diff --git a/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/DndColumnSelectControl/ColumnSelectPopover.tsx b/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/DndColumnSelectControl/ColumnSelectPopover.tsx
index f979f231e..bc59fb06e 100644
--- a/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/DndColumnSelectControl/ColumnSelectPopover.tsx
+++ b/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/DndColumnSelectControl/ColumnSelectPopover.tsx
@@ -18,13 +18,23 @@
  */
 /* eslint-disable camelcase */
 import React, {
+  Dispatch,
+  SetStateAction,
   useCallback,
   useEffect,
   useMemo,
   useRef,
   useState,
 } from 'react';
-import { AdhocColumn, isAdhocColumn, t, styled, css } from '@superset-ui/core';
+import { useSelector } from 'react-redux';
+import {
+  AdhocColumn,
+  isAdhocColumn,
+  t,
+  styled,
+  css,
+  DatasourceType,
+} from '@superset-ui/core';
 import { ColumnMeta, isSavedExpression } from '@superset-ui/chart-controls';
 import Tabs from 'src/components/Tabs';
 import Button from 'src/components/Button';
@@ -38,6 +48,7 @@ import {
   POPOVER_INITIAL_HEIGHT,
   UNRESIZABLE_POPOVER_WIDTH,
 } from 'src/explore/constants';
+import { ExplorePageState } from 'src/explore/types';
 
 const StyledSelect = styled(Select)`
   .metric-option {
@@ -60,6 +71,7 @@ interface ColumnSelectPopoverProps {
   getCurrentTab: (tab: string) => void;
   label: string;
   isTemporal?: boolean;
+  setDatasetModal?: Dispatch<SetStateAction<boolean>>;
 }
 
 const getInitialColumnValues = (
@@ -82,11 +94,16 @@ const ColumnSelectPopover = ({
   editedColumn,
   onChange,
   onClose,
+  setDatasetModal,
   setLabel,
   getCurrentTab,
   label,
   isTemporal,
 }: ColumnSelectPopoverProps) => {
+  const datasourceType = useSelector<ExplorePageState, string | undefined>(
+    state => state.explore.datasource.type,
+  );
+  console.log('datasource', datasourceType);
   const [initialLabel] = useState(label);
   const [initialAdhocColumn, initialCalculatedColumn, initialSimpleColumn] =
     getInitialColumnValues(editedColumn);
@@ -214,6 +231,11 @@ const ColumnSelectPopover = ({
     sqlEditorRef.current?.editor.resize();
   }, []);
 
+  const setDatasetAndClose = () => {
+    if (setDatasetModal) setDatasetModal(true);
+    onClose();
+  };
+
   const stateIsValid =
     adhocColumn || selectedCalculatedColumn || selectedSimpleColumn;
   const hasUnsavedChanges =
@@ -226,6 +248,8 @@ const ColumnSelectPopover = ({
   const savedExpressionsLabel = t('Saved expressions');
   const simpleColumnsLabel = t('Column');
 
