TimeTonic's Metabase integration lets you automatically export your data to Metabase for analysis, then display your Metabase dashboards directly in a TimeTonic space. You keep your data in TimeTonic and gain a dedicated visualization layer, with no development.
Before you start, make sure your Metabase environment is in place.
1
A provisioned Metabase instance
The Metabase instance is set up by TimeTonic. Once in place, access to
this instance appears automatically in the export window.
2
The required permissions
Access requires an administrator role on the space and an enterprise
account. The available instance depends on the book owner.
Access to activate depending on your plan.
The Metabase integration is not available by default: access depends on your
licence plan. If no instance appears when choosing the destination, your
account does not have access yet. Activation is handled with the TimeTonic
sales team.
Exporting to Metabase is set up in the same place as FTP/SFTP transfers, from the File transfers window. To open this window, see the article Configure an FTP / SFTP transfer. Then click New export.
1
Name the export and choose the source view
Give the export a name, then select a view you have already prepared
for monitoring, with the columns, sorts, and filters you need. Rather
than the raw table, export a prepared view: it defines the structure
of your table on the Metabase side.
2
Choose the Metabase connection type
In the Connection section, select Metabase as the
connection type, instead of FTP or SFTP. Your Metabase instance appears
automatically as the destination, with its availability status (online).
A shortcut to the right of the destination opens Metabase directly in
a new tab.
3
Enter the target table name
The beginning of the name is fixed and cannot be changed: it identifies
the space, the category, and the selected table. Complete the end with
the name of your choice to easily identify the table on the Metabase
side, for example interventions.
Allowed characters in the table name. Only letters, numbers,
hyphens (-) and underscores (_) are accepted.
Spaces are converted to hyphens, and accents and other special characters
are removed.
Choose the synchronization strategy
This is the main difference from a file transfer. The synchronization strategy determines how TimeTonic updates the data already present in Metabase.
Strategy
Behaviour
Update (incremental)
All rows from TimeTonic are sent: if the identifier already exists
on the Metabase side, the row is updated; otherwise, it is added.
Rows deleted in TimeTonic are not deleted on the Metabase side,
because the deletion information is not transmitted.
Replace (mirror)
Metabase reflects the exact state of TimeTonic. If you delete rows
in TimeTonic, they are also deleted on the Metabase side at the next
export. It is a true mirror of your view.
Choose according to your need. Use incremental update to
accumulate and refresh data without ever losing it. Use Replace
when Metabase must reflect your TimeTonic view exactly, deletions included.
Test, run, and schedule
Before saving, use the Test configuration button: it checks the connection to Metabase and shows a data preview. Then run the export immediately with Run now, or schedule a recurring run as for a file transfer. The scheduling cadences are detailed in the article Configure an FTP / SFTP transfer.
Find your data in Metabase
Once the export succeeds, open Metabase and go to the database that receives your data. Your exported table appears there, and clicking it shows the rows sent from TimeTonic.
Table not showing yet? Metabase synchronizes its database
schema at regular intervals (about once a day). If you have just run the
export, a Metabase administrator can trigger this synchronization manually
to see the new table without waiting.
Discover Metabase
Once your data is exported, you work with it directly in Metabase. This section covers the essentials to find your way around and create your first charts. To go further, the videos at the end of this section and the official Metabase documentation detail all the possibilities.
The home panel
When it opens, Metabase displays a side panel that organizes your entire workspace: your collections, your data, and your creation tools.
Top bar
Search, access to settings, and the New button to create a question or a dashboard.
Collections
Your storage spaces. Your personal collection holds your own questions and dashboards. The automatically generated dashboards gather the charts created by X-ray.
Data
The databases contain your data imported from TimeTonic. The models and metrics are prepared by the administrator.
Trash
Deleted items, which you can restore if needed.
An administrator interface.
The screenshots in this section show Metabase as seen by an administrator.
Depending on your account's permissions, some actions remain reserved for
the Metabase administrator:
→ Add or delete a database.
