Adding and Displaying Content on a Dashboard

You can add and display content on a dashboard, including the following:

• Objects that let you lay out the content, such as columns and sections
• Reports (analyses) and prompts
• Objects such as text, image links, and embedded content, among others

Details

Note the following when adding content on a dashboard:

• As you drag an object to the layout area, a blue bar appears to indicate the drop
location relative to another object. Similarly, when you hover over a valid target in
which to drop the object, the border of the target container changes to yellow.
• When you drop an object that does not have a name to the layout area, it is
assigned a default name, such as Section 1, Link 1, and so on. You can rename
some objects to assign meaningful, descriptive names.
• When you hover the mouse pointer over an object in the layout area, it is highlighted
with a yellow border and its tool bar appears.
• Columns are used to align content, while sections within columns hold the actual
content. If you drag and drop an object to an empty layout area, or drag and
drop an object to a column without first adding a section to hold it, the proper
containers are created automatically.
• When you drag and drop an analysis to the layout area, the compound view
appears by default. If you want to show another view, click the button (Properties)
for the analysis, click the Show View item, and choose the appropriate view.
• When you drag a second object to a section, you can drop it either horizontally or
vertically within the section, which sets the layout for the section. Additional
objects that you drag and drop assume that layout. To change the layout after it
has been set, you can use the  or  button (Vertical Layout or Horizontal Layout)
on the section tool bar.
• If you drag a section from one column into another column, any content in the
section is also included.

 

How to…

Add Text to a Dashboard

You can add text to a dashboard, and specify the properties of the text, including the
content and formatting.

1. Edit the dashboard to which you want to add the object.

2. Drag the  object from the Dashboard Objects pane to the location where
you want to add the object.

3. Hover over the object on the dashboard and click the  button on the pop-up
menu that appears.
The Text Properties dialog appears.

Text Properties Dialog

4. Select the Contains HTML Markup checkbox to indicate that the subsequent fields
use HTML tags to mark up the content.

5. In the input field, type the text to include on the dashboard.
Use the formatting buttons (bold, italic, underline, and line break) to add the corresponding
tags.

6. Click the Preview button to display how the text will appear on the dashboard.

7. Click the OK button.

Add a Link or Image to a Dashboard

You can add a text or image link to a dashboard, and specify the action when a user
clicks it.

For example, you can direct users to another Web site or dashboard, open documents,
launch applications, or perform any other action that your browser supports.
You can also add an image or text only, without any links.

1. Edit the dashboard to which you want to add the object.

2. Drag the  object from the Dashboard Objects pane to the location
where you want to add the object.

3. Hover over the object on the dashboard and click the  button on the pop-up
menu that appears.

The Link or Image Properties dialog appears.

Link or Image Properties Dialog

4. In the Caption field, type the text to display for the text link or image link.
Specifying a caption for an image link is optional. If you specify an image caption,
choose the location of the caption relative to the image using the Image Layout
field.

5. In the Destination field, specify what is to happen when the user clicks the text or
image.

You can choose from among the following options:

• To add text or an image only, without any links, leave the field empty.
• To specify that a web site, document, or program should be opened, select
the URL radio button and type the full path into the field.
• To specify that an analysis or dashboard should be displayed, select the Analysis
or Dashboard radio button, click the Browse button, and select the analysis
or dashboard to display.

note: Administrators should create a virtual directory on the server for shared
documents called \DashboardFiles that map to a shared network directory of
the same name. This enables users with the appropriate permissions to publish
files to this folder, and reference these files by their relative URL names rather
than by their fully qualified network share names, for example, \DashboardFiles\AnnualReport.doc
instead of \\SharedServer\CommonShare\DashboardFiles\AnnualReport.doc.

6. In the Target field, specify whether the destination should appear in the user’s existing
browser window or in a new window.

For every action except sending mail and executing a program, you can control
how the link should appear. Choose the current window when you want the
action to occur in the display pane of the dashboard. This leaves the dashboard
active but in the background. Choose a new window when you want the action
to take place in a new browser window. This opens another instance of your browser.

7. In the Image field, type the URL of the image to be displayed.
If the image is not on the local server, then the URL must include http://. If the
image is for use in a shared environment, then ensure that the image is located on
a network drive that is accessible to all users.

8. In the Image Layout field, choose where to display the image, such as to the right
or left of the caption or above or below the caption, if you entered a caption.

9. Click the OK button.

The following table shows the link options for adding a text link or image using the
dashboard editor.

 

Add Embedded Content to a Dashboard

Embedded content is any content that appears within a window (called a frame)
inside the dashboard, as opposed to content that is accessed by clicking a link. Content
that you might want to embed includes reports, Excel charts, documents, Web sites, tickers from Web sites, and so on.

