Creating Dashboards
Creating and Modifying Dashboards
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This chapter describes how to create and edit dashboards. It discusses the following topics:
The system provides an optional autosave feature, which can automatically save the state of the User Portal for each user, for each dashboard. If the autosave feature is enabled for the User Portal:
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When you access the User Portal, the system displays that user interface as you last saw it.
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When you display a dashboard, the system displays that dashboard as you last saw it.
To create a dashboard, use the following overall process:
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Log in to the User Portal in the desired namespace, as described
earlier.
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Or click the Add button

, which is above the list of dashboards, as follows:
Or click the
< button at the left side of the User Portal, click
Add, and then click
Add Dashboard.
In any case, the system then displays a dialog box that prompts you for basic information about the new dashboard.
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For
Folder, optionally type a folder name or select an existing folder.
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Note that this name is used (along with
Folder) as the logical name of the dashboard; the system displays this logical name when you use the
Save As option, for example.
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Optionally provide values for the other options as given in the
next section.
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The system creates, saves, and displays the dashboard, which is initially empty.
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To configure the dashboard, use a combination of the following tools:
To modify settings of a dashboard or of the widgets in a dashboard:
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Click the > button to the left of the dashboard. (If this button is not visible, either the dashboard is not editable or you do not have permission to edit it.) The following shows an example:
The system then expands the Dashboard Editor as follows:
To hide the Dashboard Editor, click the < button.
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Specify any of the following options as needed:
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Locked Select this option to temporarily prevent changes to this dashboard. If you select this option, you cannot edit the dashboard again unless you first clear the
Locked option again.
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Public Select this option to control whether this dashboard is displayed in the User Portal main area.
Important:
This option does not control access to the dashboard. Access is controlled instead by the
Owner and
Resource options, discussed later in this list.
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Title Specify the title of the dashboard.
If you specify a title, the main area of the User Portal displays the title of the dashboard. Otherwise, it displays the name of the dashboard.
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Owner Specify the InterSystems IRIS™ user who owns this dashboard. If a dashboard has an owner, then only the owner can specify the
Resource option for the dashboard; see the next item.
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Keywords List any keywords or phrases to help you find this dashboard later. Specify a comma-separated list of keywords or phrases.
These keywords are displayed in the User Portal.
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Resize Select this option to control whether users can move and resize the widgets on the dashboard.
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Modify Select this option to control whether users can modify the widgets on the dashboard.
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Title Bars Use this submenu to control the display of title bars on the widgets on this dashboard. You can also customize their appearance. This submenu has the following options:
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Title Bar Color Select a color to use for the title bar, to be used by default.
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Title Bar Opacity Specify the opacity of the title bar, to be used by default. The value 1 means 100%.
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Text Color Select a color for the text of the title bar, to be used by default.
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Selected Color Select a color to use for the title bar, to be used when the widget is selected.
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Selected Opacity Specify the opacity of the title bar, to be used when the widget is selected. The value 1 means 100%.
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Selected Text Color Select a color for the text of the title bar, to be used when the widget is selected.
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Font Select the typeface to use for the text in the title bar.
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Widget borders Use this option to hide or display borders on all widgets.
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Work Lists Specify the number of worklists in the dashboard. Note the following defaults:
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In a two-worklist dashboard, by default, the top worklist is the
Filters box, and the bottom worklist is the
Favorites/Recent items box.
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In a one-worklist dashboard, by default, the worklist is the
Filters box.
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Background Use this submenu to specify the background of the dashboard. This submenu has the following options:
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Background Color Select the background color. Note that this color is used only if
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Background Opacity Specify the opacity of the background color or background image (whichever is used). The value 1 means 100%.
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If you enable the
Scalable Grid option, when you move a widget, the upper left corner of widget aligns to the nearest grid point. Similarly, when you resize a widget, the lower right corner aligns to the nearest grid point. Use the
Grid Rows and
Grid Columns options to specify the grid. Note that the grid itself is not displayed.
If you resize the dashboard, all the widgets are automatically resized.
Scalable Grid is the only option that supports this resizing behavior.
