Datama Compare uses a side settings panel next to the chart. Analysis options (Comparison, Modeling, Market Equation) require Apply. Visual options (Chart, Colors, Waterfall, Tree, Table) update live.

Overview

Settings open from the top right of the widget (the panel starts collapsed on Compare so the chart has more space). Use the icon rail at the top of the panel to jump between scopes, and the sticky search bar to find a control quickly.

Various sub-menus are available:

Scope	When it applies	Typical content
Comparison	After Apply	Primary / secondary comparison, indices
Modeling	After Apply	Analysis method, comment depth, mix & perf, language
Dimensions	After Apply	Hierarchy, clustering
Market Equation	After Apply	KPI definition, units, step names
Events	After Apply	Calendar
Chart	Live	Preset, Views, Slide title, Chart title, Comment, General, Axis, Legends
Colors	Live	Palette (semantic + chart) and Theme (application)
Tree	Live	Theme, Cards (style / content), Operators
Waterfall	Live	Labels, Elements (bars / links / pillars), Axis X / Y
Table	Live	Hierarchical numbers layer

Closing the panel while Apply is pending still saves and recomputes. You can expand the panel to full width for dense forms such as Market Equation.

Tooltips on controls explain advanced options. The app version remains visible in the widget footer.

1. Comparison

Choose the scope of your comparison and optionally add a second comparison.

Defining what you want to compare is the first step of the analysis. In the waterfall, you can either compare dates (start period vs. end period) or compare segments from any dimension. For example:

You can start your comparison as suggested below. For a quick step‑by‑step demo, see: Looker Studio, Tableau, Power BI, Qlik.

• First, add Datama Light Compare into your platform. See the example in Looker Studio:

• Second, add the dimension(s) and metric(s) used by Datama Compare. For example, to compare the “Sessions” metric between “This Year” and “Last Year” (segments of the “Period” dimension):

• Third, in Comparison settings, you can choose any other dimension available in your visualization tool’s “Dimension” field as the comparison dimension.

If a dimension includes more than two segments — e.g. “Country” — start by adding “Country” and the metric (e.g. “Sessions”), then select the two segments you want to compare (e.g. UK vs. Spain).

You can also add more metrics to visualize the variation across different KPIs. Add the metrics in an order that follows the logic used by Datama Compare:

Tip of the week 176: ‘Compare by Metric’ in the Compare Light extension

Do you have pairs of metrics in your dataset (e.g., Sales and Sales N-1, Units and Units N-1)?

👉 ‘Compare by Metric’ is perfectly suited for this use case. It allows you to directly compare these metrics with each other and explain variations in a KPI without relying on a simple time-series comparison.

⚙️ To enable it:

• Go to settings
• Select Compare by “metric”
• Then select the currency pairs in the order specified in your market equation

1.1. Secondary comparison

Add a second comparison to display another waterfall focused on another scope. For example, while comparing USA vs. UK, you can also add a Mobile vs. Tablet comparison within the “Device” dimension.

Then choose how to display this second waterfall: “On right”, “Above”, or “Overlay”. You can also do this from the chart context menu (Compare › Secondary comparison) or from Chart › General > Secondary Comparison.

1.2. Use indices instead of values

Choose between relative (dynamic) or absolute comparisons:

• When enabled (default): uses dynamic indices that update with the latest data in the source
• When disabled: uses fixed absolute values based on your initial selection (static baseline)

1.3. Order for relative values

Control which reference the dynamic comparison uses (apply only if the indice toggle is ticked):

• Descending (default): uses the most recent value as reference
• Ascending: uses the oldest value as reference

2. Modeling

2.1. Analysis method

Choose how your waterfall explores your data. Three options are available:

Method	Behavior
Auto (default)	Computes both approaches and shows the most interesting one
Steps then Dimensions	Starts from market-equation steps, then drills into dimensions
Dimensions then Steps or Dimensions	Starts from the strongest dimension, then explores that segment via steps or another dimension

Dimensions then Steps or Dimensions is especially useful when the first question is which segment moved? before which KPI step moved?.

Infinite drill-down

Infinite drill-down applies when Dimensions then Steps or Dimensions is selected and you keep exploring via Split by on dimensions. From that point, you can keep splitting into further dimensions without a fixed depth limit.