Reports are embedded by default. Embedding a report in a dashboard causes it to
run automatically and display the results within the dashboard. This provides access to
current results.

When you embed content into a dashboard, the system automatically adds the
required HTML to the target content. The default size of the window is 600 pixels by 440
pixels. You can change the size of the window to make it larger or smaller.

Scroll bars are automatically added to the window if they are needed. You can
optionally suppress scroll bars.

note: Some third-party Web sites cannot be embedded within another Web page. If
you see unexpected results when viewing an embedded Web site, you may need to
click your browser’s Back button until the Xactly Analytics screen reappears, or close
and then reopen your browser. Then, remove the embedded Web site from the dashboard.

1. Edit the dashboard to which you want to add the object.

2. Drag the  object from the Dashboard Objects pane to the
location where you want to add the object.

3. Hover over the object on the dashboard and click the  button on the pop-up
menu that appears.

The Embedded Content Properties dialog appears.

Embedded Contents Properties Dialog

4. In the URL field, type the location and name, as a URL, of the content to embed.
These are examples:
http://www.example.com
/dashboardfiles/piechart.xls

note: The URL that you specify should begin with http:// unless you plan to use an
item that is saved on your Web server. If you use a network path to indicate the
location of the item, make sure you use the exact path. Items that are embedded
on a shared dashboard must be located on a network drive accessible to all
users.

5. If you want to change the default size of the window, type new values in the
Width and Height fields.

When entering values, note the following:

• The default size of the embedded content area on the dashboard is 600 by
440 pixels and the default display area within the embedded content area is
300 by 150 pixels. The dimensions that you specify for the content area will
apply even if the content does not fill the area.
For example, if you embed an image and indicate a width of 100 and a height
of 100, but the image only has a width of 50 and a height of 50, the dashboard
designates an area with the dimensions you specified (100 by 100). Items that
you place in the content area are not stretched or reduced to fit the area.
• If you do not specify a value, the system uses the default settings (300 by 150
pixels). If you have only specified one value, the system will use the default
value for the non-specified value.
• You can specify the value in either pixels (px) or percent (%). Since browsers
cannot fully interpret percent values, only the width percentage is rendered. If
you specify the height in percentage, the system will substitute 150 pixels for
the height value.
• If you do not specify either pixels or percent, the system interprets the value in
pixels.
• You can enter spaces within the value. For example, you can type either
130px or 130 px.

6. In the Hide Scroll Bars field, select the checkbox to hide the scroll bars.

7. Click the OK button.

 

Add a View of a myContents Folder to a Dashboard

You can add a view of a myContents area folder and its contents, such as saved
reports, to a dashboard. For example, if you have a collection of saved reports that
you run frequently, you can open the folder in the dashboard, navigate to a saved
report, and click it to run it.

1. Edit the dashboard to which you want to add the object.

2. Drag the  object from the Dashboard Objects pane to the location
where you want to add the object.

3. Hover over the object on the dashboard and click the  button on the pop-up
menu that appears.
The Folder Properties dialog appears.

Folder Properties Dialog

4. Click the Browse button and navigate to select the folder.

5. Click the OK button

 

Add an Action Link to a Dashboard

Actions provide the ability to navigate to related content, or invoke operations, functions,
or processes in external systems. You can include actions in analyses and dashboards.
An action link is a link to an action that you have embedded in an analysis or
dashboard.

You can add action links as standalone links, or you can group multiple action links
together on action link menus. An action link menu lets users select, from a list of
action links, the appropriate action to be invoked based on the business insight that
they gained from the data.

For example, a sales director wants to meet with the sales manager of any region
where sales drop below a certain threshold. You might embed an action object into
the sales director’s dashboard to enable the sales managers to schedule such a
meeting simply by clicking a link.

Additionally, you can conditionally show each action link, depending on the data.
This enables you to set up context-sensitive menus that present users with the appropriate
next steps based on the data that is displayed.

1. Edit the dashboard to which you want to add the object.

2. Drag the  object from the Dashboard Objects pane to the location
where you want to add the object.

3. Hover over the object on the dashboard and click the button on the pop-up
menu that appears.

The Action Link Properties dialog appears.

Action Link Properties Dialog

4. In the Link Text field, type the text to display as the link to invoke the associated
action.

5. In the Caption field, type a caption to display above the link text.
This field is available only for action links that are not displayed on an action link
menu.

