GitHub user YousufFFFF created a discussion: Improve UX/docs around missing time buckets in time-series charts
Summary: When building time-series charts in Apache Superset, missing time buckets (e.g. weeks with no data) are not displayed on the X-axis by default, even when users configure time format options such as %W and set X-axis label interval to All. This behavior is correct from a data perspective, but it is confusing for new users, and there is currently no clear UI hint or documentation explaining why this happens or how to fix it. Problem Description: Many users expect that setting: - X-axis time format (e.g. %W) - X-axis label interval = All will force all weeks to appear in the chart. However, Superset only renders time buckets that actually exist in the query result set. Weeks with no rows are silently skipped. This leads to repeated beginner questions (e.g. “How do I show all weeks?”) and trial-and-error with chart settings that cannot solve the problem. Steps to Reproduce: 1. Create a dataset with a date column where some weeks have no data. 2. Build a time-series chart. 3. Set time granularity to Week. 4. Set X-axis time format to %W. 5. Set X-axis label interval to All. 6. Observe that weeks with no data are not shown on the chart. Expected Behavior: At minimum, users should be clearly informed that: - Superset does not generate missing time buckets automatically - Missing weeks must be created at the query/database level (e.g. calendar table, date spine, generate_series, etc.) - Ideally, this guidance should be visible directly in the chart UI, not only in external documentation. Actual Behavior: - Missing weeks are not shown. - Chart settings provide no indication why. - Users assume this is a bug or misconfiguration. Proposed Improvements (any one or combination): - Add a UI hint / tooltip near time granularity or X-axis settings explaining this behavior - Improve documentation with a clear section on handling “Missing time buckets” - Optionally add a warning or helper text when time-series charts skip intervals - (Optional, longer-term) Provide a DB-agnostic way to auto-generate empty time buckets Additional Context: - This question frequently appears in Slack (#beginner-questions) and community discussions, indicating a recurring UX gap rather than a one-off confusion. - This confusion is especially common among new Superset users exploring time-series charts for the first time. GitHub link: https://github.com/apache/superset/discussions/36773 ---- This is an automatically sent email for [email protected]. To unsubscribe, please send an email to: [email protected] --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
