Views

To facilitate collaboration on projects, every item you can open for editing uses a check in/ check out model, including data connectors, data cubes, dashboards and more. This allows multiple people to make changes to these items without risk of overwriting or losing any changes. The change history is also saved and can be rolled back if needed.

The workflow is generally as follows:

• Check out or create an item
• Edit the item and apply your changes
• Check in the item so others can see your changes.

While editing a dashboard or other full screen item, your changes are automatically saved as needed. The status bar at the bottom displays a message whenever an auto-save operation is performed.

Items that are checked out to you appear with a green check mark icon. When others view the item, they will see only the last checked-in version.

If an item is already checked out by another user, the item appears with a red minus icon. You'll need to wait for the other user to check the item back in or undo their check out.

To find out who the other user is, right-click the item and click Properties. You will then be able to see the user's name listed under the Checked Out To read-only field.

To check in an item while creating or editing it

1. Click Check In on the Common section of the top toolbar while you have the item open.
   

   You can also right-click an item on the Explore side pane and then choose Check In.

   The Check In dialog is displayed. Any other files used by the current file that are checked out will be listed below and selected by default so that all your changes are shared.
2. In the Comments field, enter a comment to include in the file history (optional).
3. Click Check In.

To check in an item that is no longer open

1. Locate the item on the main page such as on the Dashboard tab or Report tab under Views, right-click it and then select Check In from the available options.
   

   You can also click the more actions menu icon beside an item and then choose Check In.

2. The Check In dialog is displayed. Any other files used by the current file that are checked out will be listed below and selected by default so that all your changes are shared.
3. In the Comments field, enter a comment to include in the file history (optional).
4. Click Check In.

To check out an existing item that is open

• Click Check Out on the Common section of the top toolbar while you have the item open for editing.
  The item is checked out to you and will appear with a green check mark icon. When others view the item, they will see only the last checked-in version.
  

  You can also right-click an item on the Explore side pane and then choose Check Out.

To check out an item that is no longer open

• Locate the item on the main page such as on the Dashboard tab or Report tab under Views, right-click it and then select Check Out from the available options.
  The item is checked out to you and will appear with a green check mark icon. When others view the item, they will see only the last checked-in version.
  

  You can also click the more actions menu icon beside an item and then choose Check Out.

To undo a check out

• Click Undo Check Out on the Common section of the top toolbar while you have the item open for editing.
  

  You can also right-click an item and then choose Undo Check Out.

  All your changes since the last time it was checked in are discarded. The item won't be checked out to you anymore.

You can use the dashboard designer and report designer in the following different modes:

• Edit: In this mode, you can use your mouse or touchscreen to select content on the canvas, move it around, and re-size it. Options are available to add and remove items, set up custom interactions, and change settings.
• View: This mode allows you to interact with your data. This allows you to view tooltips, click data to trigger a filter interaction that was set up, access the context menu to perform drilling down, interact with filter controls, etc. Additionally, reports, scorecards, and small multiples only execute and show repeated content while in View mode. Changes made in this mode will persist if you switch directly back to Edit mode and the item is checked out to you. To test changes made when viewing along with ensuring that they won't be saved with the item, try the Sandbox View option instead.
• Sandbox View: This option is available in the top toolbar when editing. It displays the current view in a new browser window or tab without any toolbars or docked panels. In most cases, changes that you make in Sandbox View are not saved. The exception is when you are working with a checked-out metric set and make a change to how data is retrieved, for example by changing the sorting of some data using the context menu. Since a metric set encapsulates the data in a visualization and how it is selected, changes to a checked-out metric set happen immediately and are separate from changes to a dashboard and its view and edit modes. To make sure all metric set changes are not saved during viewing, check in the metric sets you are using beforehand, then use the Sandbox View option.

For more details, see Edit versus view mode and sandbox view in the tool's Online Help.

You can share and export a dashboard, report, or other view: share as a link to send or save, or export it to file formats such as CSV, Excel, an image, PDF, or PowerPoint.

For more details, see Share or export your work in the tool's Online Help.

To share a view

1. When viewing or editing the view you want to share, click Share in the top toolbar if displayed.
   You can also right-click an empty part of the view to find the Share option in the context menu.
2. Click one of the following sharing options to choose a export format and access further options:
   • Link: This option gives you a URL for viewing your current dashboard, report, or other view. You can bookmark it in your browser or send it to someone else. Changes you've made while viewing such as filtering and sorting will also be included in this link (also known as a 'short link').
   • Image: This option uses the PNG format and lets you export the entire view, such as a dashboard or scorecard, or you can select a specific visualization.
     • For dashboards, you can export a specific visualization by selecting Single Item from the Selection drop-down and then choosing the visualization from the next drop-down list. The view will be exported as you currently see it, considering content that can be shown and hidden.
     • Reports export a ZIP file containing an image for each page, and slideshows do the same for each slide.
   • PDF: This option can be useful for sharing, saving for offline reading, or for printing. Reports are also specially designed to be exported to PDF and can include page headers and footers. In the Export dialog, you can change page options such as the paper size, page orientation, and optional password protection. The view will be exported as you currently see it, considering content that can be shown and hidden, for example.
   • Excel: This option lets you export all the view's data or data from selected visualizations (including those in embedded views) to the Microsoft Excel format (XLSX). The initial settings export data from all visualizations, with each one in its own sheet or tab. In reports, scorecards, and small multiples, there may be multiple visualizations such as data labels sharing data from a single metric set, which will be combined in one sheet.
   • PowerPoint: This option exports the current view as one or more image slides in a PowerPoint file (PPTX). You can present this file or copy or combine its slides with others. Most types of views export a single slide, while a report exports a separate slide for each of its pages, and a slideshow exports a slide for each of its own slides. The slide size in the resulting file is based on the size of the view you are exporting by default, but this can be changed using the Slide Size setting.
3. Make the necessary selections for the format in the Export dialog.
4. Click Export.
   The Export dialog is displayed

To download exported files

• To download an exported file immediately from the Export dialog, click the Download the created export button. The file will be downloaded to your local machine.

