides more detailed feedback on pairs you’ve selected to use as joins.

Drag one table on top of the other to initiate the detailed search. We search all the fields to offer you joins suggestions. The checks provide feedback with amber or green circles beside the potential joins. You can then choose the suggestion that best matches your needs.

Please note: this feature doesn’t cover situations where you want to use multiple fields to connect tables.

Actions: Wait block

With the new Wait block, you can pause action execution for a set number of seconds.

This can be useful if you are waiting for your database to perform an operation based on, for example, an Execute SQL block before you can proceed with your action flow.

Action: Using a string variable in the Filter outcome

Use the existing Apply Filter block to enter any type of string variable that outputs a dynamically filtered outcome.


Viz-1.5 - 11 April 2023

Properties panel: Filter bar - Add option to hide the "new filter" button

The option to show or hide a filter bar per sheet is a new option added to the filter options on the Properties Panel. As it applies per sheet, you can show or hide the Filter bar when you want to.
​
Click on the Filter bar to display its properties, and add a checkmark to show the Filter bar on that sheet.

Filter bar properties on the Properties panel - new Filter button check box added.

2.34 - 11 April 2023

DVE: Duplicate tables from the table context menu

Duplicate tables to avoid a many-to-one issue for a single table. This helps when you need to duplicate a generic dimension table (e.g., date (order date, ship date), country (customer, employee, product shipped from).

Click the context menu (three vertical dots on the table header) to view the Duplicate table option.

Data Explorer: View the SQL expression when you create a measure

When creating a custom measure, click the View SQL button to view the SQL expression. We’ve also added a horizontal line as a separator between the fields of each table so it's easier to see which table a field belongs to.

DVE: Calculator added to add numeric values without adding a field or aggregation

You can now create a measure using only numerical values, as a calculator has been added to the DVE. There’s no need to add a field/aggregation; simply add the numeric values to create the measure directly.

DVE: Manage your data in the table without leaving the DVE

Manage your data in the table without leaving the DVE using the preview of the table. You can edit field names and add custom fields without switching to a different tab.

Actions: Variables - use Ternary operators for inline statements

Use the new Ternary block to have inline conditional statements for your inputs without duplicating them using IF and IF/ELSE statements.

Before:

Now:


Viz-1.4 - 4 April 2023

Visuals: Bar Charts - Histogram visual added

Histogram visualizations provide a clearer understanding of numerical data that are part of a continuous distribution (e.g. age groups, hours in a day); helping you identify important insights that may be hidden within a single category.

Use histograms of individual categories to compare with a bar chart of the data as a whole, to improve your understanding of your data.

You’ll find all chart objects in the Visuals area of the toolbar. The Histogram chart is in the Bar chart section.

We’re constantly working to improve our data objects and visuals to help you identify key trends and patterns in your data; please join us in our Astrato community to learn more.

Data Engine: Query Profile Insights

To help users increase query efficiency, Snowflake recently introduced a new table function, GET_QUERY_OPERATOR_STATS, which returns statistics about individual operators within a query.

Our data Query Profile Insights feature provides these insights with no coding required. Simply right-click on a chart, and scroll down to Data Query insights to view the results of checks for these common query inefficiencies: Cartesian, Union, Memory, or Pruning.

Workbook Editor: The last tab used in the properties panel stays open

Although the Data tab in the properties panel remains the default when a new object is created, when you switch to a different object, the last tab on the properties panel you were working with now remains visible (where possible).

This should help when using the Style tab and applying changes across your charts. Now the tab you used last remains open, even when you select a different object.

Image Object: Media gallery & styles

The image object now supports adding images from the Gallery. You can adjust image display properties including: opacity, saturation, blur, and shadow.

Visuals: Added Pie/Donut chart borders

Border colors can now be added to pie charts. Style tip: setting the border to white, and adjusting the width creates a virtual gap between segments in pie and donut charts to highlight segments in your chart.


2.33 - 27 March 2023

Workbook Editor: Gallery for image upload and reuse

The Gallery is a new section on the toolbar for you to upload media for use in your Workbook. The image file types allowed are JPEG, JPG and PNG. The file size maximum is 9 Mb.

  1. Upload the image by browsing your file folders or drag and drop the file.

  2. The image preview displays; type the file name.

  3. To keep your files organized, add a new folder, or save it to a folder you already have.

  4. Click Add to Media Gallery to upload the image.

Workbook Editor: Graphics - Image options include 'Add from Gallery'

From the Graphics section of the toolbar, select Image. From the frame, click Add from the Gallery. The Style tab opens with the Image and Adjust sections. Use the Image options to select the:

  • Image source from the Gallery or a URL

  • Media window to change the image in the frame.

  • Adjust the image size in the frame to: fill, resize to fit, or cover (the image expands to fill the frame).

Use the Adjust options to add a shadow or the sliders to change the Opacity, Saturation, or Blur.

Administration: Media area to manage images across workbooks and your tenant

Administrator and Owner roles can view all images added to workbooks in an Astrato tenant. Also, all images uploaded directly to the Media section (e.g., company brand icons) are available as shared images from within the Gallery of all workbooks in the tenant.

All media asset management permissions (view, create, edit, and delete) can be performed from this area.

Astrato: Section name visible as the browser tab name

When using Astrato, the section name is visible on the browser tab, so even if you have many browser tabs open, you know which browser tab or window is the one you want.

