Working with Dashboards

Working with dashboards

Analytics Plus offers a wide range of interactive options for dashboards. When accessing a dashboard, users can view the underlying data, sort, export, share and publish the reports. In this section, we will discuss each of these options in detail.

Dashboard interactions

Analytics Plus allows you to perform exploratory analysis of your data using the following interactive features in dashboards.

View underlying data

Users can view the underlying data of a report on the dashboard. Follow the steps below to view the chart's underlying data.

  • Navigate to the desired report, click the required data point, and select View Underlying Data. The underlying data of that data point will be displayed.

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You can also view the underlying data of the entire report by clicking the More Options at the top right corner of the report and selecting the View Underlying Data option.

Drill down

Using this feature, you can click on any data point and visualize the underlying data as a chart. You can either drill down using the path that is already set for the chart, or choose from the list of compatible columns suggested by Analytics Plus.

Follow the steps below to drill down on a chart:

  1. Navigate to the required chart, and click the data point you want to drill down on. The following options will be displayed:

    • Drill Down To: This option allows you to drill down the chart based on the drill down path configured during report creation.

    • Drill Down By: This option allows you to dynamically select any column to drill down on the chart.

  2. Select the required option. Now the chart will be drilled down and the drill down path will be listed as a breadcrumb at the top of the report.

Note: To drill down on data in a dashboard that has been shared to you, the Drill Down permission needs to be enabled while sharing.

Change chart type

Analytics Plus allows you to change the chart type of individual charts in a dashboard.

  • Click the Change Chart Type option that appears on mouse over the required chart.

Note: This change will only be reflected for the current session, and cannot be saved. To change the chart type of a report permanently, use the Open in new tab option to open and modify the report as needed.

Maximize embedded reports

You can maximize the embedded report to view in full dashboard layout. To do this,

  • Click the Maximize icon that appears on mouse over the required chart, or double-click the report header. The report will be open in full dashboard layout along with the user filters.

  • To minimize the report, you can either double-click the report header again or click the Minimize icon.

Note: When maximizing a particular report, the other components of the dashboard apart from the user filters will be hidden. However, any changes made to the user filters will be applied to those hidden components as well.

Exporting dashboards and reports

ManageEngine Analytics Plus allows you to export the entire dashboard or individual reports in your dashboard.

Exporting a dashboard

ManageEngine Analytics Plus allows you to export your dashboard as HTML zipped files, PDFs and templates.

Export as HTML

Follow the steps below to export your dashboard as HTML files:

  1. Click the Export icon and select Export as HTML.

    This opens the Export as HTML dialog.

  2. Specify a name for the HTML file in the File Name field.

  3. From the Select Tabs section, select the desired tabs of your dashboard to be exported.

  4. Select the required position to display the title and description from the Include section. The possible options to customize the layout of title and description are: At Top, At Bottom and None (without title or description correspondingly).

  5. The Column Width Ratio allows you to make the column width uniform across the table styled reports in the dashboard. Choose any one of the below options from the drop down:

    • Proportionate width as in the report

    • Equal width for all columns

    • Auto adjust based on the data

  6. Select the Record ID checkbox to include the record ID in the exported file. This is applicable only for tables and tabular views.

  7. Select the User Filter Criteria checkbox to add a label for any user filter applied.

  8. Select the Row Numbers checkbox to include row numbers in the exported HTML file.

  9. Select the Set Password checkbox to protect your exported file with passwords. The specified password will have to be shared with all intended recipients separately, as Analytics Plus does not offer options to share your password through the application interface.

  10. Click Export to export your dashboard as an HTML file.

Export as PDF

ManageEngine Analytics Plus allows you to export the dashboard as PDF in two different layouts:

  • Layout as in Dashboard
  • Each Report in a New Page

Layout as in Dashboard

This option allows you to export the dashboard in the same layout as arranged in the dashboard.

Note: This PDF export option is optimized for dashboards containing charts and KPI widgets. Export may fail if it contains table styled reports, especially with large amounts of data.

Follow the steps below to export with Layout as in Dashboard:

  1. Click the Export icon and select Layout as in Dashboard - PDF.

    This opens the Export as PDF settings page as shown below.

  2. Specify a name for the PDF file in the File Name field.

  3. From the Select Tabs, select the desired tabs of your dashboard to be exported.

  4. Select the required position to display the title and description from the Include section. The possible options to customize the layout of title and description are: At Top, At Bottom and None (without title or description correspondingly).

  5. The Column Width Ratio allows you to make the column width uniform across the table styled reports in the dashboard. Choose any one of the below options from the drop down:

    • Proportionate width as in the report

    • Equal width for all columns

  6. Select the User Filter Criteria checkbox to add a label for any user filter applied.

  7. Select the Row Numbers checkbox to include row numbers in the exported PDF file.

  8. The following options are available under the PDF Settings section:

    • Choose the desired paper size from the Paper Size dropdown.

    • Select the Orientation either Landscape or Portrait.

    • Enter your magnifying preference in Zoom Factor in % (Font Size).

