What is a dashboard?
A dashboard is a single page that shows several of your saved reports at once. Instead of opening four reports every morning, you build one dashboard and open that.
Each tile on a dashboard is called a widget, and every widget displays one saved report. The reports stay live. When you open the dashboard, each widget runs its report against current data.
Note: Build your reports first. A dashboard is assembled from reports you have already saved, so you cannot create a report from inside the dashboard editor.
Before you start
You need at least one saved report. See Building a Report.
You need edit access to reporting. With view-only access you can open dashboards but not create or change them.
Step 1: Create the dashboard
In the sidebar, go to Home > Dashboards.
Click New dashboard.
Enter a Dashboard name, such as "Census Season Status".
Add a Description if you want. It is optional, and it helps teammates know what the dashboard is for.
Click Create. The dashboard editor opens.
Step 2: Add your reports
In the editor, click the Add report tile.
Use Search reports to find the report you want.
Select it. The report appears as a widget on the dashboard.
Repeat for each report you want on the page.
Each widget takes its title from the report it displays.
Step 3: Arrange the layout
Dashboards use a four-column grid. Widgets snap to it, so your layout stays tidy without any fiddling.
To move a widget, drag it by its header. The other widgets shift out of the way.
To resize a widget, drag the handle in its lower corner. A widget can be one to four columns wide.
To remove a widget, open its options menu and choose Remove from dashboard.
Tip: Make a table wider rather than taller. A widget that is two columns wide and four rows tall shows a readable table. A narrow one cuts columns off.
Step 4: Save
Click Save dashboard. Until you save, an Unsaved changes badge shows at the top, and CX warns you if you try to leave.
Click Cancel to discard your changes and go back.
You're all set. The dashboard is now available to everyone on your team.
Using a dashboard
Open a dashboard from the Dashboards list. From the dashboard you can:
Download a widget to Excel. Each report widget has a download control in its header. It exports that widget's report as an Excel file and takes you to the export page.
Edit the dashboard. Click More and choose Edit.
Delete the dashboard. Click More and choose Delete. CX asks you to confirm, because deleting is permanent.
A dashboard marked Default in the list is the one your team has set as its starting point.
Sharing and permissions
Dashboards belong to your team. Everyone on your team with reporting access can open every dashboard, and there is no separate step to share one. Another team cannot see them.
Row-level permissions still apply. If a teammate only sees the clients assigned to them, the widgets on a shared dashboard show only their clients. Two people can open the same dashboard and see different numbers, and that is working as intended.
Important: Because dashboards are shared, editing one changes it for everybody. If two people edit the same dashboard at the same time, the last save wins. Coordinate before reworking a dashboard the team relies on.
Tips for a dashboard people actually use
Keep it to one job. "Census Season Status" beats "Everything". A dashboard someone can read in thirty seconds gets opened every day.
Put the exception at the top. Lead with what is late, missing, or stuck. Totals can sit below.
Sort each report before you add it. A widget shows the report's saved sort, so set it in the report builder.
Trim the columns. A report with twenty columns is fine on its own page and unreadable in a widget. Duplicate the report, trim it, and use the trimmed version on the dashboard.
Name reports for the dashboard. The widget title comes from the report name, so a clear report name gives you a clear dashboard.
Related articles
Dashboards and Reporting Overview
Building a Report
Report Formatting and Calculation Options
Building a Daily Briefing Dashboard