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To better understand the shape of your data, you can preview it in Looker Studio. This page explains how to preview your data by using the data source editor.
Open the Data Preview pane
To preview your data for a data source, follow these steps:
Navigate to the list of fields for a data source.
When youcreate a new data source, Looker Studio automatically takes you to this page after you connect your data.
For an existing data source,edit the data source. You can edit a data source from within a report or from the Looker Studio home page.
In the bottom left corner of the page, clickData Preview.
Preview different sets of fields
To preview data for a set of fields, follow these steps:
In the left-hand panel, select the fields that you'd like to preview in theDimensionsandMetricssections.
You can also search for fields using the search bar.
You cannot select more than the maximum number of fields. Looker Studio displays the maximum number of fields at the bottom of theData Previewpane.
To select or deselect all fields, click theSelect Allcheckbox next to the search bar above the fields.
If the number of fields in the data source is greater than the maximum number of fields that can be selected, theSelect Allcheckbox will be disabled. Looker Studio displays the maximum number of fields at the bottom of theData Previewpane.
In the bottom left corner of the window, clickRefresh previewto generate a data preview for the selected set of fields.
Notes
Note the following considerations while previewing your data:
Iffiltering by email addressis enabled for a data source, then the results in theData Previewpane will also be filtered by your email address.
Depending on your data source, the number of fields that you can preview may be limited. Looker Studio displays this limit at the bottom of theData Previewpane. For example, you can only preview 100 dimensions and 100 metrics for Google Sheets data sources.
TheData Previewpane can display a maximum of 1,000 rows.
TheData Previewpane is only available for the following data sources:
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-04 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Preview your data\n\nTo better understand the shape of your data, you can preview it in Looker Studio. This page explains how to preview your data by using the data source editor.\n\nOpen the Data Preview pane\n--------------------------\n\nTo preview your data for a data source, follow these steps:\n\n1. Navigate to the list of fields for a data source.\n - When you [create a new data source](/looker/docs/studio/add-data-to-a-report), Looker Studio automatically takes you to this page after you connect your data.\n - For an existing data source, [edit the data source](/looker/docs/studio/edit-a-data-source). You can edit a data source from within a report or from the Looker Studio home page.\n2. In the bottom left corner of the page, click **Data Preview**.\n\nPreview different sets of fields\n--------------------------------\n\nTo preview data for a set of fields, follow these steps:\n\n1. In the left-hand panel, select the fields that you'd like to preview in the **Dimensions** and **Metrics** sections.\n - You can also search for fields using the search bar.\n - You cannot select more than the maximum number of fields. Looker Studio displays the maximum number of fields at the bottom of the **Data Preview** pane.\n2. To select or deselect all fields, click the **Select All** checkbox next to the search bar above the fields.\n - If the number of fields in the data source is greater than the maximum number of fields that can be selected, the **Select All** checkbox will be disabled. Looker Studio displays the maximum number of fields at the bottom of the **Data Preview** pane.\n3. In the bottom left corner of the window, click **Refresh preview** to generate a data preview for the selected set of fields.\n\nNotes\n-----\n\nNote the following considerations while previewing your data:\n\n- If [filtering by email address](/looker/docs/studio/filter-by-email-address) is enabled for a data source, then the results in the **Data Preview** pane will also be filtered by your email address.\n\n- You cannot manually set the widths of columns.\n\n- The **Data Preview** pane doesn't include [parameters](/looker/docs/studio/parameters).\n\n- Depending on your data source, the number of fields that you can preview may be limited. Looker Studio displays this limit at the bottom of the **Data Preview** pane. For example, you can only preview 100 dimensions and 100 metrics for Google Sheets data sources.\n\n- The **Data Preview** pane can display a maximum of 1,000 rows.\n\n- The **Data Preview** pane is only available for the following data sources:\n\n - [Google BigQuery](/looker/docs/studio/connect-to-google-bigquery)\n - [Google Sheets](/looker/docs/studio/connect-to-google-sheets)\n - [Looker](/looker/docs/studio/connect-to-looker)\n - [Microsoft Excel](/looker/docs/studio/connect-to-microsoft-excel)\n - [CSV upload](/looker/docs/studio/upload-csv-files-to-looker-studio)"]]
