> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.thousandeyes.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.thousandeyes.com/product-documentation/dashboards/dashboard-shares-snapshots.md). # Dashboard Sharing and Snapshots Dashboard snapshots represent a specific time range of the dashboard’s data. Snapshots can be scheduled at regular intervals and automatically emailed to a list of recipients. You have the option to anonymize data when creating the snapshot. {% hint style="info" %} You must be a ThousandEyes customer in order to create snapshots and share links of your own data. All ThousandEyes internal users, regardless of their function, are restricted from creating snapshots of customer data. {% endhint %} Dashboard data can also be shared through embedded widgets, which allow a dashboard's widgets to be included in customer web pages such as kiosk displays or network operations center dashboards. For more information on embedded dashboard widgets, see [Embedding Dashboard Widgets in External Web Sites](https://docs.thousandeyes.com/product-documentation/dashboards/embedding-dashboard-widgets-in-external-web-sites). ## Dashboard Snapshots {% hint style="info" %} Dashboard snapshots are stored solely within the Dashboard component of the platform, unlike other snapshots which are saved either in **Public Snapshots** or **Private Snapshots** screens within **Manage > Sharing**. You can only find your saved dashboard snapshots, both public and private, in **Dashboards** within the **Snapshot** menu on the top right. {% endhint %} Dashboard snapshots can be created on demand, or created automatically according to a schedule. You can share dashboard snapshots with people outside your organization, whereas sharing a dashboard directly can only be done within your organization, with other ThousandEyes users who have access to the ThousandEyes platform. ![](/files/qyyOH6gCTaJ6xvhInSXU) ### Working with Dashboard Snapshots To view existing dashboard snapshots, click the Snapshot camera icon on the **Dashboards** page and choose either **All Snapshots** or **Related Snapshots**. A pane appears with a list of the latest snapshots of each dashboard. If you are looking for a history of the snapshots associated with a specific dashboard, open that specific dashboard and then click the Snapshot icon. Dashboard snapshots created from a schedule have a watch icon next to the snapshot name. ![](/files/Eq2NberT3PwcU2oCTKEg) To share a link to a dashboard snapshot after creating the snapshot, right-click its entry and choose "Copy link address" from your browser right-click menu. The link will work if the snapshot has link sharing turned on. Link sharing is something you can change anytime by opening the dashboard snapshot and toggling it on or off. Use link sharing only if people outside your organization need to see it, for example, a third-party provider or ISP. ### The Snapshot Screen The dashboard snapshot screen looks just like the regular dashboard, except that the upper right has an Exit Snapshot button. ![](/files/cXKjTGDgvSq7sCPIQ8Xb) Here are the things you can do with dashboard snapshots: * To save a dashboard snapshot as a file to your drive, open the snapshot and then use the Download icon and save the snapshot as a PDF file. * To delete a dashboard snapshot, open the snapshot and click the Gear icon, then choose Delete Snapshot. * You cannot edit an existing dashboard snapshot, other than to turn Link Sharing on and off. {% hint style="info" %} When creating a new dashboard using the **New from this Dashboard** link, the newly created dashboard will not inherit the schedule for creating snapshots from the original dashboard. {% endhint %} ### Creating a New Dashboard Snapshot To create an on-demand dashboard snapshot, select the desired dashboard in the Dashboard name pull-down on the Dashboards page. Then select the **Snapshot > Save a Snapshot** link from the Dashboards page. ![](/files/xbbVs1QThTZ9tqxygMw2) The **Save a Snapshot** side pane will appear. The dialog allows you to name the dashboard snapshot. The current date range in the dashboard date selector's To and From fields will be used to select the data in the snapshot. An expiration date is required when creating a dashboard snapshot. This date defaults to one year. You have the option to extend this date up to five years. Options to anonymize data that can reveal a user's identity and creating a public share link are also available here. ![](/files/Sn3NK9tM00oVH8ZZIdMM) When you save a