    • Specify the margins for the exported dashboard file. This value should be between 0.0 to 1.0.

  9. Select the Set Password checkbox to protect your exported file with passwords. The specified password will have to be shared with all intended recipients separately, as Analytics Plus does not offer options to share your password through the application interface.

  10. Click Export to export your dashboard as an PDf file with the same layout as arranged in the dashboard.

Each Report in a New Page

This option allows you to export the dashboard in a single column layout displaying each report in a new page in the PDF.

The following are the advantages of exporting a dashboard with each report on a new page:

  • Supports exporting dashboard containing tabular views with large data.

  • Supports adding a Table of Content.

  • Supports adding header and footer.

  • Supports customizing the language.

  • Supports the export of dashboards with huge amount of data.

  • Supports displaying filter criteria applied in the dashboard level and in the reports level.

Follow the steps below to export the dashboard with each report in a new page:

  1. Click the Export icon and select Each Report in a New Page - PDF.

    This opens the Export as PDF setting page as shown below.

  2. Specify a name for the PDF file in the File Name field.

  3. Select the language from the Language drop down.

  4. Select the desired tabs of your dashboard to be exported from the left column of Select Tabs.

  5. Select the required position to display the title and description from the Include section. The possible options to customize the layout of title and description are: At Top, At Bottom and None (without title or description correspondingly).

  6. Specify how to add KPI widgets in exported file using the Include Widgets section. The available options are:

    • None: This option allows you to exclude widgets from the exported file.

    • Each in a New Page: This option allows you to export each widget in a new page.

    • Associate to Nearest Report: This option allows you to display the widget next to the nearest report.

  7. The Column Width Ratio section allows you to customize the column width for tabular views in the dashboard. You can choose to set an equal width for all columns, or to export the views with a width proportionate to that specified in the report.

  8. Select the User Filter Criteria checkbox to add a label for any user filter present in the dashboard.

  9. Select the Table of Contents checkbox to include a table of content of your dashboard in the exported PDF file.

  10. Select the Row Numbers checkbox to include row numbers in the exported PDF file.

  11. The following options are available under the PDF Settings section:

    • Choose the desired paper size from the Paper Size dropdown.

    • Specify the margins for the exported dashboard file. This value should be between 0.0 to 1.0.

    • The Header and Footer sections allow you to add a header and footer to your exported file. You can choose to add them to the left, right, or center of the exported file. The following information can be added:

      • Blank: This option allows you to display an empty header or footer.

      • Title: This option allows you to display the title of the file.

      • Date/Time: This option allows you to display the date and time of export.

      • Page #: This option allows you to display the page number in the exported file.

      • Page # of #: This option allows you to display the page number out of the total number of pages present in the exported file.

      • Custom Text: You can use this option to enter the required custom header or footer.

  12. Select the Set Password checkbox to protect your exported file with passwords. The specified password has to be shared with all intended recipients separately, as Analytics Plus does not offer options to share your password through the application interface.

  13. Click Export to export your dashboard in a single column layout displaying each report in a new page in the PDF.

Export as Template

Analytics Plus allows you to export your dashboard as a template file. This template file can be imported into a different workspace or installation. To learn more about templates in Analytics Plus, click here.

  • Click the Export icon and select Export as Template.

  • Provide a name for the template file in the File Name field.

  • Click Export to export your dashboard as a template file.

Exporting a report

ManageEngine Analytics Plus allows you to export the individual reports in a dashboard. Follow the steps below to export a report:

  • Navigate to the required report in the View Mode of the dashboard.

  • Click the More Options icon that appears on mouse over.

  • Choose the Export option and select the required file format. Click here to learn more about exporting a report.

Emailing Dashboard

ManageEngine Analytics Plus allows you to email your dashboard easily, to facilitate better collaboration with your colleagues. You can also configure schedules to automatically email dashboards at periodic intervals.

Follow the steps below to email a dashboard:

  • Click the Share button at the top right corner of your dashboard and navigate to the Email option. The following options will be available:

    • Email as HTML: This options allows you to email the dashboard in HTML file format.

    • Layout as in Dashboard - PDF: Select this option to email the dashboard in a PDF while retaining the dashboard's original layout.

    • Each Report in a New Page - PDF: This option allows you to email the dashboard as a PDF file with a single column layout containing each report in a new page.

On selecting the required option, the Email As screen appears. Add the required email addresses, edit the email's subject and contents, apply the required filter criteria, and click Send. To learn more about the various options available while emailing a dashboard, refer to this documentation.

Sharing a dashboard

ManageEngine Analytics Plus allows you to share your dashboards with a set of user permissions to read, write, export and share. The shared users will be allowed to do only the permitted actions when they access the shared dashboard.

Refer to the sharing and collaboration documentation to know more about sharing a dashboard.

Publishing a dashboard

ManageEngine Analytics Plus also allows you to embed your dashboards in a website, web application, blog or an intranet page.

Refer to the publishing options documentation to know more about publishing a dashboard.

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