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Full Analytics Groups entry
How-to guide

How to add and use Analytics Groups in a report

Groupings are added in the Lightning Report Builder by dragging a field into the Groups area. Picking the right field and the right granularity does most of the work; the formatting decisions follow.

By Dipojjal Chakrabarti · Founder & Editor, Salesforce DictionaryLast updated May 19, 2026

Groupings are added in the Lightning Report Builder by dragging a field into the Groups area. Picking the right field and the right granularity does most of the work; the formatting decisions follow.

  1. Choose the report format

    Tabular for raw rows, Summary for one or more row groupings, Matrix for row plus column, Joined for combined blocks. Format is the constraint that decides which groupings are allowed.

  2. Add the first row grouping

    Drag a field into the Group Rows area. Choose date granularity if applicable. Confirm the row count collapses as expected.

  3. Add a column grouping if using Matrix

    Switch to Matrix and drag a field into Group Columns. The report now becomes a two-axis pivot.

  4. Configure summary fields per grouping

    Select Sum, Average, Min, Max, Median, or Count on the relevant numeric fields. Add Summary Formulas if the calculation crosses groupings.

  5. Bind the report to a dashboard component

    Create or edit a dashboard, choose the report as the source, pick a chart type that fits the groupings (column chart for one grouping, stacked column for two), save the dashboard.

Gotchas
  • Grouping by a high-cardinality field produces hundreds of one-row groupings and slows the report down. Pick fields whose values are countable in your head.
  • Bucket fields live inside one report. They do not sync across reports, so the same buckets have to be re-created each time, or moved to a real picklist for reuse.
  • Matrix reports support exactly one row and one column grouping each. Stacking more requires Summary plus drill paths, not Matrix.
  • Joined reports cap at five blocks. Beyond that, the report becomes unwieldy and dashboard binding gets brittle.

See the full Analytics Groups entry

Analytics Groups includes the definition, worked example, deep dive, related terms, and a quiz.