Computed Fields

Overview

Computed fields allow you to create new data properties by combining or transforming existing data. These properties can display as plain text or clickable links in your inspector panel. The computations happen dynamically and don't modify your underlying data.

Format Types

External Links (format: "link")

Creates clickable links to external websites, using one field for the URL and another for the display text.

• Required Fields:
  • source_field: The column containing the complete URL to link to
  • display_field: The column containing the text that should appear as the clickable link
    Example: If your data looks like this:

    
    | id | company_name  | website_url           |
    |----|--------------|------------------------|
    | 1  | Example Corp | https://example.com   |
                    

    Configuration:

    
    {
      "node_encodings": {
        "complex": {
          "default": {
            "pointComputedEncoding": {
              "graphType": "point",
              "encodingType": "computed",
              "attribute": "company_website",      // Name of the new computed field
              "computed": {
                "format": "link",
                "source_field": "website_url",     // URL to link to
                "display_field": "company_name"    // Text to show for the link
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
                    

    Result: Creates a new column "company_website" with an HTML link that shows "Example Corp" and links to "https://example.com"

Internal Links (format: "relative-link")

Creates clickable links to other visualizations within Graphistry. You can specify the link either through a template or by referencing a field containing the dataset ID.

• Option 1: Dynamic URLs with template
  • template: Pattern for internal URLs using ${fieldName} to insert values
    display_field: The column containing the text to show for the link
    Example: Creating links to related visualizations:

    
    | id | alert_name | dataset_id | severity |
    |----|------------|------------|----------|
    | 1  | Alert 123 | abc123     | high     |
                    

    Configuration:

    
    {
      "computed": {
        "format": "relative-link",
        "template": "/graph.html?dataset=${dataset_id}&severity=${severity}",  // Dynamic URL pattern
        "display_field": "alert_name"                                         // Shows "Alert 123" as link text
      }
    }
                    

    Result: Creates a link showing "Alert 123" that leads to "/graph.html?dataset=abc123&severity=high"
• Option 2: Simple dataset links
  • source_field: Column containing the dataset IDs to link to
    display_field: Column containing the text to show for the link
    Example: Simple links to related datasets:

    
    | id | name      | related_viz_id |
    |----|-----------|----------------|
    | 1  | View More | xyz789         |
                    

    Configuration:

    
    {
      "computed": {
        "format": "relative-link",
        "source_field": "related_viz_id",    // Dataset ID to link to
        "display_field": "name"              // Shows "View More" as link text
      }
    }
                    

    Result: Creates a link showing "View More" that leads to "/graph.html?dataset=xyz789"

Text Templates (format: "text-template")

Combines multiple fields into a single text string using a template pattern. This is useful when you want to create readable descriptions by combining values from different columns without creating links. Any text outside the ${} placeholders will be kept as-is in the final output.

• Required Fields:
  • template: Pattern for text using ${fieldName} to insert values from other columns. The ${fieldName} will be replaced with the actual value from that column. The value will not be a link.
    Example: If your data looks like this:

    
    | id | hostname    | ip_address  | status |
    |----|------------|-------------|---------|
    | 1  | server-01  | 10.0.0.1   | active  |
                    

    Configuration:

    
    {
      "node_encodings": {
        "complex": {
          "default": {
            "pointComputedEncoding": {
              "graphType": "point",
              "encodingType": "computed",
              "attribute": "server_info",           // Name of the new computed field
              "computed": {
                "format": "text-template",
                "template": "Host ${hostname} (${ip_address}) - ${status}"    // Static text "Host", "()", and "-" will remain unchanged
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
                    

    Result: Creates a new column "server_info" with value: "Host server-01 (10.0.0.1) - active"
    Where:
    • "Host " - Static text prefix
    • "server-01" - Value from hostname column
    • " (" - Static text
    • "10.0.0.1" - Value from ip_address column
    • ") - " - Static text
    • "active" - Value from status column

Validation Rules

• attribute is always required and must be a string
• format must be one of: "text-template", "link", or "relative-link"
• For text-template: template is required
• For link: both source_field and display_field are required
• For relative-link: display_field and either template or source_field are required
• All referenced fields (in template variables, source_field, or display_field) must exist in your data

Common Use Cases

• Text Templates:
  • Combining name and ID fields: "${name} (ID: ${id})"
  • Formatting addresses: "${street}, ${city}, ${state} ${zip}"
  • Status descriptions: "${status} since ${date}"
• External Links:
  • Linking to user profiles in external systems
  • Adding links to documentation or reference materials
  • Connecting to ticket management systems
• Internal Links:
  • Creating drill-down links between related visualizations
  • Building investigation workflows across multiple graphs
  • Linking to filtered views of the same dataset