Customizing Your Dashboard

In the ThousandEyes webapp, you can configure your Dashboards page to meet your individual needs. If your user role has the appropriate permissions, you can configure a dashboard and make it available for other users in your account group, or multiple account groups.

The most typical way to create a new dashboard is to start from one of the built-in dashboards. Duplicate and rename it, and then you can customize it by adding, deleting, and re-configuring widgets. You customize a dashboard by selecting and configuring the widgets appropriate for the data you wish to include. Widget parameters allow for operations on the raw test data such as statistical calculations (for example, means, medians, or percentiles), data trends, and tabular views of the data.

Widget configuration as described in Dashboard Widgets includes visual arrangement of the numbers, tables and time series graphs on the page. When viewing a dashboard, you can select a time frame of interest as described in Using the Dashboard, and the dashboard page populates with that time period's test data according to the dashboard configuration. Configuration involves choosing the widgets, and configuring their settings as a one-time action. By contrast, time frame selection, which you might do many times over, only happens after the widgets have been configured.

Users who don’t have permission to create or edit dashboards can still view them.

Configuring Dashboard Display Settings

On the Dashboards page, you can create, modify, and delete dashboards. You can also create and schedule snapshots of existing dashboards. You'll find the relevant options to manage a dashboard on the top menu.

Following are the available options in the top menu (above screenshot) in order of appearance from left to right:

• Dashboard selector This drop-down menu provides a list of existing dashboards, along with a Search field and filter options to search the list. Select a dashboard to view by clicking the dashboard name. A watch icon () next to the name of a dashboard indicates that the dashboard has scheduled snapshots. A shared-by icon () next to the name of a dashboard indicates that the dashboard has been shared with other account groups in the same organization. A shared-with icon () next to the name of a dashboard signifies that the dashboard belongs to a different account group in the same organization.

• Dashboard Filters This feature provides the ability to modify the values of multiple widgets that are connected to distinct data sources, eliminating the need to adjust filter values on each dashboard widget. For further information on filters, please refer here.

• Dashboard Time Range selector: Quickly select relative time ranges (for example, Last 7 days), fixed time ranges (for example, This Month) or configure a custom time range. Time ranges are displayed using the time zone configured within the user's profile. By default, data for the last 1 day is displayed. Widgets with a configured Fixed Time Span option are unaffected by the time range selector, unless the Global Time Override option is selected. Any live status widget cannot display data in a fixed time interval in the past, and the additional limitation applies to the Relative Time Interval Selection. Additionally, the Test Table widget always displays data on a 12-hour running period, the Alert Grid widget always shows data on a 24-hour running period, and the Agent Status widget always shows the live status of the agents displayed.

• Global Time Override This selection allows you to override any Fixed Period selections made in individual widgets. By selecting the Global Time Override all widgets (excluding live status widgets) will show the time selected in the Dashboard Time Range selector. This override is only applied on a per-session basis and will not change the actual widget settings.

• Widget Auto-Refresher The refresh icon allows the dashboard to instantly refresh its widgets, without reloading the entire browser. The dropdown menu to the right allows for customization of the auto-refresh time. To resume auto-refresh, use the drop-down menu to select an auto-refresh time interval. Auto-refresh is set to OFF for new dashboards by default, but you can customize this through the Edit Dashboard option located in the ellipses. Moreover, opening the dashboard drill-down component or widget configuration panel also pauses the auto-refresh feature.

• Snapshots menu provides the following options:

  • Save a Snapshot: The currently selected dashboard will be saved as a snapshot, using the time range configured in the Time Range selector.

  • Schedule a Snapshots: The currently selected dashboard can be saved as a snapshot on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

  • View Related Snapshots: This will show you all snapshots related to the specific dashboard that you have selected.

  • View All Snapshots: This will show you every snapshot associated with the selected account group.

• Download Option Allows a user to download the selected dashboard:

  • Download as PDF: Download the current contents of the dashboard as a PDF file. Timestamps will be displayed using the time zone configured for the organization.

  • Note that the download button options are not visible if a rendering is limited for the dashboard widget. See Render Limits on Dashboards for more information.

  • Download as CSV: Download the current contents of the dashboard as a CSV file. Timestamps will be displayed using the time zone configured for the Organization.

• + Add Widget: Opens the Add a Widget side panel. New widgets can be added to the dashboard.

• Options button or ellipsis provides the following options:

  • Create New Dashboard: Creates a new blank dashboard to be named and populated with widgets

  • Duplicate Dashboard: Creates a copy of the currently viewed dashboard, to be renamed and modified

  • Edit Dashboard: Allows a user to edit the currently viewed Dashboard Name, Dashboard Description, Default Time Range for the specified dashboard, Account Group Visibility, View Settings which define defaults and private dashboards, and Local Widget Time Settings which allows you to define if the Global Time Overide button is on by default between sessions.

  • Delete Dashboard: Delete the currently viewed dashboard.

