---
title: The Explorer
canonical: "https://cloudmonitor.ai/docs/using-cloudmonitor/reports/explorer/"
description: "Build your own analysis when none of the ready-made breakdowns fits, then save it so you never build it twice."
---

The Explorer is for the question nobody anticipated. The app's own description of it:

> Build your own analysis. Group by any dimension, switch the chart, and show cost as a rate — then save it as a View.

Where [The Ledger](/docs/using-cloudmonitor/reports/the-ledger/) is a table you group, the Explorer is
a chart you shape. Same underlying rows, different working style.

## The three controls

**Group by any dimension.** Anything the Ledger can group by, the Explorer can — plus combinations
the preset breakdowns don't offer.

**Switch the chart.** The same numbers as bars, lines or a breakdown. Worth flicking between: a trend
that looks flat as bars often isn't as a line.

**Show cost as a rate.** This is the one people miss. Instead of total spend, divide it by something
that matters to your business — **Per customer**, per active user, per request. Total spend going up
while cost per customer goes down is a good month; the total alone can't tell you that.

## Saving your work

The Explorer expects you to build something worth keeping.

- **Save current as…** names the analysis.
- **Update "…"** overwrites it after you've tweaked it.
- **Reset to default** starts over.
- **Saved views** lists everything you've kept.

Views are yours and per-report. The page address follows the view you're on, so a link you copy opens
on the same analysis.

## When to use it, and when not to

**Use the Explorer** for exploratory work, for anything expressed as a rate, and for a recurring
report you'll want again next month.

**Use the Ledger** when you need to reconcile a number to the bill line by line, or drill from a
total to a single resource. It's the better tool for tracing.

## Filters

Every global filter applies, plus your cost basis — so an Explorer view scoped to one cost group and
one provider stays scoped when you come back to it.

If you're building a rate, be deliberate about the Period: a per-customer figure over seven days and
the same figure over a quarter are different measurements, and only one of them is stable enough to
put in a report.