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Snap Into Place Use this option to control how widgets are placed on the dashboard. If you clear this option, you can position widgets freely anywhere on the dashboard, even overlapping each other. If you select this option, the system automatically aligns the widgets next to each other or below each other.
This option is available only if you clear the
Scalable Grid option.
For details on the other parts of the Dashboard Editor, see the following chapters:
In some cases, the changes are saved automatically.
In other cases, the system does not save the changes automatically. In these cases, it displays an indicator like the following as a reminder:
To add a widget to a dashboard, use the following general procedure:
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If you make unrelated changes to the dashboard, and if you want to keep those changes, save them.
When you add a widget, the Dashboard Designer saves the dashboard with the newly added widget but discards other unsaved changes.
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You can reconfigure this widget, if needed; you can change any detail except for the widget
type. However, you generally use this option when you have saved widgets that are already configured in common ways for your needs.
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The system then displays a wizard where you select a widget and specify basic information for it.
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Navigate to a widget
type and (if applicable) subtype.
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(For most types of widgets) Optionally specify of the following items:
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Specify a name for
Widget Name. Note that each dashboard widget must have a name.
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Click
OK to add the widget to your dashboard.
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Optionally
configure the widget. For information on specific types of widgets, see the following chapters:
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This section provides an overview of widget types.
After you add widgets, you can reconfigure them in any way other than modifying their type. Note that you can modify the subtype, if applicable. The system provides the following widget types and subtypes:
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Pivot table widgets. This type of widget includes the table subtype and many chart subtypes.
Because there are so many chart options,
charts are discussed separately from
tables.
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Meter widgets. This type of widget includes many meter subtypes.
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Scorecard widgets. This type of widget includes two subtypes: regular and big.
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Calendar widgets. This type of widget includes one subtype.
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Map widgets. This type of widget includes one subtype.
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Portlet widgets. The subtypes include any portlets that you define.
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Controls widgets. This type of widget includes two subtypes: horizontal and vertical.
For reference, the following table compares the key features of widgets, across the different widget types:
*This option is available only if the data source is a pivot table.
For a
portlet, all these details depend upon the implementation.
When you reconfigure this widget, you can change any detail except for the widget
type. To select and reconfigure a widget on a given dashboard:
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The system then displays a list of the widgets in the dashboard.
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Click the name of the widget in this list. This action selects the widget.
The system then displays a list of settings that you can modify. In most cases, the list includes submenus. The following shows a partial example:
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Optionally specify the following settings, which all widgets have:
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Name Specify a name for internal use within this dashboard. One widget can refer to other widgets (for example, to filter another widget). For these names, you might want to establish a set of naming conventions, for your convenience.
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Title Specify any text to display in the title bar of the widget.
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The other submenus list additional items, depending on the kind of widget you select. For information, see the following chapters:
Use this submenu to configure the toolbar for the widget. Specify the following options:
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Toolbar This option enables or disables the toolbar. Select
ON or
OFF.
When the toolbar is enabled, the system displays it if the widget is configured with any buttons or any controls that require it (but see the
Show Maximized option). If the widget has none of these, the system does not display the toolbar.
When the toolbar is disabled, the system never displays the toolbar.
InterSystems recommends that you specify
Toolbar as
ON.
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Bottom Border This option displays or hides the bottom border of the toolbar. Select
ON or
OFF.
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Show Maximized If this option is
ON, the system displays the toolbar only when the widget is maximized.
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Toolbar Color Select the color to use for the background of the toolbar. Or click X to restore the default color.
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Toolbar Opacity Use this option to specify the opacity of the toolbar. The default is 1 (which is 100%).
Use this submenu to configure optional sidebar text for the widget, which is displayed in a rectangle on the right side of the widget, as in the following example:
Specify the following options:
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Sidebar This option enables or disables the sidebar. Select
ON or
OFF.
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Sidebar Content Type the text to be displayed in the sidebar. You can include simple HTML markup such as the <p> and </p> tags, the <br> tag, the <i> and </i> tags, and the <b> and </b> tags.
