Explore recipe: Taking dashboard filters and bookmarks to the next level

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This recipe demonstrates how you can use dashboard filters to change dashboard report configurations quickly. You can then save different configurations as bookmarks. Bookmarks enable dashboard viewers to switch between different configurations with a single click.

In this example, you'll set up a number of reports that track ticket updates and comments over the past year. You'll add these to a dashboard and then create a change attribute filter that lets viewers change the period looked at between years, months, and days. Finally, you'll create bookmarks that allow the viewer to switch between these time measurements with a single click. 

This article contains the following topics:

• What you'll need
• Creating the reports
• Customizing the dashboard

What you'll need

Skill level: Advanced

Time required: 30 minutes

• Zendesk Explore Professional or Enterprise
• Editor or Admin permissions (see Giving agents access to Explore)
• Ticket and agent data in Zendesk Support

Creating the reports

In this first section, you'll create the following reports and add them to a new dashboard:

• For all reports
• Report 1 - Tickets created
• Report 2 - Tickets solved
• Report 3 - Agent comments
• Optional reports

For all reports

For each report you create, use this procedure to get started:

To create the report

1. In Zendesk Explore, click the reports () icon.
2. In the Reports library, click New report.
3. On the Select a dataset page, click Support > Support - Updates history, and then click Start report.

Report builder opens. Continue working through each procedure in turn.

Report 1 - Tickets created

In this first report, you'll create a column chart that displays the number of tickets created by month and year.

To create the report

1. In the Metrics panel, click Add.
2. From the list of metrics, choose Tickets > Tickets created, then click Apply.
3. In the Columns panel, click Add.
4. From the list of attributes, choose Time - Ticket update > Update - year and Time - Ticket update > Update - Month, then click Apply.
5. From the Visualization type menu (), choose Column.
6. Click Save, and then click Add to dashboard.

   

7. On the Save new report to page, select a new dashboard and give your dashboard a name, for example, Bookmarks dashboard.
8. When you are finished, click Save.

Report 2 - Tickets solved

In this report, you'll create another column chart. This chart displays the number of tickets solved by month and year.

To create the report

1. Create a new report using the first procedure above.
2. In the Metrics panel, click Add.
3. From the list of metrics, choose Tickets > Tickets solved, then click Apply.
4. In the Columns panel, click Add.
5. From the list of attributes, choose Time - Ticket update > Update - Year and Time - Ticket update > Update - Month, then click Apply.
6. From the Save menu, click Save.
7. From the Save menu, click Add to dashboard
8. On the Save new report to page, choose an existing dashboard, then choose your dashboard, Bookmarks dashboard from the list
9. When you are finished, click Save.

Report 3 - Agent comments

In this report, you'll create another column chart. This chart displays the number of ticket comments from agents by month and year.

To create the report

1. Create a new report using the first procedure above.
2. In the Metrics panel, click Add.
3. From the list of metrics, choose Comments > Agent Comments.
4. In the Columns panel, click Add.
5. From the list of attributes, choose Time - Ticket update > Update - Year and Time - Ticket update > Update - Month, then click Apply.
6. From the Save menu, click Save.
7. From the Save menu, click Add to dashboard
8. On the Save new report to page, choose an existing dashboard and choose your dashboard, Bookmarks dashboard from the list
9. When you are finished, click Save.

Optional reports

If you want to see totals as well as time trends, you can additionally add Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the metrics.

Create each of these reports using the Support: Updates history [default] dataset and add them to your dashboard in the same way as you did the three reports above.

• A report with a single metric, Tickets > Tickets created.
• A report with a single metric, Tickets > Tickets solved.
• A report with a single metric, Comments > Agent comments.

If you need more help creating reports, see Creating reports.

Customizing the dashboard

Your new dashboard is ready to go in the Dashboards library (). However, you'll need to do a bit more work to get it looking just right.

To customize the dashboard

1. Open the dashboard, then click Edit. The dashboard opens in edit mode.
2. To show the label on each KPI chart (if you added them), perform the following steps for each KPI chart:
   • In the KPI chart, click the arrow, then choose Edit report. The report builder opens with the KPI report loaded.
   • In the chart configuration menu (), click Chart.
   • On the Chart page, uncheck Hide label.
   • Save the report to return to the dashboard.
3. Organize the dashboard by dragging and resizing each report until it looks similar to the example screenshot below:

   

Configuring dashboard filters

In this section, you'll create two dashboard filters. A time filter changes the time period of the results shown on the dashboard. The change attribute filter enables you switch the x-axis attribute being used for the column charts between month, week, and date.

Add a time filter

In this section, you'll add a time filter to your dashboard that lets dashboard viewers select the date range displayed by the dashboard.

To add a time filter

1. click the + icon in your dashboard, then select Time filter.
2. On the Time filters panel, select the first attribute, Updates history [default] - Update (this corresponds to the Time - Ticket update group of attributes).

   

When you preview your dashboard, you'll see that you can use the time filter to select a simple or advanced date range. When you select a range, the dashboard updates to reflect the new period. Now, you'll add a change attribute filter. This attribute lets you change the reported attribute from Update - Month to a different attribute.

Add a change attribute

To add a change attribute

1. Click the + icon in your dashboard, then select Change attribute.
2. In the Add change attribute page, configure the following:
   • Dataset: Select the dataset containing the attributes you want to use, in this case, Updates history.
   • Default attribute: Choose the attribute used by default in your report.
   • Selectable attributes: Choose the other attributes that you'd like the report viewer to be able to change the default attribute to.
     
3. Click Add. Your change attribute is displayed, and you can click each button to change the attribute used in the report.

Viewers can use the time attribute to alter the duration of the whole dashboard or the change attribute to report by month, week of year, or date. You can set any combination of values you want.