→ Create a public sharing link.
→ Manually trigger a database synchronization.
Data exported from TimeTonic is synchronized once a day: Metabase does not
update in real time. For the actions above, contact your Metabase administrator.
Create your first chart
In Metabase, a chart is built from a question: a visual, no-code query that interrogates your data. Before you start, here are the objects you will come across.
Object
Definition
Database
Your data, imported from TimeTonic.
Model
A selection of columns and filters prepared and made available by
the administrator.
Metric
A reusable calculation, also made available by the administrator.
Question
A visual query that produces a chart.
Dashboard
A set of charts gathered on a single page.
Collection
Your personal space to store your questions and dashboards.
To create a question, follow these steps:
1
Start a question
Click New, then Question.
2
Choose the source
Select your table exported from TimeTonic, or a model or metric made
available. You can also join another table if needed.
3
Filter and preview
Refine the data with a filter if needed, and check the table preview.
4
Summarize to build the chart
The Summarize option defines your chart: choose the
measure (for example the number of rows or a sum) and the grouping,
that is the axis (by status, by category, or by date). Dates exported
from TimeTonic are recognized automatically: you can group directly
by day, week, or month.
5
Choose the visualization
Click Visualize, then choose the type: bar chart,
line, pie, or table.
6
Format the chart
The gear icon gives access to display settings: colours, scale, number
format, value labels.
7
Save
Save your chart in a personal collection to reuse it in a dashboard.
Tip: the custom column. If a field is not recognized in
the expected format (for example a date treated as text), you can create
a custom column to convert it using Metabase functions. The conversion is
done only once.
A quick start: X-ray. Hover over a table and click the
lightning bolt icon to X-ray it. Metabase automatically
builds a series of charts from your data, which you can then adjust.
Create your first dashboard
A dashboard gathers several charts on a single page, with shared filters. You build it from the questions you have saved.
1
Create the dashboard
In your personal collection, click New, then
Dashboard, and give it a name.
2
Add your charts
Add the questions saved in your collection. You can also create a
question directly from the dashboard, without going through the
collection.
3
Organize and enrich
Move and resize the charts. You can add tabs, sections, and text,
link, or iframe cards to structure the page.
4
Add filters
A filter links to a field in your data. It applies to every chart that
contains that field: a chart without the field is not filtered. You
can also set a filter on a single chart.
5
Save
Once the layout is ready, save your dashboard.
Edit a chart from the dashboard. A chart is always linked
to its source question. To edit it, leave the dashboard view, open the
relevant question, adjust it, then save. The dashboard updates accordingly.
A few formatting options depending on the chart type:
Pie chart
Through the gear icon, adjust the colours and the ring thickness.
Line chart
Set the scale and the number format, for example showing amounts in
thousands.
Table
Apply conditional formatting: for example colour values below a
threshold in red, and those above in green.
To go further. These official Metabase resources, each with
a demo video, detail how to create charts and dashboards.
Once your dashboard is created in Metabase, you can display it in a TimeTonic space in two steps: get its public link in Metabase, then add it in TimeTonic.
Step 1: get the public link in Metabase
1
Open your dashboard in Metabase.
2
Click the sharing icon at the top right, then Public link.
3
Copy the displayed public URL, of the form
https://metabase.timetonic.com/public/dashboard/...
The public link makes the dashboard accessible to anyone who has the URL.
Creating a public link is reserved for the Metabase administrator: if the
Public link option does not appear, contact them.
Step 2: add the dashboard in TimeTonic
1
Click Add or import, at the bottom of the side menu.
2
Choose Dashboard from the available templates.
3
Enter the name and link
Enter a name in Dashboard name, paste the copied public
URL in Dashboard link, then confirm with
Add dashboard.
Your Metabase dashboard now appears directly in your TimeTonic space.
Going further
Discover other approaches to visualize and use your TimeTonic data.
Going further
Dashboard with Google Sheets
Another approach to visualize your TimeTonic data, from Google Sheets.