Dashboards

Dashboards let you combine multiple queries into interactive, shareable views. They're perfect for creating reports, KPI displays, and data exploration interfaces.

Overview

A dashboard consists of cards arranged in a flexible 12-column grid layout. Each card can display different types of content, making it easy to build comprehensive data views.

Creating a Dashboard

1. Click "New" in the top navigation
2. Select "Dashboard" from the dropdown
3. Enter Details
   • Name: Give your dashboard a descriptive name
   • Description: Optionally add context about what the dashboard shows
4. Click "Save" to create your dashboard

Adding Cards

Once you've created a dashboard, you can add cards to display your data:

1. Click "Add Card" - The large dashed button at the bottom of your dashboard
2. Choose Card Type:
   • Query - Display results from a saved query
   • Text - Add explanatory text using Markdown
   • Heading - Create section headers
   • Link - Add clickable links to external resources
3. Configure the Card:
   • For Query cards: Select which saved query to display
   • For Text/Heading/Link cards: Enter your content
4. Click "Add Card"

Card Layout System

Cards are arranged in a 12-column grid where you can control each card's position and size.

Layout Properties

When you select a card, you can configure its layout using the settings drawer:

• X Position (0-11) - Which column the card starts at
• Y Position (0+) - Which row the card starts at
• Width (1-12) - How many columns the card spans
• Height (min 2) - How many rows the card spans

Auto-Flow Layout

The dashboard uses an intelligent auto-flow system:

• Cards automatically stack vertically based on their X position (column)
• When you change a card's height, other cards reflow to fill the space
• No manual dragging required - just set the position values

Layout Examples

Full-width header:
X: 0, Y: 0, W: 12, H: 2

Two side-by-side cards:
Left:  X: 0, Y: 2, W: 6, H: 4
Right: X: 6, Y: 2, W: 6, H: 4

Three equal columns:
Left:   X: 0, Y: 6, W: 4, H: 3
Middle: X: 4, Y: 6, W: 4, H: 3
Right:  X: 8, Y: 6, W: 4, H: 3

Card Types in Detail

Query Cards

Query cards display results from saved queries.

Features:

• Show query results as tables or visualizations
• Inherit visualization settings from the saved query
• Can override visualization on a per-card basis
• Display loading states while queries run
• Show error messages if queries fail

To use:

1. Create and save a query first
2. Add a Query card to your dashboard
3. Select the saved query from the dropdown
4. Optionally configure visualization in the card settings

Text Cards

Add formatted text content using Markdown.

Use cases:

• Explain what the dashboard shows
• Add context to your data
• Create documentation
• Include analysis notes

Markdown support:

• Bold, italic, code formatting
• Lists (bulleted and numbered)
• Links
• Basic formatting

Heading Cards

Create section headers to organize your dashboard.

Features:

• Large, prominent text
• Helps structure multi-section dashboards
• In public view, renders without card wrapper for cleaner look

Best practices:

• Use to separate different metric categories
• Keep headings short and clear
• Use at the start of each section

Link Cards

Add clickable links to external resources.

Use cases:

• Link to related dashboards
• Reference external documentation
• Connect to other tools
• Provide additional context

URL handling:

• Automatically adds https:// if missing
• Opens in new tab with security attributes
• Shows link icon for clarity

Card Configuration

Select any card to open the settings drawer on the right:

General Settings

• Title - Custom name for the card (overrides query name for Query cards)
• Layout - X, Y, Width, Height controls

Query Card Settings

• Visualization - Configure chart type (16 types available) and fields directly from the card settings drawer
• Title Override - Custom display name

Text/Heading/Link Settings

• Content - The actual text or URL to display

Dashboard Filters

Filters add interactive widgets to your dashboard that dynamically filter data across query cards. They work by mapping each filter to a query variable ({{variable}}) on one or more cards.

