Create & Edit Canvas Dashboard

Development workflow

High-level Workflow

Unlike Dashboard 3.0, Canvas Dashboard is created in Modeling layer. Developing Canvas Dashboard goes through the same process of creating Data Models and Datasets. For more information, you can refer to Development Workflow.

Create Canvas Dashboard

To create a Canvas Dashboard, go the the Modeling tab:

• Step 1: Click the “Add (+)” button to add Canvas Dashboard. Alternatively, you can select the “Add” button located under the folder where you want to organize your Canvas Dashboard.
• Step 2: Specify dashboard name and description and click Create.

Deploy Canvas Dashboard to Reporting

Once you’ve developed your Canvas Dashboard, deploy it to production to make it available for viewing.

After successfully deployed, you can view a list of deployed canvas dashboards. Click on the title to view the dashboard in Reporting.

Alternatively, you can click on canvas dashboard filename, click on View in Reporting to navigate to the canvas dashboard location in Reporting layer.

info

Canvas Dashboards created in Modeling cannot be edited in the Reporting layer. To edit the dashboard, go to the Modeling layer to make your changes and redeploy.

Canvas Dashboard Workspace

The Canvas Dashboard workspace is where you develop your canvas dashboard. It supports seamless transition between code and visual editing. It combines the familiar drag-and-drop experience of the visual editor with the ability to programmatically create dashboards in the code editor.

1. Edit modes: toggle between Code, Dual, and Visual editor
2. Code editor: view and edit your dashboard in code. Click Update to view changes in Visual editor
3. Visual editor: view and edit your dashboard in GUI. Changes automatically updates dashboard code
4. Toolbar: add analytics blocks to enrich your Canvas Dashboard. You can drag the toolbar around the visual editor
5. Settings: view and edit dashboard settings such as Cache, Time zone, and more
6. Interactive controls: view all applied interactive controls (filters, cross-filters, period comparisons, and date drills). You can click Reset to get back to dashboard defaut state
7. Other settings: view other dashboard settings such
8. View and Zoom controls: configure grids and zoom levels.
9. Block’s context menu: When hover on a block, a context menu appears on the top left corner of that block. It contains settings and operations relating to the selected block.

Analytics Blocks in Canvas Dashboard

Canvas Dashboard in Holistics contains a collection of analytics blocks on a plain canvas. There are three analytic block types: Text, Visualization, and Interactive Controls (such as Filters, Period Comparisons, and Date Drills). Together, analytics blocks allow you to present, engage with, and enhance the context of your data in a robust way.

Text Block

Text blocks allow you to incorporate context and information to your Canvas Dashboard. They are Markdown-supported, which should serve your most common formatting requirements. For more information, you can refer to Text widget.

Visualization Block

Visualization blocks allow you to add basic visualizations and custom charts to Canvas Dashboard. Each block contain a single visualization. A canvas dashboard can have multiple visualization blocks created from different datasets. For more information, you can refer to Visualizations.

Control Block

Interactive Control blocks include Filters, Period Comparisons, and Date Drills that can be used to manipulate data and add interactivity to your Canvas Dashboard. For more information, you can refer to Filter, Period Comparison, Date Drill.

Working with Analytics Blocks

Add Blocks from Toolbar

In the Visual Editor, you can add analytics blocks to Canvas Dashboard using Toolbar.

Alternatively, you can also add new blocks by duplicating existing ones. Simply click on a block’s context menu > More > Duplicate

Move and Arrange Blocks

Blocks can be arranged freely on your canvas. By default, blocks are snapped to grid but you can change this in View options found at the bottom right of your workspace.

In addition, blocks can be stacked on each other. You can control the order of blocks by click on a block’s context menu > More > Arrange

View Block Code

To view the code definition of a block, simply click on a block’s context menu > More > Show in Code editor. The code editor automatically expands with the block’s code highlighted for convenient reference.

Customize Blocks Display Preferences

To customize the title, description, and display of a block, click on More > Block Preferences. You have the options to:

• Hide title and description
• Hide block’s action menu: This hides subsequent features of the block in View Mode, including Explore data, Data Alerts, Expand block, and more.

Delete Blocks

To delete blocks from your canvas, click on a block’s context menu > More > Delete or use Del as keyboard shortcut.