View workbook data lineage

Workbook lineage refers to the ancestry and relationships between data elements in a workbook. All workbooks contain a lineage display, allowing you to oversee and navigate these relationships.

A few use cases for data lineage include:

• Determining how changes to a data element will affect any child elements
• Determining the location from where unexpected data is coming / being calculated
• Cleaning up existing workbooks to remove unused or redundant elements or calculations
• Diagnosing the source of data and/or permission errors

This article covers how to view and navigate any workbook’s lineage display.

Requirements

• To view a workbook's lineage, you must have Can Edit access to the individual workbook.

View Workbook Lineage

Before you start: This action is only available in edit mode. To begin editing, click Edit in the top right corner of the page; see Workbook lifecycle.

1. Click the lineage icon (), located near the bottom of the workbook’s sidebar.
   
   This will open the workbook’s lineage display.
   

Now what?

• Zoom in and out using the plus (+) and minus (-) icons near the top of the page. 
  
• Move around the screen using your cursor to grab and drag.
• Improve visibility of densely packed sections by dragging element indicators around on the screen using your cursor.
  Note: This will be reset each time you close and revisit the lineage display.
• View lineage by workbook page.
• Navigate to a specific workbook element directly from its lineage indicator.

View Lineage by Workbook Page

Before you start: This action is only available in edit mode. To begin editing, click Edit in the top right corner of the page; see Workbook lifecycle.

1. Open the workbook’s lineage display from the workbook’s sidebar.
2. Click the dropdown menu located in the top right corner of the page.
   By default, it is set to Show all elements.
3. Select a workbook page from the menu.
   
   The display will then show only elements of the selected page.
   

Open Lineage for a Specific Element

Before you start: This action is only available in edit mode. To begin editing, click Edit in the top right corner of the page; see Workbook lifecycle.

1. Hover your cursor over the element.
2. Click the vertical ••• icon button in the element’s inline toolbar.
3. Select View lineage.
   

Navigate to a Workbook Element from its Lineage

Before you start: This action is only available in edit mode. To begin editing, click Edit in the top right corner of the page; see Workbook lifecycle.

1. Open the workbook’s lineage display from the workbook’s sidebar.
2. Click the element’s indicator.
   When selected, an indicator is highlighted. It’s also displayed on the right side of the screen.
3. On the right side of the page click View element.