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Use this guide to split a number into the parts that make it up, such as Revenue by Region. It also shows how to see what a calculated number is made of, such as the headcount and salaries behind Payroll. To learn what Dimensions and segments are, read Assumptions and breakdowns: Variables and Dimensions. You need a desktop browser and edit access to the Page.

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Split a row by a Dimension (Segment by)

Break Revenue down by Region on the P&L table.
The table updates at once, with a row for each item under Revenue. An item whose values are all empty can be left out; see Why a table looks empty. Revenue’s own row now adds up the rows beneath it, so a value you change on any item reaches the total; see Totals, aggregation, and time rollups. Columns work the same way: point at a column header and select Segment by. To change a breakdown, select Segment by on the row again. The editor that opens, Segment Revenue by, lists the levels. Select Add to nest another Dimension under the first, such as Product under Region, drag the levels to reorder them, or select Remove level. A Dimension can break down the rows or the columns of one table, not both. On a column header for one item, such as a single region, Segment by breaks down that item only.

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Collapse or expand a breakdown

Select the arrow beside a row name to collapse the rows under it, and select it again to expand them. Shift-click the arrow, or ⌘-click it on a Mac, to do the same for every row at its level under the same parent, such as each department under Revenue. You can also right-click the row and choose Collapse child rows or Expand child rows. Collapsing changes only your own view, and your browser remembers it for up to 200 blocks; see Limits. You cannot set a breakdown to start collapsed for everyone who opens the table. Column groups collapse the same way, with the arrow in the group’s header; see Show, hide, or pin total columns.

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Remove a breakdown

Right-click the Dimension’s label row, such as REGION, and choose Remove dimension. The rows leave this table; the Variable’s values stay in your Model. On the table where the Dimension was created, the action reads Delete dimension instead and deletes the Dimension everywhere; see Build a Table block by hand.

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See the inputs behind a calculated number (Drill in)

Drill in shows what a calculated number is made of without changing the table.
  1. Point at the row name of a calculated row, such as Payroll, and select the magnifier button, Drill in.
  2. The rows its formula reads, such as Headcount and Salary, open beneath it on a hatched background. Drill in on one of them to keep tracing. For a Variable that reads a connected system, drilling reaches the source records, such as the individual transactions.
  3. Select Clear drill-in on the row to close them, or right-click and choose Remove all drill-in rows.
Drill-in rows are not saved: they close when you reload the Page, and nobody else sees them. To label each input row with its Variable’s name, right-click it and choose Show variable name. Use Segment by to ask how a number splits across categories, and Drill in to ask which inputs produced it. To have Ari explain a number, see Ask Ari about a number.

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Add an item to a Dimension

An item is one entry of a Dimension, such as West in Region.
  • At the end of a breakdown’s items, select the + button, Create Region item. Type the name and press Enter.
  • Or right-click the Dimension’s label row, such as REGION, and choose Create Region item. From an item, the same entry is under Region dimension settings.
  • Or point at the left edge of an item row, select Insert row below, type the name, and press Enter.
The new item appears on every table that breaks down by that Dimension. You can add items only to a Dimension of text items, not of numbers, dates, or true-or-false values. While the Dimension is filtered, the action is unavailable until you clear the filter; see Filter and sort a table.

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Rename an item

Double-click the item’s name, or right-click it and choose Rename. Type the new name and press Enter. You can rename only items you created; items that come from a connected system keep their source name. A rename also updates the formulas, filters, drill-ins, and charts that use the item, and a notice counts what it changed.

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Delete or hide an item

To delete an item you created, right-click it on the table where the Dimension was created and choose Delete Region item.
  • An item nothing uses is deleted at once. The notice that confirms it offers Undo.
  • An item that formulas, filters, or other tables still use opens Delete item?, which lists what would break. Choose Cancel, or Delete anyway.
On any other table, hide the item instead: right-click it and choose Filter out this item. Items from a connected system cannot be deleted. Every notice is listed in Table block controls and messages.

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Choose which combinations of items appear

A breakdown can show only the items and combinations that have data, such as the products each region sells, or every combination. Right-click the Dimension’s label row and choose Segment generation:
  • Show only matching segments shows only the combinations that have data. This is the standard choice.
  • Expand to create all segments shows every combination, so you can type values into ones that have none yet, except in cells that come from a connected system. For a Dimension of numbers, also set Start Value and End Value.

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Use a Dimension as a breakdown or a mapping

A Dimension on a table either breaks Variables down, one row per item, or shows which item each row belongs to, such as each employee’s department. To switch, right-click the Dimension’s label row and choose Use as, then Segmentation or Mapping. See Map one Dimension’s items to another.