Is there a way to have a dashboard specific field?

[jbernal]

We are looking to add some fields that use some lookML code to carry out formulas based on parameter fields the user populates. The idea is that these parameters will be dashboard filters that then cascade into the dashboard tiles and generate certain calculations based on them.

These fields have a very specific niche use to them and ideally I wouldn't want them to always show up on the explore/dashboards and possibly confuse users who are creating their own content.

Is there a way to have fields appear only on one particular dashboard that I create for our users but that won't be available generally for the users to see/work with on any other dashboard/look they access or create themselves? Essentially fields that are available on one and only one dashboard.

[Kirbs]

Hi there! 

Great question.  In terms of actual security/permissions that exist for fields to be limited to a specific dashboard, no this is not currently possible. 

That being said, one way to go about this would be to make a second explore (that is essentially a copy of the explore you would like to use plus the new fields, leaving the original explore in tact)  and then only use this explore for the one dashboard, therefore limiting the newly added fields to this one dashboard.  The drawbacks here would be:

• your developers would have to know to only use this explore for that one dashboard (comments in the LookML would help with this)
• any Explore users with access to this one dashboard would still be able to "Explore from here" and utilize those fields, perhaps in ways that you wouldn't intend them to, like creating Looks, etc.

Another potential option would be utilizing hidden fields and filtering by those, but this sounds like it might not work for your exact use case for this one dashboard.  

Let me know if either of those options will work for what you are looking to do or if you have any questions on those.

[jbernal]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think what we will do is generate a lookML dashboard from a dashboard I created manually then afterwards make that lookML dashboard available to end users. At the same time we'll hide the fields so that basically the users can see them only when they interact with the pre-determined LookML dashboard but not when they build their own/explore from here.

In any case thanks for the suggestions as it did get me thinking about other options.