13. Tips, limits and troubleshooting
13.1 Every enforced limit, in one table
| Limit | Value | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Circles on a Venn | 3 | A Venn diagram can show at most 3 circles. Remove one before adding another. |
| Waterfall levels | 3 | A waterfall can drill down at most 3 levels. |
| Waterfall children per level | 10 + an Other bucket | Silent |
| Matrix values per axis | 7 each (49 cells) | Silent — the rest are not shown |
| Open canvas tabs | 6 | Tab limit reached — close a canvas to open another (max 6). |
| Segment filters per canvas | 1 | Only one segment filter can be applied at a time. |
| Mixing segment and value filters | not allowed | You can't combine a segment filter with value filters on the same canvas. |
| Datasources per canvas | 1 | Everything on a canvas must come from the same datasource. |
| Records list preview | 2,000 rows | Showing 2,000 of 405,264 records |
| CSV download | 1,000,000 rows | Export capped at 1,000,000 rows |
| Excel download | 100,000 rows | Warning on truncation |
| SFTP upload | 100,000 rows | Warning on truncation |
| Simultaneous interactive exports | 2 | Another export is running — try again shortly. |
| Canvas / segment / list names | 50 characters | Name must be 50 characters or fewer. |
| Email canvas recipients | 10 per send, 10 sends/hour | — |
| Digest recipients | 10 | Comma-separated, up to 10 addresses. |
| 4AI messages | 20 / minute per user | You're sending messages faster than 4AI can answer… |
| Criteria Top N | 1 – 200, or empty for unlimited | Enter a whole number between 1 and 200… |
The two silent ones are worth repeating: a matrix shows only the top seven values per axis with no notice, and a waterfall shows only the top ten children per node (though it does at least give you the remainder as Other).
13.2 Tips
Use the legend rows to select. On a Venn, clicking US ∩ Technology only in the
panel is far more reliable than aiming at a sliver of the diagram.
Use Scale before Zoom. If a circle is too small to click, the Scale slider grows it in place. Zoom just magnifies everything, including the problem. Reset Scale when you are done so the picture stays honest.
Click a row or column label on a matrix. It selects the whole run — much faster than seven clicks.
Use "Other" deliberately. A waterfall's grey Other bucket is selectable and exports correctly. It is often the most interesting bar — it is your long tail.
Turn on Equal size when a waterfall is unreadable. One huge first bar squashes everything else. The toggle is display-only and the real numbers stay in the tooltips.
Save the intermediate step. When you drag a selection to a new canvas, 4Segments saves it as a named segment on the way. Give it a real name — you will want it again.
Star what you watch. Only favorited segments get change tracking on Home.
Open two browser tabs. 4Segments in one, your marketing platform in the other. You can build a list and use it minutes later without switching applications.
Refresh to start over. Reloading the browser closes every canvas and gives you a blank workspace. You lose everything unsaved, so be sure first.
13.3 Common questions
Nothing happens when I click a criteria value. Single-clicking is deliberately inert. Double-click to add it, or drag it.
I clicked a region and it didn't select. Two likely causes. On a Venn you may have clicked the circle's name label, which is the drag handle for merge and delete, not a selection target — click elsewhere in the region. Or the canvas is still calculating; watch the count box and wait a moment.
I dragged a circle and it panned the canvas instead. Drags start from the circle's name label. Anywhere else on the circle pans.
My export destination isn't in the Segment menu. Three things must all be true: the connected system exists, it is active, and it has a table mapping for the table this canvas uses (SFTP is exempt from the last one). Check Admin → Connected Systems → Table mappings.
My matrix is missing values I know exist. A matrix shows only the top seven values per axis, silently. Use a Waterfall or a Venn for the rest.
My funnel/map says it isn't configured. An administrator has to nominate which values are stages, or which map the values render on. The panel has an Open Admin button that takes you straight there. See 12.4.4 and 12.4.5.
My filtered funnel or map shows zero records. Filters across different criteria are combined with AND. Two filters from different criteria that no record satisfies together give you zero. Remove one chip at a time to find the culprit.
The number in the sidebar doesn't match the number on the canvas. Expected. Sidebar counts come from last night's refresh; canvas counts are live. See 11.1.
The legend numbers don't add up to the circle numbers. Also expected, and important. Circle labels are inclusive totals; legend rows are exclusive counts. See 4.2.
I said the export started, but nothing arrived in Eloqua. "Export started" means the job was accepted, not that it succeeded. There is no in-app status for a one-off export — check the destination system. The most common cause is an identifier mismatch: verify the Remote field in Admin → Connected Systems → Table mappings. Scheduled exports do record their outcomes, so use one if you need an audit trail.
My segment says "No significant change" but I know it moved. Changes are only reported when they clear both 25 records and 10%. Smaller movements are treated as noise. Hover the note to see the baseline size it was compared against.
My segment shows "No comparison yet". That one means something different: there is no baseline to compare against. Either the segment is newer than the last nightly snapshot, or this workspace has not built up two nightly snapshots far enough apart yet. Give it a night or two.
A canvas won't open and has a ⚠ next to it. It references criteria that have been deleted. There is no repair — delete it and rebuild from the current criteria.
I deleted something by mistake. There is no undo and no recycle bin anywhere in 4Segments. Recreate it.
I made a change in my source system and 4Segments doesn't show it. New records appear on the next canvas query, which is live. New values of a field appear after an administrator runs Discover new values from DB, or after the nightly refresh. Counts in the sidebar update overnight.
I need a map of a country other than the US. Not available in this release — only World and United States ship. Contact your service representative if you need another.
Where's ⌘K / the command palette? There isn't one. Use the two sidebar search boxes, or ask 4AI.
Where's dark mode? It follows your operating system automatically. There is no switch in the product.
Why can I only have three circles? Because four proportional circles cannot show all their overlaps — it is geometry, not a product decision. Drag your selection to a new canvas to keep going; there is no ceiling on total conditions. See 4.5.
Why do you call them Venn diagrams if they're technically Euler diagrams? Because "Venn diagram" is what people say. We tip our hat to Leonhard Euler and continue using the more familiar name.
Next: 14. Glossary →