Refresh a dashboard

There are multiple ways to refresh a dashboard. The methods described in this topic provide alternative options for refreshing a dashboard.

The ways in which these alternative methods are implemented will depend on:

• The type of data you’re dealing with.
• The situation in which the dashboard is being used.
• How the target user will interact with the dashboard.

If Synchronize Selection is enabled for dashboard elements that share a dimension, the entire dashboard refreshes when you select a dimension in one of the elements.

This is useful in a context where you select one element to drive another, such as drilling into a hierarchy. The refresh triggered in this method is implicit. There's no obvious refresh option on the dashboard. A refresh is triggered by selecting a shared dimension in either dashboard element.

This method requires that the dimension the two elements have in common is on either a row or column. To apply Synchronise Selection to a dashboard element:

1. Choose the data that you want to publish as an element on a dashboard.
2. From the View menu, select the relevant Publish … to Dashboard command and choose a dashboard. The menu option you select will depend on the kind of data you’ve chosen to publish.
3. Apply Synchronize Selection to the new dashboard element.
4. Choose further data from a different module, that contains a dimension shared with the data in the first dashboard element.
5. From the View menu, select the relevant Publish … to Dashboard command and publish to the dashboard selected in step 2.
6. Apply Synchronize Selection to the dashboard element.
7. Arrange the dashboard elements on the dashboard in Dashboard Designer.
8. Select the Save and Exit button on the dashboard toolbar.

This is a variation of the previous method. However, the details of the second dashboard element are hidden, leaving a single line item that works as a ‘button’ to refresh the entire dashboard.

This is more useful where users require an explicit refresh option on the dashboard itself. To use a line item as a button:

1. Choose the data that you want to publish as an element on a dashboard.
2. From the View menu, select the relevant Publish … to Dashboard command, and choose a dashboard.
   The menu option you select will depend on the kind of data you have chosen to publish.
3. Apply Synchronize Selection to the dashboard element.
4. Choose further data from a different module, that contains a dimension shared with the data in the first dashboard element. (Another approach is to add a new line item and name it with the label of the button, for example, Refresh Dashboard.)
5. Pivot the data to put line items on columns.
6. Hide all rows and columns, except the name of the line item shared with the data in the first dashboard element.
7. In Column Settings, set the Width for Row Labels to 6 pixels and the width of the remaining line item to a value that accommodates all the characters in the name.
   This leaves a single field with the name of the line item emboldened.
8. From the View menu, select the relevant Publish … to Dashboard command, and publish to the dashboard selected in step 2.
9. Apply Synchronize Selection to the dashboard element and deselect Show Module name, Show Label, and Show Page Selector.
10. Arrange the dashboard elements on the dashboard in Dashboard Designer and select Save and Exit from the dashboard toolbar.
11. Select the ‘button’ (line item) to refresh the dashboard.