Guide 62 · Reports · GA4 + Tag Manager
Build a free-form exploration: a custom table from any dimensions and metrics
A free-form exploration is a crosstab you build by dragging dimensions to rows and metrics to values. It is the default technique for a new blank exploration.
After step 7, the exploration shows your dimensions as rows and your metrics as values, saved under a name, with the date range you set.
Download the report reference: the Free-form reference (JSON) (1557 bytes, MD5 51811f115452d0b177fb6ec58e4141f7). It holds the report or exploration definition and the worked example with the recomputed figures shown on this page.
What you need
- Viewer access or above on the property to build; at least the Analyst role to share it later.
- The entry point: Explore in the left navigation.
- Your question written down first — for example, sessions and key event rate by landing page for organic traffic. A free-form table without a question becomes a pile of columns.
The trace
- Open Explore and start blank. Click Explore in the left navigation, then click the create icon for a blank exploration, or pick the free-form template. The default technique for a new blank exploration is the free form table.
- Set the date range first. At the top of the Variables panel, click the date range and pick a preset such as Last 28 days, or a custom range, then click OK. A preset range rolls forward when you reopen the saved exploration; a custom range stays fixed.
- Add dimensions and metrics to Variables. In the Variables panel on the left, click the add icon beside Dimensions and Metrics, select the items you want — for example, Landing page + query string and Sessions, Key events, Engagement rate — then click Import. You can apply up to 20 dimensions and 20 metrics to an exploration.
- Drag them into Tab Settings. Drag a dimension from Variables to the Rows area in Tab Settings, or double-click it — double-clicking a dimension applies it to Rows. Drag metrics to Values. The canvas on the right fills in as you place each one.
- Pick the display. Use the display selector to show the free-form technique as a table, bar chart, line chart, pie chart, scatter plot, or geo map. The table is the default; a bar chart suits a ranked comparison, a line chart suits a trend.
- Filter and segment the table. In Tab Settings, add up to 10 filters per tab, and drag a segment in to compare one group against another. A filter narrows the whole table; a segment adds a comparison column.
- Save it under a name. Name the exploration and save it. When you first create an exploration, only you can see it. Sharing is a separate step, covered in the sharing guide.
Dead ends
DEAD END — BUILDING WITHOUT A QUESTION. A free-form table accepts any dimensions and metrics, so it also accepts a meaningless pile of them. Write the question first, then pick only the fields that answer it.
DEAD END — MIXING INCOMPATIBLE DIMENSIONS AND METRICS. Some combinations cannot be computed together. GA4 shows an incompatible-request icon when that happens; the fix is to change the combination, not to keep adding fields.
DEAD END — EXPECTING COLLEAGUES TO SEE AN EXPLORATION YOU HAVE NOT SHARED. A new exploration is visible only to its creator. Until you share it, your colleagues cannot open it even if they have access to the property.
End state
A free-form exploration is a table you assemble: dimensions as rows, metrics as values, one question per tab. The worked example below recomputes the rates for three landing pages, which is the table this exploration is built to produce.
Worked example — stated inputs, recomputed results. The landing pages below are stated inputs for the example. Every rate in the table was recomputed from them.
| Row | Sessions | Engaged sessions | Engagement rate | Key events | Key event rate | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| /pricing | 1,840 | 1,196 | 65.0% | 176 | 9.6% | $1,880.00 |
| /features | 1,320 | 660 | 50.0% | 52 | 3.9% | $310.75 |
| /guides/start | 715 | 512 | 71.6% | 121 | 16.9% | $1,280.25 |
| Total | 3,875 | 2,368 | 61.1% | 349 | 9.0% | $3,471.00 |
Revenue per session is $3,471.00 ÷ 3,875 sessions = $0.90. Engagement rate is 2,368 ÷ 3,875 = 61.1%.
Sources
- Analytics Help — Get started with Explorations — the default technique for a new blank exploration is the free form table; up to 20 dimensions and 20 metrics; up to 10 filters per tab; explorations start visible only to the creator
- Analytics Help — Confirm that you are collecting data — many reports and explorations can take 24 to 48 hours to process data
Checked 11 November 2026. The click paths above are the ones in Google's help pages, opened or read 11 November 2026 (the Explorations and detail-report pages were opened in full; the report, library, navigation and thresholds pages were read from Google's help results the same day, after the browser hit a rate limit). No step in this guide was run inside a live Analytics property, because that needs a Google sign-in and this site does not sign in as anyone. The worked-example figures on this page were recomputed in Python with decimal arithmetic, and the downloadable JSON file carries the same recomputed figures. Google moves menu items without warning; if a path on this page no longer matches, the linked help page is the current map.