Analysis
Data Explorer
How the selection is built from the dataset, date range, category filter and search, and how to browse, sort and export individual observations in the Data Explorer.
How the selection works
Every section of the workspace works on the current selection: the observations of the chosen dataset that pass all active filters. Filters are combined with AND; an observation is included only if it matches the date range, the category filter and the search text.
- Dataset: the source of all observations.
- Date range: keeps observations with from ≤ date ≤ to. Both bounds are inclusive UTC calendar days.
- Category filter: keeps observations whose category is one of the selected categories. With no category selected, all categories are kept.
- Search: keeps observations whose ID, date, category or value contains the search text.
All panels share one selection
Indicators, charts, tables, comparisons, reports and CSV exports are recalculated from the same selection. A search typed to find a single record therefore also narrows every statistic. Clear the search before reading the Overview or exporting a report.
Date range
Presets are calculated from the latest observation date of the dataset (written as E below), not from today's date. A dataset that ended two years ago still returns data for “Last 90 days”. If a calculated start date falls before the dataset's first observation, it is moved to the first observation.
| Preset | From | To | Example (E = 2025-12-31) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last 90 days | E − 89 days | E | 2025-10-03 to 2025-12-31 |
| Last 6 months | (E − 6 months) + 1 day | E | 2025-07-01 to 2025-12-31 |
| Last 12 months | (E − 12 months) + 1 day | E | 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 |
| Year to date | 1 January of E's year | E | 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 |
| All data | Coverage start | Coverage end | 2023-01-01 to 2025-12-31 |
When subtracting months lands on a day that does not exist (for example 31 August minus 6 months), the last day of the target month is used. Custom from/to dates replace the preset; both dates are inclusive.
Search
Search is a case-insensitive substring match against the text “ID date category value” of each observation. Leading and trailing spaces are ignored. Useful patterns:
| Search text | Matches |
|---|---|
EDM-00412 | The observation with that ID (and any ID that contains it) |
2024-02 | All observations in February 2024 |
2024-02-29 | All observations on 29 February 2024 |
north | All observations in category North |
412.5 | Observations whose value contains 412.5 |
Value search is textual
Values are compared as plain numbers without thousands separators or trailing zeros: 412.0 is matched as 412. A short search such as 4 matches any ID, date or value that contains the digit 4. Search is not a numeric range filter.
Observation table
The Data Explorer lists every observation in the selection. Columns:
- Date
- UTC calendar day (YYYY-MM-DD).
- Observation ID
- Stable record identifier from the data source.
- Category
- Group of the observation; the column title uses the dataset's category label (for example Region or Channel).
- Value
- Observed value in the dataset's unit, displayed with the dataset's recording precision.
- Source
- Source label of the record. Illustrative records show “Illustrative generator”.
Controls
- Sorting: select a column header to sort by that column; select it again to reverse the order.
- Search and category filter: the same filters as in the top bar, applied to the table and to all other panels.
- Pagination and page size: move between pages and choose how many rows a page shows. Page size affects only the display, not exports.
- Export CSV: downloads all filtered rows, not only the current page.
CSV export of observations
The export contains one row per observation in the current selection with the columns Date, Observation ID, Category, Value and Source. The file format is described in Reports: UTF-8 with byte order mark, comma-separated, quoted per RFC 4180.
Empty and error states
- No observations match
- The combination of date range, category filter and search excludes all records. Widen the date range, clear the search or select all categories.
- Datasets are temporarily unavailable.
- The list of datasets could not be retrieved from the configured data source. Retry later; if the problem persists, contact support.
- The dataset could not be loaded.
- The data source could not be reached, returned an error, or returned data that failed validation. See Platform Overview.
- Dataset not found.
- The requested dataset ID does not exist at the data source.
Coverage gaps are not errors: days without observations simply do not appear in the table. The Dataset coverage indicator on the Overview shows how many calendar days in the range have data (see Statistical Analysis).