How to Publish Looker Studio Report

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You've meticulously connected your data sources, arranged your charts just right, and crafted a story with your metrics. Now that your Looker Studio report is ready, it's time to share it. This article will walk you through the various ways to publish and share your work, from sending a private link to embedding an interactive dashboard directly on your website.

Before You Share: A Quick Pre-Flight Checklist

Before you hit the "Share" button, a quick review can save you from follow-up questions and ensure your report makes the right impression. Rushing this step is like publishing a blog post without proofreading - small mistakes can distract from your message.

Check Your Data Freshness

Is your data as recent as your audience expects it to be? Go to Resource > Manage added data sources. Here, you can see how often each data source refreshes. For a standard Google Analytics connection, the data might be updated every 12 hours. If your stakeholders need real-time numbers, you'll want to be aware of any potential lag so you can set clear expectations.

Polish the Report's Design and Clarity

Take one last look with fresh eyes. Do your charts have clear, understandable titles? Are there any typos in your text boxes or labels? Consistency is also important - make sure your color scheme is consistent and your visual elements are aligned. A tidy report is easier to trust and understand.

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Test Your Interactive Elements

If you've included filters, date range controls, or other interactive elements, give them a test run. Click through the filters and adjust the dates to make sure a viewer will have a smooth experience. A broken filter can frustrate users and stop them from finding the insights you want them to see.

Understanding Looker Studio Sharing & Access Levels

Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) gives you granular control over who can see and interact with your reports. Getting these settings right is fundamental to secure and effective collaboration. There are two primary concepts to grasp: how you share and what permission levels you grant.

You can grant access in two main ways:

• Invite people directly: Add individuals or Google Groups using their email addresses. This is perfect for when you know exactly who needs access, like your internal team or a specific client.
• Broaden access with a link: Create a shareable link that allows anyone with the link to view the report. This is better for wider, less-controlled distribution.

For each method, you'll assign one of two main permission levels:

• Viewer: This is the most common role. Viewers can see the dashboard, change filter settings, and adjust the date range for their own session, but they cannot make any permanent changes, edit the report, or share it with others. Their interactions won't affect what other users see.
• Editor: An editor has nearly full control. They can do everything a viewer can, plus add or remove charts, change data sources, modify styles, and share the report with other people. Only grant this permission to people you trust to work on the report itself.

The Four Main Ways to Publish Your Looker Studio Report

With the basics covered, you're ready to share. Looker Studio offers four primary methods for distributing your report, each suited to different needs.

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Method 1: Sharing with a Direct Link (The Quickest Way)

This is the simplest way to get your report in front of people. You generate a URL, send it out, and people can access it according to the permission level you set. It's ideal for sharing in chats, emails, or project management tools.

How to Do It:

1. With your report open, click the blue Share button in the top right corner.
2. In the pop-up window, navigate to the Manage access tab.
3. Look for the "Link settings" section. You will see a dropdown menu with three options:
4. Select the setting that best fits your needs (typically "Unlisted").
5. Click the Copy link icon and paste it wherever you need to share it.

Method 2: Inviting People Directly (For Controlled Access)

If you need to give specific permissions to certain people - for example, letting a teammate edit the report while a client can only view it - inviting them directly is the way to go.

How to Do It:

1. Click the Share button to open the sharing dialog.
2. Under "Add people and groups," start typing the email address of the person or Google Group you want to invite.
3. To the right of the input box, a dropdown menu will appear with "Viewer" as the default. Click it to change their permission level to Editor if needed.
4. Make sure the "Notify people" box is checked. This sends an email notification with a link directly to the report. You can customize the message if you like.
5. Click Send. The person will now be added to the access list and receive the notification.

Method 3: Embedding Your Report (Bringing Data to Your Site)

Want to display your interactive Looker Studio dashboard on your company's website, an internal wiki, a Notion doc, or a client portal? Embedding is the feature you need. This places a live, clickable version of your report right within another webpage.

How to Do It:

1. On your report, click the small dropdown arrow next to the Share button.
2. Select Embed report from the menu.
3. A configuration window will appear. First, you must check the Enable embedding checkbox to activate it.
4. You now have two options:
5. Adjust the height and width to fit the space where you'll be placing the report.
6. Click Copy to clipboard and paste the code or URL into your website's HTML editor or the embed block of your tool.

Important Note: For embedding to work, your report's link sharing must be set to either "Unlisted" or "Public." A "Restricted" report cannot be embedded for others to see.

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Method 4: Automated Delivery and Downloads (Set It and Forget It)

Sometimes, your audience doesn't need a live link, they just need a regular snapshot of performance. Looker Studio lets you automate this process by scheduling email deliveries of a PDF version of your report.

Scheduling an Email:

1. Click the dropdown arrow next to the Share button.
2. Select Schedule delivery.
3. In the setup dialogue, fill in the details:
4. Click Schedule. The system will now automatically email a PDF of the report to your list on the schedule you defined.

Downloading a PDF Manually:

If you just need a one-time static copy for a presentation slide or an archive, you can download a PDF instantly.

1. Click the same dropdown arrow next to Share and select Download report.
2. A configuration pane will open on the right. Here you can select which pages to include, choose to ignore custom background colors (for a printer-friendly version), or add a link back to the live report in the PDF.
3. Click Download and the file will be generated and saved to your computer.

Pro Tip: How to Manage and Revoke Access

Projects change, and people move on. It's good practice to periodically review who has access to your reports. Removing access is just as easy as granting it.

1. Click the Share button and go to the Manage access tab.
2. Under "People with access," you'll see a list of everyone you've invited.
3. To change someone's permissions, click on their current role (e.g., "Viewer") and select a different one, or choose Remove access to revoke their privileges entirely.
4. To disable link sharing, simply change the "Link settings" dropdown back to Restricted.

Final Thoughts

Publishing your Looker Studio report is straightforward once you know your options. Whether you need a secure link for your team, an embedded dashboard for your website, or scheduled PDF updates for executives, the platform gives you the control you need to share your insights effectively.

While sharing is an important final step, the process of pulling data, cleaning it, and building those initial reports is often where teams spend most of their time. We built Graphed to tackle this head-on. Instead of wrestling with data connectors and report canvases, you can simply ask for the dashboard you need in plain English. Graphed connects all your marketing and sales sources, builds real-time dashboards for you automatically, and keeps everything up-to-date, so you can spend less time building and more time acting on valuable insights.