Help Center 

The purpose of this Help Center is to introduce key features of the data platform, and to help you get the most out of the resources and features available. Use the left panel to navigate to a topic of interest.

Are you an administrator on your organization’s Enterprise data system? We’ve designed your portal to change and grow as your analytic demands and priorities evolve. System administrators have a variety of special privileges. Learn more by accessing the help guide for managers from the menu at the top right of your screen.

Glossary 

{Fields} — Text that the system automatically generates based on the names of dataset dimensions that the visualization is based on. Example: {Country}: {Series}, {Measure}. Automatically generated titles are required for dashboard Parameterization.

Accessed on — The date that Knoema accessed the data on the Source web site.

Advanced Mode — A special editing mode offering calculation options and modification to the names of data series. It appears in the left panel of the dataset viewer and is represented by a cog icon.

Appearance — A tab in dataset viewer that is only available when editing or customizing a visualization; includes all available options to customize a visualization.

Atlas — A topic-oriented organization of indicators, often with a hierarchy, to quickly guide users to popular data, visualizations, and dashboards.

Bookmarks — Datasets, time series, dashboards, or visualizations marked for easy reference and re-use by selecting the bookmark icon within any of those same elements; available in dashboard builder and create presentation tool by selecting the bookmark icon. Previous versions of Knoema referred to bookmarks as “gadget bin” and “favorites.”

Bubble Chart — A variation of a scatter chart in which each data point is replaced with a bubble, and the size of the bubbles are scaled according to a dimension of the dataset. Just like a scatter chart, a bubble chart does not use a category axis — horizontal and vertical axes are both value axes.

Calculated, Indicator or Time Series. See Derived, Indicator or Time Series.

Calculation — Transformation of one or more time series into a new time series by means of formulas constructed by the user.

Chart — Information in the form of a table, graph, or diagram. Common chart types available from Knoema: line, column/bar area, column/bar/area stacking, column/bar/area percentage stacking, spine, bubble, pie, and donut.

Config button = Cogwheel.

Custom Indicator or Time Series. See Derived, Indicator or Time Series.

Dashboard — A page constructed of a variety of text, images, and visualizations to monitor or analyze an issue and/or related set of topics, or otherwise present information. All Knoema gadgets may be integrated into a dashboard and may be created by a user in the dashboard builder or added from a user’s “favorites”.

Dashboard Builder — Interface through which one or more visualizations can be created--or inserted from Favorites--to create a Dashboard.

Dashboard Report. See Dashboard.

Data Browser — See Data Catalog.

Data Catalog — A page from which a user may view and access available datasets.

Data Source — An original publisher/owner of a specific dataset; reference of citations.

Data Validation — Comparison between each data point in a Knoema dataset and the same data point on the Data Source site to remove any discrepancies. 

Dataset — A collection of related data from from a Data Source and consisting of dimensions (such as variable, measure, time etc.). 

Dataset Attributes — Information about the original dataset source, its publication, and its next release date. Also includes dataset name and description.

Dataset ID — Refers to the unique combination of letters and/or numbers in the URL of a dataset that directly follows *.com/. In the URL, https://knoema.com/IMFWEOU2018Jul/, the dataset ID is IMFWEOU2018Jul. See also Page ID.

Dataset Viewer —  A page from which a user may view the dimensions and time series that make up a dataset, all dataset attributes, and instant visualizations. Export, download, and sharing options are available as well as links to dashboards built on the dataset being viewed.

Derived, Indicator or Time Series — Created using custom calculations that the user specifies.

Dimension — List of items organized by meaning which create structure of datasets. (Example: dimension Country which includes list of countries; dimension Indicator which includes list of indicators)

Dimension Attributes — Additional information for specific dimensions and/or indicators within a dimension. Example attributes include: description, full name, code equivalent, and methodology note.

Dimension Filter — Only available when editing or customizing a visualization; allows user to select data to visualize, and create derived indicators.

Dimension Metadata. See Dimension Attributes.

Expected next release date — Expected date that a dataset will next be updated by the Data Source based on information from the Source or historical update schedule.

External data — Data or other information that was collected by an entity other than your own organization.

Favorites — See Bookmarks.

Feed — Option enabled to allow a user to follow and be notified of updates to a dataset or dashboard. Select the plus (+) sign in the left margin to follow the dataset/page you are on.

Flat Dataset — A type of dataset; uses a single worksheet and defined by a single row of column labels with rows containing the data. This type of dataset may be viewed in a table and is typical for mapping datasets.

Frequency — Units of time for data observations within a dataset. Knoema visualizations work with daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual frequencies. 

Gadget — Representation of information as data-based visualizations, infographic, text, or image; an element inside a dashboard.

Gadget Bin — See Bookmarks.

Gallery — Collection of dashboards and other pages (Maps, Wikis, Presentations...); usually sorted by subtopics. 

Geo Playground — Knoema’s custom mapping application; users may select from one or many datasets available from the data catalog and customize the appearance of the map icons and/or shading. Available to Knoema Enterprise clients.

Global Data Repository — Knoema.com's database; accessible by search to all Knoema users.

Grid — A visualization for viewing qualitative information in tabular form.

Grid lines —  Faint lines that appear between cells on an Excel or Google Sheets worksheet.

Hierarchy — The relative organization of data concepts so that one concept appears as the parent of one or many other data concepts; a dataset can include multiple concepts with independent hierarchies. For example: in the dimension "Location", Africa is the parent concept for 54 African countries; Kenya is the parent concept of 47 counties.

Indicator — A variable within a dataset with a specific value. Examples: Population; GDP growth; crude oil production.

Info Card — A specific gadget that displays an indicator name, unit of measure, and single value for one point in time in a square; user may select multiple indicators from a single dataset to display in a multi-square infocard. If a user selects multiple time periods, the indicator value will be proceeded with a colored arrow indicating direction of change for the data point between time periods. 

Infographics — A large amount of data visually represented via a static image or compilation of images typically created by a graphic designer and/or using specialized design software; a visual representation of a data insight.

Industry Data Briefs — Curated data, delivered in PDF format to subscribers who are professional or enterprise client. Each features the most popular statistics from trusted data sources globally as well as special dashboards for deeper coverage. Custom Data Briefs are available to Knoema Enterprise clients only.

Knox Dataset — A type of dataset; uses multiple worksheets to establish the hierarchical structure of the dataset. Each combination of data attributes is unique time series; dataset composed of a minimum of three worksheets: metadata, dimensions, and data.

Layout — Dashboard templates specifying the initial arrangement of placeholders for adding text, charts, and images.

Legend — Visual definition of symbols and/or colors used in a visualization. 

Localization — Translating from the original language of the user interface into additional user interface languages. Knoema supports 10 languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish. Customization of select UI elements, such as dataset tags, data source names, and others, as well as dual-language dashboards in bilingual data portals is available to Knoema Enterprise clients only.

Map —  Illustration of data geographically; may use visualization tool or Knoema’s Geo Playground (Enterprise clients only).

Metadata — See Dataset Attributes.

Observations — Single data value within a time series for a specific date.

Page — Primarily refers to Dashboards, but also to presentations, geo playground maps, and wikis.

Page ID — Refers to the unique combination of letters and/or numbers in the URL of a dashboard, wiki page, or other page that directly follows *.com/. In the URL, https://knoema.com/infographics/wykvrtb, the page ID is wykvrtb. See also Dataset ID.

Parametrization — Linking of gadgets within a dashboard based on one more more common data dimensions; enables one or more gadgets to change automatically when a user selects an option within a dimension. For example: a dashboard parameterized by {country} would allow a user to choose any country and all parameterized visualizations would change to show data for the selected country. Requires use of Automatically Generated Titles.

Passport — Information card that opens when a user clicks on an icon on a Geo Playground map that conveys details about the map point. For example, a series of map markers for medical facilities globally might include for each facility:  name, address, name of administrator, website, phone, email, capacity, specialities, and similar pertinent information. Passports may be customized to hide certain fields of information, reorder fields, and more. Passports may include images and links to dashboards with supporting information and data.

Pictogram — A type of chart in which data is represented by icons; the legend indicates how many units each icon represents.

Placeholder — An empty space in a dashboard reserved for any gadget type to be added.

Population Pyramid — A type of chart commonly used to represent the distribution of a population by age and gender at a specific point in time.

Portal — A web-based knowledge management system, typically available only to validated users, and containing one more more core features of Knoema’s data products and services.

Privacy Settings — Security setting for a dataset or dashboard permitting access to all users, specific user groups/individuals, or the originator only.

Private Dataset (or Dashboard) — A dataset or dashboard accessible to a specific individual or group of users within a system.

