BT Business Intelligence: Creating Dashboards and Looks

Table of Contents

• • Overview
  • Folder Hierarchy
  • Creating a Dashboard from a Look or an Explore
  • Adding Tiles and Text to a Dashboard
    • Types of Dashboard Tiles
      • Query Tile
        • Building Query Tiles within a Dashboard 
        • Adding Query Tiles from an Explore
        • Adding Query Tiles from a Look
      • Look-Linked Tiles
        • Adding Look-Linked Tiles from a Look
      • Text Tiles
        • Adding Text Tiles
        • Formatting Text Tiles
      • Buttons
        • Adding a Button
        • Button Contents
        • Formatting a Button
  • Editing Dashboards
    • Viewing Existing Dashboards and Looks
    • Add a Description and Category Tags
    • Edit Mode
    • Editing a Tile
    • Moving and Re-Sizing Tiles
    • Moving and Re-Sizing Buttons
    • Deleting a Tile
    • Configuring Dashboard Settings
      • General Settings
        • Run on Load
        • Allow Full-Screen Mode for Visualizations
        • Autorefresh
      • Filters Settings
        • Filters View
        • Filters Location
    • Adding Dashboard Filters to a Dashboard
    • Quick Layout
    • Deleting Dashboards and Looks

 

Overview

Users who have Creator permissions for Blue Triangle Business Intelligence can save the results from a Data Exploration query as a Look or a Dashboard.

Folder Hierarchy

Please see our documentation on Folders for a description of each folder type.

Creating a dashboard from a Look or an Explore

To create a dashboard from an Look or an Explore, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to a Look or an Explore (see Viewing existing Dashboards and Looks)
2. Click on the gear icon in the top right corner
3. Hover over the "Save" option and click "As new dashboard" from the submenu
   1. This will open the "Save as a new Dashboard" window.
4. In the "Save as a new Dashboard" window, enter a Title for your new dashboard
   
   1. The name that is entered will apply to both the dashboard and the tile being saved on the dashboard. These names can be changed at any time.
   2. Please see the Editing Dashboards section for more information
5. Choose the folder you want to save your dashboard to ("My Content", "Site Content", or "Account Content"). Please see our documentation on Folders for a description of each folder. 
6. Click Save and the Look or Explore will be saved as a Query tile on the dashboard.

Adding Tiles and Text to a Dashboard

The first tile that you add to a dashboard takes up the entire width of the dashboard. Additional tiles that you add are sized to one-third of the dashboard's width and are added horizontally under the first tile. Additional rows of tiles will be added automatically as necessary. You can move and resize tiles however you like. You can also edit tiles once you've created them to adjust the names of the tiles, the visualizations, or the underlying queries or Looks.

For any new tiles that are added to a dashboard, if they were created from the same Explore as a dashboard filter, the dashboard filter is automatically applied to that tile.

Types of Dashboard Tiles

There are four kinds of tiles you can add to a BTBI dashboard:

1. Query Tiles
2. Look-Linked Tiles
3. Text Tiles
4. Buttons

Query Tiles

Query tiles can be built directly within a dashboard or added to a dashboard from a Look or from an Explore.

A query tile is based on an independent query, one that is not linked to a Look. The query underlying a query tile belongs to the dashboard. Even if you use an existing Look to create a query tile, the Look is used only during the creation of the query tile. The tile is unaffected by any later changes to that Look and still exists on the dashboard even if the Look is deleted.

When possible, use query tiles to avoid cluttering your folders with unnecessary Looks.

Building Query Tiles within a Dashboard

If you're in a dashboard, you can build a query tile from inside the dashboard.

1. Navigate to the dashboard you are editing
2. Put the dashboard in Edit Mode 
3. Click the "Add" button on the top left of the page and choose the "Visualization" option
4. Choose an Explore from the right hand menu
5. Build your Explore
   1. See our Documentation on Data Exploration for more information.
6. Once you have Run your query, Click the save button at the top of the window to save the query as a Tile on your dashboard.

For any new tiles that are added to a dashboard, if they were created from the same Explore as a dashboard filter, the dashboard filter is automatically applied to that tile.

