Metric Explorer FAQ

Yes. Existing Event Segmentation and User Sessions charts, and the dashboards that contain them, keep working unchanged. To move one to Metric Explorer without changing its link, upgrade it in place. Go to Move from Event Segmentation or User Sessions.

Yes. Create a chart, click the chart type name, and choose Event Segmentation or User Sessions before you add metrics.

A chart holds up to 10 events or metrics. Formulas don't count toward the limit. A chart can also have up to 10 segments, or 2 with a pie chart.

Distribution metrics, such as Frequency, Distribution of Property Value, and Distribution of Session Length, show results as a histogram instead of a time series. Amplitude shows "Incompatible metric types" when a chart mixes a distribution metric with other metric types. Put the distribution metric on its own chart.

Pie charts and % of total show each series as a share of a total, so Amplitude offers them only when every metric on the chart adds up to a meaningful total, such as Event Totals, Total Sessions, or Revenue. Unique users don't add up: one user can appear in several series. Remove or change the metrics that don't add up, or use a stacked bar chart with absolute values.

Amplitude hides the metrics a formula refers to, so the chart and breakdown table show the formula's result. To show an input, open its ⋮ menu and click Show in results.

A new user is a user who logged an event to Amplitude for the first time, including inactive events. With New users selected, Amplitude counts a user's events only in the interval (day, week, or month) when that user was new. For example, with a daily interval, a user who was new on July 17 contributes events from July 17 only.

% of Active Users divides the users who triggered the event by all active users. A group-by on the metric changes only the numerator. The result is users who triggered the event and match the property value, divided by all active users. Group segment by changes both. The result is users who triggered the event and match the value, divided by active users who match the value. Use Group segment by when you want each group's rate relative to that group's own active users.

You're most likely measuring an inactive event. More users can trigger an inactive event than trigger any active event in the interval.

Session metrics need events with a valid session ID, meaning any value other than -1. Amplitude SDKs send session IDs automatically. If you send events through the HTTP API, include session_id. For details, go to Track sessions.

A chart that includes a session metric covers up to one year: 365 days, 52 weeks, 12 months, or 4 quarters. When you add a session metric to a chart with a longer range, Amplitude shortens the range and shows "The date range was shortened to one year because this chart includes a session metric."

A session that contains a single event, or only a Start Session event, has a length of zero. Server-side events with a session_id that isn't the session start time in milliseconds also produce zero or unexpected lengths. For causes and fixes, go to the User Sessions FAQ.

A line chart returns a value for each interval, and a bar chart returns one value for the whole date range. For unique users, a user active on several days counts once per day on the line chart and once in total on the bar chart, so the bar chart total is smaller than the sum of the daily points.

Yes. Save the chart and add it to a dashboard. Dashboard Replace Events works on Metric Explorer charts.

Yes. Click Export CSV to download the breakdown table. To save a metric definition for reuse, use Save as Metric. Go to Write formulas in Metric Explorer.

Yes.

Submit a request at Amplitude support, or contact your customer success manager.