Query name is not updating on Explore custom dashboard

Hi Saori, thanks for reaching out. You raise an interesting topic. This is "by design" for two main reasons:

• We preferred to give you the flexibility to re-use a query in different dashboards and decide of the best way to name it, depending on its context (add'l filters on a dashboard etc.).
• Once a dashboard is published (and consumed by your team & stakeholder), we wanted to limit unintentional changes (like changing a query name without your full awareness)

To these ends, once you add a query to a dashboard, its name won't be kept in sync.

I'm however happy to see / hear if the community prefers the benefits of the flexibility/safety vs ensuring names are in sync.

Vincent -

Can you clarify the logic for this, am I correct in my understanding here?:

1. You edit an existing query (maybe metrics, filters, name)

2. The data in the query on the DB updates (metrics, filters), but the old name stays - so, essentially, you have the same query with 2 different names?

Hi Ruth,

We are currently differentiating the query titles in dashboards (part of the visualization experience) from the query names (mainly used to find the query afterwards). While you may want to have a contextual title in a given dashboard, you may want to have a different name to store and find that query.

When you edit the query content (metrics, attributes, filters, colors etc.), the changes will be made available in all dashboards (which will still need to be re-published). However when you change the query name, it will not change the widget/query title in the dashboard. 

It's a separation of the presentation layer from the storage layer.

That said, we're always happy to get some feedback!

I was always curious about this one too.

The way I always assume (and am always surprised when it doesn't...) it works is that if you add query 1 to dashboard 1, then rename the query, it should update the query name in the dashboard too.

But... if you rename the query in the dashboard, then the query name goes grey (which I always thought means that you've broken the link between the name of the query, and the name of the query showing on the dashboard), and if you update the name of the query, then the name of the query on the dashboard no longer updates. 

But II... if you had that same query on other dashboards, and you hadn't updated the names on that one, then that one would automatically update with the new name from the actual query name. 

hah... sorry, that was a bit long winded!

Anyway, yeah, to echo the others, I'm always confused when it doesn't work like that :) 

Hi Vincent,

"It's a separation of the presentation layer from the storage layer" 

I see. Yeah, I am also curious about how other users think of the behavior.

Thank you for your clarification:)

Could you add an option for "Update in all dashboards" when changing the name of a query? I am having to remove then re-add the query from every dashboard I have when I change the name. 

There could also be the option to view back-end name in addition to display name when viewing the query in the dashboard. Currently the query name has been changed and you are viewing it in the dashboard it is not clear which query from the main query list is being used.

This sounds like Negative Billing and trying to create a feature out of a fault.  If I want to reuse a query I would clone the query and name it accordingly.  this is another example of creating extra work within Explore. During this new creation time (we are all forced to move to Explore by Feb 5th), there will be a lot of editing going on and having to delete and readd queries to dashboard seems very silly and a complete waste of time. 

What does anyone find the best workaround for this? Creating titles using a text box? Creating multiple Queries? I'm open to hear how you've made this work for yourself. Maybe there are things I haven't thought of.

I have to agree with everyone above - if all changes in a query are going to affect all dashboards, I don't see why the name shouldn't change. The middle ground would be to make the name customizable for every dashboard. 

I agree with the above comments and would be interested to know how others work around this 'feature'.

Quote from Rose's comment:
I am having to remove then re-add the query from every dashboard I have when I change the name.

I am following this method, but that is time-consuming. I hope the query title sync with the dashboard.

This is a pain point for me as well. I like Rose's idea for "Update on All Dashboards"

+1 

On our opinion the change in query name should populate back to dashboards where it used.  

I agree with the above sentiments, editing a query name should edit the name in all dashboards (otherwise, you run into a problem where if you are trying to look up a query in a dashboard, you can't find it because it has a different name; plus as mentioned above - manually having to go into every dashboard it's used in and rename it just to sync the name properly).

+1. We ran into this issue earlier and had to create a Zendesk ticket. 

+1 just finished with ZD support with the same issue. If you update the master query, it should update in all of the dashboards it is tied to. Now you have to communicate to various team members/managers to update their dashboards and explain why they have to, etc - point is, time is spent on something we should not have to spend time on because logically, it should just update all of the dashboards.