Actions: Logic/Conditions - Writeback block

Create action flows that write back values to your database. With the new Writeback block, select any table defined within your workbook's data view, and add the columns and values you would like to write to the database. You can add a Button click to trigger the action.

Actions: Logical - And / Or

Using the Logical And / Or action block lets you perform logical operations as part of a conditional.

Use the flexibility of "and" and "or" operators to create custom automated workflows with complex conditions for your Actions.

DVE: Source table name displays with field name

When you create a copy of a table and change its name, we now display the name of the source table. This is visible in the Preview table header, the Edit table screen, and when you hover over a table header in the table schema or over a table name in a selected period.


DVE: Two clicks to duplicate custom measures

From the list of your custom Measures in the DVE, click on the context menu (three dots), and click Duplicate.

Adjust the measure as required - for example, its filters, predefined dates, and operators; and save it with a new name and description for use across the workbook.

DVE: Filters - Option of 'In list' as a filter added

You can now apply a filter for an item that is either IN or NOT from a list.

Layers: improvements to layout and search

The Layers menu has been updated to improve the clarity of icons and spacing of items displayed. You can also click on the square to dock or allow the menu to hover (1) and move around as needed.

Click the magnifying glass at the top to Search through the list of items, or click All items to sort the list (2).

Workbook Editor: design uplift of right-click menu

Improved spacing, re-order of options, and new iconography have been added to the design of the right-click object context menus (cut, copy, paste, export, etc.).

Depending on the object, you have the option to: copy, duplicate, cut, paste, delete, lock group, arrange, show in layers, view the Data query insights, and export to CSV or XLSX.


Viz-1.3 - 14 March 2023

Filters: Slider object to select ranges

We're excited to announce the release of our new range Slider object to filter values in your dashboard. Easily drag the slider's handles to select a range of values for a numeric or date field and instantly see the corresponding data filtered in your dashboard. In SQL, we select BeETWEEN.

Add the slider by navigating to the Filters section and clicking or dragging the Slider object icon onto the sheet.

Some key features of the range slider object include:

  • Customizable range and step size: You can adjust the minimum and maximum values of the slider to suit your data and adjust the step size for finer or coarser control.

  • Distribution bars: The slider can help display frequency like a histogram (as well as other measures) to show the volume of data available before making a selection, to reduce queries to the connected data source.

  • Smooth animation and responsiveness: The slider smoothly animates to reflect your input, and the dashboard instantly updates as you adjust the range.

  • Multiple sliders for complex filtering: You can add multiple range sliders to your dashboard to filter data based on multiple criteria simultaneously.

The filter bar now includes the slider by default when numerical or date fields are added.

Control: Button - new style and icon options

At Astrato, we build for our customers; in this release, we’ve added three feature requests from our Community page to improve the styling possibilities of the Button control.

Some key features of the new styling settings include:

  • Icon: The button can display an icon on the left of the button label. Enable the icon and choose from a wide variety of icons. The icon color is configurable for both the default and hover states.

  • Default style: Enable and configure a drop shadow for the button’s default state. When enabled, it’s possible to configure the color, the offset, and the blur of the drop shadow.

  • Hover style: We have enabled settings to configure the look of the button when the mouse cursor hovers over the button. Settings include text color, background color, icon color, border, and drop shadow.

  • Click animation color: Configure the color of the click animation to fit with your brand colors.

Combo chart - data labels for bars

Data labels on Bar charts are now available for our Combo chart too.


2.32 - 13 March 2023

DVE: Interaction improvements

Continuing our efforts to improve the ease of interacting with your data in the Data View Explorer (DVE), we've added the following:

  • Fewer steps for navigation - There's no need to click the Data Explorer tab, as you can now click the option to Edit table added to the context menu (above Preview table).

  • Tooltips on the DVE action bar - hover over the icon to view a tooltip briefly describing its function.

  • Descriptive error and warning messages - include error text if a combination of filters returns no records, and a warning displays to confirm you want to Remove all joins.

  • Animation on the blank canvas shows the steps to add custom columns, dimensions and measures in the DVE.

Actions: Operator - INVERT - Boolean

Use the INVERT action block to invert a boolean value. This allows you to have tidier show/hide action flows, as you don’t need to create a complex IF statement to control the visibility of objects to check whether a variable is true or not; now, you can easily toggle the visibility of an object.

This becomes very powerful when combined with the new object action blocks GET and SET.

Before:

Now:

Actions: GET and SET Object Properties

GET and SET the properties of an object's visibility using this new action block.

Previously the visibility of objects was controlled by assigning them to a boolean variable. Now you can control both the boolean value and the visibility of an object directly from an action (as in the example above).


2.31 - 27 February 2023

Workbook Editor: Toolbar and panel redesign

We’ve redesigned the Astrato toolbar and its panel as part of customer feedback.

There's a Search field at the top when the panel expands so that you can search directly. We’ve split them into two broad categories - design, and advanced tools for analysis and interaction.

Design

  • Visuals - Icons are monochrome, so the details are easier to see and improve the differentiation of the list of data objects.

  • Filters - Dynamic filters.

  • Controls - Button, Input form.

  • Graphics - Text, Shapes, Image (URL).

Advanced tools for analysis and interaction

  • Layers - adding and managing layers of objects.

  • Variables - creating number, string, or Boolean variables.

  • Actions - create advanced actions using our no-code blocks.