• Open a dimension on the waterfall, then Split by a dimension
• Continue drilling into other dimensions as deep as your data allows
• Drill into / drill up stay fluid (bars morph in place)
• Smart title, subtitle, and comment follow the active split

Limits apply when:

• Your market equation is simple (sum of the steps or product of the steps)
• Your market equation is complex (with different operators) and you provide a column that matches the results of the market equation (this column should not be used in the market equation but be provided in the metrics fields of your extension)

And when a step block is open, infinite drill-down stops.

2.2. Comment depth

Adjust the level of detail provided in the comments and explanations. With the Max level of detail, each variant is explained; otherwise, three other options are available: ‘Low’, ‘Medium’ (default) and ‘High’.

Please note that the depth of analysis has an impact when a calendar is associated with the use case; this will affect the threshold at which events are displayed, depending on their respective interest scores.

2.3. Mix & Performance effects

Control how the mix effect is attributed. Default is “Never”. Select “Auto” to let the tool split Mix vs. Performance when the mix contribution exceeds a threshold.

Tip of the week 184: Mix and Performance effects

To dig deeper 🔍 into the cause of a change, the Split Mix Effect and Performance Effect help you break down the drivers behind your results:

📊 Mix Effect highlights the impact of changes in distribution.

📈 Performance Effect isolates the actual change in performance.

Both effects are available directly in:

• 🌊 Waterfall visualizations (by expanding a step when Mix effects are significant)
• 🧭 Moves visualizations (for a vector view of the variation)

Note: In the settings, there is a “Split Mix & Perf” option where you can choose between “auto,” “always,” or “never” for the display

2.4. Language

Language sits with analysis preferences under Modeling. French, Deutsch, and English are available. Contact us if you need additional languages.

3. Dimensions

3.1. Hierachy

A feature in Datama that allows you to organise your dimensions when there are dependencies between some of them. Example: you have various geographical dimensions (Country, Region, City); you may wish to explore the data by drilling down from the broadest dimension to the narrowest.

Another one, is the product category wich can be split in various level, for instance Universe, Family, Subfamily, Product. By creating this hierarchy of dimensions, Datama will, by default, display the most relevant of the level 0 dimensions (e.g. in our two previous examples, these would be ‘Country’ and ‘Univers’), after which you can access dimensions at other levels by drilling down or filtering those elements.

Furthermore, using the button to the left of the dimension, you can pin a dimension to set it as the priority dimension in the analysis.

3.2. Clustering with the aggregation in %

Sets the model’s aggregation level. If set to X%, segments within a dimension that represent less than X% of the “Primary Numerator” (e.g. Revenue) are grouped into an “Other” segment. Default is 2%. This parameter can significantly impact the computed mix effects. The “Primary Numerator” can be customized just bellow on the line ‘KPI’.

4. Market Equation

Edit the KPI definition and market equation so the analysis matches your business logic.

Market relation defines how metrics from your datasource combine to compute the KPI you want to explain. Here, you can modify the equation, choose units, rename steps, set thresholds, and exclude or focus dimensions.

The Market Equation layout is compact to fit the settings rail. Step edits are tracked as dirty and require Apply before recomputation.

• By default, Datama uses a product of ratios (prod) across all steps in the market equation. You can switch to a “sum” when your KPI is additive (e.g. Revenue = Revenue_France + Revenue_UK + Revenue_US).

• Changing the unit to ‘%’ multiplies values by 100 and displays percentages. Selecting a currency unit displays values with the chosen currency symbol.

An emoji column is also available; it is added to your custom cards when you are in ‘Tree’ view.

5. Events

Attach one or various Calendar so relevant events enrich the waterfall comment (and interest scoring) for the compared periods.

Enable Calendar with the following

1. In the Events scope in the side settings panel enable Calendar if it is not already on.
2. In Select Calendar, choose:
   • Current data — map event columns from the dataset already loaded in the extension
   • Or any calendar you created / connected in the Datama WebApp (available with a paid licence)

The “Show event interest in comment” option allows to display the interest score calculed for each event.

6. Chart

Chart settings control the workspace layout, slide and chart titles, comment, Compare display behavior, axes, and legends. All Chart options apply live.