dashboard snapshot, it can take a moment or two for the data to be generated. When the snapshot is ready, you’ll see a notification as shown below. ![](/files/2UdTdoj5jilm5cBPZmOz) A notification also appears when a dashboard snapshot is due to expire. ### Scheduling a Recurring Snapshot {% hint style="warning" %} Email support for scheduled snapshots is not available in the ThousandEyes for Government instance. For more information on ThousandEyes for Government prerequisites and configuration options, see [ThousandEyes for Government - FedRAMP® Moderate](https://docs.thousandeyes.com/product-documentation/thousandeyes-for-government). {% endhint %} Dashboard snapshots can be automatically generated at periodic intervals, such as each week or month. To schedule a recurring snapshot, open the dashboard, select the **Snapshot** camera icon, and then select **Schedule a Snapshot**. ![Schedule Snapshot sharing settings with account access required](/files/MVAYThMjUBsPs7r1ZLb2) The following settings are available: * **Snapshot Name:** Enter a name for the dashboard snapshot, which will appear in the listing under Dashboards > Dashboard Snapshots. * **Repeat Interval:** Select the frequency with which to create dashboard snapshots. You may select from the following values: * None: Creates a single dashboard snapshot at the specified time. * Daily * Weekly * Bi-Weekly * Monthly * Quarterly (3 Months) * Custom: Allows you to select an integer number of days, weeks or months. * **Timezone:** Select the desired timezone. Note that the scheduled task runs at the time 0:00 on the hour within the selected timezone. If you want to run the scheduled task at a time other than 0:00 local time, select a different timezone. The menu shows the number of hours difference as well as the local time, so you'll know when the snapshot gets generated before saving your changes. * **Snapshot(s) will be deleted:** Shows when the dashboard snapshot will be automatically deleted. This defaults to 1 year from the creation date. You may select from the following values: * 24 hours * 7 days * 30 days * 60 days * 6 months * 1 year * 5 years * **Next Repeat On:** Shows the time of the next scheduled dashboard snapshot. * **Contains:** Select the number of days or weeks of data that the dashboard snapshot will cover, going back from the creation date of the snapshot. * **Emails:** Displays the addresses that receive each dashboard snapshot by email. Use **Edit External Emails** to add external email addresses. Each scheduled email includes a link with the access requirement selected under **Sharing Settings**. * **Sharing Settings:** Determines who can open the link in each scheduled email. For more information, see [Sharing Dashboard Snapshots](#sharing-dashboard-snapshots). * **A ThousandEyes account is required to view:** Creates a link that requires the recipient to sign in with an authorized ThousandEyes account. * **Anyone with the link can view:** Creates a public link that the recipient can open without a ThousandEyes account. * **Anonymize data that identifies users:** All data that could reveal user's identity are anonymized. * **Include a PDF attachment of the Dashboard:** Attaches a PDF version of the dashboard snapshot when sending out dashboard snapshot notification emails. A dashboard with an associated snapshot schedule will have a watch icon beside its name in the Dashboard name pull-down menu. Changing **Sharing Settings** changes only the authentication requirement for the link. To stop automatic snapshot creation, open the dashboard and select **Snapshot > Cancel Schedule**. **Note:** Changing the dashboard layout that generated a scheduled dashboard snapshot will not change existing snapshots. Only future snapshots will be affected by changes to the dashboard layout. ### Downloading a Dashboard Snapshot You don’t have to create a dashboard snapshot in order to download the current dashboard. Just use the Download icon and choose either PDF or CSV. If you want to download a previously saved dashboard snapshot, open the snapshot, click the Download icon, and choose **Save as PDF**. Click **Exit Snapshot** in the upper right to return to the live dashboard. ### Extending a Snapshot's Expiration Date To edit the expiration date of an existing dashboard snapshot: 1. Go to any dashboard and click the camera icon in the upper right of the screen. 