Added new Graphics article

As part of redesigning the toolbar, we’ve added the article Using Graphics in the Workbook Editor with instructions on style, formatting, and layout for text boxes, shapes, and images.

Workbook Editor: Navigation style updates

We’ve removed the extra color band at the top of the workbook, so it looks less busy, and you have a bigger canvas to design your dashboards.

Data: Data View Editor (DVE) layout and joins redesign

Our data engine now delivers the schema view in a clean tree structure. Tables with joins are arranged at the top. All other tables are arranged in a grid sorted by the time they were added to the data view. Tables without joins also have a lighter color to differentiate them further.

When a user applies the ‘suggested joins,’ we apply the best layout for your tables in the data view.

If you prefer to arrange your tables differently (for example, in a star with the main table in the middle), Astrato can save your arrangement.

Please note: If you remove or add tables, we can’t load your saved schema; the default schema will display.

DVE: filtering dimensions and measures in the Data Explorer

In the data explorer, you can now filter by the values of the measures.

Clicking the filter icon at the top of the column automatically displays the range for that column. Select the values manually or use the slider to filter the data in the column.

Lobby: My drafts as default

When you have a draft workbook, the My drafts tab becomes the default tab in the Astrato lobby to access your content faster.

Actions: Full-Screen view editor and improved navigation

You now have a nearly infinite workspace provided to build your actions. The action bar also has new options including:

  • Scaling options

  • Zoom in/out

  • Mouse scroll

  • Option to 'Fit to screen' that scales and adjusts the zoom automatically so you can see where everything is on your canvas.


Viz-1.2 - 27 February 2023

Properties panel: Search field added above list of date ranges

For dates and strings filters, a new combobox (Search and a list of values) has been added.

On the Object styling options, click the Filter tab, and click Chart to add a filter. You can use the Search field to find the value in the column, or select from the:

  • Pre-defined “calculated dates” by clicking Date Range at the top of the list presented (e.g. Last 30 days, Previous year, Yesterday).

  • List of boolean options (e.g. equals, greater than, is null/empty).

Properties panel: Added chart filter count on the Filter tab

When you add a chart, filter a badge displays on the tab with a count number. If there are more than nine filters added, it shows 9+.

Properties panel: Radius icon refined

We’ve refined the icon to clarify what part of the object is affected by changing the number in the field. You can adjust the radius of the border/corner between 0-100.

This border option can be applied to the text, button, and filter objects. Use the following paths from the toolbar options:

  • Text object: Graphics > Text box > Layout > + Border

  • Button: Controls > Button > Style > Border

  • Filter: Filter > Style > Object > Border


Viz-1.1 - 15 February 2023

Workbook Editor: Include table and original field names

On the Data tab, we’ve added context to display the original table and field name in both the Measures and Dimensions sections.

This information provides context when working with data across multiple tables to avoid the correct field name being added from the wrong table.

Workbook Editor: Cell selection in a table

You can now select a cell in a table instead of the whole row.

A click in the cell selects it, highlighting other linked visualizations. This works in both directions, so you can more quickly and accurately select individual cells within a row.


2.30 - 13 February 2023

Data: Connect to Google BigQuery with JWT

We’ve added authentication support for non-Google account-linked usernames and passwords. Key benefits:

  • Non-domain users can view data that are unique to them (for example, for OEM use)

  • Using a service account to manage public-facing dashboards is possible.

Actions: Execute SQL

Use the SQL blocks to create string variables that bring back a value or trigger further downstream processes.

DVE: Export to CSV

When using the Data Explorer functions in the Data View Editor, you can now export files to CSV in addition to XLSX format for download. This provides users with more flexibility to view data in multiple editors.

DVE: View Query Insight in the Data Explorer

When using the Data View Editor's Data Explorer functions, click the View Query Insights button to view the SQL query details displayed with markup.

DVE: Drag and drop to change column positions

When using the Data Explorer functions in the Data View Editor, you can rearrange the order of your columns to make viewing the data you’re interested in easier.

Simply click on the column header you want to move and drag and drop the column to its new position.


Viz-1.0 - 03 February 2023

Selecting sequences

Users can select across a sequential (numerical or time-based) axis to find more information. This feature applies to Bar, Line, and Combo charts.

All values on the dimension axis within the sequence are selected. This is enabled in Preview mode and on published workbooks.

Users can select across a sequential (numerical or time-based) axis to find more information. This feature applies to Bar, Line, and Combo charts.

Scatter charts brushing and point selection

Scatter charts have a new brushing method; draw a ‘lasso’ (circle) around data points to select them, or draw a line across the points you wish to select.

Scatter charts have a new brushing method, draw a shape to select within the shape or draw a line across the points you wish to select.

Property Panel: Filter styles on objects and progress bar added

Our update to Filter styles allows you to apply the same formatting styles (font type, size, and background color) to all instances of the object within your workbook (or worksheet/s).

Consistent styles help create a more cohesive and visually appealing presentation of your data app. It also makes it easier to identify and distinguish different Filter objects within your workbooks quickly.

It’s also useful if you’ve used a dark background on your dashboard. It’s part of our commitment to helping you make beautiful dashboards.

Table Conditional Coloring

Highlight specific cells or rows based on values present in the data. Table conditional coloring makes it easier to quickly identify your data's trends, patterns, and outliers. This can be particularly useful when working with large datasets or making sense of complex data relationships.

  • Highlight cells or rows that fall above or below certain thresholds (e.g., budget limits, performance benchmarks).