The Chart scope is split into eight groups:

Group	Purpose
Preset	Ready-made style packs for the chart look & feel
Views	Pin and arrange waterfall, comment, tree, and table
Slide title	Typography for the smart title & subtitle of the slide
Chart title	Plot title visibility, position, and style
Comment	Comment pane visibility and typography
General	Plot orientation, padding, behaviors, Compare & Tree defaults
Axis	Baseline, comparison scales, scale padding, hierarchy lines
Legends	Legend visibility and position

6.1. Preset

Apply a ready-made style preset to align the chart look with a presentation style in one click (colors, typography, comment layout).

Under Style preset, open the Preset dropdown and choose one of:

Preset	Typical use
Standard	Default balanced look
Modern	Clean contemporary styling
Vintage	Classic / retro visual tone
High-end	Premium presentation style
Excel classic	Spreadsheet-like familiar look
Datama Brand	Business Green identity, smart comment beside the chart
Presentation	Slide-oriented styling for sharing

A short description under the dropdown summarizes the selected preset (identity, comment placement, font). You can still refine individual Chart options after applying a preset.

6.2. Views

Compare is a multi-view workspace: several surfaces can stay visible at once (not tab-only).

Layout preview shows the active panes. Drag edges to resize column spans; use × to unpin a view.

Available views lets you pin extra surfaces into the layout:

View	Default	Role
Waterfall	Pinned	Main bridge chart
Comment	Pinned (with waterfall)	Smart narrative next to the insight
Tree	Available to pin	Hierarchy / tree cards
Table	Available to pin	Hierarchical numbers aligned with the chart

Pinned panes stay in sync when you Split by, drill down, or drill up: title, subtitle, and comment follow the active split.

Legacy Preferences toggles for hide title / plot / comment migrate automatically once to Slide title / Views.

6.3. Slide title

Controls typography for the smart title and subtitle of the slide.

For Title and Subtitle independently:

Option	Description
Display	Show or hide the slide title / subtitle
Size	Font size (defaults: title 18, subtitle 14)
Weight	Font weight (default 400)
Family	Font family (Inherit uses the widget default)
Color	Text color

6.4. Chart title

Plot-level Chart title styling (the smart title attached to the chart surface).

Option	Description
Display	Show or hide the plot title
Position	Placement relative to the chart (e.g. Top)
Align	Horizontal alignment (Left, center, right…)
Italic	Italic style on / off
Size	Font size (e.g. 20)
Weight	Font weight (e.g. 400)
Family	Font family (Inherit by default)

6.5. Comment

Typography and visibility for the Comment pane (when pinned in Views).

Under Style:

Option	Description
Display	Show or hide the comment text
Align	Text alignment (e.g. Left)
Size	Font size (e.g. 14)
Weight	Font weight (e.g. Light)
Italic	Italic style on / off
Family	Font family (Inherit by default)
Color	Text color

Comment content still follows drill-down / Split by; these options only change how it looks.

6.6. General

General groups plot chrome, interaction behaviors, Compare defaults, and Tree exploration.

6.6.1. Plot

• Reverse axis — rotate the waterfall 90° (also available from chart hover shortcuts).

6.6.2. Plot padding

Margins around the plot area: Top, Right, Bottom, Left (in pixels). Useful to free space for labels or secondary comparison.

6.6.3. Behaviors

Option	Description
Transition duration	Animation length in ms when bars open / close or drill (default 1000)
Shortcuts on hover	Show the shortcut bar only when hovering the chart

6.6.4. Compare

Option	Description
Waterfall measure	How step impacts are expressed on the bridge (e.g. Impact). Also via context menu Compare › Displayed value
Secondary comparison	Layout of the second waterfall: On right, above / below, or overlay. Also via context menu
Open biggest / focused element by default	Auto-expand the most relevant step on load
Number of bars displayed before remaining	How many segments show before aggregation into Remaining (default 4). Click Remaining to expand more

6.6.5. Tree

• Exploration method — Hierarchy or Top N for the Tree view (and related exploration).
• Top Exploration Leaf Count — Defines the maximum number of top-ranked leaf nodes considered during tree exploration. A higher value allows the algorithm to explore more candidate leaves, potentially increasing the breadth and completeness of the exploration, while also increasing computational cost.

More Tree card options live under the dedicated Tree settings scope.

6.7. Axis

Axis settings control the baseline reference line, shared scales for secondary comparison, scale padding, hierarchy lines, and hierarchy label layout.