2. Choose **View All Snapshots**. ![](/files/DleZKKQf1jPHvka9GU9t) 3. Choose the snapshot to edit. Use the filter field to enter search text if needed. ![](/files/GnDRhJ5wFDq3G79aCiuQ) 4. With the snapshot open, click the gear icon. ![](/files/GStZ5kldhaqyVUVRv8gh) 5. Update the expiration date and click **Save** ![](/files/KoGlZphdDs8WuEBbo4Ut) ### Deleting a Dashboard Snapshot ![](/files/CrjyIwoLxJ3BxJ91m4n3) To delete an existing dashboard snapshot: 1. Go to any dashboard and click the camera icon in the upper right of the screen. 2. Choose **View All Snapshots**. 3. Choose the snapshot to delete to open it. Use the filter field to enter search text if needed. 4. With the snapshot open, click the gear icon in the upper right of the snapshot. 5. Click **Delete This Snapshot**. ## Dashboard Sharing Any customized dashboard can be shared with other account groups within the same organization by configuring the dashboard visibility. The built-in dashboard is shared only with the current account group. There are separate permissions for sharing dashboards, and for dashboard snapshots as well: viewing other people's, viewing your own, and for creating snapshots that are externally viewable. The differences between sharing a dashboard and sharing a dashboard snapshot link are: * Dashboard sharing is really a visibility setting for people already in your organization. They can view the live Dashboard anytime, by default seeing the most recent data. To share a live dashboard outside your organization, see [Embedding Dashboard Widgets in External Web Sites](https://docs.thousandeyes.com/product-documentation/dashboards/embedding-dashboard-widgets-in-external-web-sites) * Dashboard snapshot links capture a point-in-time slice of data. For manually shared snapshots, enable **Link Share** to create a public link that anyone with the URL can access. For scheduled snapshots, select **Anyone with the link can view** to send a public link, or select **A ThousandEyes account is required to view** to send a link that requires an authorized ThousandEyes account. * Dashboard snapshots can also be used internally to create a history, as otherwise ThousandEyes has limits on the historical data that is preserved. ### Steps to Share a Dashboard Directly Follow these steps to make your dashboard visible to other people within your organization, by account group. 1. Load the Dashboard you would like to share. 2. Click on the ellipsis ![](/files/-M9yebtSSePvSShCqYDD) at the top right of the page and choose Edit Dashboard. ![](/files/sXtW0qVKu2sIlomtdJgn) 3. Un-check **Set as Private** under Account Group Visibility. 4. Select Account Group Visibility as follows: * All account groups * Only current account group * Specific account groups 5. If you select Specific account groups, use the second drop-down to select the account groups: ![](/files/z722tQe0joT8mHHqvKb9) 6. Click **Save Changes**. ### Tracking Who’s Shared What Under the Dashboard list, you can locate which dashboards were shared by you, or by other accounts: * Dashboards shared by you with other accounts are tagged as “Shared”. ![](/files/-M9yebtaikDxc3faLWPO) * Dashboards shared by other accounts with you are tagged as “Shared with me”. ![](/files/-M9yebtd4IBAqj9wZef7) ## Sharing Dashboard Snapshots You can share existing snapshots of dashboards manually via a publicly accessible URL, similar to snapshot sharing of test data. To share an existing snapshot of a dashboard, navigate to the desired dashboard snapshot and click the gear icon on the right-hand side to open the dashboard snapshot's additional options menu. ![](/files/-M5xtPZxCIgeamgf0g2h) Here, click the **Link Share** toggle switch and the public URL for viewing this dashboard snapshot will be presented. You may copy the link to your clipboard and paste it into a document, an email, a chat or any other medium. You may stop sharing the dashboard snapshot at any time by unchecking the **Link Share** switch shown above. ### Emailing Dashboard Snapshots When you schedule a dashboard snapshot, select recipients under **Emails**. To add an external email address that is not associated with a ThousandEyes user, select **Edit External Emails**. The platform sends the scheduled snapshot email to each selected internal or external recipient. The **Sharing Settings** selection determines whether a recipient can open the link in the email: * With **A ThousandEyes account is required to view**, external recipients receive the email but must sign in with an authorized ThousandEyes account to open the link. * With **Anyone with the link can view**, external recipients can open the public link without a ThousandEyes account.