A time picker has been added to Analytics in Azure Application Insights so that you can easily set a time range for your queries. The default range is Last 24 hours, but you can easily change that: Just select a different preset range, or simply add your own “where timestamp…” clause to the query (so if your queries already include a time filter, they’ll work exactly as before).
 

Why do we need a time picker?

With mountains of data at hand, Analytics users often want to focus on a specific time frame. The new time picker allows you to zoom in and explore interesting events without manually editing your query. With the coming upgrade of the data retention period to a full 90 days, applying a time filter to narrow down the number of records returned will help identify events’ root causes, as well as investigate their consequences. Time filters are also a good way to make your queries more efficient and get faster results. This is why we’ve decided to introduce the new time picker, bringing time filtering to the front and making it as easy as possible.

What does the time picker do?

The time picker, located next to the familiar Go button, allows you to select a time range to apply to your query, instead of manually typing it again and again. The selected time range will apply to all the queries in the current tab. The default range is Last 24 hours, but you can easily use a different range –  simply select any of the other presets – last 10 minutes, last hour, 2 or 7 days. After executing the query, you can see the applied time range on the results bar.

 
If none of the presets matches your needs, select custom time range to learn how to add your own time filter to queries.

But wait, what about queries that already include a time filter?

No worries. Specifying an explicit time filter in queries remains a very powerful feature. For these cases we added the Set in query mode, selected automatically for queries that include a time filter.

What’s next?

This is of course just the beginning. As more users get acquainted with the time picker, it will evolve to support many more use cases, such as selecting the previous month (the whole calendar month preceding the current one) and specific start and end date and time.

As always, feel free to send us your questions or feedback by using one of the following channels:
•  Suggest ideas and vote on our UserVoice page
•  Join the conversation in the Application Insights Community forum
•  Try Application Insights Analytics