Get started with Dashboard Designer

Dashboard Designer lets you build dashboards with minimal training. A dashboard combines several reports in one view. Use it to monitor multiple reports at once, keep quick links to pages you use often, and view charts while you work.

In this topic:

• View a dashboard sample

• Tour the Dashboard panels

• Create your first dashboard

View a dashboard sample

This section highlights popular Dashboard Designer capabilities, using the sample dashboard Sales Performance (Dashboard) in the Getting Started widget.

1. In the Getting Started widget on the Home page, click the Samples tab.

2. Scroll down to Sales Performance (Dashboard).

3. Click Explore to open a new browser window, then click the Samples tab.

4. Scroll right in the horizontal list at the bottom.

5. Click Sales Performance (Dashboard).

Dashboard sample

Tour the Dashboard panels

You can open the editable version of Sales Performance (Dashboard) in Dashboard Designer from Browse Files.

1. In the Folders pane, expand Public, then select Steel Wheels.

2. In the center pane, double-click Sales Performance (Dashboard).

3. After the dashboard opens, in File Actions, click Edit.

Dashboard example

Item	Name	Function
1	Opened page	Provides quick access buttons across the top to create and save a new Analysis Report, Interactive Report, and Dashboard. Opened reports and files show as a series of tabs across the page.
2	Prompts panel	The prompts panel gives you a way to add filters to the individual parts of your dashboard.
3	Browse and Files panel	Locate your files using the Browse and Files panels, and add them to dashboards.
4	Dashboard canvas	Shows a dynamic view of your dashboard as you work to build it. The look of your dashboard refreshes as you add content from the Browse and Files panels, and work with the prompts or Objects panels.
5	Objects panel	Refine the look of your dashboard with the Objects panel by choosing a dashboard template or changing the titles for each object in the dashboard.

Create your first dashboard

1. From the User Console Home page, click Create New, then select Dashboard.

2. In the Edit pane, click the Templates tab, then select 2 over 1.

3. In the Edit pane, click the Properties tab, then enter My Dashboard in Page Title.

   This is the title for your dashboard page.

   

   Properties tab, Dashboard
4. Click the Themes tab, then select a theme.

   The new theme applies immediately.

5. In the Browse pane, open the folder you used earlier.

6. From the Files pane, drag Territory - Sales onto the top-left dashboard panel.

   

   Drag and drop into dashboard
7. In the Edit pane, enter Territory - Sales in Title, then click Apply.

   The panel populates with the Territory - Sales report.

8. Locate your Interactive report in the Browse pane.

9. Drag In Stock Report onto the top-right dashboard panel.

10. In the Edit pane, enter In Stock Report in Title, then click Apply.

    The panel populates with the In Stock Report.

11. Drag any report from Public/Steel Wheels into the bottom dashboard panel.

12. Enter a title for the bottom panel, then click Apply.

13. In the toolbar, click Save As.

14. Save the dashboard as My Dashboard, then click Save.

15. Close the dashboard (click X on its tab).

16. Go to Browse Files, then double-click My Dashboard in the Files pane.

Created dashboard

You created a simple dashboard. See Pentaho Business Analytics for details on complex dashboards.