Adding Query Tiles from an Explore

You can save a query tile to a dashboard directly from an Explore.

Once you are in an Explore and have a query that you want to add to the dashboard, follow these steps:

1. Click on the gear icon in the top right corner

2. Hover over "Save" from the menu and Click on the "Add to Existing Dashboard" option in the submenu.

3. Give your Look a Title in the title field. 
4. Select the folder in which your dashboard is located
5. From the list of dashboards, select the dashboard name, or type a dashboard name in the "Filter by title" search bar to narrow results.
6. Click Save to Dashboard

A confirmation message appears at the top of the Explore once you have added it as a tile on a dashboard. If you click the title of the dashboard in the confirmation message, BTBI takes you directly to the dashboard in edit mode. From there, you can move and resize tiles however you like.

For any new tiles that are added to a dashboard, if they were created from the same Explore as a dashboard filter, the dashboard filter is automatically applied to that tile.

Adding Query Tiles from a Look

To add query tiles from a Look, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to a saved Look (see Viewing Existing Dashboards and Looks)
2. Click the Gear Icon in the top right corner
3. Hover over "Save" and select "To an existing dashboard" from the submenu to open the "Add to Dashboard" window
4. When you add a query tile from a Look, the tile is given the same title as the name of the Look in the "Title" field (this can be edited later).
5. Select the folder in which the dashboard is located and select the dashboard name (use the Filter by title search bar to narrow the results).
6. Click the Save to Dashboard button

Any tiles that you add to a dashboard through this method are not connected to the Look you created them from. You can edit the tiles without affecting the Look. You can edit or delete the Look without affecting the tiles.

A confirmation message appears at the top of the Look once you have added it as a tile on a dashboard. If you click the title of the dashboard in the confirmation message, BTBI takes you directly to the dashboard in edit mode. From there, you can move and resize tiles however you like.

For any new tile that is added to a dashboard, if the Look it was based on was created from the same Explore as a dashboard filter, the dashboard filter is automatically applied to that tile.

Look-Linked Tiles

Look-linked tiles are added to a dashboard from a Look.

A Look-linked tile is a good choice if you want to create, change, and test a query in one place but use it in multiple dashboards. If the Look changes, any tiles linked to that Look change. If the Look is deleted, dashboards show an error for the tile.

A Look-linked tile links the tile's underlying query to a Look. That Look is used when creating the tile and every time the dashboard is refreshed. The Look and the dashboard must be in the same folder.

Adding Look-Linked Tiles from a Look

You can save a Look-linked Tile to a dashboard directly from a Look as long as the Look and dashboard are in the same folder.

To add Look-Linked tile to a dashboard, follow these steps:

1. Make sure the dashboard and the Look are in the same folder. If not, re-save the Look in the correct folder.
2. Navigate to the saved Look (see Viewing Existing Dashboards and Looks)
3. Click the Gear Icon in the top right corner
4. Hover over the "Save" option and click on "To an existing dashboard" from the submenu. This opens an "Add to Dashboard" window
5. Select the folder that contains both the Look and the Dashboard and select the Dashboard.
6. Click "Add Look to Dashboard"

Any tiles that you add to a dashboard through this method are connected to the Look that you created them from and have the same title as the Look. If you edit the tile, the Look and any other tiles that are linked to that Look are affected. If you edit or delete the Look, the tiles are affected.

A confirmation message appears at the top of the Look once you have added it as a tile on a dashboard. If you click the title of the dashboard in the confirmation message, BTBI takes you directly to the dashboard in edit mode. From there, you can move and resize tiles however you like.

For any new tile that is added to a dashboard, if the Look it was based on was created from the same Explore as a dashboard filter, the dashboard filter is automatically applied to that tile.

Text Tiles

Text tiles are built directly within a dashboard. You can use text tiles to define visual sections on a dashboard and to add descriptions. Text tiles in dashboards are designed to have flexible formatting and to default to look more like headings and descriptions than tiles.

Adding Text Tiles

To add a Text Tile, follow these steps:

1. Put the dashboard in Edit Mode 
2. Click the "Add" button in the top left corner 
3. Choose the "Text" option

Once you save your Text tile, you will see it at the bottom of the dashboard. You can then move and resize your tile just as you would move and resize other tiles.