  • Color-code cells based on categories or groups (e.g., different product lines, regions).

  • Apply different colors to cells or rows based on the magnitude of their values (e.g., red for low values, and green for high values).

Workbook Editor: Table minimum column width

When you select your table object, the layout option for columns includes options for Auto-width or Fixed width and a new input box to specify the minimum width. You can change the minimum width in auto mode; the default is 70 pixels.

We've also enabled horizontal scrolling, so there's no need to set very narrow columns in your table.

Predefined periods renamed to Date Range

In the property panel, Data tab, we’ve renamed predefined periods to “date range” and moved it to the top of the list of operators and Boolean expressions.


2.29 - 30 January 2023

Actions: String (Text) Operators

We’ve added text operators to our list of no-code Actions options. Simply drag and drop the text blocks to build your dynamic Actions.

Block functions include:

  • replacing or joining string values

  • manage text formatting

  • keyword highlighting

Workbook Editor: Sheet layout template for Custom Report

New template option for Custom Report (self-service) in the Sheet layout options makes it quick and easy to start building your custom report.


2.28 - 17 January 2023

Workbook Editor: Custom Report

Astrato's Custom Report allows your users to explore live data with confidence. This can reduce ad-hoc requests to BI and data teams and streamline report building by exploring your data warehouse directly.

It's easy to set up; add the Custom Report object on a new worksheet and allow your users to select from the predefined dimensions and measures in your workbook.

Administration: Update Embed links content with sorting and filtering

You can sort and search for embedded links as a Lobby visitor in the Embed section.

Actions: Math Operators

We’ve added math operators to our list of no-code Actions options. Simply drag and drop the math blocks you need and type in your variables.

We support large numbers and Snowflake number formats.

Actions: OnFilterInField Event

The event triggers when a Filter has been applied or is pending in a field.


2.27 - 17 January 2023

Workbook Editor: Copy and Paste objects between workbooks

Selecting objects is easier, and copying and pasting are possible between workbooks.

The object retains its connection to the data view, and before it’s pasted into the new workbook, we check whether the data connection is the same.

If it’s not the same, we paste the object in a preview state without the dimensions and measures from the original workbook. The rest of the object’s properties are included with the copy.

Actions: OnAny Filter Event

Trigger actions when a Filter is either pending or applied.


2.26 - 19 December 2022

Data View Editor: Date filter options - predefined periods

We've listed on a page the predefined periods to filter data for past and current dates. The same options are used across our Custom Measures filters, the workbook with measures, and the chart filters in the property panel.

Property panel: Data field selection improvements

The new design in the property panel includes icons for each data type and collapsible menus for each table section.

Administration: Snowflake Consumption app installation

Administrators can add the Snowflake consumption app to their organization’s list of workbooks.

The app displays the Snowflake consumption linked to the defined Snowflake data connection when you set up the app.

Please note - All users given access to a workbook must have permission to view the data; the error message “Your data query is invalid” displays on the workbook.


2.25 - 12 December 2022

Data View Editor: Time filter for Custom Measures

When creating a custom measure, you can now select from predefined time ranges (e.g., YTD, Last 7 days, Previous month) when using Date as a measure. We’ve organized the list of time ranges by those generally used more often.

Select from the list of predefined time ranges (e.g. YTD, Last 7 days, Previous month) when using Date as a measure.

Data View Editor: Astrato's Data Engine - joins

We've added information about Astrato's Data Engine and how it helps to avoid common BI mistakes like Fan Traps. The article also details the key features of join quality that can improve your BI outcomes.

Property panel: Font options added to objects

When editing a table, text object, number object, or filter, you can apply a font style directly from the property panel. The list of fonts available in Astrato includes web-safe fonts and some Google fonts.

When editing a table, text object, number object, or filter, you can apply a font style directly from the property panel.

Workbook Editor: Object selection and placement made easier

When editing your workbook, it's now easier to rotate, select and move objects in groups.

We've also improved the helper grid settings to include options to 'snap' objects to the grid, in addition to the helpful layout guides that show alignment and add padding (white space) between your objects.

Administration: Consumption Licensing - view usage as credits or minutes

Astrato Enterprise users can view their license consumption by minutes in addition to credit blocks.

Data Connections: Dremio Cloud

Astrato supports data connections to Dremio Cloud.


2.24 - 23 November 2022

Actions: New Event: Before the workbook opens

We've added a new Action trigger event- 'Before workbook opens'. You can use this new trigger to apply a Navigation action, for example, to select a specific sheet within your workbook to display first.

Action trigger event-  Before workbook opens.

Charts: New Table Mini charts in the Visual representation options

From the Data tab, in the property panel under Columns, use the Visual representation slider to add mini charts sparklines, and bars on each table row, for a given measure. Gain extra insight without needing any more than a table.

From the Data tab, in the property panel under Columns, use the Visual representation slider to add mini charts sparklines, and bars on each table row, for a given measure.

When mini charts are added, the Style tab displays the formatting options, where you can apply styles to each of your mini charts.

Format options for mini charts in the Style tab.

If several charts are added to the table (from various measure columns) we display these options in the dropdown for the user to select.

Using mini charts to add visuals to a table - without the need for a separate chart or data object.

Administration: Search the list of users by name or email

In the Administration section, click Users to view the complete list of users. Type a user's name or email in the Search field to find them quickly.

