Superset V1.5 Released¶

17 October 2023

Page Topics

• Filters
• Chart Features
• Caching

Introduction¶

We are thrilled to announce that a new version of Apache Superset, the Comotion Dash visualization layer, will be released on October 24, 2023. The new version includes notable enhancements in the user experience related to dashboard native filters, coupled with performance boosts and increased system stability.

It's worth mentioning that 1.5 is anticipated to be the concluding minor release for Superset's first version, paving the way for the forthcoming Superset 2.0.

Filters¶

Native Filters¶

Dashboards have received a substantial performance boost, especially those that are dense with native filters and charts. They not only load at a much quicker rate now, but the experience of utilizing filters and switching between various dashboard tabs has also been refined, making it more seamless for users.

In addition, the design of the Native Filter Bar has undergone a makeover. A noteworthy change is the relocation of the "Apply" and "Clear all" buttons to the bottom-left corner, giving it a more intuitive feel.

Multiple Filter Dependency¶

The filtering capability of the platform has been enhanced further. Now, native filters can be set up to rely on choices from multiple other filters. This addition is particularly helpful when you want to refine your selections based on several criteria.

Chart Features¶

Custom SQL¶

Apart from using Custom SQL for specific metrics and filters, there's a new feature allowing them to craft custom expressions directly within the charts. This negates the necessity to store them as preset expressions in the dataset, streamlining the workflow.

Drag and Drop¶

With this new feature, you can simply drag a column directly into a metric, making your workflow faster. It streamlines the metric setup, boosting your efficiency. Plus, there's no more need to type out column names manually in the metrics – a real time-saver.

Generic Chart Axis¶

Updates have been made to the Superset charting system, designed to enhance your data visualization experience.

Transition from Time-Series Line Charts¶

Firstly, the old time-series line charts are being phased out and being transitioning to a new, more versatile line-chart format. You'll see minimal visual changes on your dashboard, ensuring a seamless experience. However, if you explore these charts in detail, you'll notice some fresh features and improvements.

If you open one of these charts in Explore, you will see the following:

If you want the chart to continue behaving as a time-series line chart, simply add the time column of the chart to the X-Axis parameter as follows:

New X-Axis Options in ECharts:¶

In addition to the line chart update, a new feature is being introduced that broadens the capabilities of x-axes in ECharts. This includes support for various chart types like line, area, bar, step, and scatter. With this new feature, you'll find an "X-Axis" option allowing you to choose any column as your x-axis – be it time-based, numerical, or categorical. This offers you greater flexibility in how you display data. New charts will utilize this feature, but rest assured, your existing charts will continue to work just as they did before.

Bar chart v2 (previously Time-series bar chart) now works with non-temporal x-axis:

A Few More Updates:

• The interface has been streamlined by removing the "Time-series" label from all ECharts time-series charts.
• Enhancing functionality, you can now incorporate formula annotations with numerical x-axes, offering more depth and insight into your data analysis.

We believe these updates will make your data visualization process more intuitive and versatile.

Caching¶

URL Limit¶

When a dashboard with numerous filters is created in Superset, the generated URL can exceed browser length limits, especially in browsers like Chrome with a maximum limit of 2048 characters.

This issue manifests particularly when:

• Multiple tabs are used in a dashboard.
• Different tables are present on each tab, though with some shared columns.
• Many filters are applied, some affecting multiple tables and some specific to individual tabs.

Engaging in various actions on the dashboard, like filtering, tab switching, or exploring charts, exacerbates the issue, eventually leading to an error (often error 411) indicating the URL is too lengthy.

This has been addressed by transitioning from storing dashboard and Explore states in URLs to caching them. This change not only mitigates the error issue but also offers a more efficient way to handle dashboard states.

Permalink¶

Furthermore, the manner in which permanent dashboard links function has been revamped. Instead of relying on shortened URLs that depended on the state being in the URL, these states are now saved as JSON objects. With the addition of hashids for encoding IDs and the integration of permission checks, the security of these permalink states has been fortified.

Deprecate Persisting URL Paramaters¶

If you save a chart after adding URL parameters and a filter, it will still recognize and accept new URL parameters without replacing the ones you initially set. This is great for integrating charts into other apps, allowing them to automatically adjust based on the parent application's preferences.

Before you go¶

This documentation portal has been created to be your right hand of guidance on this journey. We will be evolving the content from time to time and if there is any specific information you want us to add to improve your experience, please get in touch or send us a direct email to dash@comotion.co.za.

We love hearing from you!