Formatting Text Tiles

To format the tile's text, follow these steps:

1. Put the dashboard in Edit Mode 
2. Highlight the text in the tile that you want to format
3. Click the Text Style Icons at the top of the tile (as you edit the tile, it will change to show you how it will appear when you save it)
4. To save your tile, click "Save" on the dashboard

Buttons

The Button option in the Add menu lets you add custom buttons to your dashboard. You can assign the button a link to either a Business Intelligence URL or an external URL. Then, when a dashboard viewer selects the button, they are taken to the URL.

Adding a Button

To add a button to your dashboard, follow these steps:

1. Put your dashboard in Edit Mode
2. From the Add button menu at the top left of the dashboard pane, select the Button option (a new button will appear at the top of the dashboard with an open Button Edit Window).

Button Contents

In the Content tab of the Button Edit Window, complete the following fields:

1. Label: This text will appear on the button. The button expands its width to accommodate the label until the label reaches the width of its tile box. Once the label reaches that limit, it will be truncated. If the label is truncated, it can be repeated in the Description field.
2. Link: This is the link that the button takes viewers to.
3. Description: This description will appear when you hover over the button. If you don't enter a value, the description defaults to the link.
4. Open in a new browser tab: Select this option to automatically open the link in a new browser tab rather than navigating away from the dashboard. This option defaults to enabled.

Formatting a Button

1. In the Design tab of the Button Edit Window, you can customize the appearance of the Button.
   1. Button Style: Select one option 
      1. Filled: Button has a colored background and white text.
      2. Outlined: Button has an outline and colored text.
      3. Transparent: Button has no outline or background. It has only colored text.
   2. Color: Select a color from one of the color collections in the "Themes" tab, or customize a color in the "Custom" tab. Then select Save.
   3. Button Size: Choose Small, Medium, or Large to set the size of the button text. The height of the button adjusts to fit the text. The default size is medium.
   4. Alignment: Choose Left, Center, or Right to horizontally align the button within its tile box. The button's tile box defaults to full width, and the alignment defaults to center.
2. Click Save to save your changes

Editing Dashboards

Viewing Existing Dashboards and Looks

To view dashboards and looks you have already created, follow the following steps:

1. Click on the folder in the right side menu that your dashboard is saved in
   1. Please see our documentation on Folders for a description of each folder type.
2. Dashboards will be visible with the label "Dashboard" on top while Looks will be visible with the label "Look"

Add a Description and Categories

To add a description for your dashboard, click the Pencil icon in the top right corner. This will open a menu where you can type in a description of your dashboard and use Category tags to easily find your dashboards.

Edit Mode

To enter Edit Mode, click on the three dots in the top right corner and select "Edit Dashboard" from the menu. This will generate a Blue Panel on top with Editing Options.

Editing a Tile

In edit mode, click the three dots in the top right corner of a Tile to show the available edit options. These options differ slightly depending on whether or not you are viewing a Query tile or a Look-linked tile.

• For both, you have the options of 
  • Edit (Opens a window to edit the Tile Query or Look)
  • Hide Title
  • Add note
  • Move tile
• For Query tiles only
  • Duplicate tile
  • Delete
  • View Tile
• For Look-linked tiles only
  • Remove Look (deleting a Look-linked tile from a dashboard does not affect the underlying Look)

Moving and Re-Sizing Tiles

There are two options to move a Tile:

1. In edit mode, click and hold the six dots in the top left corner of the Tile and drag it to where you need to it be.
2. In edit mode, click the three dots at the top right of the Tile and select "Move Tile". You can then select one of the following options
   1. Move to top
   2. Move to bottom
   3. Move to left side
   4. Move to right side

To re-size a tile, follow these steps:

1. Put dashboard in edit mode
2. Click and hold the shaded corner in the bottom right corner and drag to adjust size

Resizing a Tile box may affect the placement of other dashboard elements.

Moving and Re-Sizing Buttons

Once added, a button can be moved and its tile box can be resized just as with any other tile.

By default, a new button is placed at the top of a dashboard within a tile box that is set to the full width of the dashboard.