Viewing users in your Astrato tenant. Click the button Invite, or use the menu item Invite users to your Astrato tenant.

Charts: Data Object - Date 'Group as' options

When selecting a Date as a Dimension, you can use either the Default format or select Grouped as.

Selecting ‘Grouped as’ allows you to select from options such as ‘Month Year’ and select the format you prefer. A Custom format option is also available.

Tick the Null values box to view dates that are missing.

Selecting ‘Grouped as’ allows you to select from options such as ‘Month Year’ and then to select the Format you prefer.

Adminstration: Embed - detailed sorting and searching

From the Admin options, if you use Embeds, and have permission to view them, there are detailed sorting and searching options to help you manage your Embedded links.

The options are: Created by, Date, Name, Permission type, Requirements, Sort, Specific user, Type (Object, group, sheet), Workbook name, and Workbook used.


2.23 - 7 November 2022

Licensing and Usage

License and Usage is the new section for Enterprise-level customers to organize their users and assign them to teams, with each team assigned the most appropriate licensing model.

Consumption-based licensing usage is measured using credits that are monitored per user and by a team.

The Administration area allows Owners and Administrators to change the license type, create teams, and view and allocate the credits to a user or a team.

Explore the new License & Usage page here (requires Admin access).

Administration: Managing Users and Teams

The options for managing Users and Teams are visible in the Administration area of Astrato.

There's no need to import users into Astrato. From the sidebar, click Invite Users to add Users or Teams. When users accept their invitation and log in to Astrato, their account status changes from Pending to Active.

Please note: the User section and the list of users are visible to all user roles; however, the Teams option and the bulk of Administration functions are not.

Data: Data Source - more details visible

More details about each data source are displayed when viewing your data sources. This includes:

  • Data Source Name,

  • Database Name,

  • Creator,

  • # of Data Views connected to the Data Source,

  • Last Modified Date.


2.22 - 26 October 2022

Update data limits in charts

Charts can display more data points. There's no change to the Table, as it just adds more pages. Data point limits for the following charts are now:

  • Line - 3,000

  • Filter - 30,000

  • Bar - 1,000

  • Heatmap - 2,000

  • Scatter - 15,000

  • Gauge / Pie chart - 100

Custom sorting

Sort by measures or dimensions without needing to add them to the visualization. More analytical power, without the extra code.

Filter bar update - add new filters

Any filter can be added to the workbook using the add New filter button located in the filter bar. No need to clutter workbooks with dropdowns and filter boxes, explore and add easily.

Option to 'ignore global filters'

We now have options in data objects to ignore the global filter state - a great way to do a comparative analysis between overall data vs a filtered dataset.


2.21 - 7 October 2022

Actions - no coding drag and drop

Use the Actions feature to add interactions and logic functions to your workbook - all without writing any code.

Simply drag and drop the actions you want to perform visual changes to your data, or add interactive actions that modify the worksheet or navigation.

Use the Actions feature to add interactions and logic functions to your workbook - all without writing any code.

Export as - CSV, XLSX, PDF, or PNG to print

Use the 'Export as' or the 'Object > Copy to clipboard' to create output that you can print from Astrato.

Legends showing up even on small charts

Legends always show on charts even if you make them very small.

Color changes

  • Brushing and Selection - Visually link charts to their table data using color. Apply unique color to a dimension to show relationships across data objects.

  • Color opacity - New easy-access opacity setting for color swatches. The opacity percentage is shown in the properties panel. An example is to use this feature to adjust the color on a scatter chart, visualizing the density of the points on a scatter chart.


2.20 - 26 September 2022

Google BigQuery - data source

In addition to Snowflake, and PostgreSQL Astrato supports Google BigQuery data connections.

Data Explorer

Using the Data Explorer, quickly look at the data to confirm the quality and completeness of the dataset before you start building your visualizations.

Custom Measures - aggregate expressions and more ...

Create the metrics that suit your business using orders of operation with multiple fields, aggregation, and filters- no coding required.

Custom fields

Create new column measures using this feature to extend the tables in your data source with any 'last-mile' dashboard changes - all in a no-code UI.

Create new fields using text strings, with functions such as concatenate, replace and trim to tidy your data. There are also options for date and calculation functions.

Value picker

Pick a value directly from the chart filters.

Date group or Timestamp

Instantly create a chart (e.g. timestamp and value = month or hour, day of the week, etc.).

Axis bands on charts

Highlight the chart itself. Assign color bands and name them (e.g. benchmarks).

Font options

  • Web-safe fonts - We now offer a choice of web-safe fonts.

  • Text shadow formatting - Improve the visibility of text on lighter backgrounds.


2.19 - 12 September 2022

Continuous Axis option to view gaps in temporal data points

The new checkbox option for ‘Continuous Axis’ in the Properties Panel offers the option to view gaps in time between data points in your temporal data. Temporal data includes dates or time formats.

Heatmap - rectangle preset

In the toolbar, in the Data Objects section, a new rectangular version of the Heatmap is offered as a preset in addition to the circular preset.


2.18 - 30 August 2022

Enable highlight-brushing on a table (excludes pivot)

Hovering or clicking on a value (in a table or filter) highlights the same value(s) on all the charts of your workbook.

Enable highlights on visualizations by hovering on a chart legend

Hovering or clicking on a value in a chart with a categorical legend highlights the same value(s) on the other visualizations in your workbook.


