Working with the dashboard builder (Beta)

Note: This article describes the beta version of the Explore dashboard builder. For information on the classic dashboard builder instead, see Creating dashboards. For help deciding which dashboard builder to use, see Comparing features available in the dashboard builder.

The beta dashboard builder lets you create dashboards, customizable spaces for organizing and sharing information, within Explore. With it, you can quickly and easily create dashboards that give you the insights you need to optimize your service channels.

This article contains the following sections:

• Creating a dashboard
• Adding and customizing dashboard components
• Editing a dashboard
• Previewing a dashboard
• Sharing a dashboard
• Cloning a dashboard
• Deleting a dashboard

Creating a dashboard

You can create a live dashboard using the beta dashboard builder in Explore.

To create a dashboard

1. Click the Dashboard icon () in the left sidebar.
2. In the banner at the top, click Try it now.
   
3. In the Start a dashboard window, choose whether you want to build your dashboard from scratch (Blank dashboard) or start from a prebuilt template.
4. Click Select.

You’re redirected to the beta dashboard builder and the new dashboard is added to the dashboards library. You can now add reports, filters, and other components, and further customize your dashboard. If you chose to start from a prebuilt template, components are already added for you (though you can always edit them or add more).

Adding and customizing dashboard components

You can add two main types of components to a dashboard: reports and filters. Reports show you metrics about your use of Zendesk either as of right now or in the past, and filters let you slice that data based on certain characteristics.

This section contains the following topics:

• Adding a report
• Customizing the header of a report
• Adding an alert on a live report
• Customizing the tooltip on a report
• Enabling drill in on a live metric
• Adding a filter
• Adding a text component
• Renaming a report or filter
• Removing a report or filter

Adding a report

1. In the beta dashboard builder, click the plus (+) icon in the upper right.
   
2. Click Live data (if you want to report on near real time information) or Report (if you want to report on historical data) and select the report or reports you want to add.
   Tip: If you click Live data, you can filter by the type of component by clicking the filter icon () to the right of the search box. This makes it easier to find live data components about a specific topic.
3. Click and drag the report wherever you want it to appear on the dashboard. The report automatically snaps to the closest line on the grid.
   Tip: You can change how the dashboard’s snap-to functionality works. Click the Layout button () > Placement and choose Place anywhere to freely move reports and filters wherever you’d like on the dashboard, or choose Align on top or Align left to automatically snap reports and filters to the top or left side of the dashboard, respectively.
4. Resize the report using the drag handle in the lower right.

Customizing the header of a report

1. Click a report on your dashboard.
2. In the panel on the right, use the options under the Styles heading to customize the report header:
   
   • Show header: Clear the check box if you don’t want the report to show its name as a header at the top of the report.
   • Background color: Select the color that appears behind the report.

Adding an alert on a live report

1. Click a live report on your dashboard.
2. In the panel on the right, click Alerts > Add alert.
3. Under Alert level, choose the threshold that will trigger the alert (for example, when the report returns more than a 100 tickets).
4. Under Background color, choose the color that the report will turn when the alert’s threshold is reached.

Customizing the tooltip on a report

1. Click a report on your dashboard.
2. In the panel on the right, click Tooltips.
3. Update the text that should appear when a user hovers over the report, or turn off the tooltip completely by unchecking Show tooltip.

Enabling drill in on a live metric

Note: Drill in is available only for the following agent status live metrics: Agents online, Agents offline, Agents away, Agents invisible, Agents transfer only. For details, see Live data widgets for Explore dashboards.

1. Click an agent status live metric on your dashboard.
2. In the panel on the right, use the options under the Drill in heading to configure how much detail dashboard viewers can see when they drill in on the live data metric. For more information, see Seeing live agent status and activities.
   • Agent statuses: Allows the viewer to see the list of agents in each status.
   • Work items: Allows the viewer to see an individual agent’s tickets, chats, and conversations.
   

Adding a filter

1. Click the plus (+) icon.
2. Click one of the following, and then select the filter or filters you want to add:
   • Live filter: Filters live data by ticket brand or group. When somebody views your dashboard, they can select up to five values to restrict the results by.
     