Proprietary Data — Private data that is not generally available for public use, unless otherwise specified by the data owner.  

Public Dataset (or Dashboard) —  A dataset or dashboard that is accessible to all users within a system.

Publication Date —  The date the Data Source released/published a dataset.

Ranking — A type of chart that automatically builds an ascending/descending list according to the values for a selected indicator or combination of indicators. 

Regionless  — Description for an indicator that is related to a topic but not to a specific geographic area.

Series —  See Time Series.

Share — Accessed via the Share icon, allows you to quickly copy a link to send to others. When ‘sharing’ from Dataset Viewer, contrary to using the URL in the web browser address bar, the URL will capture the exact selections the user made in the dataset (region, indicator, unit of measure, etc).

Tag —  A single word or short phrase attached to a dataset or dashboard that categorize it for sorting in gallery and discovery in search; term attached to data and content to support full functionality of the user interface.

Text gadget — A type of gadget that allows you to draft and format text; gadget type permitting use of HTML coding to create text-based tables.

Time Series — A unique combination of a single selection from each dataset dimension, including time. Each time series has Unit and Frequency attributes. As you make selections from each dimension in the data set viewer, the selected time series are displayed automatically.

Tree Map — Hierarchical data represented by a set of nested rectangles. Each branch of the tree is given a rectangle, which is then tiled with smaller rectangles representing sub-branches. Each leaf node is colored according to a separate dimension of the data.

Unit — A standard measurement of the value for an indicator. Examples: US dollars; Tonnes; % change.

User Interface — The interactive elements of an online workspace, including buttons, menus, search fields, and visualization and other tools.

Variable —  See Indicator.

Verified — End result of a dataset management process to validate all dataset attributes and values for consistency with the original data source.

Visualization —  A graphical representation of data; one type of Gadget.

Getting Started 

This data platform serves to provide quick access to data and data-driven content that is core to your workflow. Whether you prefer to search, explore, jump into a structured data catalog, navigate the library, or access visualizations, this system is designed to support you. Get started here by exploring some of the core features available to you on this platform.

Search: How to search the available data?

The machine-learning enabled search engine is designed for data explicitly.  This is the best approach to finding a specific indicator of interest, such as ISM PMI.  The focus in this platform is data, not news articles or documents, but direct access to relevant data points, fully sourced to support your work.

As you type your search query, instant answers and time series will appear to select from because this is a semantic search experience that uses neural networks and natural language processing technologies to so that when you search the data catalog, you will get better, more relevant results that improve over time.

To search - Type your request in the search field and Knoema will suggest several possible variations on your keywords based on previous searches by others.

Click enter and explore results that may include 'Instant Answers' recommended by the search engine with quick access to time series charts, tables, and the underlying dataset. 

Not the answer you were looking for? Scroll down to:

• View other relevant time series, visualizations (including dashboards and presentations), and datasets.
• Access search filters by selecting any of the "More" buttons, such as More time series, and filter by source, frequency, and more.

Search: What is 'On Demand' data?

Note: 'On Demand' data is not available for all systems. Contact your system administrator for more information.

Your system has access to search data that is available within your catalog as well as the Knoema.com catalog of more than 3 billion time series and 1,400+ data sources. This 'On Demand' data is indicated with slightly faded text and a cloud icon (see below). You may click to request access to data from the On Demand catalog at Knoema.com to support your work. Your system administrators will review the terms of use and any applicable fees when they receive your request.

You will receive an e-mail notification when your request has been approved/rejected.

Bookmarks 

Bookmarks are incredibly valuable resources saving you time but also reducing the learning curve as you get started.

Bookmarking a chart you like means you will not have to rebuild it yourself. Bookmark a chart in search results or in a dashboard where you see the bookmark icon:

And instantly add your bookmark to a dashboard or presentation you build.

Or, go to your bookmarks (bookmark icon is in the top banner), and select the charts you want to use to build a dashboard or presentation in a single click.

Pre-built Reports: Where can I view all the available reports/dashboards?  

There are three options where you can find reports/dashboards:

• Gallery
• Dashboards menu
• 'Shared with you' dashboards/My resources 

The Gallery is a collection point for all dashboards and other pages in your platform. Your system administrator decides which topics to organize the collection by and may change that at any time by adjusting the tags to the pages. If there are more than four pages in any topic, left/right scroll arrows appear.

You can adjust the URL of the platform to jump to the Gallery directly at {portal URL}/apps/gallery.

Your platform may also include Dashboards menu (or similarly named) in the top banner with links to featured dashboards and or a quick access button to the gallery from the front page.

If you are looking for content you built or has been shared with you by another user, you have two options potentially available:

1. For quick access and coordination, some systems feature a module on the front page. This module is popular with analysts and researchers who create single charts or complex dashboards, for example, on a regular basis to support reports, research, & publications. ‘Shared with Me’ uses a red numerical indicator to warn you when new content has been shared.
2. You can also access these pages from your initials at the top right, and selecting 'My Resources' or access this area directly by going to {URL}/user/visualizations/personal.

Data Catalog: How can I just browse the data catalog?

To browse data by topic, source, region, or industry, you have two options: 

1. If your system includes a 'Data' menu in the top banner, open the menu and select the concept you want to browse by, such as Industries. Scroll to find a source of interest or use the filter bar. 
   
   
   
   
2.  You can also go directly to the Dataset Browser (aka Data Catalog) and select the tab for the concept you want to browse by:

To find a dataset you viewed recently, you may have two options:

1. Go to Data Catalog > Personal > Recently Viewed or access it directly at {URL}/data#menu=personal&submenu=favorites.
2. Your platform may also include a Recently Viewed (or similarly named) module or quick access button on the front page.

How to access a dataset of interest from a chart? 

To work with the dataset (or datasets) a chart is based on click Explore data from the chart's menu (three parallel bars).

Some charts may have hyperlinked footnotes that will lead you to the source profile, dataset, or one or the other, depending on the choice made by whomever built the chart. 

Dataset Viewer

You used the search bar, data catalog, link from a chart, or a link elsewhere on the platform to access a dataset of interest. Now what? The Dataset Viewer has a wide range of features depending on what you want to do with the data.

From the dataset viewer, you may:

• *NEW* On some systems, you may have early access to the beta version of our latest dataset viewer that allows for transformations and more on the fly. Read more below! 
• View all details about the data source and the dataset metadata (frequency, last and next update date, description etc)
• Visualize data
• View other dashboards and presentations that are available publicly on the platform, created by you, or shared with you by others
• Create custom data alerts
• Follow a dataset for updates
• Build a dashboard based on your selection
• Export data and/or visualizations

Most of these features are covered in depth in this help desk. Here we will focus on the beta-version of our new Dataset Viewer and on Visualizing Data.

The Latest Dataset Viewer

The dataset viewer allows you to perform a variety of 'on the fly' adjustments for quick analytic assessments before you might dive deeper into the data and visualization options available on your system. If you are unsure if you have this version, open a regular dataset and make a selection. If you have the new version, you will see advanced features along the top of your data viewing space.

Key features now available:

Summation

You may be interested in adding up the values for a specific geographic area. Simply select select your data and click the sum icon in the left panel. Deselect to return to your original collection of time series lines.

Frequency

You may have data on a monthly and annual frequency but only need to review the monthly data at present. No problem. Select M for monthly from the Frequency options in the action bar. You can also use frequency to change, for example, quarterly data into annual data for analytic purposes with this feature.

Transformations

Perhaps you need to quickly review the moving average, % change from previous value, or other common calculated changes. You can now do that here! Again, select your data first and then choose the desired transformation from the drop down menu.

Your chart will change instantly to show your data transformed per your selection. This transformation is also captured in the API snippets, including Excel (for DataFinder subscribers).

Adjust the Displayed Time Range 

Only intersted in viewing the data for the last year? Go ahead and reset your time range from the action bar. If you need something more custom, for example show me the data SINCE a certain time, click the 'Custom' option and the Time menu you will appear in your left panel menu like usual.

Visualizing Data

You just want to see the data. It's a few clicks away.

The left side of the screen includes the 'dimensions' by which the data is organized. Common dimensions include location, metric/indicator, and measure. Click each dimension to expand/collapse.

TIP! Always open the time dimension to choose, if available, the best frequency for your needs as well as scope your data. Do you want to see all available data for your selection, a specific time range, only the last few observations?

You can scan what is contained within each dimension by typing an asterisk (*) into the search bar of a dimension; alternatively, you can jump to what you are looking for by typing to search for it here as well.