2.17 - 17 August 2022

Date groups have more format options

There’s no need to use extra columns or calculations with the further enhancements in date groups. For example, a heatmap can be created simply using two fields, one date field and one measure.

Updates to your table with drop-down filters

You can set filters in your table without adding other data objects to your workbook.

Within your table, click on a row, or use the filter dropdown to view and add or remove filter options from your table.

Progress bar style enhancements

Major style enhancements to the existing progress bar visualization.

These can be used with progress/gauge charts. Changes include adjusting the bar radius and padding.


2.16 - 1 August 2022

New rules define limits for aspect ratio when manually changed

Limit custom aspect ratio - new rules define limits for aspect ratio when manually changed so that:

  • the width will never be greater than 4 times as wide as the height, and the

  • height will never be greater than 4 times as high as the width.

Formatting improvements to tables, bar, and combo charts

  • All table progress bars are aligned

  • Select rounded ends for the bar charts and with stacked bar charts

  • Add rounded borders and padding options to the combo chart


2.15 - 20 July 2022

Title Editing

New Title options make it easier to add context to objects, with a new discrete menu for managing title content.

Scatter plot trend lines through points

Improvements to the scatter chart styles and the addition of a trend line through points on the scatter chart.

Direct data labels

For sparklines or charts where the axis is smaller, you can now show labels at the end of a line chart.


2.14 - 20 July 2022

Filter bar enhanced with editable fields to simplify and speed up analysis

The filter bar visible at the top of the worksheet is now enhanced with editable fields to simplify and speed up data analysis for you and the teams you share your data with. The drop-down lists have a check mark beside the filters applied to the data object.

Select the filters you want, and a checkmark displays which filters are active on the data object.

Layers - choose between sheet layers and object layers

Workbook editor ‘Sheets’ are now named ‘Layers’. This change also improves the efficiency of selecting and managing your workbook sheet layers when clicking on ‘Layers’ immediately displays the object layers for the current sheet.

Date group presets

New date selections offer date presets to simplify date selection for all objects. Presets include: presets quarter, day of the week, and certain holidays.

Pivot table - dimension limits to improve performance

To improve performance, there is now a limit of 7 dimensions in a pivot table with any combination of Row and Column headers.

Improved performance of data connections to Snowflake

We've implemented a new approach when creating a new data connection to display a list of databases the user can access. Astrato now only performs the more extended check for writeback permissions only if the user selects to enable writeback on the data connection.


2.13 - 21 June 2022

Filters: easy to check the number of filters you've applied

Beside each Measure Filter, a number displays beside the title to indicate the count of all the measures that have filters applied.

Bug fixes

We do our best to avoid them, but now and again, we have a few to squish ...


2.12 - 7 June 2022

Astrato supports Snowflake integrations using Okta for role-level security

Organizations using an Okta integration for Single Sign-On (SSO) with Snowflake can enable Enterprise Authentication within Astrato.

Admins don’t need to worry about creating service accounts or new accounts to build data connections to Snowflake.

The credentials are passed through authentication into Snowflake based on a role-level security setup. This means that users logged into the same Workbook see only the data appropriate for their role.

Custom color palette for charts helps you align with your brand, event, or theme

Create a custom color palette to style and color your charts to align with your brand, event, or theme.

Type a comma-separated list of the HEX codes for a maximum of 13 colors, and simply drag and drop your list of colors into the custom palette. Use the form to add two extra numbers in your HEX code to affect the opacity of each color.

To reorder the color in your custom palette, click on the double row of dots on the left, to drag and drop the color to its new position.

Filters - tab added to the Object properties panel

The object properties panel now has a Filter tab; this consolidates the options for Chart and Measures filters so that you can amend filters faster.

Measure Filter - selection improvements, use the (+) plus sign beside a filter object to add more measure filters

Each Measure filter has a plus sign (+) beside it; click the + to add more filters to an object. Select the field, operator, and value. Once completed, click the Apply button to confirm. Repeat the process with additional measure filters.

Improved default styles to improve differentiation

New and improved default styles make table content look better and easier to differentiate from the rest of the data by making:

  • Column headings are bold, and the font size is larger

  • New light gray divider below column headings

  • Column widths are evenly spaced, making better use of the white space so data is easier to read and use.

Pivot Table labels - show or hide

Each measure in the properties panel can display or hide the measure label. If there is only one measure, the label is hidden by default. Read more about using Tables.


2.11 - 23 May 2022

Astrato Embeds: Filtering embedded source data

You can apply a filter (as a parameter) to the view of the source data on an embedded sheet, thereby restricting the scope of the visible data.

Use this feature to produce contextual embeds, this highlights the data that's most relevant to where you've embedded the data. Read more about Astrato Embeds.

Enhanced style formatting for text objects

You now have options to format the style of text objects with:

  • line and letter spacing

  • background formatting options - including images, background blur, and opacity

  • border options - color and radius

Dimensions: Group dates and timestamps

In the Data tab, within the Dimension options, use the Group as an option, with a selected format to display a combination of dimensions (for example, select 'Month Year' with just one click).

Data Engine: Warning displays when a user creates a duplicate data connection

Supporting central management of your data by encouraging users to create 'data views' instead of creating duplicate copies of source data - a warning displays when a user attempts to create a duplicate data connection if they use the same:

  • snowflake instance

  • database

  • credentials

The message offers the option to either ‘Create a data view using the existing data connections’ or 'to add the new data source’.