     Note: Don’t add multiple copies of the same live filter. If you do, dashboard viewers can select up to five values in each (for a total number greater than five across all copies of the filter), but the report results will not be accurate.
   • Time filter: Filters historical data by a specified time period. When somebody views your dashboard, a default value of 30 days is applied, but the viewer can change the time range as needed.
   • Data filter: Filters historical data by the specified attributes. When somebody views your dashboard, they can select an unlimited number of values to restrict the results by.
3. Click and drag the filter wherever you want it to appear on the dashboard. The filter automatically snaps to the closest line on the grid.
4. Resize the filter using the drag handle in the lower right.

Adding a text component

Text components let you add additional context to your dashboard, like descriptions of the reports or section headers.

1. In the beta dashboard builder, click the plus (+) icon in the upper right.
2. Under Other components, click Text.
   
3. Click the component that appears on your dashboard and type in your text.
4. Use the formatting tools underneath the component to format your text, including styles, colors, links, and more.
   

Renaming a report or filter

1. Click a report or filter on your dashboard.
2. In the panel on the right, click the options menu icon next to the component's name.
3. Click Rename.
   
4. Enter a new name for the component and click the checkmark.

Removing a report or filter

1. Click a report or filter on your dashboard.
2. In the panel on the right, click the options menu icon next to the component's name.
3. Click Remove > Remove item.

Editing a dashboard

You can edit a dashboard you’ve already created using the beta dashboard builder.

To edit a dashboard

1. Click the Dashboards library icon () in the left sidebar.
2. Hover over the dashboard you want to edit and click Edit.
   
3. Add, customize, and remove components as needed.

Tip: Use the Undo () and Redo () buttons to quickly adjust any edits you make.

Previewing a dashboard

You can preview a dashboard to see how it will look from an end user’s perspective.

To preview a dashboard

1. In the beta dashboard builder, click the View button in the upper left.

Sharing a dashboard

When you create a dashboard in Explore, by default only you can see it. To share your dashboard with others, you need to invite them.

To share a dashboard with other agents

1. Open the Invite people menu using one of the following methods:
   • From an open dashboard: Click the Share button.
     
   • From the dashboards library: Click Share from the options menu drop-down to the right of your dashboard’s name.
     
   The Invite people menu opens.
2. In the Add team members or groups field, search for and select the agent or group you want to share with. If you’re not sure which users are in a group, hover over View info to see up to 20 members of the group, organized alphabetically.
   
3. In the Access field, decide whether you want to restrict the dashboard’s data for the users you’re inviting. See Dynamically adapting dashboard data based on viewer.
4. (Optional) Clear the Send email notification checkbox if you don’t want to send an email notification to the invited users to view the dashboard. If you don’t send an email, users can still find the dashboard in the report library or by going to the dashboard’s URL.
5. Click Invite people.

Cloning a dashboard

When you need a dashboard that’s similar to an existing dashboard, you can clone the existing dashboard and tweak it from there. Cloning dashboards is faster than recreating them from scratch.

To clone a dashboard

1. Click the Dashboards library icon () in the left sidebar.
2. Hover over the dashboard you want to clone and click the settings drop-down to the right of your dashboard’s name.
3. Click Clone.
4. In the Clone dashboard menu, choose a new name for the cloned dashboard, and decide whether you want to clone the reports as well as the datasets.
   
5. Click Clone.

Tip: If you’re planning to simply add new reports to a dashboard, there’s no need to clone the reports or datasets. However, if you want to customize the reports for the cloned dashboard in a different way than the original, you must clone the reports. Cloning the dataset is rarely needed. It’s useful only if you want to separate the cloned reports in a different dataset.

Deleting a dashboard

If you no longer need a dashboard, you can delete it. This keeps your dashboards library cleaner and makes it easier to find the dashboards you do need.

To delete a dashboard

1. Click the Dashboards library icon () in the left sidebar.
2. Hover over the dashboard you want to delete and click the settings drop-down to the right of your dashboard’s name.
3. Click Delete.
4. In the Delete dashboard menu, click Yes, delete.