For Looker users and developers, the challenge of creating a truly integrated, multi-tabbed dashboard experience in Looker has long been a point of focus. This post details the progression from manual workarounds to a sophisticated, native solution leveraging the Looker Extension Framework. With an easy-to-install extension, anyone can create a multi-tabbed dashboard experience in Looker, either in a presentation-style format or ad hoc using folders and boards.

See the documentation and the repository

Markdown Tile HTML & Its Limitations​

Historically, simulating tabs in Looker involved embedding custom HTML code within Markdown tiles on dashboards. This method created navigational links that directed users to entirely separate Looker dashboards.

Key technical drawbacks of this workaround included:

• A fragmented user experience where each "tab" was a distinct dashboard, requiring full page loads and breaking user flow, despite appearing integrated. Other BI tools like QuickSight, Power BI, and Tableau typically offer this as a fundamental feature.
• A crucial lack of filter persistence, meaning filters applied on one dashboard did not automatically carry over to linked dashboards, forcing manual re-application and disrupting analysis context. Some great hacks do exist for this use case
• High maintenance overhead due to the necessity of copying and managing the same HTML code across multiple dashboards, increasing the potential for errors and maintenance burden.
• Limited customization options, as HTML in Markdown tiles restricted dynamic behavior or deeper integration. This method was akin to basic website design. It was essential to use Markdown tiles, not Text tiles, for the HTML to work.

There have been a lot of noise feature requests (need access?) around this feature for a while.

Introducing lkr.dev Dashboard Tabs Extension​

The introduction of this extension represents a significant advancement in usability for Looker users. This extension is designed to reduce the complexity of building custom data applications by handling core web application functionalities such as hosting, authentication, authorization, and API access, allowing developers to focus on application-specific logic. Developing with the Extension Framework requires LookML developer permissions and the feature to be enabled by a Looker admin.

Technical Capabilities and Enhancements​

The lkr.dev Dashboard Tabs extension offers a technically superior and more integrated experience by:

• Seamlessly applying filters across multiple dashboards when filter names are consistent, which is critical for maintaining analytical context across different views. The extension dynamically updates global filters based on changes in the embedded dashboard's URL.
• Supporting various methods for defining tab content, configurable through its settings:
  • Configuring specific dashboard IDs to display as default tabs.
  • Enabling browsing and navigating through Looker folders, accessing both personal and shared folders.
  • Enabling navigation through Looker boards and their sections, which displays only dashboards (not Looks or links) and respects board sorting.
• Providing dynamic ad-hoc dashboard management, allowing users to add and remove dashboards on the fly without needing manifest configuration changes. It includes functionality to search for dashboards and convert ad-hoc collections into permanent Looker boards.
• Leveraging a wide array of Looker API methods to support accessing tabbed dashboards through folders, boards, and default configurations.
• Offering customizable theming, which allows for programmatic control over the extension's appearance. This includes setting personalized background colors and optimizing text color for readability using luminance calculations to ensure WCAG contrast compliance. These theme settings seamlessly apply across the entire extension interface and the embedded dashboards. There is also an option to hide the branded loading screen.
• Facilitating advanced printing functionality for generating PDF exports of all configured dashboards in one operation, with currently applied filters maintained for comprehensive reports. This allows for simultaneous printing of multiple dashboards.
• Providing URL persistence, where the state of the tabbed interface, including applied filters, can be saved and shared via URL, enabling users to return to a specific analytical view easily.

In summary, the lkr.dev Dashboard Tabs extension moves beyond superficial tab simulations, providing a deeply integrated and feature-rich navigation system for Looker dashboards directly within the Looker platform.

Looker extensions provide a powerful way to extend your Looker instance beyond what the standard API offers. However, when your extensions need to connect to external services or run custom code, security becomes essential. This comprehensive guide covers how to securely integrate Looker extensions with Google Cloud Run, keeping your data and services protected.