How to Use Looker Studio Custom Bookmark Links to Share Filtered Dashboard Views
In the world of data reporting, sharing the right view with your team can be a game-changer. Imagine this: you've spent 15 minutes carefully filtering a Looker Studio report to show exactly the insights your manager needs. You've selected the perfect date range, filtered down to specific countries, and narrowed to just the campaigns that matter for tomorrow's meeting. Now, how do you share this exact view with them?
This is where custom bookmark links in Looker Studio come to the rescue. In this blog post, we'll explore how to enable, use, and leverage this powerful yet simple feature that allows your report viewers to save and share their specific filtered views.
What Are Custom Bookmark Links?
Custom bookmark links are a feature in Looker Studio that captures a viewer's filter selections directly in the URL of the report. When enabled, any interaction a viewer has with your report's controls (like setting date ranges, selecting countries from drop-downs, or applying cross-filtering) gets encoded in the report's URL.
This seemingly small feature offers tremendous value:
Viewers can bookmark their preferred view of your report
Filter configurations can be shared via simple link sharing
Report views can be preserved exactly as configured
When custom bookmark links are enabled, your report URL captures all filter selections, making sharing specific views effortless.
How to Enable Custom Bookmark Links
Enabling custom bookmark links is surprisingly simple, despite the powerful functionality it provides:
Open your Looker Studio report in edit mode
Go to File > Report settings
Check the box for "Allow viewer to filter in report link"
Click Apply
That's it! Now when viewers interact with your report and apply filters, their selections will automatically be reflected in the URL.
A single checkbox in your report settings unlocks the power of custom bookmark links.
How Custom Bookmark Links Work
When a viewer applies filters to your report with this feature enabled, the URL transforms to include their selections. Let's break down what happens:
A viewer selects "Nigeria" from a country filter dropdown
The URL updates to include something like:
?params=%7B%22df174%22%3A%22include%3DUS%22%7DNigeriaThis encoded string represents their selection of Nigeria
When they select multiple values, like Brazil, Mexico, and Ethiopia, the URL parameters expand to include all these selections. While the encoding may look complex, it's simply capturing the viewer's choices in a format Looker Studio can read when the link is opened.
The real power comes when your viewer:
Copies this URL from their browser
Shares it with a colleague
The colleague opens the link and sees the exact same filtered view
This happens without any additional work from either person!
Strategic Uses for Custom Bookmark Links
Custom bookmark links aren't just convenient, they can transform how your organization uses Looker Studio reports:
1. Creating "Pre-filtered" Views
For executive stakeholders who don't want to fiddle with filters, you can:
Set up the filters exactly as needed for specific analyses
Copy the resulting URL
Share these "pre-filtered" views via email or messaging platforms
2. Building a "Report Library"
Some organizations create internal wikis or knowledge bases with links to different views of the same report:
Monthly performance by region
Year-to-date comparisons
Under-performing segments that need attention
Each link opens the same base report but with different filter configurations, effectively turning one report into many without duplicate maintenance.
3. Preserving Analysis States
When you discover an interesting data pattern:
Apply the relevant filters to isolate the pattern
Save the URL in your analysis notes
Return to exactly the same view weeks later when following up
4. Simplifying Regular Reporting
For recurring meetings:
Configure the filters for this week's focus areas
Share the custom link in the meeting invite
Everyone arrives at the meeting looking at exactly the same data view
Limitations and Considerations
While custom bookmark links are powerful, there are some limitations to be aware of:
URL Length: Browsers have maximum URL length limitations. Extremely complex filter configurations might exceed these limits.
Parameter Encoding: The URL parameters are encoded and not meant to be manually edited. If you need programmatic control over filters, consider using embedded parameters instead.
Permissions: Viewers still need appropriate access to the report. The link preserves filter settings but doesn't override access controls.
Report Changes: If you significantly modify your report structure after sharing a link (removing fields used in filters, for example), the saved link might not work as expected.
According to Google Cloud documentation, this feature is fully supported and designed to work with all standard Looker Studio controls and filters, including date ranges, drop-downs, and chart interactions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Will custom bookmark links work if I embed my Looker Studio report in another website?
Yes, but you need to ensure that the embedding method you use preserves URL parameters. Some embedding methods might strip query parameters from the URL, which would disable this functionality.
Can I use custom bookmark links to create different views for different user roles without creating multiple reports?
Absolutely! This is one of the most powerful applications. You can create a single master report and then share different filtered URLs with different teams or stakeholders.
If I make changes to my report, will existing bookmark links still work?
It depends on the changes. If you modify dimensions or metrics used in the filters that were applied when the link was created, the link may not work properly. However, changes to visualizations or adding new content shouldn't affect existing links.
How can I tell if someone has shared a filtered link with me?
Look at the URL in your browser - if it contains "params=" followed by a long string of characters, you're viewing a filtered version of the report. You can remove these parameters from the URL to see the unfiltered version.
Custom bookmark links are one of those hidden gems in Looker Studio that, once discovered, you'll wonder how you ever lived without. They transform a static reporting tool into a dynamic, shareable insights platform where specific views can be preserved and communicated with a simple link.
By enabling this feature in your reports, you're not just saving your viewers time; you're ensuring that everyone looks at exactly the same data view when making decisions, eliminating the "I'm seeing something different" confusion that often plagues data discussions.
The next time you create a Looker Studio report, take a moment to enable custom bookmark links. Your colleagues (and future self) will thank you when they can instantly access precisely the data view they need without having to remember which filters to apply.
Note:
This post is based on a subject covered in the Looker Studio Masterclass Program. To learn more about Looker Studio Masterclass, click here.