If you enclose text in the <p> and </p> tags, that text is automatically wrapped as shown in the preceding example.
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Sidebar Width Specify the width of the sidebar. Specify either a number (which is interpreted as the width in pixels) or a number followed by
% (which is interpreted as a percentage of the width of the entire widget).
To specify the data source for a widget:
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Specify one of the following options:
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Drilldown Target This option enables the user to double-click a cell and access another dashboard. The newly opened dashboard is filtered by the context in which the user double-clicked. For example, if the user double-clicks in a cell that shows data for a specific city, the newly opened dashboard is filtered to that city.
To use this option, click the Search button

, click a dashboard, and click
OK.
The following subsections provide details.
When you specify the data source for a widget, you refer to that data source by name. This logic simplifies the process of deploying dashboards and pivot tables to end users. But it also means that if you rename items, you must update any dashboards that use those elements.
When you open a dashboard, if the system cannot find a data source that it uses, the system displays as much of the dashboard as possible. For example:
With exceptions noted below, a dashboard widget can display data from any of the following data sources:
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A detail listing can be displayed only in a pivot table widget (in table mode).
The kind of data source does not affect the appearance of the widget; for example, the user cannot tell if a given chart is displaying data from a pivot table, a KPI, or a business metric.
Note that some kinds of widgets do not use data sources.
When you specify the
Link to option for a widget, you configure that widget as a
dependent widget that is linked to another widget (an
independent widget). The following rules govern linked widgets:
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One independent widget can be linked to any number of dependent widgets in the same dashboard.
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You cannot chain widgets; that is,
Link to must be an independent widget rather than another dependent widget.
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When you drill down on a row in the independent widget, the system also drills down in the dependent widgets.
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If you filter the independent widget, the system also filters the dependent widgets. Any filters on the dependent widgets are ignored.
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If you use the Mini Analyzer to redefine the independent widget, the system also redefines the dependent widgets.
You can copy a widget (including all its configuration details) to the widget catalog. To do so:
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The system displays a dialog box in which you specify details for the widget in the catalog.
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If you have already saved a widget with this name, in the given folder, the system prompts you to confirm that you want to overwrite the previously saved widget.
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No change is made to the dashboard itself.
The saved copy does not include any
local overrides. That is, if you have customized the pivot table by using the Mini Analyzer, those customizations are not included in the widget catalog.
To remove a widget from a dashboard:
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If you make unrelated changes to the dashboard, and if you want to keep those changes, save them.
When you remove a widget, the Dashboard Designer automatically saves the dashboard, now without the removed widget. In this step, the Dashboard Designer discards other changes that you made and did not save.
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Click the X button next to the widget name. The change is saved automatically.
If the
autosave feature for the User Portal is enabled, then when you display a dashboard, the User Portal displays that dashboard with any unsaved changes that you might have made. To remove these unsaved changes, click
Menu >
Clear Autosave State. Then the User Portal displays the dashboard as defined in its saved definition.
Or save the dashboard, thus saving the changes and changing the definition. See the
next topic.
To save the dashboard you are working on, do one of the following:
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The system saves the dashboard immediately.
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The system saves the dashboard immediately.
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Specify some or all of the following options and then click
OK:
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Folder Specify the folder, if any, to which the dashboard belongs. Either type a folder name or select an existing folder. If desired, use the slash character (
/) to specify a subfolder. For example, you can enter the following for
Folder:
Do not start the first folder name with a dollar sign (
$); if you do, the dashboard definition is accessible only in Studio.
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To copy a dashboard, do the following:
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One way to delete a dashboard is as follows:
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The system prompts you to confirm.
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Note:
When you delete a dashboard, the system moves it into a folder named
$TRASH, which the User Portal does not display.
You can also delete a dashboard in the User Portal.
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If the User Portal is in
Covers View, click the dashboard cover and then click the X in the dialog box. Then click
OK to confirm.
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If the User Portal is in
List View, click the X button in the row that lists the dashboard. Then click
OK to confirm.
Content Date/Time: 2019-02-23 00:49:24