Custom Dashboard Overview

Custom Dashboards allow you to view your organization's most important information in a customized layout. These dashboards can be shared with users across your organization and sent out in emails as attached PDFs using AchieveIt's schedule reporting. Custom Dashboards are a great way to aggregate the data you find most useful and share it with users across your organization. 

 

Table of Contents

1. Viewing a Dashboard
2. Editing a Dashboard
3. Saving a Dashboard
4. Widget Types
5. Adding a Widget
6. Editing a Widget
7. Deleting a Widget
8. Embedding a Widget
9. Exporting a Widget (to PNG, JPEG, and PDF)
10. Viewing Current Dashboard Editors
11. Giving Access to a Dashboard
12. Zooming the Dashboard
13. Toggling Page Break Indicators
14. Downloading a Dashboard as PDF
15. Changing the PDF Orientation
16. Setting PDF Options (Header and Footer)
17. Other Dashboard Options

 

 

 

Viewing a Dashboard

There are 2 ways to find a dashboard within AchieveIt: 

1. Navigate to the "Dashboards" dropdown in the navigation bar. You will see a list of recently viewed dashboards in the right side of this dropdown. You can also search for a specific dashboard using the search bar. 
2. Navigate to the "Custom Dashboards" page by clicking on the "Custom Dashboards" link in the navigation bar dropdown. On this page you will see all of the dashboards you have access to. You can also search for a dashboard by using the search bar at the top of this page.

Once you have found the dashboard you want to view, click on the dashboard's name, which will open the dashboard in View Mode.

In View Mode, you can see the dashboard title, all of the dashboard's widgets (as long as you have access to the data the widget uses), and interact with each of the widgets. Hovering over certain widgets will show more detailed information. Clicking on certain widgets will open the associated plan item in the Plan Item Card. More detailed information about different types of widgets can be found in the "Widget Types" section below.

 

Editing a Dashboard

If you are an Editor on a dashboard, you will see a button labeled "Edit" in the dashboard header. Clicking on this button will put the dashboard into Edit Mode. 

In Edit Mode, editors can add, edit, resize, move, copy, and delete widgets. Editors can also change the name of the dashboard (which can also be done in View Mode) and the dashboard's PDF page orientation (to portrait or landscape). Take a look at the associated sections below for more information on each of the actions available in Edit Mode.

 

Saving a Dashboard

After making edits to a dashboard you can save the dashboard in 2 different ways:

1. Clicking on the "Save" button will save the changes you have made, but keep you in Edit Mode
2. Clicking on the "..." button in the toolbar and selecting the "Save and Close" option will save the changes you have made to the dashboard and set the dashboard to View Mode. This option is the same as clicking "Save" and then "Close".

If you are unsatisfied with the changes you have made to a dashboard, you can click on the "Discard and Close" link without saving. You will be prompted with a popup asking if you are sure you would like to close Edit Mode without saving. Click the "Ok" button to discard your changes and close Edit Mode.

 

Widget Types

There are 7 different types of widgets:

1. Metric
2. Progress
3. List
4. Custom Content
5. Heading
6. Divider
7. Spacer

Each one of these widget types has their own visualization and use. Check out each of the sections below for more information on each type:

Metric

The metric widget is used to show metric information for a specific plan item. There are 4 different visualizations for this widget including a gauge chart, line chart, column chart, and a label chart. Each of these visualizations has their own use cases: For example, the gauge chart is great at showing a metric value for a specific point in time, while the line and column charts are better for showing how data trends over a period of time. There are many different options for each visualization, including the ability to choose the time period you would like to show data for.

Progress

The progress widget is used to show a breakdown of 3 different types of information using pie charts:

• Item Statuses
• Due Dates (Not Past Due vs Past Due)
• Updates (Up-to-date vs Late)
• All Data (3 pie charts, showing all of the data for the previous 3 data sets)

Along with the data type, you can choose which plan items you want to show data for. You can select a specific plan, all plans, your assigned items, or select a saved search to pull data from. There are also several different visualization options for the progress widget.

List

The list widget is used to show a list of plan items on your dashboard. You can choose which saved search you want to use to populate the list. You can also choose which columns you want to show data for and resize those columns within the widget after it has been placed.

Custom Content

The custom content widget allows you to insert custom text, images, or html into your dashboard. 

Heading

The heading widget can be used to segment your dashboards into sections using a heading. You can set the text content, font size, and style for the heading.

Divider

The divider widget can be used to segment your dashboard into sections using a horizontal line. You can set the line size, color, and style.

Spacer

The spacer widget can be used to reserve space on the dashboard. It is especially helpful if you would like to add space between widgets on the dashboard. You cannot see spacer widgets in view mode or in a downloaded dashboard PDF; instead you will see a blank space with the exact size of the spacer widget.

 

Adding a Widget

If you are a dashboard editor, you can add a widget to a dashboard in Edit Mode.

To add a widget click on your preferred widget type in the toolbar and then click on a widget anchor in the dashboard. The widget anchors are shown as horizontal bars on the dashboard between widgets. Hovering over a widget anchor will make it larger and show a tooltip with the text "Place widget here". Clicking on the widget anchor will open the Add Widget guide.

Each widget type has a specific Add Widget guide, each with its own options. There is also a widget preview on the right side of this guide which shows what the widget will look like when added to the dashboard. Fill out all of the fields in the Add Widget guide and click on the "Add" button at the end of the guide. Your widget will be placed into the dashboard. 

 

Editing a Widget

If you are a dashboard editor, you can edit a widget in Edit Mode by clicking on the '...' menu in the top right corner of a widget and selecting the "Edit Widget" option in the dropdown. Doing this will open the Edit Widget guide for that specific widget.

