In the section, we focus on several options available to you to create dashboards — which are collections of individual gadgets (that may contain charts, maps, text, images, and more) — and presentations. Both of these resources may be designed to update automatically as new data becomes available.
You can create a new dashboard in several ways:
- Create an empty dashboard or presentation from scratch
- Create a dashboard while browsing a dataset
- Use bookmarked visualizations
- Customize an existing dashboard or presentation (save a copy)
Option 1: Build a brand-new dashboard or presentation.
If you would like to start from scratch to build your dashboard or presentation based on the data available in your system's catalog, follow these steps:
- From your "Tools" menu* choose to build a dashboard or presentation.
- Choose your preferred layout and click Create. A new page opens with the selected layout.
- Select any of the visualization options to begin adding content to your dashboard/presentation.
- Select a dataset. Select a dataset and click Select Dataset button.
Note: for some gadgets there is an ability to add more than one dataset. Click the Dataset Selection tab again and click Browse Dataset to locate and work with an additional dataset. - After you select the dataset, the page redirects to the 'Dimension Filter' tab where you will select information from each dimension to create your visualization.
- Once you've selected your data, click the 'Appearance' tab.
- After you are finished customizing the appearance (including colors, legend, text boxes, axis labels, footnotes, etc), click Save.
- Name and save your dashboard/presentation before building additional content so that you do not lose your work.
* Systems vary. Your system may have a button for building a dashboard or presentation on the landing page, or you may find this option in the dropdown menu at the top right of your screen.
Dashboard builder has a title, controls allowing to save, customize, parametrize or add infographics, description block, and the main body which may have any layout and contain different gadgets. To change the layout you can split or delete placeholders.
Option 2: Create a dashboard while browsing a dataset.
If you are exploring a dataset and find indicators of interest and you want to create a dashboard (or presentation) with the data, you can do so in a single click.
After selecting data using the dimensions in the left panel of the dataset viewer, click the icon to Open in new dashboard. This step will create a new dashboard with a single chart that you can now customize, including appearance as well as calculations.
You can also add additional sections to your new dashboard and build new charts from scratch or add some from your bookmarks to complete your dashboard.
Option 3: Use Bookmarked Visualizations
Bookmarks allow you to reuse the best charts from your system to rapidly build a new page, as follows:
- From your Tools' menu* choose to build a dashboard or presentation.
- Choose your preferred layout and click Create.
- If you have more than one gadget bookmarked, you will be able to scroll through each to select the gadget you want to insert.
- Dashboards: To insert more than one, make sure you click/drag to make enough space, and then from the gadget's top right menu, choose Split. You now have a new space to insert another bookmarked gadget or to create a new one from scratch.
- Presentations: Because slides have specific page height and width restrictions, you must use one of the templates. You can choose to change your template from the action bar, however, when in Edit mode.
* Systems vary. Your system may have a button for building a dashboard or presentation on the landing page, or you may find this option in the dropdown menu at the top right of your screen.
Note: You can modify the data coverage (Dimension Filter tab) and the Appearance once you have inserted the bookmarked gadget.
Option 4: Customize an Existing Dashboard (or Presentation)
Save a copy of an existing dashboard or presentation to customize a new version following these steps:
- If you have access/permission to a specific dashboard or presentation, you will see an option to Save a copy. Select this option to instantly create a copy of the dashboard.
- Add a new title and click Save. It will automatically be saved as a private copy.
- You can now edit and refine it to suit your purposes by affecting the original version.
- Share this version with specific users or keep it private until you are ready to publish it.
Note: Depending on the security settings of your platform, you may not have permission to make the dashboard or presentation public. If you need to publish the dashboard and cannot, please notify your system administrator.