How Filters Work

1. Your saved query uses a variable: SELECT * FROM orders WHERE status = {{status}}
2. You add a dashboard filter (e.g. named status)
3. In a card's settings, you map the status filter to the status query variable
4. When a user selects a filter value, the query re-runs with that value substituted

Adding Filters

1. Click "Add Filter" in the filter bar at the top of your dashboard
2. Configure the filter:
   • Name — internal identifier (used in URL params and variable mapping)
   • Label — display label shown to users
   • Type — text, integer, float, date, or datetime
   • Widget — input field, select dropdown, date picker, or date range picker
   • Default value — optional pre-filled value
   • Options — for select widgets, provide comma-separated values (e.g. active,pending,completed)
3. Click "Save Filter"

Mapping Filters to Cards

Each query card can map dashboard filters to its query variables independently:

1. Select a card and open its Settings drawer
2. Under Filter Mappings, each dashboard filter is listed
3. Choose which query variable the filter maps to (from the query's {{variable}} placeholders)
4. Different cards can map the same filter to different variable names

Filter Widgets

Shareable Filter URLs

Filter values are automatically reflected in the URL as query parameters. For example:

/lotus/dashboards/42?status=active&region=us

• Typing in a filter updates the URL in real-time
• Clearing a filter removes it from the URL
• Sharing the URL pre-fills the filters for the recipient
• Works on both the dashboard editor and public shared dashboards

Filters on Public Dashboards

Filters are fully supported on public (shared) dashboards:

• Filter widgets render in the filter bar
• Users can interact with filters to explore the data
• The "Add Filter" button and edit/delete controls are hidden
• URL parameters pre-fill filter values, so you can share filtered views

Example

A dashboard with an "Orders Overview" that filters by status and date range:

1. Create queries with variables:
   • SELECT COUNT(*) FROM orders WHERE status = {{status}} AND created_at >= {{start}} AND created_at <= {{end}}
2. Add filters to the dashboard:
   • status — Select widget with options: active,pending,completed
   • date_range — Date Range Picker widget
3. Map filters in each card's settings:
   • Map status filter → status variable
   • Map date_range filter → start and end variables
4. Share the filtered URL: /lotus/public/dashboards/abc123?status=active

Dashboard Settings

Click the gear icon in the top-right to access dashboard settings:

Auto-Refresh

Set an interval for automatic card refreshing:

• Disabled (default)
• 1 minute
• 5 minutes
• 10 minutes
• 30 minutes
• 1 hour

When enabled, all cards refresh automatically at the specified interval.

Public Sharing

Share your dashboard via a secure, public link:

1. Enable Public Link - Click the button (dashboard must be saved first)
2. Copy URL - Use the clipboard icon to copy the public URL
3. Share - Send the URL to anyone who needs access

Public view features:

• Read-only access - no editing allowed
• No login required
• Clean interface without edit controls
• All cards display their data
• Public links remain active until you disable sharing

To disable:

• Click "Disable Sharing" in the settings drawer
• The link immediately stops working

Danger Zone

Delete Dashboard - Permanently removes the dashboard and all its cards.

⚠️ This action cannot be undone!

Dashboard Workflow

1. Plan Your Dashboard

• Decide what metrics to show
• Create and save the necessary queries
• Sketch out the layout (which cards go where)

2. Build the Dashboard

• Create the dashboard
• Add a heading card for the title
• Add query cards for your metrics
• Add text cards for explanations
• Arrange cards using the layout settings

3. Configure Cards

• Set custom titles
• Configure visualizations
• Adjust layout positions
• Test with different screen sizes

4. Share

• Save your dashboard
• Enable public sharing if needed
• Copy the link and distribute

Tips & Best Practices

Layout

• Use full-width heading cards (W: 12) for section titles
• Keep related metrics together visually
• Leave some whitespace - don't fill every column
• Test on different screen sizes (dashboard is responsive)

Query Cards

• Keep queries focused - one metric per card works best
• Use visualizations for trends, tables for detailed data
• Name queries clearly - the name shows in the card header
• Test queries independently before adding to dashboard

Organization

• Group related cards in rows
• Use consistent card heights within a row
• Add text cards to explain complex metrics
• Use headings to create clear sections

Performance

• Be mindful of query complexity on dashboards
• Use auto-refresh judiciously - shorter intervals mean more load
• Consider query timeouts for long-running queries
• Cache results at the Lotus level if supported

What's Next?

• Learn more about query variables to make your queries dynamic — dashboard filters map directly to these variables
• Explore visualization options for better data presentation
• Read the Getting Started guide for general LotusWeb usage