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Eptura Knowledge Center

Create a Dashboard

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Internet Explorer users are recommended to use IE 10 or higher to avoid known issues with dashboard designer.

A dashboard provides the ability to display several reports in a single, integrated view. They may contain other dashboards, input controls for choosing the data displayed in one or more frames, and custom frames that point to URLs for other content. By combining different types of related content, you are able to create appealing, data-rich dashboards that quickly convey trends. 

Access and Create a Dashboard

  1. Navigate to Insights > Dashboards.
  2. Click the Create a Dashboard button. The Create a Dashboard screen displays.

Dashboard Designer

Let's look around the Dashboard Designer, which allows you to create a dashboard that includes pre-existing elements, such as reports and views, and create new charts, tables, and crosstabs from your data sources directly from the designer.

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The Dashboard Designer includes the following panels:

Available Content - From here, you can drag content onto the Dashboard Canvas. This includes the following items:

  • New Content (A) - lists the control elements you can create for your dashboard.
  • Existing Content (B) - Lists the Ad Hoc views and reports you can access.
  • Filters (C) - Lists all filters associated with any resource added to the dashboard.
  • Dashboard Settings (D) - The Dashboard Settings are located on the right-side menu. Click the Arrow icon to collapse the settings, and this can be easily expanded again.

Dashboard Canvas - This is where you create your dashboard. It includes the following sections:

  • Toolbar Bar (E) - For details on the icons see the table below.
  • Dashlets Area (F) - This area is where you drag items to create dashlets. The dashlets are used to build your dashboard.

The toolbar contains the following icons.

Icon Name Description
clipboard_ebf5b1f2a42fc7633977588611da86b7b.png Preview Toggle between design and display modes.
clipboard_eeb0cd6aebf841bcd3105cfbc8db9de96.png Parameter Mapping Show parameter mapping dialog
clipboard_ec694aa8f7aae9d3b2a8ec57a91dc611c.png Grid Overlay Show or hide grid overlay.

Dashlets

Each element on your dashboard is called a Dashlet. Dashlets have unique names and resource IDs, and editable properties that vary depending on the Dashlet type.

Your permissions to access the repository may limit the content you can add.

New Content

The following new content items can be dragged into the Dashlet Area:

  • Chart - Allows you to create a chart within the Dashboard Designer.
  • Crosstab - Allows you to create a crosstab within the Dashboard Designer.
  • Table - Allows you to create a table within the Dashboard Designer.
  • Text - A free-form text entry field. Resizing this type of item changes the size of the font in the label. Use free-text items to add titles and instructional text to the dashboard.

Existing Content

The existing content is pre-built charts and tables that you can add into your dashboard. These items can be dragged to the Dashlet Area.

Filters

If a chart or table you include on the dashboard is designed to use input controls or filters, you can add that capability to the dashboard.

The server maps input controls to one or more frames. For example, if multiple reports include the same parameter, the server automatically maps the corresponding control to each of those reports when you add the input control to the dashboard. Controls can also be manually mapped to custom URL frames.

Add a New Dashlet

In this example, let's add a chart dashlet.

  1. From the New Content area, select the content (either Chart, Crosstab, or Table) and drag it to the dashlets area and the Select Data dialog displays.

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  1. Select the data.
  2. Click the Choose Data... button and Data Chooser dialog displays.

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Fields

  1. From the Source panel, select one or multiple fields.
  2. Click the Arrow icon clipboard_e872cea5a4bf04756f95b633db4d6366c.png to more then to the Selected Fields panel.

Notes

Fields - The Add All Arrow clipboard_e0326307acacf879004e57b9e674798b4.png icon will add the all the fields.

Pre-filters - These fields can be filtered or rearranged as needed using the pre-filter and display options.

Pre-filters

  1. Click the Pre-filters tab.
  2. From the Fields panel, drag and drop the field you want to filter on to the Filters panel.
  3. Complete the filter condition.
  4. Click the OK button.

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Display

  1. Click the Display tab.
  2. For the field you want to change the display name, click into the field and then change the field name.

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  1. Select the field and use the arrows to re-sort the field.

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Also, you can display the fields as a Nested List or a Flat List.

Topic

  1. Click the Save as Topic tab, if you want to save this topic for later use.
  2. In the Name field, enter a topic name.

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  1. When you have finished with the Data Chooser, click the OK button.  The New Add Hoc View displays.