TIP! Maybe there are 100s of locations and location groups and you've selected only four. As shown below, if you click the 4 to the right of the Country dimension title, the list will collapse to only the four you selected so that you can adjust and/or verify your selection.

As you make your selections in each dimension, the platform will try to start visualizing the data. The chart types features along the right side will change as you make your selection to try and smartly feature the best chart types toward the top based on your selection. You can override that and select any of these available chart types to see how it works with your selection.

TIP! Select the table or grid option, when available, twice to pivot the orientation of the content.

"My Resources"

Note: My Resources may go by another similar name on some platforms.

The data you browse, use, bookmark, and upload.

The pages (dashboards, presentations, maps, wikis) that you browse, bookmark, create, or are shared with you.

All of these resources are easily accessible to you from the top right menu (usually your initials within a circle), My Resources option.

Navigate your personal resources area using the tabs to explore by data, pages, and documents.
 

Note: Some dashboards are updated by uploading a separate dataset because of structure changes by data source - it's called a replacement dataset - and these reports usually are not updated automatically. You are able to manage such report updates through My Resources > Pages > My pages.  

You can check 'Update my pages to use the most recent data available' box so that each day dashboards based on datasets that were updated by a replacement dataset will be updated automatically (if there are no structural changes, such as an additional dimension being added). If you do not select this option, you will need to check and update your dashboards manually. 

You will also find many ways to access these same resources throughout the system. For example, if you are browsing data and want to view the dashboards you (and others) have already built using that data, there is a "dashboards" button in the dataset viewer for quick access.

Or, perhaps you are creating a new presentation and want to reuse a chart you or another person built and you bookmarked. Choose the bookmark icon from the builder to browse and locate it within your bookmarks collection.

Export and API

How to export data from a dataset?  

You can download data from a dataset by following these steps:

1. Open the dataset.
2. Select the time series you need.
3. Choose the format you want to export that data to.
   You will be redirected to the Download status page, displaying the status of your data download.

Depending on your system you will see an option to download automatically in your browser and/or the file by e-mail to the e-mail address on file with your registered account. If your file size is too large, you may need to export it in batches. We recommend using CSV (instead of Excel) for large data downloads.

How to export data from a dashboard chart?  

From any dashboard chart, select the menu at the top right corner of the chart and choose Export.

The pop up will show you the export options available for your selection. For Excel, the chart and data will downloaded in separate worksheets.

How to access data by API?  

You can access data by API using many different approaches, depending on your workflow.

DataFinder for Excel

Our DataFinder app for Excel provides you with access to your system's data catalog from Excel so you can construct models and coordinate workbooks outside the system with your team. Read more about DataFinder.

Note that Excel custom functions are currently not supported on iPad or in one-time purchase versions of Office 2019 or earlier.

Client libraries

Work with Knoema Github libraries for assistance in your preferred language:

• Python: https://github.com/Knoema/knoema-python-driver
• R: https://github.com/Knoema/knoema-r-driver
• C#: https://github.com/Knoema/knoema-csharp-driver

You can also work with SDMX or the Knoema REST API using any other language you want by sending HTTP requests. Contact us for the latest guide to the REST API.

Instant API scripts

To extract a specific time series from the dataset viewer by API, follow these steps:

1. Open a dataset.
2. Make your data selections.
3. Choose the API format (JSON, Python, R, C#, or SDMX). The script will appear in a pop up for you to copy.  

Authentication and Authorization

Accessing non-public data requires the creation of an app with a client ID and secret.  

Create an App

To create an API app with a private client ID and secret, follow these steps:

1. Go to {URL}/user/apps.
   
   
2. Select Create New, give your App a title and description (optional), and click 'Save'.
   
   
   
   
3. After saving, you will see the client ID and secret in the 'Credentials' tab of your app. This is what authorizes your direct access to the application. Do not share this with anyone.

Troubleshooting tip! If your API calls return an error message, such as 'Requested dataset doesn't exist or you don't have access to it,' please check that your organization's firewalls are not blocking the API calls to the system's domain.

Throttling

All API calls sent by applications are tracked and and throttled. Anonymous requests are limited to 1,000 credits per day. Authenticated requests are limited to 10,000 credits per day. Credits are reset daily at midnight UTC. 

How to export pages to PDF and other file formats?

Export a complete dashboard/other page by selecting Export from the action bar along the top of the page.

Then just select the format you need: 

Export a single visualization by selecting Export from the menu at the top right of the gadget. Exports to Excel include the chart and data in separate worksheets for most charts.

You may also choose the Embed (<>) option available from the same menu to use an iframe of the visualization in another page. Only authorized users on your system will be able to view the visualization.

After choosing the 'Embed' option, you can click to 'Customize' the chart to include a specific logo, change the color of the logo bar, and limit the export and sharing options, for example.

Dashboards & Presentations

How to create a new dashboard (or presentation)?

In the section, we focus on several options available to you to create dashboards — which are collections of individual gadgets (that may contain charts, maps, text, images, and more) — and presentations. Both of these resources may be designed to update automatically as new data becomes available. 

Option 1: Build a brand new dashboard or presentation

If you would like to start from scratch to build your dashboard or presentation based on the data available in your system's catalog, follow these steps: 

1. From your "Tools" menu* choose to build a dashboard or presentation.
2. Choose your preferred layout and click Create.  A new page opens with the selected layout.
3. Select any of the visualization options to begin adding content to your dashboard/presentation.
4. Select a dataset. Select a dataset and click Select Dataset button. 
   
   Note: for some gadgets there is an ability to add more than one dataset. Click the Dataset Selection tab again and click Browse Dataset to locate and work with an additional dataset.
   
   
5. After you select the dataset, the page redirects to the 'Dimension Filter' tab where you will select information from each dimension to create your visualization.
6. Once you've selected your data, click the 'Appearance' tab.
7. After you are finished customizing the appearance (including colors, legend, text boxes, axis labels, footnotes, etc), click Save.
8. Name and save your dashboard/presentation before building additional content so that you do not lose your work.

* Systems vary. Your system may have a button for building a dashboard or presentation on the landing page, or you may find this option in the dropdown menu at the top right of your screen.

Option 2: Create a dashboard while browsing a dataset

If you are exploring a dataset and find indicators of interest and you want to create a dashboard (or presentation) with the data, you can do so in a single click.

After selecting data using the dimensions in the left panel of the dataset viewer, click the icon to Open in new dashboard. This step will create a new dashboard with a single chart that you can now customize, including appearance as well as calculations.

You can also add additional sections to your new dashboard and build new charts from scratch or add some from your bookmarks to complete your dashboard.

Option 3: Use Bookmarked Visualizations

Bookmarks allow you to reuse the best charts from your system to rapidly build a new page, as follows:

1. From your Tools' menu* choose to build a dashboard or presentation.
2. Choose your preferred layout and click Create.
3. If you have more than one gadget bookmarked, you will be able to scroll through each to select the gadget you want to insert.
   
   • Dashboards: To insert more than one, make sure you click/drag to make enough space, and then from the gadget's top right menu, choose Split. You now have a new space to insert another bookmarked gadget or to create a new one from scratch.
   • Presentations: Because slides have specific page height and width restrictions, you must use one of the templates. You can choose to change your template from the action bar, however, when in Edit mode.

* Systems vary. Your system may have a button for building a dashboard or presentation on the landing page, or you may find this option in the dropdown menu at the top right of your screen.

Note: You can modify the data coverage (Dimension Filter tab) and the Appearance once you have inserted the bookmarked gadget. 

Option 4: Customize an Existing Dashboard (or Presentation)

Save a copy of an existing dashboard or presentation to customize a new version following these steps:

1. If you have access/permission to a specific dashboard or presentation, you will see an option to Save a copy. Select this option to instantly create a copy of the dashboard.
   
   
   
   
2. Add a new title, and click Save. It will automatically be saved as a private copy.
3. You can now edit and refine it to suit your purposes by affecting the original version.
4. Share this version with specific users or keep it private until you are ready to publish it. 

Note: Depending on the security settings of your platform, you may not have permission to make the dashboard or presentation public. If you need to publish the dashboard and cannot, please notify your system administrator.

How to insert an image in a dashboard or presentation?

You have an image that you'd like to feature in your dashboard. Maybe it is a picture or a PNG of a chart you built outside this system, for example. You can easily add it to the page (dashboard or presentation) you're building, and can even automate it to stay current.

1. Create a dashboard/presentation, and from an empty element, choose to insert a text gadget.
   
   
   
   
2. Select the Insert/edit image icon from your action bar.
3. You now have two options for image selection:

BROWSE. You can insert an image from a file you browse to locate via Select a file to upload option. Be sure to wait to see that it is loaded as a preview in the popup box before clicking OK to save your work.