6.7.1. Baseline

Reference line used as visual baseline on the plot:

Option	Description
Display	Show or hide the baseline
Position	Where the baseline sits (e.g. Zero)
Rendering	Line style (e.g. Straight)
Color / Opacity / Size	Stroke appearance
Cut	When enabled, style the baseline “cut” separately (Cut rendering, Cut color, Cut opacity, Cut size)

6.7.2. Comparison scales

• Share scales between primary and secondary comparison — keep both waterfalls on the same scale for fair visual comparison.

6.7.3. Scale

Option	Description
Padding on max	Extra headroom above the highest value (e.g. 0.1)
Ratio of element size	Relative bar / element thickness in the plot (e.g. 0.9)
Aggregation name	Label used for the aggregated remainder bar (default Remaining)

6.7.4. Hierarchy lines

Parent→child guides drawn on the hierarchy axis between tick rows:

Option	Description
Render mode	Line style for tree guides: e.g. Squared, straight, or curved
Color	Stroke color of the tree-lines
Opacity	Transparency of the guides (e.g. 0.35)
Size	Stroke thickness
Vertical ticks	Show or hide vertical tick marks along the hierarchy axis

6.7.5. Hierarchy labels

Layout of multi-depth labels on the dedicated hierarchy axis rows:

Option	Description
Level spacing	Vertical spacing between hierarchy levels (e.g. 1.5)
Max axis height share	Maximum share of the plot height reserved for the hierarchy axis (e.g. 0.5)
Max label lines	Maximum number of wrapped lines per label (e.g. 2)
Shrink to fit	When on, shrinks label text to fit the available space
Min label size	Smallest font size allowed when shrinking (e.g. 8)

6.8. Legends

Show or hide the chart legend and choose where it sits.

Option	Description
Display	Show or hide the legend (off by default in the screenshot setup)
Position	Legend placement relative to the chart (set once Display is on)

7. Colors

The Colors scope styles both the waterfall accents and the widget chrome. Changes apply live on the chart.

Two groups are available:

Group	Purpose
Palette	Chart / waterfall color scheme and semantic accents
Theme	Application UI colors (primary, text, backgrounds…)

7.1. Palette

Choose the chart color scheme and preview how accents map to waterfall elements.

Option	Description
Palette	Preset color scheme (e.g. Default)
Reverse palette	Reverse the order of the colours for the series in the chart; this is useful when a negative change is positive for your key performance indicator (KPI), and vice versa.

Palette preview

The preview splits into two blocks:

Semantic — fixed roles used on the waterfall:

Role	Typical use
Out	Outgoing / negative mix-style accent
In	Incoming / positive mix-style accent
Net	Net checkpoint (e.g. custom pillars)
Up	Positive variation
Down	Negative variation
Start	Start bar
End	End bar

Chart — numbered series swatches (1, 2, 3…) for multi-segment / multi-series coloring. Use Add (+) to append extra custom colors to the chart palette.

Click a swatch to edit that color. Palette updates preview immediately on the waterfall.

7.2. Theme

Customize the Application chrome colors of the widget (outside the plot itself).

Token	Role
Primary	Main brand / accent color
Primary light	Lighter primary variant (highlights, soft accents)
Secondary	Secondary accent
Dark text	Primary text color
Secondary dark text	Secondary / muted text
White	White / inverse text surfaces
Background light	Light background
Background dark	Alternate / slightly darker background

Click any color square to open the picker and align the extension with your report branding.

8. Tree

Tree layer settings control exploration and card presentation.

8.1. Cards

The Cards section controls how each node is drawn in the Tree view. It is split into two sub-sections:

• Style — visual appearance of the cards (shape, border, strokes)
• Content — customize each text shown on the card (display, size, color)

Style

Use Style to change the look of the cards themselves:

Option	Description
Radius	Corner roundness of the cards (e.g. 10)
Border width	Border thickness (e.g. 1.5)
Border color	Border color; enable Semantic to follow up/down accents
Border opacity	Border transparency (e.g. 1)
Border dash array	Optional dash pattern for the border (empty = solid)
Render mode	How card edges / connectors are drawn (e.g. Curved)
Neutral stroke	Stroke color for neutral lines; optional Semantic toggle
Size	Stroke thickness (e.g. 2)
Opacity	Transparency of the card strokes (e.g. 0.33)
Dash array	Optional dash pattern for strokes (empty = solid)

Content

Use Content to personalize each text available on the card. For every text block listed in this sub-section, you can toggle visibility and adjust typography.

