Dashboards Cheat Sheet

TIPS FOR CREATING DASHBOARDS
Abstract
Dashboards are visual
representations of
data that show key
metrics and performance
at a glance.
You can create several
dashboard components
and display
them all in one dashboard
aligned in
three columns.
Create a Dashboard
Use Custom Reports or Visualforce Pages
A dashboard consists of a group of different components that display data. Dashboard components
can use custom reports orVisualforce pages as their data source. To begin building dashboard
components, create the custom reports or Visualforce pages whose data you want to display.
• Create custom summary or matrix reports that have the data you want to use.
- Your selections for report totals show up on the Y-axis of the chart while report groupings
show up on the X-axis of the chart.
- Some custom forecast and lead reports are not available for dashboards.
• Define Visualforce pages that meet the requirements for display in a dashboard. For more
information, see Creating Visualforce Dashboard Components in the Visualforce Developer's
Guide.
Set Dashboard Properties
Set dashboard properties that determine the background, text, and title of your dashboard. Then,
add dashboard components that use your custom report data.
1. Click the Dashboards tab and choose Go To Dashboard List.
2. Click New Dashboard.
3. Select a folder to store your data. Use dashboard folders to control which dashboards users can
see.
4. Enter a title and description for your dashboard.
5. Select a user who has the security settings you would like the dashboard to use. This bypasses
all security settings, giving any user who can view the dashboard access to all the data in the
dashboard.
6. Choose the number of columns you would like in your dashboard.
7. Choose the color and text formatting attributes for your dashboard components in the Default
Chart Settings section. Then click Save.
Add Dashboard Components
Add up to 20 dashboard components to your dashboards.
1. Click Add Component from the appropriate column.
2. Select a component type: chart, gauge, table, metric, or Visualforce page. If you select chart,
choose a type in the Chart Settings section. For more information, see “Chart Types” in the
Salesforce.com online help.
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Tips for Creating Dashboards
• If you select a chart type, you can embed a URL other than the source report to allow users
to click the dashboard component and drill down to another dashboard, report, record detail
page, or another system that uses a Web interface.
• Visualforce pages must meet certain requirements to be displayed in dashboards; otherwise,
they don't appear in the Visualforce Page drop-down list.Dashboard components that
use Visualforce ignore the Running User; content displays only if the viewing user has
access to the Visualforce page. Other components in the dashboard are not affected.
3. Optionally, enter a header, footer, and unit of measurement.
4. Depending on the chart type, select appropriate chart settings. (See the following sections for
examples.)
5. Click Save. Repeat this process for each new dashboard component.
Chart types include:
Chart: Horizontal Bar
Chart: Horizontal Bar, Grouped
Chart: Horizontal Bar, Stacked
Chart: Horizontal Bar, Stacked to 100%
Chart: Vertical Column
Chart: Vertical Column, Grouped
Chart: Vertical Column, Stacked
Chart: Vertical Column, Stacked to 100%
Chart: Line
Chart: Line, Grouped
Chart: Line, Cumulative
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Tips for Creating Dashboards
Chart: Line, Grouped Cumulative
Chart: Pie
Chart: Donut
Chart: Funnel
Organize Your Dashboard Components
Organize your dashboard components in up to three columns. Each column can be a different
width and your components automatically resize as you move them around.
1. Set column width with Column Size options: Narrow, Medium, or Wide.
2. Move components using the appropriate arrow buttons.
3. Click Refresh to update the data in your dashboard.
4. Click Edit just above any component to change its attributes.
Creating Gauge Components
Use the gauge to see how far you are from reaching your goal. For example, create a summary
opportunity report sorted by Opportunity Owner and total by the amounts of each opportunity
in your pipeline. Then create a dashboard component using this report as a source and set your
own gauge colors and breakpoint values. Note that if you do not define the breakpoints,
Salesforce.com uses 0, 1, 2, and 3 by default.
Creating Pie Charts
Use pie charts to compare values of a similar type. For example, create an activity report summarized
by assignee that shows the total number of activities modified within the year, month, or week.
Then create a dashboard component using this report and the pie chart type with the following
settings:
Chart Setting
Chart Type
Values
Description
Choose Pie.
Choose the type of data to display as values for your chart.
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Tips for Creating Dashboards
Chart Setting
Wedges
Title
Sort By
Maximum Values
Displayed
Legend Position
Show Labels
Show Values
Show Wedge %
Show Details on
Hover
Description
Choose the type of data to display as wedges for your chart.
Enter an identifying name for the pie chart.
This option does not affect pie charts.
Enter the maximum number of elements to include in the pie chart.
For example, if you only want to see the top 4 people with the most
activities, enter 4.
Choose where you want the legend displayed with respect to the chart.
Check this option to display labels on the chart.
Check this option to display the values of individual records or groups
on the chart.
Check this option to display the percentage value for each wedge of
the pie chart.
Check this option to display values, labels, and percentages when
hovering over each wedge.
Creating Bar and Column Charts
Use bar or column charts to compare totals using horizontal bars or vertical columns. For example,
create a stacked column chart that indicates which reps are selling which products. Start by building
a matrix opportunity report that includes products. Group your data by Opportunity Owner and
Product Name and total by Quantity. Then, create a dashboard component using the following
chart settings:
Chart Setting
Chart Type
Title
Sort By
Maximum Values
Displayed
Legend Position
Description
Choose Vertical Column - Stacked.
Enter a name for your chart.
Enter a sorting option. For example, use Row Value Descending to
show the name of the rep with the most first from left to right.
Leave this blank to see all opportunity owners. For example, if you
only want to see the top five salespeople, enter 5.
Choose where you want the legend displayed with respect to the chart.
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Tips for Creating Dashboards
Refreshing Dashboards
• On a dashboard, users can click Refresh to replenish the dashboard with the most recent data.
• Users with the “Schedule Dashboards” permission in Enterprise and Unlimited Editions can
schedule dashboards to refresh daily, weekly, or monthly so that users do not have to wait for
the most recent data to refresh.
• Upon completion of the dashboard refresh, Salesforce.com sends an email notification to selected
users and groups that includes the refreshed dashboard.
• Dashboard components that include Visualforce pages and s-controls may not display in
dashboard refresh notifications. Users must log in to Salesforce.com to view Visualforce and
s-control data displayed in real-time.
• For more information on how to schedule a dashboard refresh, see the Salesforce.com online
help.
Troubleshooting Dashboards
Why does my chart look blank?
Are you using a tabular report? Dashboard components can only display data from “Top
Item” tabular reports, summary, and matrix reports.
Why are my grouped charts not grouping correctly?
Are you using a summary or matrix report? Grouped or stacked charts must reference summary
or matrix reports.
How do I create dashboard components out of standard reports?
Use the Save As option to save a report as a custom report.
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