LINK. You may choose to use an image that is accessible via a URL from the Web. If you keep a static Image URL, but update the image, the image in your dashboard will refresh as you change the file over time. You may need to refresh your cache to see the image update immediately.

4.  Adjust the size of the image to fit your space/desired zoom, and Save your dashboard.

TIP! You can hyperlink the image after you insert it. Select the image and click the View/edit link icon to apply a link. You can choose to open the linked content in the same or a new window as well as specify the "hint" (i.e. words that appear when a user hovers over the image).

How to create pages that update automatically?

You might rely on dashboards to monitor issues, market dynamics, and more with personalized combinations of data visualizations, images, and text. Data visualizations used on dashboards are built on the basis of datasets, which are regularly updated. Dashboards, presentations, and maps you build upon this data can be updated automatically to always reflect the latest data.

If you want your dashboard, map, or presentation to update automatically, you must consider for each chart whether you want to focus on a specific date range for the data (e.g. always show April 2007-May 2009) or an open ended time range that will permit the system to always add new data (e.g. last N time periods, all data since 2007, etc.). In addition, you need to enable the update feature for your pages.

______________________________________________________________________________

Building your dashboards with an eye toward auto-updating is important. Consider carefully the option you select in your time dimension when you create charts to support auto-updates.

 

 

Range and Individual member options will specifically limit your data to your selection. As new data is added, the system will reflect your original selection only.

 

You can always edit the chart and simply select a new range or set of individual members. Or, you may choose not to change the chart because the chart or dashboard story reflects a specific moment in time.

 

Last N members, Since, and All data options by design will add data to the charts automatically as it becomes available (assuming you have set your dashboards to auto-update). 

 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

To make sure your dashboards can update automatically, access your My Resources area from the top-right drop-down menu (or directly at {URL}/user/visualizations/updates), and choose Pages > Pending updates. Click the checkbox to permit the system to scan your pages and update them automatically.

 

 

Any dashboards that cannot be updated automatically will be flagged for you in Pages: Pending updates. Dashboards may use data that was discontinued or renamed by the data source, for example, and in these cases, you will need to create a new chart with available data.

 

You will also notice a yellow notification at the top of any dashboard that you've built that requires an update. Only use as the owner - or anyone to whom you share 'Edit' access - will see this yellow banner. You can choose to 'update' it or simply 'ignore' the message. You will be reminded again the next time you open the dashboard.

 

 

How to parameterize a dashboard? 

You may want to create a dashboard with interlinked charts or with options to select a single country, company, or another indicator, and have all charts refresh to feature that information. We refer to this as Parameterization, the linkage of charts (aka gadgets) based on a selected parameter that is shared among them.

By parameterizing a dashboard or select visualizations within a dashboard, users can change the selection in this dimension and see different results. For example, if you parameterize a page based on the location, users may change the default country selection and the chart will refresh to feature the newly selected country. To parameterize a full dashboard or a set of visualizations within the dashboard:

1. Open your dashboard in edit mode.
2. Click the Parameterize link in the action bar along the top of the page. Select gadget you want to parametrize. The site opens the 'Choose Parameter' dialog box.
   
   Note: there is a green question mark icon. Click it to view a step-by-step guide!
   
   
   
   
3. Select the parameter (e.g. the dimension) that will be the variable by which a user can adjust the charts. 
   
   

   WARNING! If you plan to parameterize a dashboard that includes charts with indicators that you calculated in the formula editor, you must parametrize based on a dimension that does not include the calculation, otherwise, you'll break calculation added.
   
   

4. Specify a name for the parameter by clicking on the name again from the top of the page.
5. Choose the Display all members option if you want the parameter to show all available elements regardless of whether data is available; choose Restrict to selected members to define a custom list of elements to be available to users.
6. Click Save to apply changes.

Once you save the parameterized page, the site adds a drop-down menu at the top of the page. Select a new element for the parameterized dimension by choosing a value from this drop-down menu. All the gadgets on the page that you linked via the parameterization feature will refresh automatically to show the data for the new selection.

How to resize a dashboard element?

To resize a dashboard element (one chart, for example) or an entire section (row of a dashboard) simply type the desired pixel (px) height into the height field or click and drag from the border in the blue area next to the pixel indicator when your mouse turns into an arrow.

Note: The vertical height is unlimited; the page width is limited to 940 pixels.

How to customize my dashboard's banner with a logo? 

To add a banner to your dashboard, follow these steps:

1. Open your dashboard in edit mode.
2. Select Customize.
   
   
3. Upload a banner. As indicated in the pop-up, the recommended file size for an image is 940x80 px.

All banners you have used previously will be available for future dashboards when you navigate to the appearance tab for your reuse.

How to share a page with another user?

You have created or found on the system a dashboard, presentation, or another page that you want to share with another person (who has access to this system). You have a few options.

If you did not create this page

If this page is available to you but you did not build it, make sure the chart is shareable first.

Do you see a globe icon in the action bar? If yes, this is a public resource. Simply click the sharing icon and grab the link.

Or, from the globe icon menu, choose Sharing Options:

Share using the user's e-mail.

If you do not see a globe icon in the action bar but you do see Save a Copy, click that to create your own personal copy that you can then share with others. This version will be saved to the private mode automatically as a precaution and you will need to send a share link or going through Sharing Options to set specific permissions per user.

If you created this page

WARNING: If you created this page and make it public (globe icon) and the system administrators have enabled public sharing, all members of your platform community will be able to view this page. If you keep it private, only those with a share link or who you grant access via Sharing Options (View, Edit, Complete Control) will be able to see it. Bear in mind that a shared link through the sharing icon, if shared onward to other users, will give others access to this page. Do not use it if you wish to keep complete control over who sees your page. You can always remove this link from Sharing Options if needed.

You can decide to share the page by sending another user a share link, or by going through Sharing Options again from the padlock/globe menu in the action bar to assign the user access to edit the page or complete control. Complete control means the user will be able to edit as well as to share the resource with others.

You may also opt to Save a Copy from the action bar to create a new copy that you can then share to others. This version will be saved to the private mode automatically as a precaution and you will need to send a share link or going through Sharing Options to set specific permissions per user.

Note: All pages must be public if you want to embed a chart for all members of the community to view. If private, only members you have shared it with via Sharing Options will see the embedded chart.

How to delete a page I created? 

You can delete dashboards (and other pages, including wiki pages, maps, and presentations) that you have personally created or that you are the 'owner' of directly from the page. 

1. Open the page.
2. Select More Actions menu.
3. Choose Delete. Confirm. You will not be able to undo this action.

You may also delete dashboards from your My Resources area accessible from the top right drop-down menu (or directly at {URL}/user/visualizations/personal). Hover over any dashboard you want to delete. You will see a trash bin icon appear in the top right corner of the tile. Click the icon and confirm you want to permanently delete the resource.

Dashboards: What is 'Bind to URL'?

When you create a page, whether it's a dashboard or a wiki page, you may want to share it with others. While you could easily send the original URL or hyperlink text in your e-mail to the other person to avoid showing the URL altogether, in some instances it's simply more practical, looks better, or is easier to say {web address}/mypage (i.e. https://myportal.knoema.com/mypage) rather than have to spell out a random, multi-letter page ID, such a "i - e - f - t - r" (i.e. https://myportal.knoema.com/ieftr/mypage).

To bind your page to a user-friendly URL follow these steps: 

1. Choose More actions from your Dashboard action bar.
2. Select Bind to URL.
   
   
   
   
   
3. In the space provided, enter your URL extension and select Apply.

Note: Do not enter the full URL address; the extension only.

It's that simple. You can return to your the action bar of your page later to change or remove the custom URL if needed.

Customizing Charts: What are the most popular options customizing a chart's appearance?

Customizing Charts: How to edit a chart?

You created a chart, but now you want to revise the data shown or some aspect of the appearance. You have two options.

Option 1. Enter edit mode of an entire page by opening the dashboard, presentation, map, etc, and choose edit from the action bar. It is represented by the pencil icon.

Option 2. Open a page and scroll to view the chart of interest. You will see three horizontal lines in the top right corner. From that menu, select Edit. This opens the editing window for that chart so that you can change everything from the data uses to customization of legend, axes, colors, footnotes, and more. 

Note: Don't see the Edit option? You do not have edit privileges. Contact your system administrator for access.

Customizing Charts: How to use a formula in a chart? 

When you create visualizations in a dashboard or presentation, you may need to apply some calculations to the raw data. These may include percent change, moving average, percentage share, and so on. To do this, you can use the calculations editor which is available in the customize mode of the chart editor.