+  console.log(calculatedColumns.length > 0);
+  console.log(datasourceType === DatasourceType.Query);
   return (
     <Form layout="vertical" id="metrics-edit-popover">
       <Tabs
@@ -261,7 +285,7 @@ const ColumnSelectPopover = ({
                 }))}
               />
             </FormItem>
-          ) : (
+          ) : datasourceType === DatasourceType.Table ? (
             <EmptyStateSmall
               image="empty.svg"
               title={
@@ -279,6 +303,40 @@ const ColumnSelectPopover = ({
                     )
               }
             />
+          ) : (
+            <EmptyStateSmall
+              image="empty.svg"
+              title={
+                isTemporal
+                  ? t('No temporal columns found')
+                  : t('No saved expressions found')
+              }
+              description={
+                isTemporal ? (
+                  <>
+                    <span
+                      role="button"
+                      tabIndex={0}
+                      onClick={setDatasetAndClose}
+                    >
+                      {t('Create a dataset')}
+                    </span>{' '}
+                    {t(' to mark a column as a time column')}
+                  </>
+                ) : (
+                  <>
+                    <span
+                      role="button"
+                      tabIndex={0}
+                      onClick={setDatasetAndClose}
+                    >
+                      {t('Create a dataset')}
+                    </span>{' '}
+                    {t(' to add calculated columns')}
+                  </>
+                )
+              }
+            />
           )}
         </Tabs.TabPane>
         <Tabs.TabPane key="simple" tab={t('Simple')}>
@@ -286,9 +344,22 @@ const ColumnSelectPopover = ({
             <EmptyStateSmall
               image="empty.svg"
               title={t('No temporal columns found')}
-              description={t(
-                'Mark a column as temporal in "Edit datasource" modal',
-              )}
+              description={
+                datasourceType === DatasourceType.Table ? (
+                  t('Mark a column as temporal in "Edit datasource" modal')
+                ) : (
+                  <>
+                    <span
+                      role="button"
+                      tabIndex={0}
+                      onClick={setDatasetAndClose}
+                    >
+                      {t('Create a dataset')}
+                    </span>{' '}
+                    {t(' to mark a column as a time column')}
+                  </>
+                )
+              }
             />
           ) : (
             <FormItem label={simpleColumnsLabel}>
diff --git a/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/DndColumnSelectControl/ColumnSelectPopoverTrigger.tsx b/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/DndColumnSelectControl/ColumnSelectPopoverTrigger.tsx
index c258b3d5b..4340317f0 100644
--- a/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/DndColumnSelectControl/ColumnSelectPopoverTrigger.tsx
+++ b/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/DndColumnSelectControl/ColumnSelectPopoverTrigger.tsx
@@ -17,9 +17,11 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 import React, { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react';
+import { useSelector } from 'react-redux';
 import { AdhocColumn, t, isAdhocColumn } from '@superset-ui/core';
 import { ColumnMeta, isColumnMeta } from '@superset-ui/chart-controls';
 import { ExplorePopoverContent } from 'src/explore/components/ExploreContentPopover';
+import { SaveDatasetModal } from 'src/SqlLab/components/SaveDatasetModal';
 import ColumnSelectPopover from './ColumnSelectPopover';
 import { DndColumnSelectPopoverTitle } from './DndColumnSelectPopoverTitle';
 import ControlPopover from '../ControlPopover/ControlPopover';
@@ -48,10 +50,13 @@ const ColumnSelectPopoverTrigger = ({
   isTemporal,
   ...props
 }: ColumnSelectPopoverTriggerProps) => {
+  // @ts-ignore
+  const datasource = useSelector(state => state.explore.datasource);
   const [popoverLabel, setPopoverLabel] = useState(defaultPopoverLabel);
   const [popoverVisible, setPopoverVisible] = useState(false);
   const [isTitleEditDisabled, setIsTitleEditDisabled] = useState(true);
   const [hasCustomLabel, setHasCustomLabel] = useState(false);
+  const [showDatasetModal, setDatasetModal] = useState(false);
 
   let initialPopoverLabel = defaultPopoverLabel;
   if (editedColumn && isColumnMeta(editedColumn)) {
@@ -95,6 +100,7 @@ const ColumnSelectPopoverTrigger = ({
         <ColumnSelectPopover
           editedColumn={editedColumn}
           columns={columns}
+          setDatasetModal={setDatasetModal}
           onClose={handleClosePopover}
           onChange={onColumnEdit}
           label={popoverLabel}
@@ -133,17 +139,31 @@ const ColumnSelectPopoverTrigger = ({
   );
 
   return (
-    <ControlPopover
-      trigger="click"
-      content={overlayContent}
-      defaultVisible={visible}
-      visible={visible}
-      onVisibleChange={handleTogglePopover}
-      title={popoverTitle}
-      destroyTooltipOnHide
-    >
-      {children}
-    </ControlPopover>
+    <>
+      {showDatasetModal && (
+        <SaveDatasetModal
+          visible={showDatasetModal}
+          onHide={() => setDatasetModal(false)}
+          buttonTextOnSave={t('Save')}
+          buttonTextOnOverwrite={t('Overwrite')}
+          modalDescription={t(
+            'Save this query as a virtual dataset to continue exploring',
+          )}
+          datasource={datasource}
+        />
+      )}
+      <ControlPopover
+        trigger="click"
+        content={overlayContent}
+        defaultVisible={visible}
+        visible={visible}
+        onVisibleChange={handleTogglePopover}
+        title={popoverTitle}
+        destroyTooltipOnHide
+      >
+        {children}
+      </ControlPopover>
+    </>
   );
 };
 
