Creating Dashboards¶

This topic guides you through the aspects of creating a dashboard.

About Dashboards¶

Dashboard Designer Add On dashboards offer an extensive library of visualizations that provide at-a-glance views of data for tracking metrics and drilling down into data. Once you find the right visualization for your data, you can take advantage of the powerful query functions to specify the exact data to include, and how to present it. In addition to being able to import dashboards, you can link your dashboard to internal and external Internet locations, as well as to other Dashboard Designer Add On dashboards.

Dashboards are composed of individual panels arranged on a grid, and each panel represents a part of the story you want to tell through your dashboard.

Each panel consists of a query and a visualization. Queries define the data you want to display, and visualizations define how it's displayed.

In addition to the panel, query, and visualization, Dashboard Designer Add On includes plugins--tools you can use in conjunction with visualizations for even more ways to display data on a panel.

Dashboard Data Limitations¶

Dashboard Designer Add On supports up to ten columns and three thousand (3,000) rows of data in a dashboard.

Panel Edit Page Tabs¶

The "Panel edit" page contains three tabs on the left side. The tabs are:

• Query: where you create queries that bring data into your panel.
• Visualization: where you select widgets and plugins to visualize data according to your preferences.
• General: where you select panel titles, links to other panels or dashboards and other general settings.

How to Create a New Dashboard¶

Follow these steps to create a new dashboard:

1. Hover over the + button on the side panel, and click "Dashboard". A new dashboard with a blank panel displays.
2. Click "Add Query" to open the panel edit page.
3. If you have asset data available, you can continue to the next steps using this data; if not, you can use the provided test data.

Getting Data into a Dashboard¶

The sections below guide you in using differing kinds of data. You can proceed using data from: - Internet of Things (IoT) - Integrated Data Lake (IDL) - Test data

See the section below that applies to the data you are using.

Using IoT Data¶

Follow these steps to read your data from its IoT location and write it to your dashboard:

1. Click "Select metric" to select the asset that has the data you want to read.
2. Use search to locate an asset or enter its name in the asset field and select the "asset". Its aspects display.
3. Select an "aspect" in the next select metric box. Its variables display.
4. Select all, or select the variables to include.
5. Click "Add Data Source". The path to your data source displays in the Data Source Location section.

If no data is available, sometimes it's because the default time range does not contain asset data. To remedy this, try the following:

Click the time picker drop-down and try various time ranges. If you still have issues getting data, try the next steps using generated test data.

Using IDL Data¶

Follow these steps to read your data from its IDL location and write it to your dashboard:

1. Hover over the + button on the side panel, and click "Dashboard". A new dashboard with a blank panel displays.
2. Click "Add Query". The Panel edit page displays.
3. Select the Integrated Data Lake radio button. The IDL pop-up window displays.
4. Select the file type of your data (CSV or Parquet). Folders display according to the file type you select.
5. Select the folder that contains your data or use the search bar to locate it. Folder contents display to the right.
6. Select check boxes for each field to include in the query.
7. Click "Add Data Source". The path to your data source displays in the Data Source Location section.

Using Generated Test Data¶

Is you already read data from your data source locations, skip these four steps that generates data.

Follow these steps to use generated test data:

1. Select testData from the drop-down.
2. By default, 'random walk' (random data) is used. Feel free to try other data scenarios.
3. Once data shows, click the Esc key or Back button. Your dashboard with the new panel displays.
4. Continue to add panels by clicking the "Add panel" button.

Specifying Visualization Options¶

Follow these steps to specify visualization options for a panel, beginning on the Panel edit page:

1. Click the "Graph" drop-down and select "Singlestat" from the list of available plugins.
2. Click the "Query" tab.
3. Select the name of the data you want to use from the drop-down list.
4. Once data shows, click the Esc key or Back button. Your dashboard with the new panel displays.
5. Continue to add panels by clicking the "Add panel" button.
6. Resize the Singlestat panel by clicking and dragging its lower right corner.
7. Duplicate the panel by selecting "More" from the drop-down at the top of the panel, then select "More", and "Duplicate".

How to Save your Dashboard¶

Follow these steps to save your dashboard:

1. Navigate to the "Panel edit" page and select the "General" tab.
2. Enter a name for the panel in the "Name" field.
3. Repeat for any unnamed panels on your dashboard.
4. Click the "Save" icon in the top right corner of the dashboard.
5. Enter a name for your dashboard and select a folder where you want to store it (optional).