To add a calculation to your chart, follow these steps:

1. Open your chart in edit mode.
2. From the Dimension Filter  tab,   click the Cog icon to enter the advanced/custom mode.
   
   
   
    
3. Open the dimension in which you want to apply a calculation and click Add calculation.
   
   
   
   
4. Click an empty placeholder and choose a dimension element you want to put in this placeholder.
5. Click a member of the formula and select a calculation that you want to apply to this member. In the example below, 'Const' is selected so that the user can insert a constant numeric value into the formula: 
   
   

You can select simple arithmetical actions like plus, minus, multiply, divide, and brackets or from a variety of functions available in the drop-down menu.

For example, you can use different growth rates:

• % Change - change from the previous period
• % Change, YoY - the year-over-year growth rate shows the percentage change from the past 12 months
• % Сhange, YTD - year to date, stands for percent change from the beginning of the year
• % Change, annualized - change from the previous month raised by 12 in the case of monthly data, and by 4 in the case of quarterly data
• % Change, previous value - percent change from previous value (useful for data when it includes null points for time period)
• % Change from year ago - the change from the same month of the previous year
• Change - the absolute change from the previous month which represents value in the current month minus the value in the previous month.
• Change, YTD  - year to date, stands for absolute change from the beginning of the year
• Change, QTD - year to date, stands for absolute change from the beginning of the current quarter 
• Log Diff - the difference of natural logarithms of the current and previous period which is equivalent to the % change.

Other types of transformations are available as well:

• Log DIff, YoY - the decimal log of the difference between two values within year on year changes
• Log Diff, YTD - the decimal log of the difference between two values stands for absolute change from the beginning of the year
• Log Diff, QTD - the decimal log of the difference between two values stands for absolute change from the beginning of the current quarter
• Log Diff, previous value - the decimal log of the difference between current and previous value
• Moving Average - moving average (trailing) across x points
• Moving Average, YoY - moving average (trailing) across x points within year on year changes
• Moving Sum - moving sum (trailing) across x points
• Moving Sum, YoY - moving sum (trailing) across x points within year on year changes
• Sum, YTD - sum of the values year-to-date
• Sum, QTD - sum of the values quarter-to-date 
• Sum, YTD, YoY - sum of the values from the beginning of the year within year on year changes 
• Sum, QTD, YoY - sum of the values from the beginning of the current quarter within year on year changes 
• ABS or Absolute value - is the function that returns the absolute value of a number.

There are also several special functions available.

• Ratio To is the ratio of the selected item to some item from another dimension available in a dataset.
• Sum allows to sum several elements with simple selection one by one.
• t-1 and t+1 return values from the previous or the next period. Multiple clicks on these functions allow you to increase the lag.
• Const - if you need to add a constant value for the calculation
• IfNull converts empty values to some constant values, like zero. This is convenient when you have missing values.
• [X] function is for the creation of batch formula meaning that you can create a formula where instead of [X] you can select the elements to be put to your formula instead of [X].

6. Change the name of the formula and click the “Save” button. You will see a small green F indicating that an item contains calculation.

Time dimension calculations 

You also have the option to add calculations to the time dimension. This is available when you select “Individual members” representation of the time members.

The formula editor for time dimension has simple arithmetical actions and constant. It also has IfNull and batch formula. But instead of the drop-down list of standard functions, it has arithmetic/geometric average, maximum and minimum, and the sum. All of these functions work similarly: you select start and end dates and get average, sum, min, or max within that time frame.

There are several nuances to be aware of for visualizations with calculations:

• Once you add a calculation to your gadget, you are not able to change visualization types within the Appearance tab.
• Automatic units will be reset after applying a custom calculation (except for % change). So, you may need to manually add a new unit in the Appearance tab.
• You cannot create calculations using data from two different datasets. If you need assistance in cross-dataset calculations, contact your system administrator.
• Other users who have access to view your dashboard can bookmark your chart to replicate the exact calculations (and other customizations).

Customizing Charts: Can I add more than one dataset to the gadget? 

If you want to visualize data from two different datasets, start by creating a chart from a dataset as usual. Next, to add data from another dataset to the chart:

1. From the edit mode of the chart, go to the first tab Dataset Selection.
2. Click Browse Datasets.
3. Choose a dataset using the filters and tabs to navigate.
4. Choose the newly added dataset from the drop-down list at the top of Dimension Filter tab and select an indicator from the dataset.
   
   

Customizing Charts: How to manage labels?

Can the country be included in the label when hovering over a data point or in the legend? Yes. 

If you need to add some additional information from indicator names to labels follow these steps: 

1. Open your chart in edit mode.
2. Go to the Filter tab and switch to custom mode (click cog icon).
3. Switch the dimension you want to display when you hover on the chart to Series (S).
    Note: if you want to also change the name of the indicator that will be displayed in the legend, click the pencil icon once you are in the Custom mode. 
   
4. Save.

Customizing Charts: How to manage axes? 

Once you have created a chart,  you may want to customize the axes. 

From the edit mode of your chart, access the Appearance tab.  

From each Series you can make some adjustments to the axes.

Primary versus secondary axes. Select the series and click the Primary or Secondary button. Choosing Secondary causes the site to add an additional value axis to the chart. If your charts uses more than one series, you can set the axis-type for each. 

Additional options. There is a separate tab called Axes in the Appearance tab. Here you're able to manage the following: 

• Hide/display axes 
• Ignore units. By default on the y-axis you will see units from dataset; if you click ignore, the units will  be hidden on the axis. You may opt instead to show units in the subtitle of the chart, for example, in this case.
• Swap axes. To change the positions of the value and category axes, select the Swap option to the right of Axis.
• Log scale
• Set upper/lower limits on the axis.

Axes FAQs

Can I manage axes on Dimension Filer tab?

1. Click cog icon to go into advanced mode.
   
   
   
   
2. Select the dimensions you want to filter/parametrize for (e.g., country, region, geo, location etc.) and set them as filters by selecting “F” F for Filter.
   
   
   
   
3. Select indicators you want to visualize and set it as a series by selecting “S” for Series in the blue square.
   
   
4. Elements names that selected as points will be shown as x-axis labels (usually it's a time dimension, but it depends on dataset), open that dimension on the left, click P to set ages as Points, and select bracket you want to visualize on the right.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Then click Save. 

Customizing Tables: How to use conditional formatting for tables? 

Once you have created a table, you may want to customize it. Go to Appearance tab > click Conditional formatting 

Here you have two options: add a heat map or highlight some data. 

Heatmap 

You can change a number of ranges, change color of ranges. Then go back to global options and save gadget. 

Highlight

There are two options: 

You can highlight US recession data and forecasted data. 

Customizing Tables:  Is it possible to reorder row headings when making a table?

How to create a population pyramid? 

A population pyramid is a type of chart used in demographic analysis for specific markets or whole economies to show a distribution of a population by age and gender at some point in time.

In the example below, age groups are points (points on an axis), males and females the series (differently colored items of a legend), and time and other parameters are filters (one particular time point is selected instead of selecting a time range). Usually, you will find males and females represented as bars extending in opposite directions from zero as in the image below.

Follow these steps to create your own population pyramid. This example is based on the OECD's Labor Force Statistics (LFS) By Sex and Age table, originally published here. (Need this dataset, too? Talk to your system administrator!)

1. Create a new dashboard or a new section in your existing dashboard.
2. Select the general chart icon (represented with bars).
   
   
   
   
3. Select a dataset that contains the necessary data (population information by age and gender).
4. Click cog icon to go into advanced mode.
   
   
   
   
5.  Select the dimensions you want to filter for (e.g., country, region, geo, location etc.) and set them as filters by selecting “F”  F for Filter. 
   
   
   
   
6. Select one gender (e.g. male) and set it as a series by selecting “S” for Series in the blue square.
   
   
   
   
7. To add the other gender (Women in this example) on the opposite side of the population pyramid, add a calculation Women = (0 - Women) by clicking the Add calculation button, using the formula builder to enter the formula builder options, and clicking Save: 
   Const (when you click Const, the value 0.00 will be pre-filled for you)
   - (minus)
   women (select women in the field above)

8. To add age, open that dimension on the left, click P to set ages as Points, and select each age/age bracket you want to visualize on the right.

   
   
   
   
   
9. From the time dimension, choose the mode Individual Members to pick the time period for your chart, and then choose F to make it the Filter.  
   
   
   
   

10. Choose which indicator you want to visualize. In this example, we will choose 'Population' (or another indicator, it's up to a dataset) from the series dimension. Make sure F for Filter is selected. 