diff --git a/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/DndColumnSelectControl/DndColumnSelect.test.tsx b/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/DndColumnSelectControl/DndColumnSelect.test.tsx
index b02905191..bc837203d 100644
--- a/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/DndColumnSelectControl/DndColumnSelect.test.tsx
+++ b/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/DndColumnSelectControl/DndColumnSelect.test.tsx
@@ -34,13 +34,17 @@ const defaultProps: DndColumnSelectProps = {
 };
 
 test('renders with default props', () => {
-  render(<DndColumnSelect {...defaultProps} />, { useDnd: true });
+  render(<DndColumnSelect {...defaultProps} />, {
+    useDnd: true,
+    useRedux: true,
+  });
   expect(screen.getByText('Drop columns here')).toBeInTheDocument();
 });
 
 test('renders with value', () => {
   render(<DndColumnSelect {...defaultProps} value="string" />, {
     useDnd: true,
+    useRedux: true,
   });
   expect(screen.getByText('Column A')).toBeInTheDocument();
 });
@@ -55,7 +59,7 @@ test('renders adhoc column', () => {
         expressionType: 'SQL',
       }}
     />,
-    { useDnd: true },
+    { useDnd: true, useRedux: true },
   );
   expect(screen.getByText('adhoc column')).toBeVisible();
   expect(screen.getByLabelText('calculator')).toBeVisible();
diff --git a/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/MetricControl/AdhocMetricEditPopover/index.jsx b/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/MetricControl/AdhocMetricEditPopover/index.jsx
index 85abc2f83..1a87502aa 100644
--- a/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/MetricControl/AdhocMetricEditPopover/index.jsx
+++ b/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/MetricControl/AdhocMetricEditPopover/index.jsx
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 /* eslint-disable camelcase */
 import React from 'react';
 import PropTypes from 'prop-types';
-import { t, styled, ensureIsArray } from '@superset-ui/core';
+import { t, styled, ensureIsArray, DatasourceType } from '@superset-ui/core';
 import Tabs from 'src/components/Tabs';
 import Button from 'src/components/Button';
 import { Select } from 'src/components';
@@ -370,7 +370,7 @@ export default class AdhocMetricEditPopover extends React.PureComponent {
                   {...savedSelectProps}
                 />
               </FormItem>
-            ) : (
+            ) : datasource.type === DatasourceType.Table ? (
               <EmptyStateSmall
                 image="empty.svg"
                 title={t('No saved metrics found')}
@@ -378,6 +378,26 @@ export default class AdhocMetricEditPopover extends React.PureComponent {
                   'Add metrics to dataset in "Edit datasource" modal',
                 )}
               />
+            ) : (
+              <EmptyStateSmall
+                image="empty.svg"
+                title={t('No saved metrics found')}
+                description={
+                  <>
+                    <span
+                      tabIndex={0}
+                      role="button"
+                      onClick={() => {
+                        this.props.handleDatasetModal(true);
+                        this.props.onClose();
+                      }}
+                    >
+                      {t('Create a dataset')}{' '}
+                    </span>
+                    {t('to add metrics')}
+                  </>
+                }
+              />
             )}
           </Tabs.TabPane>
           <Tabs.TabPane
diff --git a/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/MetricControl/AdhocMetricPopoverTrigger.tsx b/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/MetricControl/AdhocMetricPopoverTrigger.tsx
index 273c83e7d..0136f0a8a 100644
--- a/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/MetricControl/AdhocMetricPopoverTrigger.tsx
+++ b/superset-frontend/src/explore/components/controls/MetricControl/AdhocMetricPopoverTrigger.tsx
@@ -17,9 +17,14 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 import React, { ReactNode } from 'react';
-import { Datasource, Metric } from '@superset-ui/core';
+import { Metric, t } from '@superset-ui/core';
 import AdhocMetricEditPopoverTitle from 'src/explore/components/controls/MetricControl/AdhocMetricEditPopoverTitle';
 import { ExplorePopoverContent } from 'src/explore/components/ExploreContentPopover';
+import {
+  ISaveableDatasource,
+  SaveDatasetModal,
+} from 'src/SqlLab/components/SaveDatasetModal';
+import { Datasource } from 'src/explore/types';
 import AdhocMetricEditPopover, {
   SAVED_TAB_KEY,
 } from './AdhocMetricEditPopover';
@@ -33,7 +38,7 @@ export type AdhocMetricPopoverTriggerProps = {
   columns: { column_name: string; type: string }[];
   savedMetricsOptions: savedMetricType[];
   savedMetric: savedMetricType;
-  datasource?: Datasource;
+  datasource: Datasource & ISaveableDatasource;
   children: ReactNode;
   isControlledComponent?: boolean;
   visible?: boolean;
@@ -48,6 +53,7 @@ export type AdhocMetricPopoverTriggerState = {
   currentLabel: string;
   labelModified: boolean;
   isTitleEditDisabled: boolean;
+  showSaveDatasetModal: boolean;
 };
 
