Configure a flow visualization

Last update: May 3, 2025

CREATED FOR:

  • User
  • Admin

Flow visualizations help you understand the journey stemming from or leading up to a specific conversion event on your website or your app. It traces a path through your dimensions (and dimension items) or metrics.

Flow visualizations let you configure the start or end of the path you are interested in, or analyze all paths that flow through a dimension or dimension item.

new Flow UI

Use

  1. Add a GraphPathing Flow visualization. See Add a visualization to a panel.

  2. Anchor your Flow visualization using one of the following options:

    • Starts with (metrics, dimensions, or items), or
    • Contains (dimensions, or items), or
    • Ends with (metrics, dimensions, or items)

    Each of these categories is shown onscreen as a drop zone. You can populate the drop zone in 3 ways:

    • Use the drop-down menu to select metrics or dimensions.
    • Drag dimensions or metrics from the left panel.
    • Begin typing the name of a dimension or metric, then select it when it appears in the drop-down list.
    IMPORTANT
    Calculated metrics cannot be used in the Starts with or Ends with fields.

  3. If you choose a metric, you also need to provide a Pathing Dimension to use as your path leading to or coming from your selected component, as shown here. The default is Page.

    Flow configuration

  4. (Optional) Select Show advanced settings to configure any of the following options:

    SettingDescription
    Wrap labelsNormally, the labels on the Flow elements are truncated to save screen real estate, but you can make the entire label visible by checking this box. Default = unchecked.
    Include repeat instances

    Flow visualizations are based on instances of a dimension. This setting gives you the option to include or exclude repeated instances, for example, Page reloads. However, repeats cannot be removed from Flow visualizations that include multi-valued dimensions, such as listVars, listProps, s.product, merchandising eVars, etc.

    This option is disabled by default.

    Limit to first/last occurrenceLimit paths to paths that start or end with the first or last occurrence of a dimension, item, or metric. See Limit to first/last occurrence for a more detailed explanation.
    Number of columnsThe number of columns you want in your Flow diagram. You can specify a maximum of 5 columns.
    Items expanded per columnThe number of items you want in each column. You can specify a maximum of 10 items expanded per column.
    Flow containerYou can switch between Sessions and Person to analyze pathing. These settings help you understand a person’s engagement at the person level (across sessions), or constrain the analysis to a single session.
    IMPORTANT
    The combination of Number of columns and Items expanded per column determine the number of underlying requests required to create the flow visualization. The higher those numbers, the longer it takes to render a visualization.

  5. Select Build.

Example

Suppose that you want to trace the path that users took both to and from the most popular pages on your site.

  1. Create a flow visualization as described above.
  2. Drag the Page dimension into the Contains field, then select Build.
  3. The Flow visualization builds, with the most-viewed page visible in the focus node, at the center of the visualization. You also see the top pages leading into that page (to the left of the focus node) as well as the top pages leading out of that page (to the right of the focus node).
  4. Analyze data in the flow, as described in Configure.

Configure

A summary of the Flow configuration appears at the top of the visualizations. The paths in the diagram are proportional. Paths with more activity appear thicker.

Flow output example showing Ends with Visits, Pathing dimension: Page, and Flow container: Vistors.

To drill down further into the data, you have several options:

  • The flow diagram is interactive. Mouse over the diagram to change the details that are shown.

  • When you select on a node in the diagram, the details for that node appear. Select the node again to collapse it.

    Example interactive flow diagram showing node-details.

  • You can filter a column to display only certain results, such as including and excluding, specifying criteria, etc.

  • Select AddCircle on the left or right side to expand a column.

  • To customize the output, use the context menu options.

  • To edit the flow or rebuild it with different options, select Edit next to the configuration summary.

Filter

Above each column, a filter Filter appears when you hover over it. By selecting the filter, you get the same filter dialog that exists in the Freeform table. See Filter and sort.

  • Use Show advanced to configure advanced settings to include or exclude certain criteria with a list of operators. See Filters and sort for more information.
  • Once you have filtered a column, that specific column reflects the filtering. A blue Filter indicates that the column is filtered. The filter either reduces the column to show only the item allowed in the filter. Or it removes all items, except for the one item you want in the filter.
  • All downstream and upstream columns persist, as long as there is data flowing into the remaining nodes.
  • To remove a filter, select Filter to open the filter menu. Remove any filters applied and then select Save. The flow should return to its previous, unfiltered state.

Context menu

Use a context menu on any node in the flow visualization with the following options:

OptionDescription
Focus on this nodeChange the focus to the selected node. The focus node appears at the center of the Flow diagram.
Start overReturn you to the Freeform diagram builder, where you can build a new Flow diagram.
Create a filter for this pathCreate a filter. This selection takes you into the Filter builder, where you can configure the new filter.
BreakdownBreak the node down by available Dimensions, Metrics, or Time.
Filter columnThe same filter options appear as are available in the Freeform table. For more information about the available options, see the section “Apply a simple or advanced filter to a table” in Filter and sort tables.
Exclude item or Restore excluded itemsRemoves a specific node from the column and automatically creates it as a filter at the top of the column. To restore the excluded item, from the context menu select Restore Excluded Item. you can also open the filter at the top of the column and remove the pillbox with the item you just excluded.
TrendCreate a trended diagram for the node.
Show next column / Show previous columnReveals the next (right) or previous (left) column of the visualization.
Hide colum nHides the selected column from the visualization.
Expand entire columnExpand a column to show all nodes. By default, only the top five nodes display.
Create audience from selectionCreates an audience based on the column that is selected.
Collapse entire columnHide all nodes in a column.