    
    
    
    
    
11. To ensure both men and women appear on the same primary axis, switch to the Appearance tab > Series dimension and for each series in select the Primary button.  
    
    
    
    
    
12. Last (required) step: from Appearance > General, choose the Pyramid chart type and you will see instantly the rendering of your new demographic pyramid.

All set! Your population pyramid chart is ready! Click Save.

You may want to customize the appearance a bit. For example, you can adjust the data precision or add a footnote from General, insert a legend from Plot Area, customize the colors for each gender from Series, and more.

• We strongly recommend showing the legend and verifying that your series for Men and Women appear in the legend in the same order as the bars on the graph.

• If they do not, in the Dimension Filter tab, open the dimension Sex and click and drag one of the genders to switch its position. Preview it in the Appearance tab in case you need to adjust the colors.
  
  

When you're satisfied with your pyramid, Save.

TIP! You may want to consider parameterizing your new chart - by country and/or series, for example - so that a user who views a dashboard can choose a different country or another indicator from the dataset.

How to create a bubble chart? 

A bubble chart is a variation of a scatter chart in which the data points are replaced with bubbles, and an additional dimension of the data is represented in the size of the bubbles. Like a scatter chart, a bubble chart does not use a category axis — both horizontal and vertical axes are value axes.

To create a bubble chart:

1. Open your dataset. Take into account that this dataset should include at least two dimensions except for time: for bubbles (with regions, companies etc.) and for data on both axes. 
2. Select two indicators to plot along the horizontal and vertical axes. 
   
   Note: You can also select one more indicator to determine the scale of the bubbles.
   Note: If your selected indicators in dataset viewer and they are equally viewable on another chart type, you may need to select bubble chart from the options on the right.

If you want to customize the bubble chart appearance (i.e. swap axes, switch the indicator controlling bubble scale etc.), click the Gear icon to switch to advanced customization mode:
 

• Here, you can also identify which dimension will be used as bubbles (B) and indicators (I). In our example, each bubble is a separate country. In other cases, bubbles may be companies, events, cities, and so on. 
• You may restrict the selection of bubbles. For example, clear all aggregates and regions and keep only countries.
• To change the axis label names, rename the indicators by clicking the pencil icon.

Other available options for customizing the appearance of your bubble chart: 

• Theme (change bubble colors) 
• Precision (number of decimal points)
• Legend (appearance, position, and opacity)
• Gridlines (on/off)
• Labels (on/off)
• Log scale. You may want to use log scales for one or both axes if the distribution of values in your chart is not homogenous.
• Group by. In some datasets, if metadata is available, you can also group bubbles by some parameters. For example, countries can be grouped by world regions, such as Africa, Europe, Asia, etc.
• Trend line.  Insert a trend line to visualize the dependence between your indicators.
• Quadrant. You may assign a name to each quadrant of the chart.

If you want to see a dependence between two indicators from two different datasets, you can add another dataset to the chart:

1. Go to the first tab Dataset Selection.
2. Click Browse Datasets.
3. Choose a dataset using the filters and tabs to navigate.
4. Choose the newly added dataset in the drop-down list at the top of Dimension Filter tab and select an indicator from the dataset.
   
   Note: If you previously selected two indicators in the original dataset, you will need to de-select one of those indicators first to make room for your new selection. You do not need to select countries again - the system will automatically select countries that are mutual to both datasets.

Notifications

Two types of notifications are available to you.

You may follow a dataset or page to be notified the next time it is updated. This is popular for lower frequency data (quarterly, annual, etc) and pages used in regular internal and subscription reports.

You may also set alerts on specific time series of data to learn about fluctuations in the data. This option is popular with higher frequency data (daily, weekly, even monthly). 

Updates to Datasets and Pages

If you are interested in receiving notifications when datasets and pages of interest are updated, you can follow (+) these resources.

1. Look for a + sign to activate notifications about updates.
2. To stop following a resource, deselect the checkmark icon on a resource or visit your user settings accessible from the top right drop-down menu or directly at {URL}/user/subscriptions.

From the user subscription page, you can also control your notification schedule (never, immediately, once a day, once a week, once a month) or deactivate e-mail notifications to access notifications from the platform. You can also delete existing update notices here.

Alerts on Time Series 

Do you want to be notified about fluctuations in data that matters to you? Subscribe to data alerts wherever you see the alert (bell) symbol. For example:

1. Open a dataset.
2. Select data using the dimensions on the left.
3. After making your data selection, a bell icon will appear in the action bar along the top. Click the icon.
4. If you have chosen multiple time series, select the desired time series from the drop-down menu.
5. Now set the conditions for the alert:
   • Indicator value is less than # units.
   • Indicator value exceeds # units.

Notifications Center

The fastest route to your notifications center is the bell icon located in the top banner of your platform. You may also select My Resources from the top-right menu (usually your initials in a circle) and choose the notifications tab. 

Use the menu to filter by the two types of notifications. You can view, dismiss or open notifications from your Notifications Center.

Not interested in these notifications anymore, or need to revise them? Select the cog icon in the top right of the notifications space to review the frequency of notifications by email, edit, or remove your notifications.

DataFinder for Excel

DataFinder is Knoema’s plug-in that brings the world’s most comprehensive database automatically and intelligently into your workflows in Microsoft Office and Google Apps. Available for Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Google Slides, Google Sheets, and Google Docs.

Installation Guide

For Microsoft Excel and Word, go to Insert, Get Add-Ins, and search for Knoema from within the application, or install both from the Microsoft store.

For Google Slides, Sheets, or Docs, go to Add-ons, Get add-ons, and search for Knoema.

To Uninstall DataFinder from Excel: Insert → My Add-ins. Click the three dots on Knoema add-in and select remove.

DataFinder is not available for all systems. Contact your system administrator for more information. Excel custom functions are currently not supported on iPad or in one-time purchase versions of Office 2019 or earlier. Read more here and here.

Open DataFinder

Once installed, double-click the DataFinder icon, which will appear as a large blue K.

In Microsoft Excel, this icon will appear in the Data menu. In Microsoft Word, this icon will appear in the Home menu. If it does not appear in either of these, go to Insert, My add-ins to confirm that Knoema DataFinder is installed and double-click it to activate. 

In Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides, go to Add-ons → Knoema DataFinder → Start.

The DataFinder panel should open on the right side of the screen:

Logging in and out

Logging in will allow you to access your or your organization’s private data as well as see a list of your bookmarked and recently viewed data.

Enterprise users should log in with the same credentials that they use on their web portal.

To log in or out, click the button at the bottom right of the DataFinder panel.

Find data

My Data

You can access your bookmarked data, recently viewed data, and personal datasets (if applicable) by clicking on your name at the bottom of the right panel in DataFinder. To exit My Data, click the DataFinder bar at the top of the panel.

With Search

Insert a search query (e.g., “production of lemons in italy”) in the search bar near the top of the DataFinder panel and either hit enter or the magnifying glass. A blue progress bar will appear at the top of the panel, and relevant time series will appear. 

In Microsoft Word and Google Docs only, you can choose one of four settings to determine how narrow or wide the search should be. Choosing more bars to the left of the eye will result in more time series returned by the search.

Automatically

By default, DataFinder will only search for data when you insert a query into the search bar, and the eye in the top left corner of the DataFinder panel will appear grey. Clicking the eye will toggle automatic searching on or off. When the eye is blue, DataFinder will search for data automatically. In Excel and Google Sheets, it will search for data every time you hit Enter based on the content in the most recently edited cell. In Word, Google Docs, and Google Slides, it will search based on the content of the entire document or slide.

Insert Data

Click any search result to see the corresponding chart along with options to insert that information into your document. 

In Excel and Google Sheets, selecting the “Insert Data” option will insert formulas to call the relevant data into the current cell. Narrow the selection down by choosing a specific time range from the options above the chart.

In Google Slides and Docs and Microsoft Word, you have the option to Insert Chart instead of the Data. Select where you would like the chart to go and click Insert Chart. You can then modify or add a description. In Docs and Word you have the additional option to Describe that inserts a description of the data that you can then edit.

Update Data

If additional data is added to the dataset, refreshing your document, e.g., by closing and opening it again, will automatically include the new data.

Explore Data

Choose the buttons labeled Explore, Explore Data, and Explore on Web to explore and insert related time series from the dataset both in DataFinder and in Dataset Viewer.

From Dataset Viewer to Excel

Select data in [Dataset Viewer](link to /jxpbwuf/help-center?s=getting-started&h=dataset-viewer). Open Tools > API > Excel Formula.
If you do not see the right panel with Tools, open your browser window in full screen mode or look in the API menu along the top. It will look like this:

The resulting Excel formula includes the dataset ID, date and transform fields, and dimensions in the required sequence for your selection. These formulas are described in more detail in a later section.