All of the fields for the guide will be pre-filled and can be changed to whatever you'd like. Once you are satisfied with your edits, click on the "Save" button at the end of the guide. Your edits will be made to the widget. 

 

Deleting a Widget

If you are a dashboard editor, you can delete a widget in Edit Mode by clicking on the '...' menu in the top right corner of a widget and selecting the "Delete Widget" option in the dropdown.

Doing this will show a popup asking whether or not you are sure you want to delete the widget. If you want to delete the widget, click the "Confirm" button in this popup. If you do not want to delete the widget, click on the "Cancel" button. 

 

Copying a Widget

If you are a dashboard editor, you can copy a widget in Edit Mode by clicking on the '...' menu in the top right corner of a widget and selecting the "Copy Widget" option in the dropdown. Doing this will show the available widget anchors. Select the anchor on which you want to place a copy of the widget. A copy of the widget will be placed into the dashboard.

 

Embedding a Widget

Embedding a widget allows you to embed your widgets on web pages external to the AchieveIt platform (such as a Sharepoint site). Embedding a widget is a simple process:

1. In View Mode, click on the '...' button in the top right corner of a widget
2. Select the "Embed Widget" option
3. Copy the embed code from the popup that is displayed
4. Use that code to embed the widget in your external site

If the data that the widget uses is updated in the AchieveIt platform (e.g. a metric is updated on a plan item) the embedded widget will automatically update as well. 

 

Exporting a Widget (to PNG, JPEG, and PDF)

You can export a widget by clicking on the '...' menu in the top right corner of the widget and selecting on of the "Export Widget" options. There are 3 different options available for export:

1. Export to PNG
2. Export to JPEG
3. Export to PDF

Selecting each of these downloads a snapshot of the widget, at the time of download, in the selected format (PNG, JPEG, or PDF). 

 

Viewing Current Dashboard Editors

If you are a dashboard editor, you can see all of the current editors of a dashboard in realtime in the left side of the footer (at the bottom of the page). Here you will see a circle with the initials of each user who is currently editing the dashboard. This can be a helpful tool, as dashboard edits cannot be merged. If you see someone currently editing a dashboard, make sure to communicate with them on when you can start your own edits, so that you do not override each other's work. 

 

Giving Access to a Dashboard

Users can be given two different levels of access to a dashboard: Viewer and Editor.

Viewers can see a dashboard and all of its widgets.

Editors can see a dashboard and all of its widgets and also edit the dashboard name, layout, PDF options, and grant / deny access to other dashboard users. 

If you are a dashboard editor, you can grant / deny access to users by navigating to the '...' menu in the top right corner of the dashboard (in View Mode) and selecting the "Access" option. You will be presented with the "Dashboard Access" window, where you can give access to other users (and teams) in your organization.

There are certain cases where a user will have access to see a dashboard, but might not have access to the underlying data used in the widgets. In these cases, the user will see a variety of messages shown within the widgets, telling the user exactly why they cannot see the widget data. 

 

Zooming the Dashboard

In the bottom right corner of the dashboard, to the right side of the footer, are the zoom controls. These controls allow you to make the dashboard larger or smaller, while keeping the layout and relative sizes of the widgets the same. Zooming out on a dashboard allows you to see more of it, while zooming in allows you to see more detail in your widgets. 

There is also a button called the "Fit to Window" button (pictured above, on the right). Clicking this button fits the dashboard to the size of the window. The dashboard will stay this way even as your resize your browser window. To disable this option, click on the "Fit to Window" button again or manually change the zoom factor of the dashboard.

 

Toggling Page Break Indicators

If you are a dashboard editor, in Edit Mode you will see the Page Break Indicator toggle button in the dashboard tool bar. You can use this button to toggle on / off the indicators, which shows as dashed lines across your dashboard.

 

These lines indicate where the PDF pages will end (and begin) and are incredibly helpful when laying out your dashboard for printed media.

 

Downloading a Dashboard as PDF

To download the dashboard as a PDF, click on the button with the cloud icon in the top right corner of the dashboard, in View Mode. Your PDF will take a few seconds to generate and then be automatically downloaded. All of the options you have selected for the PDF (header and footer options, orientation, and dashboard layout) will be shown in the PDF download.

 

Changing the PDF Orientation

If you are a dashboard editor, you can change the orientation of the pages in the dashboards PDF downloads (and scheduled reports) by navigating to Edit Mode and clicking on the selections in the "Orientation" toggle.

Here you can set the dashboard to download in either Portrait or Landscape. Switching between these two orientations can cause some shifting of your widgets, so take care when doing so. Also note that the pages in your PDF will break at different points if you switch the page orientation.

 

Setting PDF Options (Header and Footer)

There are several different options you can set for the header and footer of your dashboard's PDF. In the header you can:

• Show / hide your organization's logo
• Set the title of the dashboard (the default title or a custom one)

In the footer, you can:

• Show / hide or set the date and time format
• Show / hide or set the page number format

 

Other Dashboard Options

There are a few other options that you can use as a dashboard editor all of which can be found in the '...' menu in the top right corner of the dashboard, namely:

1. Delete: You can delete a dashboard by clicking on the "Delete" option in this menu
2. Copy: You can copy a dashboard by clicking on the "Copy" option in this menu

There are also a few options that dashboard viewers can use which can be found in the '...' menu in the top right corner of the dashboard, including:

1. Set as Homepage: Selecting this option sets this dashboard as your homepage. Whenever you log into the AchieveIt platform, you will immediately see this dashboard.
2. Info: See more information about a dashboard