Custom Dashboards

VIDEO | Custom Dashboards

In Explore, you can edit the standard dashboards in order to create new custom dashboards and visualizations by modifying standard dashboards to meet the needs of your project. You cannot create dashboards from scratch, but you can edit the standard dashboards and save them as new custom dashboards.

Edit Dashboard

The following steps walk you through how to edit an existing dashboard to create a new dashboard.

Edit a Dashboard

  1. From the Dashboards page, click the Context menu ellipses next to the Operations dashboard.

  2. Select Edit dashboard.

  3. The Visualization and Fields slide-out panels open on the right side of the screen.

    • A yellow New page icon appears next to the page number at the bottom of the screen

  4. Click the New page icon to add a new tab.

    • Your screen will now look something like this

  5. Double-click on the default page name and type in man hours.

    • Your tab will now look like this:

  6. From the drop-down menu, click File > Save as.

  7. In the dialog box, name the custom dashboard, and then click Save.

Dashboard Customization

From the Visualizations and Fields slide-out panels, you can add chart, graph and card visualizations to your dashboard and populate them with the appropriate data fields.

You cannot change the data source for the dashboard.  The dashboard comes pre-connected to a dataset you may use to edit or add visualizations and filters.

Visualizations and Field slide-out panels are utilized for the following unique purposes:

Overview - Filters, Bookmarks, Visualizations and Fields Slide-Out Panels
  Term Definition
1

Filters slide-out panel

Various ways to cut the data using selections from the Fields slide-out.
2 Bookmarks slide-out panel Customizable saved dashboard views to quickly access frequent dashboards.
3 Visualizations slide-out panel

Charts, Graphs, and Cards selection for dashboard tab.
4 Charts/Graphs Various charts, graphs, an PowerApps for PowerBI.
5

Fields, Format, Analytics

Format provides page information. Fields allows for adding value data fields and drill through capability. Analytics modifies the lines (min, max, average, etc.) shown in the selected chart or graph.
6

Fields slide-out panel

Contains data fields to add to your visualizations to report on in your dashboard.
7

Data Fields

Data from InEight Project Suite to add to fields such as Axis, Legend, Values, etc. under the Visualizations slide-out panel.

The following Step by Step walks you through adding a graph visualization to your dashboard reporting on Project Progress and man hours.

Create a Graph

  1. Under the tab you created in Step by Step above, on the Visualizations slide-out panel select the Line chart visualization.

  2. To make more space, hide the Dashboards slide-out panel, Filters slide-out panel and close Bookmarks.

  3. Enlarge the Fields slide-out panel by sliding the left border toward the left to increase the Fields selection area.

  4. Under the Fields slide-out panel, navigate to the Calendar and click the CalendarYearStr check box, and the selection will populate in the Axis.

  5. Close the Calendar Field and scroll down and open the CostItem Field side arrow.

  6. In the Search bar under Fields type C B-.

  7. Select the C B – TotalMH check box to add it to the Values section of the Visualizations slide-out.
  8. Clear the Search bar and close the CostItem field.

  9. Open the Daily Plan Summary Field and select ManHoursApprovedDate. Modify the Date Hierarchy to match this:

  10. Close the DailyPlanSummary field.
  11. Expand the graph size by pulling the lower right corner of the graph downward.

  12. Open PlanProjectProgressand select the following fields:

    1. ApprovedEarnedMHrsbyCBQtyCBMHrs
    2. Cumulative ApprovedMHrsGLbyCBQtyCBMHrs

    3. SubmittedEarnedMHrsbyCBQtyCBMHrs

    • On the dashboard on the left, the graph displays your submitted earned man hours and compares that against approved earned man hours 

  13. By clicking each Values drop-down fields, you will see each is intuitively using the mathematical sum function.

  14. On the C B-TotalMH drop down, change the selection from Sum to Average.  Notice how the field name changes.

  15. Open the Filter slide-out.

  16. Expand the CalendarYearStr field by clicking on the drop down. Using Basic filtering, select years 2018, 2019 and 2020 to abbreviate the reporting years chart.

  17. Right-click inside your chart and select Visual table.

    • Your chart should look similar to this:

  18. Click < Back to Report.

  19. In the upper left corner, note the View options available in the drop-down. Change the Show smart guides toggle to On. 
    • Doing so makes a vertical bar appear each time it bisects a point in the graph
    • Clicking on the bisected point brings up the data, as shown below 

  20. From the View drop-down, turn the Bookmarks Pane toggle to On.

Save Dashboard

There are two ways to save a dashboard.

First, if you are leaving a newly created report where you have modified data, you will receive a pop-up where you can confirm your desire to save your change. 

Click the File > Save As drop down.

If Yes in selected, save with a new dashboard name and click Save.

  • Your dashboard will appear on the left slide-out panel alongside your other dashboard

Alternatively, if you are leaving an existing report where you have modified data, you will receive a pop-up where you can confirm your desire to save a copy of your change. 

Click the File > Save As drop-down.

Add a name for the new dashboard and click Save.

Dashboard Printing

To print a dashboard, select the three dot ellipses next to a dashboard you created. 

  • The dashboard print settings will default the orientation to Portrait. At times, selecting Landscape will provide a more full page view

    • To determine what fields are in a given report, click the Report, look at the Fields pull-out, and open the yellow colored drop-down. Search through the listing for the field(s) with a solid check-box.

Add a Bookmark

From an edited dashboard, you are able to further personalize your dashboard by adding a new field. In our example, Approver 1, Ajay GK is a frequent approver. We want to quickly view projects specific to him. We will do that by adding a new field onto the dashboard then adding a new Bookmark tied to him. That way, we can quickly see that view as easily as the default mode, or by clicking on other default Bookmarks. Let’s see how we did it.

Add a Bookmark

  1. Ensure you are in the Edit dashboard mode of a saved, renamed dashboard.

  2. Close the Dashboard pane by clicking the double blue arrows.

  3. Search the Fields pane drop-down lists to locate the field to add, in our case under the DailyPlanSummary, we selected Approver 1.
  4. Drag that field onto the dashboard.

  5. Using the gray colored handles that surround each attribute, move and re-size it and/or other attributes until the dashboard fits to your liking.
  6. Highlight the desired Approver 1, in our case Ajay GK.

  7. On the Bookmarks pane, click the Add icon, which will place a re-nameable bookmark at the bottom of the Bookmark pane.

  8. Double-click the new Bookmark to re-name it.

  9. Save your dashboard by clicking the Save icon.

  10. Toggle to another bookmark on the Bookmarks tab.

  11. Then toggle back to your newly added Bookmark. Not only will that Approver 1 be selected, but all reports and data are filtered to those projects where he is the Approver 1.