  You can also download it from the Exports section of your profile.

Notifications offer a way to send reminders, alerts, or the latest data using a dashboard, report, or other view, based on a schedule or under certain conditions. The related view can be exported and attached as an image, PDF, Excel, or another format.

For example, you can set up a notification that emails your dashboard to your group once a week, or when the latest hourly data indicates a problem. You can also be notified of events such as when someone replies to your note.

For more details, see Notifications in the tool's Online Help.

You can access existing notifications from your profile. You can then enable, disable, or run multiple notifications at a time by selecting the notifications and clicking one of these options at the top of the dialog.

To set up a notification

1. From the top toolbar when you have any type of view open such as a dashboard or report, click Notification.
2. Click one of the following options to choose a type:
   • Scheduled: Click to create a scheduled notification. A scheduled notification occurs on a periodic schedule which you define by selecting recurrence and other scheduling options.
   • Note: Click to notification for new notes. A note-based notification lets you know when a user has added a note (annotation) to data in a visualization.
   • Data Driven: Click to create a data driven notification. A data-driven notification occurs when a change in data is detected on a scheduled basis (i.e., polling).
   • Data Correction: Click to create a data correction notification. A data correction-based notification lets you know when a user has added a measure correction (data annotation) to a metric set.
3. Enter a name for the notification in the Name field.
4. Enter a description in the Description field.
5. In the Content section, enter the content you wish to include.
6. Click Add export content and select what to export and in what format.
7. Click Save.
8. Click Delivery options and select how to deliver the content. The delivery method is initially set to Email with the exported content delivered as an attachment, or it can be set to File to place it in a specified location. By default, the notification is set up with you as the recipient. Click Add recipient to add other users, groups or email addresses to email, and optionally select the check box to allow them to unsubscribe.
9. Click Save.

A note (or annotation) is a comment that is attached to a data point and displayed on a data visualization. You can use notes to provide more context, or to communicate with other users viewing the same data, including replies.

Since a note is associated with data, the same note will automatically appear on other visualizations or views that are displaying the same data point.

For more details, see Notes (annotations) in the tool's Online Help.

To add a note

1. From the top toolbar while creating or editing a dashboard or report, click Note.
   The note bar is displayed below the main toolbar.
2. Enter your comment for the note in the text box. This text box will be red until you choose a data point.
   To convert the annotation to a multi-line one, click multi-line.
3. On the visualization, click the data that you want to attach the note to.
4. Choose whether you want the note to be public (for everyone), private (only for you), or have custom permissions, by clicking the public/ private/ custom toggle button to rotate between these options.
5. Click apply.
   The note appears next to the data point and can be viewed, edited or deleted based on the security permissions specified. Hover over the note to see its details in a popup.

To delete a note

1. To delete a note on a view, hover over it to open the popup with note details.
2. Click the menu button in the bottom right corner and click Delete.
   The note is deleted.

To reply to a note

1. To reply to a note on a view, hover over it to open the popup with note details.
2. Click the menu button in the bottom right corner and click Reply.
   The note bar is displayed below the main toolbar.
3. Enter the reply text in the text box.
4. Click apply.

The Properties dialog lets you view and edit the properties associated with a selected file, folder, project or other item. You can view the references to and from a file, modify security settings, and roll back to a previous version in the revision history.

For more details, see File and folder properties in the tool's Online Help.

To access properties

1. Locate a file, folder or project on the Explore window in any view and right-click it.
2. Select Properties.
   The Properties dialog is displayed.
3. View or edit the following details:
   • Name: The name of the file or folder that other users see. You can rename the item here.
   • Description: The description of the folder or file to provide more information about it. Add your own descriptive text which will be displayed in the item's tooltip.
   • Tags: Tags allow free form categorization and grouping of items as well as searching. Add tag words to help categorize your files and find them when searching. You can also use the auto-complete menu that appears as you type to select an existing tag in the system. You can remove a tag by clicking the x button beside the tag (unless the tag is inherited for a file from one of its containing folders).
   • ID: The ID of the file or folder.
   • Location: The full path to the file or folder location.
   • Type: The type of the file or folder.
   • Subtype: The subtype of the file or folder.
   • Created By: The user who created this file or folder.
   • Created Time: The date and time when this file or folder was created.
   • Last Modified Time: The date and time when this file or folder was last modified.
   • Checked Out To: The name of the user who has the file or folder actively checked out. This detail is available only when a file or folder is checked out.
   • Revision history: See the revision history details for this file or folder.
   • References: See what this file or folder is referencing and what is referencing it. Select the Show Recursive References check box to also include the entire chain of references to or from each referenced file.
   • Security: See and change the security settings on this file or folder. The security settings for each listed user or group determine what they are allowed to do.
4. Click Save to preserve your changes or click Close to close the dialog without saving.

You can favorite a dashboard or report to add it to the Favorites section of the advanced reporting Home page.

To favorite a view

1. Locate the view on the Dashboard tab or Report tab.
2. Click the star icon beside it on the right side of the page.
   The dashboard or report is added to the Favorites section of the advanced reporting Home page.