 class AdhocMetricPopoverTrigger extends React.PureComponent<
@@ -63,6 +69,7 @@ class AdhocMetricPopoverTrigger extends React.PureComponent<
     this.getCurrentTab = this.getCurrentTab.bind(this);
     this.getCurrentLabel = this.getCurrentLabel.bind(this);
     this.onChange = this.onChange.bind(this);
+    this.handleDatasetModal = this.handleDatasetModal.bind(this);
 
     this.state = {
       adhocMetric: props.adhocMetric,
@@ -74,6 +81,7 @@ class AdhocMetricPopoverTrigger extends React.PureComponent<
       currentLabel: '',
       labelModified: false,
       isTitleEditDisabled: false,
+      showSaveDatasetModal: false,
     };
   }
 
@@ -119,6 +127,10 @@ class AdhocMetricPopoverTrigger extends React.PureComponent<
     this.forceUpdate();
   }
 
+  handleDatasetModal(showModal: boolean) {
+    this.setState({ showSaveDatasetModal: showModal });
+  }
+
   closePopover() {
     this.togglePopover(false);
     this.setState({
@@ -205,6 +217,7 @@ class AdhocMetricPopoverTrigger extends React.PureComponent<
           savedMetricsOptions={savedMetricsOptions}
           savedMetric={savedMetric}
           datasource={datasource}
+          handleDatasetModal={this.handleDatasetModal}
           onResize={this.onPopoverResize}
           onClose={closePopover}
           onChange={this.onChange}
@@ -223,18 +236,32 @@ class AdhocMetricPopoverTrigger extends React.PureComponent<
     );
 
     return (
-      <ControlPopover
-        placement="right"
-        trigger="click"
-        content={overlayContent}
-        defaultVisible={visible}
-        visible={visible}
-        onVisibleChange={togglePopover}
-        title={popoverTitle}
-        destroyTooltipOnHide
-      >
-        {this.props.children}
-      </ControlPopover>
+      <>
+        {this.state.showSaveDatasetModal && (
+          <SaveDatasetModal
+            visible={this.state.showSaveDatasetModal}
+            onHide={() => this.handleDatasetModal(false)}
+            buttonTextOnSave={t('Save')}
+            buttonTextOnOverwrite={t('Overwrite')}
+            modalDescription={t(
+              'Save this query as a virtual dataset to continue exploring',
+            )}
+            datasource={datasource}
+          />
+        )}
+        <ControlPopover
+          placement="right"
+          trigger="click"
+          content={overlayContent}
+          defaultVisible={visible}
+          visible={visible}
+          onVisibleChange={togglePopover}
+          title={popoverTitle}
+          destroyTooltipOnHide
+        >
+          {this.props.children}
+        </ControlPopover>
+      </>
     );
   }
 }