# About Yandex DataLens


Yandex DataLens is a business analytics tool that allows you to connect to various data sources, visualize data, create dashboards, reports, presentations, and share your results. With DataLens, you can track your product and business metrics directly from data sources to make data-driven decisions.



For usage examples, see [Gallery](https://datalens.ru/gallery).


## How DataLens works {#how-dl-works}


![image](../../_assets/datalens/concepts/datalens.svg)


DataLens features the following entities:

* **Connection**: Parameters for accessing a data source.
* **Dataset**: Description of a dataset from a source.
* **Chart**: Data from a data source or dataset visualized as tables, diagrams, or maps.
* **Dashboard**: Complex visualization made up of charts and selectors for filtering data as well as text blocks, automatically optimized for mobile devices.
* **Report**: Document designed as an interactive presentation, where you can add charts, text blocks, headers, and images and then export it to PDF.

DataLens uses workbooks and collections to organize objects. Workbooks store connections, datasets, charts, and dashboards. Collections group workbooks and other collections for streamlined data management and navigation.


DataLens offers three tools for creating charts (graphs, tables, and maps):

* [**Wizard**](chart/dataset-based-charts.md) is a tool familiar to users of Tableau, Power BI, and similar platforms. It enables you to create datasets and visualize their data in a GUI by means of formulas and drag-and-drop field placement.

* [**QL charts**](chart/ql-charts.md) help you render a chart by running a query to your data source.

* [**Editor**](../charts/editor/index.md) is designed for creating data visualization widgets with JavaScript. In Editor, you can use data from various [sources](../charts/editor/sources.md) and process it as you like, which makes it a very flexible tool.

You can add your charts to [dashboards](dashboard.md) or [reports](../reports/index.md), enhance them with control elements, such as selectors, headers, images, or tooltips, and share your work with your colleagues and team.