From here you have two options: Open in Excel and Copy.

Open in Excel to include dates and metadata

Click "Open in Excel" on the lower right to immediately download the =Knoema.GETA() formula into a new file. The file will contain both data and metadata for your selected time series.

Copy to include only the data

Copy the provided =Knoema.GET() formula into Excel to add only the data. Additional information such as dates will need to be added separately, e.g., using the Knoema.GETDATES() function. This approach can be useful if you are building a large highly parameterized spreadsheet.

You do not need to copy and paste this formula to all cells of the column. The results from the cell with the formula spill into the adjacent cells, which means that if additional data is added to the dataset, it will be automatically included with a refresh of your workbook. 

To quickly add date labels to your new data, modify your formula to =Knoema.GetDates(rest of your formula) but remove any transform or transform placeholder (“ ”), which is in the third position in your formula. See “DataFinder Add-In Commands” below.

DataFinder Excel Commands

To fetch time series data with metadata and dates, use: =Knoema.GetA(datasetId, dates, transform, dimensions...)

To fetch time series dates, use: =Knoema.GetDates(datasetId, dates, dimensions...)

To fetch time series data, use: =Knoema.Get(datasetId, dates, transform, dimensions...)

The Dates Parameter

DataFinder works with formulas to narrow and to customize your data range for a single series of data or to align all your data series to the same frequency, array, and more. Following are the options available for specifying dates in the dates placeholder of your formula:

To fetch time series dates, use: =Knoema.GetDates(datasetId, dates, dimensions...)

To fetch time series data, use: =Knoema.Get(datasetId, dates, transform, dimensions...)

• All dates. Use empty double quotes “”. 
• All dates according to Knoema accepted frequencies: A=Annual; H=half-year; Q=Calendar Quarterly; M=Monthly; W=Weekly; D=Daily. Inputting a date frequency that does not exist natively in the dataset will result in aggregation if a lower frequency is specified, e.g., inputting A for Q data, or disaggregation if a higher frequency is specified, e.g., inputting Q for A data.
• Disaggregations by default assume a constant value equal to the original value. The disaggregation behavior can be changed using the Transform Parameter.
• Aggregations are by default calculated as sums.
• If no frequency is specified for a dataset selection with multiple frequencies available, a dates request will return all available dates.
• Cell range. Cell references must contain frequency or date in an accepted Knoema format and surrounded by double-quotes, e.g., YEAR, YEARQ#, YEARM#, MM/DD/YEAR.

   Tip: Reference the results of Knoema.GetDates in your formula to keep the dates and data in sync. 

• Date range. Type the range surrounded by double-quotes and in Knoema format, e.g. 2010-2019 or 2015Q1-2019Q4.
• An array of dates. Type the dates in an accepted Knoema format with NULL or ERROR for gaps, e.g. {"1948", "NULL", "1956"}.

The Transform Parameter

As you add data to your workbook with DataFinder, a variety of simple transformations are available to prepare your data for more in-depth analysis. Following are the available transforms you may use in the transform placeholder of your formula:
=Knoema.GET(datasetId, dates, transform, dimensions...)

• ABS – The absolute value of a number

Percent Changes

• PCH – % change between two values - (v2-v1)/v1
• PCHY – % change from a year ago; e.g., a change from the same month of the previous year
• PCHYTD – % change year to date
• PCHA – % change, annualized; a change from the previous month raised by 12 in the case of monthly data, and by 4 in the case of quarterly data

Differences

• DIFF – Change; an absolute change from the previous values which represents value in the current period minus the most recent previous period
• DIFFY – Change from one year ago
• DIFFYTD – Change, YTD (year to date); an absolute change from the beginning of the year
• DIFFQTD – Change, QTD (quarter to date); an absolute change from the beginning of the quarter
• DIFFA – Change, YTD
• DLOG – Log difference; the difference of natural logarithms of the current and previous period which is equivalent to the % change
• DLOGY – Log difference from one year ago
• DLOGYTD – Log difference, YTD
• DLOGQTD – Log difference, QTD
• DLOGP – Log difference, previous value

Moving averages and sums

The following 4 transformations require the user to input a number of points x to include in the transformation. For example, to get moving average (trailing) across 3 points, the user should use “MOVAVG3” as the transform parameter.

• MOVAVGx Moving average (trailing) across x points
• MOVAVGYx – Moving average, YoY (trailing) across x points
• MOVSUMx – Moving sum (trailing) across x points
• MOVSUMYx – Moving sum, YoY (trailing) across x point

Quarter- and year-to-date

• SUMYTD – Sum of the values to year-to-date
• SUMQTD – Sum of the value quarter-to-date
• SUMYTDY – Sum, year-to-date, year-on-year
• SUMQTDY – Sum, quarter-to-date, year-on-year

Aggregations and Disaggregations

• SUM - Sum; sums the values from the higher frequency data during aggregations.
  Acts like DUP in disaggregations; is the default for aggregations. 
• LAST - Last uses the last chronological value for the time period;
  does the same thing as DUP when disaggregating.
• AVG - Average;
• Aggregations: Averages the values from the higher frequency data, e.g., applying "A" to Daily data will produce the average across the year;
• Disaggregations: Divides the lower frequency value evenly across the higher frequency values, e.g., applying "D" to Annual data will result in values for each day = the annual datum / 365 in non-leap years.

• SAVG - Split average; this transformation is useful if you select a higher frequency that does not exist in the dataset for a particular time series, e.g. selecting 'Q' for annual data.  SAVG yields values equivalent to the values of Indicator N divided by four. If your dataset contains quarterly data, this aggregation will not apply. The original data from the dataset will be shown. 

Example formula using SAVG. The split average function goes into the same position in the formula as the transformations discussed above: =KNOEMA.GET("WBWDI2019Jan", "Q", "SAVG", "JPN", "BX.KLT.DINV.CD.WD").

• DUP - Duplicate; DUPlicates the same value across the higher frequency time periods.
  Does not apply to aggregations; is default for disaggregations. 

Control Orientation 

Include an optional modifier in the formulas for KNOEMA.GET, KNOEMA.GETDATES, or KNOEMA.GETA to control whether values will be inserted as columns (add modifier "@cols") or rows (add modifier "@rows").

If included, this modifier ("@cols" or "@rows") is inserted as if it were a separate parameter between the transform parameter and the dimensions. If no modifier is specified, the values will be returned in the orientation specified in your settings.

For example, to fetch time series data and metadata, in rows, use: =KNOEMA.GETA(datasetId, dates, transform, "@rows", dimensions...).

Set your default orientation (row or column) in the settings - check or un-check ‘Insert time-series as columns’, accessed from the cog icon in the lower right corner of the DataFinder panel. Upon refresh, this option will apply to ALL formulas that do now have a @rows or @cols modifier.

FAQs 

How to recalculate / refresh formulas? 

You can use the default keyboard shortcuts in Excel to calculate worksheets.

Shortcuts may differ for Windows and Mac.

What is the 'dataset ID'?

The dataset ID is a unique identifier that you can get from the Dataset Viewer by going to Tools > API > Excel Formula. 

 In the sample images below, the dataset ID is DSELECDRD2019. It’s also available from the webpage URL when you’re viewing the dataset.

How do I pull all of the data without specifying dates or transformations?

Skip the dates and/or transformations in the command, just leave it blank,  OR you can use opening and closing apostrophes “” as placeholders. 

For example, a valid option without any transformations specified could look like: =KNOEMA.GET("DSELECPRD2019", "2015-2019", "", "KN.E47", "KN.N1")

The data fetched by Knoema.Get comes without any labels, not even for different dates or locations. How do I know what’s what?

Knoema.Get works best when you create your own labels first for what you want, e.g., by specifically writing out the location name or date (or get the dates using Knoema.GetDates command), and then including those cells in your Knoema.Get formula.

This example shows data from the World Development Indicators (WDI) with dataset ID WBWDI2019Jan for a specific country (Australia) and indicator (GDP):

You can use the same approach of cell referencing to build out and parameterize your spreadsheet, e.g., by adding another country and referencing it in a second column:

Can new dates (and corresponding values) be added to my workbook automatically? For example, when Q4 2020 data is available, will DataFinder automatically add an extra column?

Yes, if new data is added to a dataset, it will be added automatically to your Excel sheet if covered by your formula. You just need to refresh the formulas.

Can you add more than one time series at a time?

Yes. There are a couple of approaches available to add more than one time series: 

1 - Open dataset in Dataset Viewer. Make your data selections and then click 'Excel formula' from the right side panel. Then click 'Copy' to get only data without labels or 'Open in Excel' to get data with labels in a new excel sheet. 

