TSVB option to always display date value in the tooltip header of a time series visualization

[jimkaba]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe. The TSVB Time Series visualization tooltip header does not always provide unambiguous or useful date/time values. This makes it extremely difficult to interactively examine data, to pinpoint specific events in time, and to communicate this information to others in an operational setting.

On a TSVB Time Series visualization, when the operator hovers the cursor over a point on a graph, the Date/Time header of the tooltip popup box seems to follow the current formatting of the X-axis. For example:

• When only times are displayed on the X-axis (for a graph of a relatively short time range), only a time value is included in the tooltip header.
• When dates and times are displayed on the X-axis (for a graph with a larger time range), a date plus time value is included in the tooltip header.

Under multiple circumstances, it would be very useful to always include the date in the tooltip header. Two common examples are:

1. A graph over a time range of 3 days only includes times (not dates) in the X-axis. Having date information in the tooltip will help to pinpoint what data is being examined.
2. When zooming into a graph that normally spans days, weeks or months, the tooltips in the zoomed-in graphs might only show time values. Having date information in the tooltip will help provide context for exactly what subset of data is being displayed.

Describe the solution you'd like I propose a control option that would allow the visualization builder to force date information to be included in the tooltip header under all circumstances.

In the TSVB Time Series visualization builder, on the Panel Options tab, an additional "Tooltip Header" control can be added to select the desired Tooltip Header content.

• One approach is to have a radio button to override the default behavior and always include Date+Time information in the tooltip header.
• Another approach is to have a menu pick with options such as: "Auto" (the default "follow X axis" behavior) and "Date+Time". (This leaves a path for incorporating additional options, such as "Time Only", in case someone thinks that would be useful.)

Describe alternatives you've considered The date/time selection filter in the dashboard header sometimes displays specific date information (e.g. when zooming in on a graph.) But very often there is no date context information in that filter window. Also, on a large dashboard, the date/time selection window may not be visible when viewing any given graph. Additionally, the time range in this selection window may still not ambiguously pinpoint what data is being highlighted by the tooltip.

[joshuarrrr]

@jimkaba You bring up some good points, and most of them would apply to any visualization type that includes a timeseries axis or timestamp data.

@btzeng This is something we should consider as part of the OpenSearch Design System's approach to standardized timeseries interactions.