This page lists the terms and concepts that are similar between the Looker and Data Studio products as well as in the Looker and Data Studio user documentation. This page also highlights the similarities, differences, and nuances of those terms and concepts.
The following Looker and Data Studio terms and concepts are outlined on this page, with the Looker term or concept appearing first:
- Connection, connector
- Content access; roles, permissions
- Cross-filtering dashboards, chart cross-filtering
- Dashboard, report
- Dashboard filter, filter properties
- Dashboard filter control, filter controls
- Data access, credentials
- Dimension
- Linked filters, filter inheritance
- Measure, metric
- Merged results, blended data
- Report, report
- Parameter, parameter
- Table calculations, calculated fields
Each term or concept is identified with one of the following labels:
- Same (Same) — The Looker and Data Studio term or concept share the same meaning and function in both applications.
- Similar (Similar) — The Looker and Data Studio term or concept have a similar function, but differ in nuanced ways.
- Different (Different) — The Looker and Data Studio term or concept have different meanings and functions in each application.
See the Connecting to Data Studio documentation page to learn more about connecting Looker and Data Studio.
Connection, connector
Similar
Looker term: Connection
In the Admin section of Looker, you establish the database connection from which a model will retrieve data.
Data Studio term: Connector
The mechanism by which Data Studio accesses a specific data platform, system, or product. Connectors let Data Studio query your underlying data. Connecting to your data creates a data source in Data Studio.
Data sources represent a particular instance of a connector: for example, a connection to a specific BigQuery table or query, a Google Analytics property, or a Google Sheet. Data sources let you configure the fields and options that are provided by the connector that is used to create that connection instance. In addition, the data source gives you a secure way to share information and insights with report viewers who may not be able to directly access the underlying data.
Similarities
Connecting to data in Looker and Data Studio is similar in the following ways:
- Looker and Data Studio can retrieve data from external sources of data.
- Looker and Data Studio can connect to multiple sources of data, such as multiple databases for a Looker instance or multiple data sources for Data Studio.
Differences
Connecting to data in Looker and Data Studio is different in the following ways:
- In Looker, data models retrieve their data from the database that only a Looker admin connects to the Looker instance through a database connection. Only Looker admins can enable connectors to allow users to interact with data from a Looker Explore in another application.
- In Data Studio, any user with the permissions to add data sources can use a connector to connect to the specific kind of data that they want to visualize in Data Studio. Connectors can be used to connect to more than just databases.
Content access; roles, permissions
Similar
Looker term: Content access
Content access lets admins limit what users can view and interact with in Looker. Content access controls whether a user or group can view or make changes to a board, or to a folder and its contents.
Data Studio term: Roles, permissions
Access to Data Studio assets (reports and data sources) is based on the Google Cloud Identity and Access Management (IAM) system.
With IAM, you can manage access to Data Studio assets by assigning users to a predefined role. A role is a collection of permissions that allows users to perform certain actions while preventing them from performing other actions.
Similarities
Content access management in Looker and Data Studio is similar in the following ways: