Search code examples
looker-studio

Is it possible to disable live preview in Google Data Studio while you are in edit mode?

I don't know when they made the change, but now in Google Data Studio, if you are in edit mode, and you make changes it shows live preview. Like, if you click in the wrong place of a filter, it will actually show the filter drop down so you can edit.

For example, in the screenshot below, you can see I am in edit mode but when I hover over a chart it shows me live data like if I was in view mode.

How can I turn this off?

enter image description here

Google Data Studio report (copy of the Welcome to Data Studio! report)

Solution

  • No, not at the moment, though the feature is in progress.

    Interactivity in edit mode was introduced in the 4 Nov 2021 update:

    Interact with your report in edit mode

    You can now interact with your reports in edit mode in many of the same ways as you can in view mode. For example, you can apply a filter and adjust the date range without having to switch to view mode. This makes it faster and more convenient to get insights from your reports and analyze your data.

    There's a feature request created on 16 Feb 2022, titled [Interactive Mode Toggle]: Allow Interactive Mode to be toggled on and off, that is in progress:

    Issue Field Progress Description
    Status Assigned "The issue has a person assigned to it"
    Priority P2 "An issue that needs to be addressed on a reasonable timescale"

    It proposes:

    Feature:

    Add a toggle to the UI to enable / disable "Interactive Mode" in Data Studio.

    Purpose of feature

    To permit report objects to be easily edited in edit mode without accidentally interacting with the report element; to improve system performance when editing.

    Impact

    Happier, less irritated editors with more time to edit reports for their businesses.

    Long Description

    Having Interactive Mode forced on editors has drastically worsened the editing experience. Dashboards take longer to edit and unnecessary time is wasted trying to carry out basic actions like selecting an element.

    To reproduce a major pain point: Create a drop-down list, add it to a group for sub-page filtering, and now try to change, say, its style. Clicking on the element opens the list; to select the object, the user needs to click somewhere else in the group to first select the group, then click precisely on the edge of the drop-down list box.

    To reproduce a second major pain point: Create a report with multiple, large data sources, around 8 pages, and multiple filters per page. Now try to edit it. Performance will be seriously degraded as a result of the constant refreshes whilst elements are moved, changed, added or removed.

    To reduce these problems, and to create a better editing experience, a toggle to disable interactive mode should be introduced.