Resizing a button's tile box may affect the placement of other dashboard elements, and it may affect a button's width. 

Deleting a Tile

To delete a tile, follow these steps:

1. Put dashboard in edit mode
2. Click the three dots in the top right corner of the Tile
3. Select "Delete" or "Remove Look"

Please note, once something is deleted it cannot be undone. Deleting a Look-linked tile from a dashboard does not affect the underlying Look.

Configuring Dashboard Settings

You can access the dashboard settings at the upper left of the dashboard in the blue editing panel. 

 

General Settings

The settings under the General Tab are:

• Run on Load
• Allow Full-Screen Mode for Visualizations
• Autorefresh

Run on Load

If Run on load is enabled, dashboard data automatically loads when the dashboard is first loaded.

If Run on load is disabled, the dashboard does not display any data until the reload data icon is clicked.

Allow full-screen mode for visualizations

Disabling this option on a dashboard prevents viewers of that dashboard from seeing the View option in each dashboard tile's three-dot Dashboard actions menu, and viewers will not be able to see dashboard tiles in full-screen or expanded formats.

Autorefresh

It might make sense to automatically refresh the data on a regular schedule to ensure that it is up-to-date. You can set autorefresh frequencies for an entire dashboard or for individual tiles. Autorefresh never pulls results from the Business Intelligence cache; it always pulls the data from the database.

To set autorefresh for a dashboard and all its tiles:

1. Enable the automatically refresh dashboard switch
2. Select a refresh frequency to automatically update the dashboard and all its tiles.
3. To adjust the frequency for any individual tiles, do so in the "Tile" section, where each tile in the dashboard is listed. Click the drop-down for that tile in the Refresh frequency column, select Refresh every, and then set your frequency.
4. Click "Save" to save your changes.

To set autorefresh for individual tiles but not for the dashboard:

1. Disable the Automatically refresh dashboard switch (if previously enabled).
2. In the Refresh frequency column of the Tile section, click the drop-down for a tile to autorefresh.
3. Select Refresh every.
4. Set your frequency.
5. For any tiles you do not want to autorefresh, leave the setting as Does not refresh.
6. Click Save to save your changes.

Filter Settings

Default Filter View

You can set the filter view to one of the following

• Expanded - The filter bar shows on page load and filters are shown by default
• Collapsed - The filter bar does not show on page load and filters are hidden by default

The Default filters view option defaults to Expanded. If you change the setting to Collapsed, you need to exit edit mode and then refresh the dashboard to see your change.

Filters Location

You can set the filters location option to one of the following:

• Top - The filter bar appears at the top of the dashboard
• Right - The filter bar appears at the right of the dashboard

The filter location option defaults to Top.

Adding dashboard filters to a dashboard

The queries that underlie dashboard tiles may include filters, but you can also add filters to a dashboard itself, which can affect all tiles or just select tiles. Dashboard filters let users narrow a dashboard's results to only the data they are interested in.

To add dashboard filters, you must have at least one query tile or Look-linked tile on the dashboard. Then, you can add filters by entering edit mode and selecting the Filters button from the top toolbar.

Quick Layout

In edit mode, click Quick layout in the upper left of the blue toolbar to set all tiles to the same size. The five options for tile size are as follows:

• XS — Six tiles fit in a row on the dashboard.
• S — Four tiles fit in a row on the dashboard.
• M — Three tiles fit in a row on the dashboard.
• L — Two tiles fit in a row on the dashboard.
• XL — One tile fits in a row on the dashboard.

Tile sizes are responsive to the size of the dashboard. Quick layout affects all tiles including text tiles, visualization tiles, and buttons.

Note: Using this feature resets the order of the tiles to the order in which they were originally added to the dashboard. Use caution as this can drastically change the layout of your dashboard.

Deleting Dashboards and Looks

To delete a dashboard or Look, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the dashboard or Look
2. Click on the gear icon or three dots in the top right corner
3. Select "Move to Trash"

Once you delete a dashboard, only a BTBI administrator can retrieve it from the trash. Please reach out to Support (support@bluetriangle.com) or your Customer Success Representative for assistance.