6. In the Action field, specify the action to be associated with the action link.

Do one of the following:

• To add a new action, click the button and choose the type of action using
the drop-down list. Choosing Navigate to BI Content enables a file selection
window to select a specific report or dashboard. Choosing Navigate to a Web
Page enables a pop-up to input a URL.
• To select an action, click the button and select an action using the dialog
that appears.
To select another option, click the button and choose one of the following:
• Edit Action—Edit the action
• Remove Action—Remove the action
• Save Action As—Save the action using another name

7. In the Open Link in New Window field, select the checkbox to open the link in a
new browser window (or new tab)

8. In the Add to Briefing Book field, select the checkbox to indicate that the action
associated with the action link can be invoked in a briefing book.

9. In the Show Link field, specify whether to always show the link, or conditionally
show the link.

You can choose from among the following options:

• Always—Specifies that the action link is always to be enabled
• Conditionally—Specifies that the action link is to be enabled only if the associated
condition is satisfied.

Selecting this option displays the Condition field that allows you to specify the
condition under which the action link is to be enabled. Do the following:

• To add a new condition, click the button and specify the required
information.
• To select a condition, click the button and select a condition using the
dialog that appears.
To select another option, click the  button and choose one of the following:
• Test Condition—Allows you to test whether the condition evaluates to true
or false
• Edit Condition—Edit the condition
• Remove Condition—Remove the condition
• Save Condition As—Save the condition using another name

10. Click the OK button.

 

Add an Action Link Menu to a Dashboard

1. Edit the dashboard to which you want to add the object.

2. Drag the object from the Dashboard Objects pane to the location
where you want to add the object.

3. Hover over the object on the dashboard and click the  button on the pop-up
menu that appears.

The Action Link Menu Properties dialog appears.

Action Link Menu Properties Dialog

4. In the Menu Label field, type the text to display for the menu.

5. In the Caption field, type the text to display above the menu text.

6. In the Action Links section, specify the list of action links associated with the action
links menu.

Do the following:

• To add an action link, click the  button and specify the required information.
• To edit an action link, select the item and click the button. Modify the settings,
as required, and click the OK button.
• To delete an action link, select the item and click the  button.

Use the arrows to the right of the Action Links table to reorder the list of action links
and change the order of how they are displayed in the action link menu.

7. Click the OK button.

 

Add an RSS Feed Option to a Dashboard Catalog Folder

An RSS reader is a third-party program that allows the user to aggregate information
from different web-based locations into one browser window (for example, news
feeds or events listing).

You can include an RSS feed option to a catalog folder that appears on a Dashboard
page. The RSS feed option allows a user to access the dashboard’s catalog folder
from an RSS 2.0 compatible reader that supports HTTP basic authentication. If the
server uses the HTTPS protocol, the RSS Reader that you use must also support the
HTTPS protocol.

When the RSS link is added to the dashboard’s catalog folder, an XML icon that provides
the catalog’s URL appears for that folder. When a user accesses a catalog folder
from an RSS reader, the reader prompts the user to log into the Xactly Analytics server.

1. Edit the dashboard to which you want to add the object.

2. In the dashboard editor, hover over the folder to which you want to add an RSS
feed option and click the button on the pop-up menu that appears.

The Folder Properties dialog appears.

Folder Properties Dialog

3. Select the Show RSS Link checkbox.

4. Click the OK button.

 

Add Content in the myContents Area to a Dashboard

You can add one or more existing reports to a dashboard page.

1. Edit the dashboard to which you want to add the content.

2. In the Catalog pane, navigate to the folder that contains the content you want to
add to the dashboard.

3. Drag and drop the content into a section on the dashboard.

4. Specify whether to embed or add a link to the content by hovering the mouse
pointer over the object and clicking the  button.

A drop-down menu appears. Do the following:

• To embed the content on the dashboard, choose Display Results > Embedded
in Section using the drop-down menu.
• To create a link to the content on the dashboard, choose Display Results > Link – Within the Dashboard or Display Results > Link – In a Separate Window.
This adds a link to the content saved in the myContents area. If the content
changes, the change is reflected on the dashboard page.

5. Click the  button.

 

Control How Results Display When a User Drills on a Dashboard

When a user drills on a report, you can show the new results in one of the following
ways:

• Show the new results directly in the dashboard, replacing the original report. This is
the default behavior. The area occupied by the original report resizes automatically
to hold the new results.
• Replace the entire dashboard with the new results.

This is controlled by the Drill in Place option. This option is set at the section level, which
means that it applies to all drillable reports within the section. You can click the
browser Back button to return to the original report or the dashboard.

1. Click the  button (Properties) for the section, and choose Drill in Place from the
drop-down menu.
A check mark appears next to this option when it is selected. This is the default
behavior.

2. To replace the dashboard with the new results, choose Drill in Place again to
remove the check mark