Editing Dashboard Settings

Select Edit Dashboard from the Options menu to configure the current dashboard's settings. These settings persist over time.

• The dashboard Name box displays the name of the dashboard. Click in the box to edit the dashboard name. The name of a dashboard is shown when the dashboard is used on the Dashboards page.

• Use the Description field to note the dashboard’s intended purpose.

• The Default Time Range applies to the entire dashboard. You can override this using the toggle on the main dashboard screen. See Using the Dashboard Controls for details.

• The Account Group Visibility setting lets you configure the following sharing options:

  • All account groups: Share the current dashboard with all account groups in this organization.

  • Only Current account group: Do not the share current dashboard with other account groups.

  • Specific account groups: Share the current dashboard with the account groups you select from a dropdown list.

• The View Settings controls dashboard sharing with others in your organization.

  • The Set as private checkbox indicates that this dashboard will be viewable by only you. If this box is unchecked, the dashboard is available to anyone from the account group in which you created the dashboard, and the Account Group Visibility drop-down will not be editable.

  • The Set as my default checkbox indicates that this dashboard will be your default dashboard--the one that appears when the Dashboards page is opened (you can still select and view other dashboards using the Current selector on the Dashboards page). Your default dashboard is displayed as "Default (Dashboard name)" in the Current selector to indicate its status as the default. If this box is unchecked, the Dashboards page displays the account group's default dashboard.

  • The Set as default for account group checkbox indicates that this dashboard will be used as the default for all users in the current account group. A user default supersedes an account group default. Only users with a role that has the Set dashboard template as account group default permission can set an account group's default dashboard. You cannot set a dashboard that is shared from another account group as your default.

• Click Save Changes when you have finished editing, to return to the Dashboards page.

Creating a New Dashboard

Follow these steps to create a new dashboard:

On the Dashboards page, click the Options button and select Create New Dashboard. The Create New Dashboard panel displays, as shown below.

1. Enter a dashboard name in the Dashboard Name field.

2. Configure desired Account Group Visibility, below are available options:

   • All account groups: make dashboard visible to all account groups in current organization.

   • Only current account group: hide dashboard from other account groups.

   • Specific account groups: make dashboard visible to desired account groups, which can be selected from resulting drop-down menu.

3. Set as Private: Check this box to make this dashboard private and only visible to you.

4. Set as my default: Check this box to make this dashboard the default dashboard displayed for the current user.

5. Set as default for account group: Check this box to make this dashboard the default dashboard displayed for the current account group. The user's default takes priority over the account group's default. You cannot set a dashboard that is shared from another account group as your default.

6. Click Create Dashboard to return to the dashboard main screen.

The next step is to click the + Add Widget button in the upper right and start adding and configuring widgets.

Adding Widgets

To add a new widget to the currently displayed dashboard, click + Add Widget at the top of the page. Available widget types display in the Add New Widget panel, as shown below.

On the Add a Widget panel, click a widget type to bring up the widget configuration pane that is specific to that widget type. See Dashboard Widget Types for a list of available dashboard widgets.

Shortcuts for Adding Widgets

Additional shortcuts can be used to speed your dashboard creation process.

From the Dashboard

These instructions apply to the dashboard itself. Each widget has its own configuration menu, a gear, an ellipsis menu, and a chevron to change whether the widget is full-screen width or half-width.

• To reposition a widget within the dashboard, drag it above or below another widget.

• Click the More Actions menu (three vertical dots icon) to duplicate, rename, embed, or delete the widget.

• Click the chevron (< or > icon, if present) to change the widget to full or half the page width.

With the Add a Widget Pane Open

You can add widgets to the dashboard by clicking and dragging the widget's icon from the Add a Widget panel to the page below.

With the Edit Widget Pane Open

The widget configuration panel is named Editing … followed by the widget type. For example “Editing Pie Chart”. These instructions apply within the widget configuration panel while it is open.

• You can minimize this panel and move it as needed.

• If you’re adding a new widget but cancel out of the configuration panel, the widget displays on the dashboard as “Widget not fully configured”. Click the Configure widget link to re-display the configuration panel and finish setting up the widget.

• Be careful when editing a widget's settings, since all changes are immediately applied for all users using the dashboard.

• Add Another Widget: Click this button to add another widget from the widget configuration panel.

• Cancel Changes: After you make updates to your widget configuration, you can preview those changes before saving them. If you don't like the changes you have made, click the Cancel button and the changes will revert – except if you're adding a new widget and cancel out if it. In that case, an empty widget shows up on the dashboard with a note indicating that it's not fully configured.

Editing a Widget

To edit an existing dashboard widget, scroll down to the widget and click the gear icon in the upper right of the widget card. This action brings up the widget configuration panel titled Editing followed by the widget type. This edit panel is the same as what’s used when adding a new widget as described in Adding Widgets. The widget configuration is unique to each widget type.