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Intro

Variables allow data analysts to interact with the data on cards and create dashboards that are fully functional apps, as well as effectively reducing content clutter. Variables provide low-code solutions for many use cases, including the following:

• What-if analysis
• KPI exploration
• Time comparison
• Score cards for product performance
• Guided analysis

This article introduces Variables, default values, and controls; gives instructions on how to complete various tasks with Variables; and discusses Variables and governance.

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• Variables — terms to know
• Variables and the Beast Mode editor
• Create a Variable
• Add a Variable to a Beast Mode calculation
• Edit/delete a Variable
• Controls
  • Default Control
  • Create a Default Control
  • Card Variable Controls
    • Modify a Card Variable Control
  • Dashboard Variable Controls
    • Add a Dashboard Variable Control
    • Modify a Dashboard Variable Control
    • Page Filters
• Variables and Governance
• Lock/unlock a Variable
• DomoStats reports
• FAQ
• Variables use cases and feature walkthrough (video)

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Variables - Terms to Know

Variables have many uses and can show up in different ways around Domo. To help you learn about Variables, here is a short list of terms to know:

Term	Definition
Variable	A value that functions inside of a Beast Mode. Similar to variables in math, Variables can be of different data types and various kinds, depending on controls.
Default value	The default value of a Variable is set when the Variable is created.
Value	The value of a Variable can change, depending on your modifications.
Control	The way that you can interact with and modify the value of a Variable. There are three types of Variable controls: Default Controls , Card Variable Controls , and Dashboard Variable Controls .

The rest of this article explains how to use Variables generally, but if you have a specific question about using Variables with your data, contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM).

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Variables and the Beast Mode Editor

Because Variables must be added to a Beast Mode to function, you can create them in the enhanced Beast Mode Editor. You can access the Beast Mode Editor from inside Analyzer by selecting the Beast Mode tile in the Visualize Tab, or by selecting Add Calculated Field from the left side rail in Analyzer. Inside the Beast Mode Editor, you can view all Variables in your Domo instance by selecting the Variables tab. Variables are organized by data type: Numbers, Strings, and Dates. Any user with the Edit Cards grant can use any Variable in an instance, but only those with the Edit Variables grant can create, edit, or delete Variables. To learn more about this grant, see Variables and Governance later in this article. When you create a Variable, you must give it a name, select a data type, and set a default value. This basic Variable can be added to a Beast Mode by any user in the instance with the right permissions. You can think of this basic Variable as a global Variable. If you create a Variable and later modify the default value or any of the other basic details, those changes are reflected everywhere that the Variable is being used, in any Beast Mode in your instance where it appears.

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Create a Variable

1. Identify the card that you would like to add a Variable to and open it with Analyzer.
2. Access the Beast Mode Editor.
3. Select the Variables tab.
4. Below the list of Variables in your instance, select Add Variable.
   A (x) New Variable tab displays at the top of the editor.
   
5. Under Variable Settings, enter a Variable name and an optional Description. The name now displays in the tab at the top of the editor.
6. Under Variable Value, select a data type and enter a Default value. This default value is the value of the Variable every time it is used in a Beast Mode. If the default value is changed and saved here in the editor, the change is reflected in every Beast Mode in your instance where the Variable is being used.
   
7. Select Create Variable.
   
8. Select Save Variable.
9. Select the New Calculated Field tab at the top of the editor.
   The Variables tab is open.
10. Locate the basic or global Variable that you created, organized by data type and alphabetically by name.
    

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Add a Variable to a Beast Mode

1. Select a Beast Mode from inside Analyzer OR open the Beast Mode Editor and add a new calculated field.
   Your Beast Mode calculation displays.
2. Select the place in your Beast Mode calculation where you want to add a Variable.
3. Select the Variables tab and locate the Variable you want to add.
4. Double-click the Variable to add it to the place you selected in your calculation.
5. (Optional) Repeat steps 3–4 to add as many Variables as you would like to your Beast Mode.
   
6. (Optional) Select Validate to check that your calculation functions with the Variable.
7. Select Save Calculated Field.
8. Exit the Beast Mode Editor.

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Edit/Delete a Variable

You can Edit or Delete a Variable from its place in the Variables tab. It is possible to lock a Variable so that it can’t be edited or deleted. To learn more, see Variables and Governance.

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Controls

As mentioned previously, you can configure and modify controls for your Variables. Controls allow you to update your Variable’s value to find new insights, adjust selections, and update your cards dynamically on a dashboard or in card Details. If you are familiar with Domo, controls function with the same hierarchy as Quick Filters. In Analyzer, controls display in the same panel as Quick Filters, and that panel is labeled Controls, as a general term for both Variable controls and Quick Filters. If you aren’t familiar with Quick Filters, what this means is that changes to a control on a dashboard override any changes to a particular control in Analyzer. The changes are only visible in the user’s current location in Domo. For example, if you modify a control on a dashboard when you open the card in Analyzer, the control will have the same value as was last saved for it in Analyzer.

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Default Control

The first type of control, a Default Control, is configured in the Beast Mode Editor. There are several kinds of Default Controls, such as dropdowns, pills, sliders, and textbox inputs. The kind of Default Control you can use with a Variable depends on the data type of the Variable. You can configure a Default Control when you create a Variable or come back later to add it by editing your Variable. If you change the default value for a Variable after creating the Default Control, the Default Control does not update automatically. To change the Default Control, you must change it in the Beast Mode Editor and save the change. Default Control and Other Users If you create a Variable without a Default Control and return to add one later, or if you initially configure the Variable with a Default Control and later update it, your changes do not override the different controls other users may have created or modified as they use your Variable in their cards and dashboards. This is not the same as for the default value—if you change the default value for a Variable, every occurrence of that Variable in your instance reflects the change in the cards and dashboards of both you and other users. Another user can potentially adjust the Default Control for your Variable. If you then remove your Variable from a card or Beast Mode, when you try to add your Variable to another Beast Mode, the Variable’s Default Control reflects the adjustments from the other user. You would need to go back to the Beast Mode Editor and adjust the Default Control to the original value if you want the your Variable’s Default Control to have the original value. To prevent changes like this to Variables you create, see Locking/Unlocking a Variable, below.

