Dashboard Basics

The MainEvent Dashboard allows you to build out bespoke data displays for analytics, goals, sales, leads, and more. But before you can show off your program’s progress, you first need to learn the basics, like where and how to access and build a dashboard. Let’s get going.

Standard vs. Configurable Dashboard

Before we get too far, it’s probably best to get some quick differentials out of the way. Specifically, the two types of dashboard that MainEvent has to offer. The first – the Standard Dashboard – is what you’ll see when you log in to a client site. By default it will have a map, calendar and media widget but it can be expanded on as needed. The standard dash allows you to create the following widgets: Bar Chart, Needs Recap (Event List), Asset Activities List, Display Text, Line Chart, Stacked Bar Chart, Pie Chart, Stat Billboard, Map, Agenda (Calendar List), Calendar, Media, and Asset Calendar.

The Standard Dashboard can be filtered by: Program, Market, Event Type, Recap Definition, and Period.

The Configurable Dashboard gives you greater flexibility, but like Uncle Ben foretold with great flexibility comes greater design freedom, which can be a bonus for some or a hindrance for others. This dashboard starts as a blank canvas by default, built from the ground up. The Configurable Dashboard allows you to add the following widgets: Needs Recap (Event List), Asset Calendar. Stats Table, Pie Chart + (Pie Chart and Custom Pie Chart), Custom Table, Reports Table, Media, Asset Activities List, Bar Chart + (Bar Chart, Custom Bar Chart, Stacked Bar Chart), Calendar, Custom Stat, Map, Line Chart, Word Cloud, Display Text, Stat Billboard, and Agenda (Calendar List).

The Configurable Dashboard can be filtered at the widget level (we’re not going to get into that here) and also at the page level. On the page level, you can filter by: Venue Markets, Event Types, Event Categories, Recap Definitions, Programs, Date Range (Full), Date Range (Month and Year), Venue States, Integration Custom Fields, Scheduling Custom Fields, Recap Custom Fields, Venue Custom Fields, Assets, Asset Activity Types, Staff, Products, and Event Statuses.

So, if simplicity and ease of design is what you’re looking for, your answer is the Standard Dashboard. If you have very specific needs for data and filtering, you’ll be looking for the Configurable Dashboard.

Building Basics: A Standard Dashboard Overview

So, you’ve chosen to go with a Standard Dashboard. Now let’s look into how you can get building it out. From the homepage of your client site, click Edit Dashboard.

This will open the Editing Dashboard page. You’ll have the page checked out for 24 hours to make your changes (if you move quicker than that, don’t worry, you can always save) and ensure that there are no conflicting changes submitted at the same time.

Now, to add widgets, click Add Widget and choose the option you want to add from the dropdown menu.

Whatever your choice, the new widget will display below all widgets currently on the page.

You can click the Pencil Icon to make any edits, such as adding data sets for charts or selecting statuses for calendars.

Drag and drop the widget to wherever you would like it on the page. Widgets also allow for dynamic resizing. Hover your mouse over the widget you want to resize and a two-sided arrow will display in the lower right hand corner. Click on that corner of the widget and drag to resize.

At this point, the widget has been added to the dashboard but it is not visible on the live dashboard. You can choose to edit the widget further (by clicking the pencil), delete the widget altogether (by clicking the garbage can), add additional widgets (by following the same steps outlined above), or finish your editing and apply your changes to the live dashboard.

Building Basics: The Configurable Dashboard

It’s more difficult to sum up the Configurable Dashboard as quickly as we can with the Standard, as there are just so many more options available to you here. To find out more specifics about the Configurable Dashboard, ask your account manager, we have lots available. But we’re here for broad strokes, and that’s what we’re going to get!

To get started, click Home and select Manage Pages.

This will bring you to the Manage Pages er…page. This index page will list any already created dashboards, event or venue summaries. You can add a new one by clicking Add New Template or edit an existing one by clicking the Arrow button.

On your dashboard you’ll have the chance to add a name to differentiate this dashboard from the others (ie. Event Recaps Dash, Analytics Dashboard, Budgets Dashboard). To add new widgets, click Add Widget.

Click Edit on the widget to configure the widget. Each widget will have it’s own set of configurations and formatting options available. You will be able to add a title, widget-level filters, dimensions, etc.

Drag and drop the widget to wherever you would like it on the page. Widgets also allow for dynamic resizing. Hover your mouse over the widget you want to resize and your cursor will display as an arrow in the lower right hand corner. Click on that corner of the widget and drag to resize.

At this point, you can repeat the above steps to continue building out your dashboard. In order for others to see it, you’ll need to assign User Roles.

You may also add filters to the page by clicking Filters and selecting Filter Type from the dropdown menu. Each option will have different criteria to apply the filter.

Publishing the Dashboard

At the end of the day, when you’ve built out your dashboard – be it Standard or Configurable – you’re going to want to get eyes on it. So, let’s take this final step on our journey together and show you how to make those changes live.

Standard

For the Standard Dashboard, you have a few options to get yourself out of the editing page. Scroll up to the top of the dashboard page. There are three buttons there. So far, we’ve only paid attention to the Add Widget button. The other two are where we’re going to look now.

If you’ve made changes and find that they aren’t everything you wanted them to be, you can click the Discard All Changes button to remove all changes you made and return to the standard dashboard view. This will take you out of edit mode and bring you back to the client level dashboard page. This button will also release the dashboard to other members of your team that may be waiting to make edits. No changes will be applied to the dashboard if you select the Discard All Changes button.

If you’re thrilled with the changes you’ve completed while editing and can’t wait to share, clicking Apply Changes will make those changes live for all users to see. Apply Changes will release the dashboard from edit mode at the same time. All changes that are visible in the dashboard editor will be made visible to the entire site at this time.

Configurable

This may well be the only situation where the Configurable Dashboard comes as more simple than the Standard. Unlike the Standard, there’s no backing out with the click of a button here. If you want to undo your dashboard, you need to either mark it as inactive or remove the individual widgets.

However, we’re here to look forward, and that’s what we’re going to do! To get your dashboard published, make sure it’s Active, it’s assigned to the correct User Roles, and then all you need to do is click Save.

The dashboard will now be accessible by clicking Home and selecting the dashboard from the list.