Core concepts
Everything in DataSquares hangs off a small set of objects. Understanding how they relate makes the rest of the product predictable.
The object model
Section titled “The object model”| Object | What it is |
|---|---|
| Workspace | The top-level container. Members, roles, settings, and everything below live inside one. |
| Data source | A connection to where your data lives — a database, warehouse, uploaded file, or API. |
| Data model | A curated set of tables from a source, joined by relationships, enriched with calculated fields and SquareX measures. |
| Dashboard | A canvas of cards (charts, tables, text, filters) built on models or sources. |
| Report | A document-style deliverable, suited to paginated, printable output. |
| Share | A view-only publication of a dashboard — a link for people outside the workspace, or an embed inside another app. |
| Saved query | A reusable SQL query written in the SQL editor. |
| Theme | A visual style applied to dashboards — colors, typography, card chrome. |
Workspaces
Section titled “Workspaces”A workspace is where your team works together. Members join by invitation and hold roles that control what they can do — from viewing dashboards to administering the workspace. Workspace settings include a default theme that newly-created dashboards pick up automatically. Sign-in can be backed by OIDC single sign-on with optional TOTP multi-factor authentication.
Data sources
Section titled “Data sources”A data source is a saved, encrypted connection. Sources are added through the connection wizard, which adapts its form to the connector — host/port credentials for classic databases, account details for cloud warehouses, a file picker for uploads. Once connected, a source’s tables are available to the SQL editor, data models, and dashboards.
Data models
Section titled “Data models”A data model sits between raw tables and dashboards. In a model you choose tables, define relationships between them (so charts can combine fields across tables correctly), and add:
- Calculated fields — row-level expressions that behave like extra columns.
- Measures — aggregations written in SquareX, DataSquares’ measure
language, which supports context modification (
Calculate), time intelligence (year-to-date, rolling windows), and level-of-detail expressions. Measures can be authored in a visual template builder or as SquareX code; both produce the same definition.
Dashboards built on a model share its relationships and measures, so numbers stay consistent across your team’s work.
Dashboards
Section titled “Dashboards”A dashboard is a canvas of cards. Each card is a chart, table, KPI, text block, or filter control with its own data configuration and format options. The canvas supports free drag/resize with precise numeric positioning, alignment tools, copy-paste, a format painter, and a layers pane. Dashboards have separate desktop and mobile layouts, support filters, cross-filtering and drill-down between cards, and can be presented full-screen.
Viewers see a read-only version of the dashboard with the interactions you’ve enabled — filtering, drilling, exporting — without being able to edit it.
Sharing, embeds, and exports
Section titled “Sharing, embeds, and exports”Dashboards reach people three ways:
- Workspace sharing — members see the dashboard inside DataSquares, governed by their role.
- Share links — view-only links for people without an account.
- Embeds — dashboards rendered inside your own application or portal.
Any dashboard can also be exported to PDF, PPTX, or PNG. Exports paginate on card boundaries so charts never get sliced mid-figure.
Where to go next
Section titled “Where to go next”- Build your first dashboard with the Quickstart.
- New to the product? Start at What is DataSquares?