In the current UI, the first text block is Name (the segment / step label on the card):

Option	Description
Name	Show or hide this text on the card
Name size	Relative size of the name (e.g. 1)
Name color mode	How the color is resolved (e.g. Inherit)
Name color	Explicit color when not fully inherited

Scroll further in Content to configure the other texts on the card the same way (display + size + color options for each).

8.2. Tree operators

Define the decoration mode for the cards.

9. Waterfall

Waterfall visual options are grouped under Labels and Elements. Most options also appear in the chart context menu (right-click on bars, value labels, or top-line labels).

9.1. Labels

Labels are split into Values and Top line, with full typography controls (size, color + semantic, weight, family, position).

For each element you can choose what information to display:

• Values (first row) — how to express evolution on each step:
  • Volume (default): evolution in volume from Start to End
  • Impact in points: contribution in pts along the bridge
  • Percent change: contribution in % along the bridge
• Top line (second row) — percentage / impact row above the graph (default: percent change)

Display formats per label:

Option	Behavior
Gauge	Show a gauge visualization
Arrows	Directional arrows for positive / negative variations
Colors	Green (increase) / red (decrease)
Hover only	Show values only on mouse hover
Hide	Hide the element completely

9.2. Elements

Elements regroup Bars, Links, and Pillars.

9.2.1. Bars

Bar styling for Start / End / variation steps.

9.2.2. Links

Connectors between steps. From settings or the context menu (Waterfall › Links): display, rendering, dasharray, opacity, and editable color.

9.2.3. Pillars (custom checkpoints)

Insert synthetic net checkpoints on the waterfall (e.g. “After mix”).

• Add pillar (before / after) from the context menu
• Set a custom label
• Choose label reference: impact vs previous net or vs Start
• Pillars use End-style labels (e.g. 1.2M€ (+120k€))
• Edit existing pillars under Waterfall › Elements › Pillars without recreating them

10. Table

Native hierarchical table layer: the same tree as the chart, as numbers. Pin it from Chart › Views.

Feature	Description
Hierarchical rows	Same open / close branches as the waterfall
Pagination	Browse large hierarchies
Column pin & sort	Keep key columns visible; order by value
Footer aggregates	Totals / summary row where configured
Colorized values	Positive / negative readability
Tree lines	Hierarchy readable in tabular form
Presets & layer menu	Quick display setups

The table follows chart visibility (Top N / open branches).

11. Context menu

Right-click a bar, a value label, or a top-line label to open the context menu. The same actions are available from all three targets.

Action	Definition
Expand first driver	Automatically open the strongest driver step on the waterfall
Displayed value	Choose how values are shown on the chart (impact, volume, %, etc.)
Split by…	Change the dimension used to explain the selected step or segment
Connectors	Show or hide the links between waterfall steps, with styling options in the submenu
Add event	Create a calendar event from the selected bar / period
Hide event	Hide calendar events related to the current selection
Chart type	Switch or configure the current chart type
Axis	Quick access to axis display options
Annotate	Add or edit annotations on the plot

Split by and other drill actions keep smart title, subtitle, and comment in sync with the active split.

12. Shortcuts on hover

A shortcut bar appears when you hover the chart and stays out of the way otherwise. It gives quick access to the most common display actions without opening the settings panel.

From left to right:

Shortcut	Description
Split by	Change the dimension used to split and explain the current analysis
Reverse axis	Switch the orientation of the Waterfall and / or the Tree view
Waterfall / Tree view	Toggle between Waterfall and Tree when only one of these views is currently displayed in Views
Comment	Show or hide the comment pane
Table	Show or hide the table pane
Settings	Open the side settings panel

Save customized settings

Power BI: customizations and the licence key are saved automatically inside the Power BI report — no JSON copy‑paste required. The Save button in the top‑right corner remains available if you want to copy the current settings JSON to migrate them to another visual.

Looker Studio (premium users): once you customize your chart, click the Save button at the top right, then paste the JSON automatically copied to your clipboard into the Config JSON field in the style panel. Otherwise, your settings will be lost when you refresh the BI report.

Get more information about the extension interface or theoretical concepts of Datama.