How to create datapoints

A datapoint is a reusable measure you define once and then chart, download, or add to a report. Each datapoint takes one data source, a calculation type, a date range, and any filters you add, and returns a value for every period in that range.

### Overview

- **What it is:** A saved definition that counts, sums, averages, or rates records from one data source, plotted as a chart with a supporting results table.
- **Why it matters:** Your agency decides what to measure without writing a query, and the same definition can be reused across reports.
- **Who uses it:** Anyone in your agency with access to the **Analytics** section.
- **Expected outcomes:** A datapoint that recalculates whenever you change its definition, and a metric you can add to a report.

### Prerequisites

- The **Analytics** item in the main navigation. Your agency can hide navigation items for individual accounts, so ask your administrator if you do not see it.
- A role that includes the **view_datapoints** permission.
- Records in the data source you want to measure. Datapoints read from messages, contacts, events, cases, clients, or payments.
- An existing report, if you plan to publish the metric. **Add Datapoint** lives on the report editor.

### How-To Steps

#### Create the datapoint

1. Go to **Analytics** > **Datapoints**.
2. Enter a **Name** in the **Create Datapoint** card.
3. Select a **Data Source** (messages, contacts, events, cases, clients, or payments).
4. Click **Create** to open the new datapoint in the editor.

#### Define the calculation

1. Enter a **Description** so your agency knows what the measure represents.
2. Select a **Date Filter** to choose which date on the record drives the range.
3. Select a **Type** (count, sum, rate, or average). Sum and average calculate on the data source's default numeric field, such as payment amounts.
4. Enter a **Data Compare** value if you selected rate. This is the measure to compare against when calculating the rate.
5. Select a **Date Range** preset (**Custom**, **Last 30 days**, **Last 90 days**, **Year to date**, **Previous quarter**, or **Last 12 months**), or set **From Date**, **From Time**, **To Date**, and **To Time** yourself.
6. Enter an **Interval** and select a **Period** to set the size of each bucket on the chart.
7. Click **Save**.

#### Narrow the results with filters

1. Click **Add Filter**.
2. Select a **Field** from the list for your data source.
3. Select an **Operator** (=, !=, contains, not contains, <, <=, >, or >=).
4. Enter a **Value**.
5. Click **Add** to attach the filter, or **Cancel** to discard it.
6. Click **Save**.

#### Style the chart and check the numbers

1. Select a chart **Type** in the **Chart Style** card: **Bar**, **Line**, **Markers**, or **Lines + Markers**.
2. Set **Color**, **Opacity**, and **Height** (**Compact**, **Standard**, or **Tall**) to suit where the chart will be read.
3. Select the **Cumulative** checkbox to plot each bucket as a running total instead of its own value.
4. Select the **Show Values** checkbox to label every bar or point with its value, which helps when printing.
5. Review the **Calculations** card for the summary figures behind the chart.
6. Click **CSV** above the results table to download the dates and values.

#### Add the datapoint to a report

1. Go to **Analytics** > **Reports**.
2. Open the report you want to update.
3. Select the datapoint from **Add Datapoint** in the **Report Datapoints** card.
4. Drag the entries under **Selected Datapoints (Drag to reorder)** into the order you want.
5. Click **Save**.

### What to Expect

The editor recalculates the chart shortly after you change any part of the definition, so you see the result before you commit to it. Nothing you change is stored until you click **Save**, and the **Save** button stays disabled until the definition actually differs from what was last saved. If you try to leave the editor with unsaved changes, eCourtDate asks you to confirm.

**Chart Style** choices are the exception: they are kept in your own browser rather than on the record, so they do not travel with the datapoint. The datapoints list shows the current value on each card, along with the data source and a **Simulated** badge when sample data is switched on.

### Best Practices

- Build one datapoint per measure and use filters for the variations, rather than duplicating a definition for every slice of the same data.
- Match **Interval** and **Period** to how your agency reports, because the **Calculations** card is labeled per interval.
- Use the **Date Range** presets so the same reporting window is applied consistently across your datapoints.
- Reserve **Simulate Data** for demonstrations. When it is on, the datapoint shows sample data everywhere it appears, including in reports.
- Keep a report to the datapoints that are actually read, since a report holds a maximum of 20.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Which data sources can a datapoint measure?**

A: Messages, contacts, events, cases, clients, and payments. The **Date Filter** and filter **Field** lists change to match the **Data Source** you select.

**Q: What does the rate type need?**

A: When you set **Type** to rate, a **Data Compare** field appears in the sidebar. Enter the measure you want the rate calculated against.

**Q: Do my chart styling choices save with the datapoint?**

A: No. The **Chart Style** card is saved in your own browser, so anyone else in your agency opens the datapoint with the default styling.

**Q: How many datapoints can one report hold?**

A: Twenty. The **Report Datapoints** card shows a running count, and **Add Datapoint** is disabled once the report reaches 20.

**Q: Can I add a datapoint to a data dashboard?**

A: Not directly. Data dashboards are built from components you create in **Create Component**. The one place a component points at a datapoint is **Data Compare**, which appears when the component **Type** is rate.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** The chart is empty.

**Symptoms:** The editor shows "No data matched this definition and date range."

**Solution:** Widen the range with **From Date** and **To Date**, or remove a filter from the filters card. To confirm the definition itself renders, click **Preview with sample data**.

**Issue:** The chart stops updating and a date warning appears.

**Symptoms:** The message "The from date must be before the to date." shows under the date fields.

**Solution:** Correct **From Date** or **To Date** so the start of the range comes first. Recalculation resumes once the range is valid.

**Issue:** The **Save** button is disabled.

**Symptoms:** **Save** stays greyed out even after you change something in the editor.

**Solution:** Save enables only when a saved field differs from the last save. Adjusting the **Chart Style** card does not enable it, because those settings live in your browser and not on the record.

**Issue:** A datapoint is missing from the report picker.

**Symptoms:** The datapoint does not appear in the **Add Datapoint** list on a report.

**Solution:** Check whether it is already listed under **Selected Datapoints (Drag to reorder)**, since added datapoints are removed from the picker. If the report already holds 20, remove one before adding another.

### Related Articles

- [How to Create Reports](/how-to-create-reports)
- [How to Create Data Dashboards](/how-to-create-data-dashboards)
- [How to explore data source options](/how-to-explore-data-source-options)
- [How to define custom data points](/how-to-define-custom-data-points)