How do I create a dashboard?

Overview

A dashboard in Vantage is a single-screen view that brings together multiple visual widgets — charts, KPI cards, tables, maps, and more — so you can monitor your data at a glance. Each dashboard uses a 12-column reflowing grid, which means widgets automatically adjust their positions based on screen size while staying neatly aligned.

Creating a dashboard is the first step before you can add widgets, apply filters, set themes, or share insights with your team.

When to Use

Create a new dashboard when you need to:

• Visualise form data — Turn field submissions, survey responses, or inspection records into charts, KPIs, and tables.
• Track performance at a glance — Build a single view with key metrics (completion rates, scores, counts) that updates as new data arrives.
• Prepare a view for sharing — Set up a dashboard that you will later share with specific viewers, teams, or external partners via links or scheduled emails.
• Organise widgets by topic — Group related visuals (e.g., all store-audit charts on one board, all training-completion metrics on another) so viewers find what they need in one place.

Concepts

Dashboard – A named board that holds one or more widgets. Each dashboard has its own URL, theme, and filter bar.

Widget – A single visual element on a dashboard such as a chart, KPI card, table, map, or title block. You add widgets after creating the dashboard.

12-Column Grid – The layout system dashboards use. The screen is divided into 12 equal columns and every widget spans one or more columns. Widgets reflow on smaller screens but stay aligned to the grid.

Layout Auto-Save – Any change you make to widget position or size is saved to the server automatically. No Save button needed.

Data Source – The underlying data set (forms, Excel uploads, API imports, or blended sources) that widgets query. You must have at least one data source before a dashboard can show meaningful data.

Vantage Admin – The role required to create, edit, and manage dashboards. Viewers (non-admin users) can see shared dashboards but cannot create or modify them.

Set Up Guide

From the Home Page, click the Vantage Dashboard widget to open Vantage. If you have not added this widget yet, follow the Custom Widget help doc to set it up.

Step 1 — Open the Dashboard list

Click the Vantage Dashboard widget on your Home Page. You will land on the Dashboards screen, which lists all dashboards you have access to.

Step 2 — Start a new dashboard

Click the + Create Dashboard button (top-right corner of the Dashboards screen).

Step 3 — Name the dashboard

Enter a clear, descriptive name for the dashboard (e.g., "Store Audit — Weekly Summary" or "Training Completion Tracker"). The name appears in the dashboard list and in shared links, so choose something your viewers will recognise.

Step 4 — Select a data source

Choose the primary data source the dashboard will query. You can pick from your available sources (forms, Excel uploads, API imports, or blended sources). You can always add widgets that use different data sources later.

Step 5 — Save and open the dashboard

Click Save (or Create). The dashboard opens in the builder view — an empty 12-column grid ready for you to add widgets.

From here you can:

• Add widgets (charts, KPIs, tables, maps) — see How do I add a widget to a dashboard?
• Arrange and resize widgets on the grid — see How do I arrange and resize widgets?
• Apply filters and themes — see the respective help pages in this book.

User View

Once a dashboard is created, it appears in the Dashboards list. Any user with viewer access will see the dashboard name and can click to open it.

• Admin users see the builder grid with drag-and-drop controls, the option to add or configure widgets, and all editing tools.
• Viewer users see the dashboard in read-only mode — they can interact with filters, drill through widget data, and export views, but they cannot add, move, or delete widgets.

If no widgets have been added yet, viewers will see an empty dashboard with a message indicating that content is being prepared.

Best Practices

Keep each dashboard focused on a single topic (e.g., one for store audits, another for training) Use descriptive names that include the topic and scope (e.g., "Region North – Weekly Inspections") Make sure the data source is connected and syncing before creating the dashboard Plan your layout before adding widgets – KPI cards at the top, detail charts below works well Use Title Block widgets to label groups of related widgets on the same dashboard Preview the dashboard as a viewer before sharing

Related Links / FAQs

FAQs

Can a viewer create a dashboard?
No. Only users with the Vantage Admin role can create and edit dashboards. Viewers can open, filter, and drill through shared dashboards.

Can I delete a dashboard?
Yes. Open the dashboard, click the options menu (⋮), and select Delete. This action cannot be undone — all widgets on that dashboard will be removed.

Is there a limit to how many dashboards I can create?
There is no hard limit. However, each dashboard queries its data sources on load, so keeping dashboards focused helps performance.

Version Notes

Last Updated: Oct 2026