Building Dashboards

Adding Gadgets

Gadgets are the components of a dashboard (for example: the individual charts, reports and interactive tools). Each gadget is configured individually and the dashboard itself is a framework, a saved layout of these gadgets. The Gadgets menu is used to build or edit a dashboard by adding, removing, and arranging the gadgets.

To add a gadget to your home page:

  1. Click the Gadgets drop-down menu.

  2. Select Add Gadget to see a list of the available gadgets.

  3. Locate the gadget you want to open by doing one of the following:

    • Type a name or partial name in the search box, for example, type “report” to find all gadgets you can see with “report” in the title, including the Reporting and Report Builder gadgets. Click Search or press Enter to see a list of matching gadgets.

    • Expand the gadget group tree on the left and click a group to see the gadgets in that group. For example, click the Reporting gadget group to see Reporting and Charts gadgets.

  4. A list of matching gadgets is shown, each with an image and a description. If the list has more than 3 items, it is paginated, and you can click a page number below the list to go to that page. Above the list there are options to sort the list alphabetically or in order of popularity.

  5. Each gadget has a version number and you may be able to select from several versions in a drop-down menu below the description. Use this if you require an older version of a gadget for some compatibility reason.

  6. Select the gadget you want and click the Add button to add it to your dashboard.

  7. Once added to the dashboard, each type of gadget has its own options to interact with it. For example, the Reporting Gadget prompts you to select a folder and then a report in that folder.

Resizing Gadgets

To resize a gadget:

  1. Hover your mouse over one of the lower corners of a gadget.

  2. Hold the mouse button and move the mouse to drag the corner of the gadget, releasing when the gadget has the desired dimensions. Note that the gadget snaps to a grid, so you do not have to drag it to an exact location.

Moving and Editing Gadgets

Ensure that the gadget borders and title bars are visible. If they are currently hidden, click the Gadgets drop-down menu and select Toggle Borders.

To move or edit a gadget:

  1. Hover your mouse pointer over the gadget’s title bar, hold the mouse button and move the mouse to drag the gadget, and release it when it is in the desired position. Note that the gadget snaps to a grid, so you do not have to drag it to an exact location.

  2. To maximize a gadget, click the Maximize icon in the gadget’s toolbar. The gadget expands to full-screen at the top of the dashboard and any other gadgets are moved down. If you minimize the gadget, it returns to its previous size and position.

  3. To refresh a gadget, click the Refresh icon in the gadget’s toolbar.

  4. Toggle the Accept icon and Ignore icon in the gadget’s toolbar to accept or ignore inputs from other gadgets. For example, when a gadget is accepting inputs, the focus of the gadget could change automatically to show a resource that the user clicked on in another gadget. If the gadget is ignoring inputs, then its focus can only be changed from within the gadget itself.

Removing Gadgets

Ensure that the gadget borders and title bars are visible. If they are currently hidden, click the Gadgets drop-down menu and select Toggle Borders.

To remove a gadget:

  • Click the Delete icon in the gadget’s toolbar.

Clearing All Gadgets

Clearing all gadgets is a quick way to remove any dashboard that is currently open on the home page, transforming it into a blank canvas on which to a new dashboard can be built. If the dashboard on the home page is saved, this action does not delete it; it remains saved and you can reopen it at any time.

To clear all gadgets:

  1. Click the Gadgets drop-down menu.

  2. Select Clear Gadgets.