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Create a Default Control

1. Are you creating a new Variable?
   • Yes — After entering information in the Variable Value fields, move to step 2 of this workflow.
   • No — In the Variables tab of the Beast Mode Editor, locate the Variable you want to create a Default Control for and select Edit.
2. Under Default Control, select + Create Control.
   
3. Choose the kind of control. Some options may be unavailable based on the Variable’s data type.
   
4. Configure the control based on the kind of control and the available values. You can preview how the control displays in Analyzer.
   
5. (Optional) If you want to add the control to Analyzer so that you can try out different scenarios with the Variable, check the box for Add Control to Analyzer.
   
   If you add the control to Analyzer, it automatically displays in the Controls side panel of Analyzer.
6. Select Save Variable.
7. Exit the Beast Mode Editor.

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Card Variable Controls

When you bring a Variable into Analyzer, you can override the default value and the Default Control created in the Beast Mode Editor by using a Card Variable Control. This is helpful for performing what-if analysis and other tasks inside Analyzer. If when you created the Default Control you checked the box to Add control to Analyzer, the Card Variable Control displays automatically in the Controls side panel in Analyzer. In this example, the Niki Vendor Inflation Variable has a Default Control of 5.5%. The Variable displays as shown in the Controls side panel in Analyzer and is called a Card Variable Control. Card Variable Controls also refers to the controls when they appear in card Details and Story Presentation Mode. Follow this link to learn more about Story Presentation Mode.

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Modify a Card Variable Control

Note: To modify a Card Variable Control, the Variable must be in use in a Beast Mode on that card. Considering the example above, you can modify the Card Variable Control by moving the slider. In this example, the modified value of the Card Variable Control is now 10%. The Default Control for the basic or global Variable, as configured in the Beast Mode Editor, has not changed. Modifying the Card Variable Control affects only this occurrence of the Variable for this card. This allows you to use the Variable for your DataSet while also allowing other users to use the Variable in their DataSets and create other controls. If another user brings your Variable into Analyzer for their card, the default value and Default Control you configured are in effect unless they modify the Card Variable Control in Analyzer.

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Dashboard Variable Controls

After you add a Variable to a Beast Mode, add the Beast Mode to a card in Analyzer, optionally adjust the Card Variable Control, and save the card, you can add the card to a dashboard. Note that any changes made to the Card Variable Control in Analyzer do not transfer to the Variable when you use it on a dashboard. When a Variable control is added to a dashboard, the control is called a Dashboard Variable Control. When you first add a Dashboard Variable Control to a dashboard, all cards on the dashboard that contain that Variable reflects the default value of the Variable at the basic or global level in Variable Settings. If you then modify the Dashboard Variable Control, all cards on the dashboard that use that Variable reflect the modification. Just as for Card Variables Controls, modifications to a Dashboard Variable Control do not transfer. If you modify a Dashboard Variable Control, the modification is not reflected in Analyzer, card Details, or Story Presentation Mode.

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Add a Dashboard Variable Control

1. In the Edit Dashboard mode, click and drag a Control from the right side rail onto your dashboard.

2. Select Add.

A list of available Variables displays.

3. Select the Variable you want to add to the dashboard from the list.

The Dashboard Variable Control displays.

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Modify a Dashboard Variable Control

Anyone with permission to interact with a card can modify a Dashboard Variable Control. Modify a Dashboard Variable Control by interacting with it depending on its type: moving a slider or choosing another option in a dropdown, for example. If you modify a Dashboard Variable Control and open a card with that Variable in Analyzer, the Analyzer Variable Control does not reflect the modification—the value of the Card Variable Control is the last value that was saved in Analyzer.

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Page Filters

Variables do not display in the dashboard Filters bar by default. If you add a Dashboard Variable Control and modify it (move the slider bar, for example), the Variable then displays in the Filters bar alongside other Filters and reflects the modified value.

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Variables and Governance

Who can create, edit, and use Variables? Variables are part of the Domo base product, so after a Variable is created, anyone can use it. Variables have their own grant—the Edit Variables grant—that is automatically enabled for all users with the Edit Card grant enabled (Editor role and above), beginning with the October 2022 release. The Edit Variables grant allows a user to create, edit, and delete Variables in that instance. Admins can disable this grant for any user. If an admin turns off the Edit Variables grant for a user, that user can still use Variables, they just can’t create, edit, or delete them.

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Lock/Unlock a Variable

It is also possible for a user to lock a Variable that they create. If a Variable is locked, others can view and use the Variable, including modifying the Card and Dashboard Variable Controls, but they can’t edit or delete the Variable. To lock a Variable that you create, when you are creating the Variable in the Beast Mode Editor, locate the Lock under Variable Settings. Select Lock before saving your Variable. Now, no other users can edit or delete your Variable unless you unlock it. Unlock the Variable by selecting Unlock under Variable Settings.

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DomoStats Reports

There are three new DomoStats reports to help keep your instance organized:

• Variables — This report lets admins know what Variables exist in their instance.
• Variables Used in Beast Modes — This report details which Variables are currently in use in a Beast Mode.
• Beast Modes Used in Cards — This report shows which Beast Modes are currently in use in cards.

For more information about DomoStats, see DomoStats - DataSets and DataFlows.

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FAQ