Workbook Lobby: Improved search options

Within the lobby, users can now search for a specific :

  • workbook name,

  • filter by a data connection

  • sort their list of workbooks by: name, creation date, updated date, Last opened date

Workbook Demos and data views: refresh to always have the most up-to-date versions

Admins can now refresh the demo assets available to users, ensuring that users have the most up-to-date versions of workbooks or data views.

Workbook Editor: More control of your Workbook Sheets

Now you can design your Workbooks with a:

  • specific sheet size to keep it consistent for all users

  • responsive sheet size for more flexibility, to adjust the worksheet size based on the screen size

  • Locked aspect at sheet level, not just at Workbook level.


2.10 - 10 May 2022

Trendline error message if there is a null or negative value in the data

A new warning message displays if a user attempts to create an exponential trendline if their data contains zero or negative values.


Using Line Charts for Linear or Exponential Forecasting

Features linked to using a Line Chart for linear or exponential forecasting include:

  • A vertical reference line displays to highlight where the forecast data starts

  • Each forecast has a label

  • It projects the linear or exponential trendline using defined reference/training data points

It also has the following constraints:

  • Forecasting is only possible on dates (includes years as an integer format)

  • A forecast must be linked to per measure. It is also possible to forecast on multi-line charts that are split by dimension, providing only one measure exists.

Please see the new page in our Data section to learn more: Advanced Analytics - Forecasting.

Screenshot shows a line chart with a vertical line used as a reference between current data and forecasted trendline on the right.

Pivot Table displays multiple data dimensions, with added visual style options

Astrato’s new pivot table elevates our existing table features, with more grouped dimension values that aggregate across the top and the left-hand side.

The pivot table enables users to display a dimension across the top, to create a grid-like table visualization. You can now view cross-sections of data with first and second-layer data filters.

The example shows Column data linked to Area - with Neighbourhood as the first filter, with Availability and Price per night as the second layer. Row data includes both bedrooms and bed types.

In addition, visual styles and color to display conditional formatting let you tell more than one story - without any coding or change to source data. In the example below a progress bar (based on a fixed amount) makes comparing availability easier. And the color-linked conditional formatting highlights price ranges.

The screen shot shows that area (Neighbourhood) is used Area across the top, and two dimensions: bedrooms and bed type are displayed on the left-hand side.

2.9.0 - 25 April 2022

Astrato Embeds - Creators can generate restricted links

All Creators can generate Embed links within their data and share the link with other Astrato users in their company (that is, if they’re in the same domain).

This function for Creators does not need to be enabled by Astrato Administrators.

Display more data points on Line and Scatter charts

Increased the number of data chart points displayed;

  • Line Charts 200 to 800 points

  • Scatter Chart 200 to 600 points

Users can select which data points are visible within the number displayed.


2.8.0 - 11 April 2022

Trend lines

Enable a trend line on your bar, line, or scatter chart to indicate the general course or tendency of points based on your calculations.

  • Regression trend types include: linear, exponential, polynomial, logarithmic, power series, and moving averages.

  • Formatting style options include: color, line style, opacity, and thickness.

Data Filters with extra 'filters' built-in

Updates to the data filters include:

  • Predictive search options highlight the top-most value returned

  • Visualization using a bar graph indicates the prevalence of the data values being filtered

Unsupported Browsers - warning for users logging in

A warning message displays for users logging in using an unsupported browser.

The list of supported browsers (Google Chrome (Desktop), Microsoft Edge (Desktop), Mozilla Firefox (Desktop)) is offered so all users understand our testing and support parameters.


2.7.0 - 30 March 2022

Using Snowflake's Time Travel feature with Astrato

Time Travel enables accessing historical data at any point within a defined period. Includes data that has been edited or deleted.

Astrato Community link added

The Astrato Galaxy (our Community of Astrato users) is now available as a quick link once you log in to Astrato.

Google signup consent

We’ve updated the login screens to remove the data consent request from Google.

Only Google account users must provide data consent when using Google Drive or Google Sheets as a data source from within the Data View Editor.

Astrato Embeds *please see the update in Release 2.9

The Embed feature in Astrato (your Administrator must enable this feature to share Embedded links outside your company domain) lets you take content from a published workbook and embed it in other web-based material.

The content retains its interactivity and connection to the live source data meaning you have a single source of truth for your analytics wherever they’re used.

Share key live content from the business applications your team uses daily - CRM, HubSpot, Confluence, or publicly on your website or in a SaaS product.


2.6.0 - 19 March 2022

Smoother transitions as data changes

Changes to animations and data points on all charts look smoother as data changes are made and refreshed.

Data: PostgreSQL connections as a data source

In addition to Snowflake, and Google Sheets, Astrato now supports PostgreSQL data connections which appear as an option in the Data View Editor.

Toolbar: Filters easier to find

To improve the visibility of the Filters feature, it’s now just below the data objects selection.


2.5.0 - 02 March 2022

Custom Data - add custom data in the data view editor using an SQL query or CSV file upload.

Sheet Object Layers - options to manage data objects from the Sheets menu.

2.4.0 - 21 February 2021

Workbook Updates - updates in changes to the flow for creating and publishing a workbook (example for creating a workbook shown here).

2.3.0 - 4 February 2022

Create Dimensions and Measures directly from the table - Right-click on a field and add it as a dimension or measure.

Connected Workbooks - Select from the list of workbooks already connected to a data view to open them from the data view editor.