2 - Using formulas in Excel. DataFinder add-in commands allow for multiple references:

To fetch time series data with metadata, use: =Knoema.GetA(datasetId, dates, transform, dimensions...)

To fetch time series dates, use: =Knoema.GetDates(datasetId, dates, dimensions...)

To fetch time series data, use: =Knoema.Get(datasetId, dates, transform, dimensions...)

3 - Via DataFinder interface in Excel. You can open your dataset or search for a dataset using DataFinder and browse in the right side panel. Select the data you need and click 'Insert Data'.

Will I need to log in to the add-in every time I open Excel? 

In general, Microsoft permits you to remain logged in without requiring you to do so daily as long as your authentication (account) with your Knoema system remains valid.

I get a #NAME? error when I try to download data into Excel through DataFinder. What should I do?

Try uninstalling and reinstalling DataFinder. You may also need to clear your Excel cache by deleting the contents of the following folder:

• On Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Wef\
• On Mac: ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.excel/Data/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/16.0/Wef/

If you are experiencing unexplained error messages that prevent data from loading, we can provide you with step by step directions to collect error information to help troubleshoot. Please contact your system administrator for details or send details to EnterpriseSupport@knoema.com 

In general, to investigate an issue, Knoema needs the following information: 

• What you did right before this issue appeared, e.g.,
• what buttons you clicked;
• what query you used;
• what dataset you opened;
• What operating system you use (Mac / Windows);
• The contents of the cache folder (before clearing it):
  
  
• On Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Wef\
• On Mac: ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.excel/Data/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/16.0/Wef/

• How you installed DataFinder (MS Office Add-In Store in Excel / file from MS Office on the Web / another file);
• Excel version: Either 'Excel Online' or 'Desktop version'. You can find this information by opening Excel > File >  Account >  About Excel. 
• DataFinder version: Use this formula in Excel =knoema.version()

Other Common Questions

In this section, we offer tips and tricks based on users' questions. 

How to create and save a preset list of locations?

You may want to routinely analyze a specific geographic scope with a non-standardized set of locations. Data sources often provide data for well-known groups, like OPEC, ASEAN, NAFTA, or EU-28, but you need something custom. You can create and save a preset list of locations so that your group easily available in any dataset that includes those countries.

To create a group:

1. Open any dataset that includes all of the locations you want to be grouped.
2. Select your locations of interest.
3. Click the green button “Presets,” which appeared automatically as you make your selections.
   
   Note: The 'Presets' button appears if you select more than 3 countries. 
   
   
   
   
   Note: If you already have presets saved and any one or more of preset locations included in the dataset you've opened, the preset option will already appear so that you can reuse the preset(s).
   
   

After you name your group,  hit Save, and your new group will be available from any dataset that contains all these locations.

The preset will be saved under the name you assign and will be available every time you use the tool. 

You can create as many presets as you like and delete them when you no longer need them by expanding the list of presets and selecting the trash bin icon to the right of the group name.

Note: These presets are individual and won’t be visible to other users. 

Note: Presets autoselect locations but do not aggregate or otherwise alter the data.

I'm building a chart, how do I select quickly multiple elements at one time?

If you are selecting data to build a chart and need to select dozens of locations, for example, at one time to avoid clicking 40 different locations, a shortcut is available.

Select the first element of interest (e.g., a location), then press and hold SHIFT on your keyboard, while clicking on the last item you want to select. All items between and including the first and last items will be selected automatically. Perform the same action to deselect several elements.

How can I access historical versions of datasets?

Note: Dataset archives are not available on all systems. If you require historical dataset archives, contact your system administrator.

All datasets available to you in this system are regularly updated to show the latest data released by the original data sources, but older versions (archives) are also available.

Note: In some cases, datasets changes - structure, methodology, or forecast adjustments - mean that while you will always be directed to the newest data, older versions will also bear also available to you to view what the data source published previously.

To view available historical versions of a dataset, open the dataset and switch to the Archive tab available from the right panel. Here, you can see the list of all historical dataset versions and access them by selecting any link.

Warning! If you are operating on a small screen, you may not be able to access your right panel. Expand your screen or use a standard tablet or desktop device.

Historical dataset versions may be useful when, for example, you want to check the accuracy of forecasts, analyze the history of revisions, or get data for an older time period:

1. Outlooks. Datasets that contain forecasts are particularly useful for publishing with revisions. For example, the IMF World Economic Outlook is published bi-annually and we have all releases in Knoema dating back to April 2010. Users are notified when they open an older version through their favorites, data search, a dashboard, or some other means and can click to instantly open the newer edition.
2. Major structural, content changes. Sources sometimes publish similar datasets but with discontinuation of certain data that they no longer collect and/or publish, and we, therefore, retain the prior version and create a new edition so that users can still benefit from the historical data. The Bank of Mexico publishes a useful example of this case titled, Mexico: Resources and Obligations of other Financial Companies-Warehouses of Deposit, Monthly Update.
3. Alternate base periods. Sources may also release separate datasets covering distinct base periods. In these instances, we will also create separate datasets. One such example is China: Price Index - Producer Price Indices for Industrial Products by Sector published by China’s National Bureau of Statistics. One dataset covers the period 2000 to 2011 and a second covers 2012 to present.
4. Custom requests. You may also maintain custom versions of datasets in this Enterprise system, potentially to remove certain topics, add new measures, or other adjustments that make it more sustainable to maintain separate versions and avoid altering the original source data.

How can I visualize information on a Google map?

To create a map not as a chart type but on a Google map:

• Open any dataset that contains data with geo coordinates.
• Make your data selections.  
• Depending on your screen size, you will now see an option in the action bar or right panel for Geo Playground. Alternatively, you still have the option to simply open in a new dashboard to work with it as is. 
  
  
  
  
  

Click Open in Geo Playground. The following page will open in a new tab:  

To add additional data to Geo Playground, click Layer from menu (the three parallel bars) and select data as you would when building a dashboard:

• add existing on the portal dataset (already uploaded)
• upload your own (browse local/paste from clipboard/browse google drive)
  After you select dataset new layer will be added:  
  

As you did it in Dataset Viewer, make selection in dimensions.

You can change the appearance in the Appearance tab. 


Two options are available: Bubbles and Markers.  For Bubbles you can change color, border color, size of bubbles, and opacity. 


If your data uses pin points/markers, it will look something like this instead:



 A wide range of icons is available, and you can also upload your own custom marker, like your corporate logo. 

Note: The marker clustering utility helps you manage multiple markers at different zoom levels.

Change name of an added layer. Click Pencil icon.
Note: Clicking the checkbox allows you to show/hide selected layer. 

Let's imagine that added layers should be grouped.

To group layers, select Group from hamburger menu at top right of the lefthand panel.  Drag and drop a layer you need. 

To filter layers by dimension, select Filter from hamburger menu.  

1. Name a filter
2. Select a layer you want to filter
3. Select column selected layer should be filteredAfter all your changes click Save. 

Then click Save. Don't forget to name your map and add a helpful description.  

1. You can show/hide layers in a view mode.
2. Switch measures (because we've added filer). 
3. Review passport for selected point on a map. 
   
   

Customize Data Passports

You may also want to customize the data passports in your map to show/hide some fields, select one field as a title for the passport, reveal some fields only if a user wants to 'View additional details', or resequence the order of the fields.

Select a location to open the passport and click Customize.

Note: If you do not see this option, you do not have edit permission, and should contact your system administrator or save a copy of the map to make your own version. 

You may now select an option you need for each Dimension from the drop-down menu as well as click and drag to resequence the passport dimensions.



Note: if your flat dataset includes hyperlinks to other datasets, dashboards, or external content, or images, these options can be used in the passport, too! Take a look at this example:

Click Save when you are done. The changes you made will apply to all similar passports for this element in your map. 

Here are a couple of map examples to illustrate how you can visualize your geocoded data with scaled circles, custom color palettes, interactive timelines, and a mix of standard or custom pinpoints:

What are the terms of use of the data?

The terms of use for each dataset available from the platform are available from the Dataset Viewer. In full-screen mode, when you open a dataset you will see the Data Usage Terms in the panel on the right. The terms are clickable to take you to the closest available resource page from the original data provider to read and learn about the terms of use. 

Note: If you do not see the Data Usage Terms field, expand the page to full-screen mode.

For any specific time series with special permissions, you may see the citation on the indicator itself, as in this example below:

Note: In some data systems, an additional metadata field may also appear in your dataset that provides directed guidance from your internal team on how you may use the data within your organization.