---
schema_version: "1"
id: cf8998d793366740d75b7a357957f8f3970fdb6cbc4dc1a32bf959d76f6c95ca
title: Query Your Data to Know Your Business
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/analytics/264-0-0/bi_query_data_to_know_business.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=analytics.bi_query_data_to_know_business.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 870910604198d3ab85eb59ce6d033e04ef784ab2ff8e25414ab210394a10f810
description: It’s great to have a gut feeling about how well your business is doing. However, before you take action, test the feeling against your data. Ask your data questions.
products:
  - CRM Analytics
  - Cross Cloud
release: "264"
---
# Query Your Data to Know Your Business

It’s great to have a gut feeling about how well your business is doing. However, before you take action, test the feeling against your data. Ask your data questions.

The easiest method for asking questions about data in datasets is to explore it in a lens. You ask questions in the form of queries. Use the left panel (1) of the lens to create your query. You can perform calculations (referred to as measures), like sum of amount or average case duration. To break down the measure across different areas, group it by descriptive fields (known as dimensions), like region or owner. To find the top or bottom performers, sort the measure in descending or ascending order. Then, if needed, apply filters to focus on a subset of the results.

![The explorer allows you to ask questions and represent the answer as a visualization.](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-analytics-bi-264-0-0-production-enus/ec791473-f5b4-4f64-a656-9104f455d966/bi/images/bi/bi_query_explorer_details.png)

The middle panel (2) shows a visual representation of the query results. You can display the results as a chart or table. When in chart mode (![Chart Mode button](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-analytics-bi-264-0-0-production-enus/ec791473-f5b4-4f64-a656-9104f455d966/bi/images/bi/bi_chart_mode_button.png)), you can choose which chart type to use—CRM Analytics offers many. In table mode (![Table Mode button](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-analytics-bi-264-0-0-production-enus/ec791473-f5b4-4f64-a656-9104f455d966/bi/images/bi/bi_table_mode_button.png)), you can display the dataset records as a values table or create calculated fields and display them in a compare table. And, yes, pivot tables are also possible.

The right panel (3) shows the visualization properties—configure them to modify the appearance of the chart or table. For instance, you can remove the legend, change the axis scale, or add a title. To view this panel, click ![Properties button](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-analytics-bi-264-0-0-production-enus/ec791473-f5b4-4f64-a656-9104f455d966/bi/images/bi/bi_properties_gear_button.png).

If you’re more advanced, write your own custom queries using Salesforce Analytics Query Language (SAQL) notation. In SAQL mode (![SAQL Mode button](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-analytics-bi-264-0-0-production-enus/ec791473-f5b4-4f64-a656-9104f455d966/bi/images/bi/bi_saql_mode_button.png)), you have more flexibility to write robust queries, like ones that span multiple datasets or have modified query limits. For example, if the results are sorted in descending order, you set the limit to 5, and click **Run Query**, the query returns only the top five accounts.

![The saql query specifies "5" as the limit for a query.](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-analytics-bi-264-0-0-production-enus/ec791473-f5b4-4f64-a656-9104f455d966/bi/images/bi/bi_query_explorer_details_saql_editor.png)

- **[Monitor Your Business Regularly with CRM Analytics Dashboards](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=analytics.bi_query_monitor_business_regularly_with_wave_dashboards.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    CRM Analytics dashboards are populated with your data based on queries that you define. To continually get answers to common questions, save and organize your queries in interactive CRM Analytics dashboards. Each time you open the dashboard, the queries get the latest results based on the available data.
- **[Answer Ad Hoc Questions with CRM Analytics Lenses](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=analytics.bi_query_answer_ad_hoc_questions_with_wave_lenses.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Dashboards are great for answering common questions, but sometimes you don’t have a question in mind. You want to poke around your data and ask questions as you notice things. To explore your data, open a dataset and create ad hoc queries. To revisit the query later, save it as a lens. The lens includes the query and the visualization—how the results appear. Like dashboards, lenses can be shared.