Snowflake Manual Configuration - Now you can choose a manual configuration option to connect a Snowflake instance.

2.2.0 - January 2022

Workbook Editor Tooltip - Are you terrible with names? We've added tooltip to the controls in the workbook editor to help you out.

2.1.0 - 15 December 2021

Workbook Editor - The header in the workbook editor now contains a link to the data view you're using to create the workbook.

Enterprise Authentication - OKTA - Astrato now supports enterprise authentication for Open ID Connect (OKTA).

2.0.0 - 2 December 2021

Demo Data Assets - Astrato now contains some example published workbooks and a data connection to get you started when you first log in.

Enterprise Authentication - Google Workspace - Astrato now supports enterprise authentication for Google Workspace.

1.12.0 - 23 November 2021

Bar Chart Gradient - You can now apply colors to a bar chart with a gradient shading.

Demo Data Read-Only Resources - If you're a user logging in to your workspace for the first time, you'll see some published workbooks and a data connection with example data views. We've included these examples to help you get started creating your own workbooks.

1.11.0 - 10 November 2021

Reverse / Limit - The properties panel now has controls which can reverse the color scheme in your data object, and also apply limitations to the data displayed.

Templates - The templates section has been updated, with the Popular tab being d be renamed Astrato Defaults and My Templates changed to Workbook Templates.

1.10.0 - 29 October 2021

Auto-Refresh - workbooks now have an auto-refresh function where you can choose your own refresh rate.

Spaghetti Joins - Adding joins in your data view just got even easier with the joins suggestions feature, which lists all the possible joins you can add, and shows the joins you've already created. Link up your data in just a few clicks.

1.9.0 - 13 October 2021

Stacks of Tooltip - If you're using a stacked bar chart or line chart, you'll be able to display the total in tooltip.

Alphabetical Sorting of Joins - When you add a join, the table and field data is now shown in alphabetical order.

Preview then Review - The Preview function for a workbook now opens in a new tab, making it easy to check the workbook, then publish or return to the draft.

1.8.0 - 05 October 2021

Hit the Bars - Add an extra visual touch to your bar charts by enabling the Translucent bars setting.

DVE Chat Show - If you're working with the Data View Editor and need to ask us a question, you can hit the Intercom chat button right then and there. No more going back to the lobby!

Measure for Measure - And you can now display pie chart labels as percentages if you select Measure only.

1.7.0 - 15 September 2021

No Google? No problem! - As well as using your Google and LinkedIn accounts, you can create your own login and password for your Astrato account.

Keep it Strong - To make sure your details stay secure, we've also implemented conditions for password strength.

DVE Drag Race - In the Data View Editor, you can now drag the panel divider to increase the size of the left sidebar which lists your source data.

1.6.0 - 31 August 2021

Coming soon! - In the toolbar, you can now see icons for objects we're working on introducing in the near future.

Movers and Shakers - The Lock and Group icons have been moved into the action bar, and the Save Template control has been moved to the context menu (open on right-click).

Get Groups Moving - You can also use drag and drop to select and group objects, move them around the sheet, or re-size them.

1.5.0 - 17 August 2021

Object Resize - Resize an object in the content pane by dragging the edges in any direction. This works for bar charts, line charts, scatter charts and combo charts. Try it and see!

Custom Axis Height - Set a customized axis height for your charts in the properties panel Object settings. Choose to start at 0, and set maximum and/or minimum values for displaying objects.

Gauge Target Settings - Gauge data objects now have updated target settings, where you can choose between, automatic, manual and data options.

1.4.0 - 04 August 2021

Table Word Wrap - If you’re using a table, word wrap is now automatically enabled. You can display up to 445 characters in a cell, and enable a row height limit, and choose to show a maximum number of lines. You’ll always see complete lines, no cut-off text or partial displays. If you disable word wrap, the text is truncated. Remember Pokemon? Yes, we thought you might.

Bar Chart Grouped Bar- If you’re creating a bar chart with 2 dimensions and 1 measure, you can now switch between grouped and stacked bars. You can add multiple measures as well.

Line Chart Multi-Line - If you’re building a visualization with 2 dimensions, you’re now able to use a line chart to display multiple lines, and switch between stacked and overlaying options.

1.3.0 - 22 July 2021

Joins - The Data View Editor now supports full outer joins to create connected visualizations and dashboards across multiple tables for an associative analytics experience. They're defined on any field of the same type, and won't lead to loops or circular joins - we'll always take the short path.

Editing Field Names

Use the Data View Editor to edit field names.

Filter

You can now apply filters to your data visualizations that go across two tables for a true associative experience.

Animation shows how to apply filters to your data visualizations.


1.2.0 - 9 July 2021

Signup and Login options

You can now use your LinkedIn account or your email address to sign up to Astrato and log in to the site.

Screenshot of login page showing you can use your LinkedIn account or your email address.

Demo data check

From the Properties panel in your workbook, select the Data tab to confirm the source of the chart data. A yellow label with the words Demo data is displayed.

Screenshot of the Properties panel in the workbook shows your data source as Demo Data.

Invite users to Astrato

In the Administration settings for People, click the Invite Users button to add email addresses to generate and send Astrato user invitations.

Animation shows the steps to invite other people in the Administration settings.

Still haven't found what you're looking for?

Visit the Astrato Galaxy (our community of ASTRATOnauts) to see if someone else has asked a similar question, or click on the chat icon (on the right side of your screen) to chat with a member of our team.

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