Using dashboard templates

This guide explains how to create and manage dashboard templates, how to create a dashboard from a dashboard template, and how to view and manage the dashboards that are connected to a template.

Introduction

What is a dashboard template?

A dashboard template is a template that you can use to quickly and easily create dashboards with the same appearance and layout. You can make changes to all dashboards connected to a dashboard template by making a change to the template, and then overwriting the connected dashboards.

How can I tell if a dashboard is connected to a dashboard template?

A dashboard that is connected to a dashboard template has the Connected icon in the top right corner.

I can't see the Dashboard template icon on my dashboard!

This icon only appears on published dashboards. To create a dashboard template from an existing dashboard, you must first publish the dashboard. To do this, at the top of your dashboard, click Dashboard sharing, then enable the Publish toggle.

Creating a new dashboard template

You can create a new dashboard template based on an existing published dashboard. To create a new dashboard template, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Present page.

2. Choose one of the following options:

   • Click the dashboard that you want to use to create a dashboard template.

   • Create a new dashboard, then add the widgets that you want on your dashboard template. For more information, see Creating dashboards in Present.

3. At the top of the dashboard, click Dashboard template.

4. Click Create template from.

As a result, you have created a dashboard template based on the current dashboard. The current dashboard is automatically linked to the dashboard template.

Creating a dashboard based on a dashboard template

To create a dashboard based on a dashboard template, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Present page.

2. In the top right corner, click Create dashboard from template.

3. Click the dashboard template you want to use to create a new dashboard.

4. Click Next.

5. (Optional) Configure any permanent filters on your new dashboard. For more information about permanent filters, see Permanent filters.

6. (Optional) Adjust the date ranges for any widgets on your new dashboard.

7. (Optional) Switch any dimensions and metrics shown in widgets on your new dashboard. For more information about dimension and metric switchers, see Switching the dimensions and metrics shown in widgets.

8. Click Finish.

As a result, your new dashboard has been created. The new dashboard opens automatically.

Your new dashboard will appear in the Present page. In the Present page, the Connected icon shows that a dashboard is connected to a dashboard template.

Managing dashboards connected to a dashboard template

Viewing connected dashboards

Only users with Administrator permissions in your organization's root workspace can view the full list of dashboards that are connected to a dashboard template. Users with other permissions can see the dashboards that they can access that are connected to a dashboard template.

To view the dashboards that are connected to a dashboard template, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Present page.

2. In the top left corner, click Select workspace, then Administration.

3. In the Present section of the administration menu, click Templates.

4. In the table, in the row for the dashboard template, click the link in the Connected dashboards column that shows the number of dashboards connected to the dashboard template, e.g. 2 dashboards.

In the Connected dashboards window that appears, you can see the dashboards that are connected to the selected dashboard template. To view a connected dashboard, click the name of the dashboard.

Overwriting connected dashboards

After you make changes to a dashboard template, in order for these changes to appear on the connected dashboards, you need to overwrite the dashboards. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Present page.

2. In the top left corner, click Select workspace, then Administration.

3. In the Present section of the menu, click Templates.

4. In the table, in the row for the dashboard template you want to change, click Open.

5. Make your required changes to the dashboard template.

6. In the top right corner of your dashboard template, click Template.

7. In the drop-down menu, click Overwrite connected dashboards.

8. In the Overwrite connected dashboards window, select the checkboxes for the changes that you want to apply to all dashboards connected to this dashboard template.

9. (Optional) Select the Exclude date ranges checkbox to leave the date ranges in all filters on the connected dashboards unchanged.

10. Click Overwrite.

As a result, all the changes that you selected are applied to all dashboards connected to this dashboard template.

Disconnecting connected dashboards

If you no longer want a dashboard to be connected to a dashboard template, you can disconnect it.

To disconnect a dashboard from a dashboard template, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Present page.

2. In the top left corner, click Select workspace, then Administration.

3. In the Present section of the menu, click Templates.

4. In the table, in the row for the dashboard template from which you want to disconnect a dashboard, click Open.

5. In the top right corner of your dashboard template, click Template.

6. In the drop-down menu, click Show connected dashboards.

7. In the Connected dashboards window that opens, in the row for the dashboard you want to disconnect from the dashboard template, click Disconnect from template.

8. In the pop-up window, to confirm that you want to disconnect this dashboard, click Disconnect.

As a result, the selected dashboard is disconnected from the dashboard template. In future, if you make changes to the dashboard template, you can no longer apply these to the disconnected dashboard.

You can also disconnect a dashboard from a dashboard template when you are working on the dashboard by clicking Template, then Disconnect from template in the top right corner of the dashboard.

Managing dashboard templates

In the Templates page, you can clone, rename, and delete dashboard templates. To perform any of these actions, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Present page.

2. In the top left corner, click Select workspace, then Administration.

3. In the Present section of the menu, click Templates.

4. In the row for the dashboard template that you want to manage, perform any of the following actions:

   • To clone this dashboard template, click Clone.

     You are automatically taken to the cloned dashboard template. The name of the cloned dashboard template ends with "CLONED". No dashboards are connected to the new dashboard template when it is created.

   • To rename this dashboard template, click Edit. In the Name field, enter a new name for the dashboard template and click Update.

   • To delete this dashboard template, click Delete.

     If you delete a dashboard template that has connected dashboards, these dashboards are disconnected from the dashboard template. No changes are made to the connected dashboards.

   Only the user who created a dashboard template and users with Administrator permissions in your organization's root workspace can rename and delete dashboard templates.