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The New Ad Hoc View includes the following:

  • Fields (A) - Available fields that can be added to columns and groups.
  • Measure (B) - Existing measures that can be added to columns and you can create a new calculated measure.
  • Toolbar (C) - For details on the icons, see the table below.
  • Columns and Groups (D) - These contain the fields and measures in the view.
  • Filters (E) - The view's filters are located on the right-side menu. Click the Arrow icon to collapse the settings, and this can be easily expanded again.
  • Format Visualization Settings (F) - The format visualization settings are located on the right-side menu. Click the Arrow icon to collapse the settings, and this can be easily expanded again.

The toolbar contains the following icons.

Icon Name Description
clipboard_ecf83bba2e2fd594bf79f8425a07f461c.png Save  
clipboard_ee654bf0502d354ccf02b5656fdf25141.png Undo Undo the last change.
clipboard_e6e844e429b218542d11eb916b7c9fe6e.png Redo Redo the last change.
clipboard_e939e437c881f565867c7da0c7a804f92.png Reset Reset to its last saved state.
clipboard_e9345a62d0cbe10629666d9c6fc53dd6d.png Switch Groups Switch the groups.
clipboard_ec50e4b90fb3a7acb8c26cde49b74ff9e.png Sort Order Set the sort order.
clipboard_eb4c213d7a3706918688a2346537af248.png Input Values Change the input values.
clipboard_e14195c5a7c310bfb2c5e95f9bee32663.png Dashlet Properties  
clipboard_ef62826489dc1e8eb71fa3ee5cde5ae39.png Visualization Type Set the Visualization Type.
clipboard_e5a900367aff5ff44e913966eb05d63c9.png Data drop-down  
  1. When you have finished adding field, measures, and filter, then click the Save clipboard_ecf83bba2e2fd594bf79f8425a07f461c.png icon. The Save to Dashboard dialog displays.
  2. In the Dashlet Name field, enter the name.
  3. Click the Save button.

Edit Dashlet Properties

You can view and edit the appearance of and basic information for each dashlet on your dashboard, and determine the refresh settings, through the Dashlet properties. The available properties vary based on the type of dashlet you are working with.

In order to view and edit the Dashlet properties:

  1. Double-click on the dashlet and the Dashlet Properties dialog displays.
  2. Click Apply to apply and view the changes and OK to save the changes.
Dialog Properites
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Properties for Dashlets containing charts, crosstabs, tables, reports, and ad hoc views include:

  • Dashlet Name - Editable field for the displayed dashlet name.
  • Resource ID - Non-editable ID taken from the original dashlet name.
  • Source Data - Non-editable path of the source data.
  • Show/Hide Dashlet elements - Select or deselect to show or hide the title bar, which includes the dashlet name, refresh button, and maximize button.
  • Scale to Fit - Use the drop-down to determine how the element is scaled in the dashlet.
  • Refresh Settings - Select or deselect to enable or disable auto-refresh, and use the text entry and drop-down to set the time between each content refresh. This setting overrides refresh properties set at the dashboard level.

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Properties for Dashlets containing text include:

  • Dashlet Name - Editable field or the displayed dashlet name.
  • Resource ID - Non-editable ID taken from the original dashlet name.
  • Text - Editable field for the text displayed in the dashlet.
  • Font - Use the selection lists and buttons to set the font, font size, font style, alignment, and font color for the text displayed in the dashlet.

 

Edit Dashboard Properties

You may view and edit the basic appearance of all dashlets on your dashboard, and determine the refresh settings, through the Dashboard Properties.

  1. On the dashboard toolbar, click the Dashboard Properties clipboard_eb2bbc91a0882e815eaeeb7ebfd727702.png icon. The Dashboard Properties diaog displays.

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  1. Edit the following properties:

Cavas Settings

  • Check the Set custom size in pixels check box and then enter the width and height in pixels.

Dashlet Settings

  • Check the Show Filter Dashlet as pop-up window check box to display the filter dashlet in a pop-up window.
  • Check the Show borders check box to show the thin lines around each dashlet.
  • In the Outer margin in pixels field, enter the pixels of the margins between dashlets.
  • In the Inner padding in pixels field, enter the pixels of the padding inside each dashlet.
  • Click the Title bar text color picker and select the color.
  • Click the Title bar background color picker and select the color.

Toolbar Settings

  • Click the Show Export button check box to display the Export button on the dashboard.

Refresh Settings

  • Check the Auto-refresh dashboard contents check box to enable the automatic refresh for your content and then in the Refresh Interval field, enter the number and from the drop-down select either seconds or minutes between each data refresh.