A document template provides a predefined structure to help you create a new document or dashboard. Any new dashboard made using a document template contains the same underlying datasets, fields, formatting, and layouts as the template dashboard. After the new dashboard is created, you can customize the new dashboard as you want.
MicroStrategy provides predefined document templates, including the Blank Document template and the Blank Dashboard template. Use the Blank
50 Creating a dashboard: the Blank Dashboard template © 2012 MicroStrategy, Inc.
Dashboard template to help you create the look and feel of a dashboard with the key features described below:
• A dashboard is commonly only one page long, so the Blank Dashboard template uses only one document section. The height of the document section is defined as seven inches.
For descriptions of the various document sections that are available in a document, see Document sections and metric calculations, page 17.• Grid/Graphs are formatted with a background fill and a border. Title bars are displayed for Grid/Graphs, and they use a gradient color (a two-color combination) to provide more sophisticated formatting. The Grid/Graph has a fixed width and height; if the Grid/Graph is larger, scroll bars are displayed.
These defaults help you create the feel of a portal if you include several Grid/Graphs on your dashboard. A user can display all the Grid/Graphs, or minimize the ones that are not relevant at the moment to focus on a particular Grid/Graph.
• Panel stacks are formatted with a background fill and a title bar. The title bars, which help users identify the objects, are formatted with a gradient color. Again, these defaults help you create the feel of a dashboard or a portal.
The following dashboard, which is shown in Design View, was created using the Blank Dashboard template. It contains a Grid/Graph and a panel stack.
© 2012 MicroStrategy, Inc. Creating a dashboard: the Blank Dashboard template 51 Notice that the Grid/Graph is formatted with a light grey background fill (the Backcolor).
These are the default settings of the Blank Dashboard, so you can change them if necessary. For example, you can change the height of the section, display additional sections, remove title bars from a Grid/Graph, and so on.
Other predefined dashboard templates provide other common structures for dashboards, such as four evenly-spaced panel stacks to place contents in, one panel stack on the left side of the dashboard and two smaller ones on the right, or a text field across the top of the dashboard for a title bar with a panel stack below it.
To create a traditional document rather than a dashboard, use the Blank Document template.For information on title bars, see Title bars, page 32. For a description and an example of a Grid/Graph, see About Visual Insight: Analyses, page 19;
for more detailed examples and procedures to create and format Grid/
Graphs, see the Document Creation Guide. For a detailed description, examples, and procedures to create panel stacks, see Chapter 3, Layering Data: Panels and Panel Stacks.
52 Creating a dashboard: the Blank Dashboard template © 2012 MicroStrategy, Inc.
To create a dashboard using the Blank Dashboard template
1 From the File menu, point to New, and then select Document. The New Document dialog box opens, showing a selection of pre-designed
document templates.
If the Select a report dialog box opens, object templates are disabled for documents. You must enable them before you can select a document template. For instructions, see the Desktop Help.2 Click the Dashboards tab, select Blank Dashboard, and then click OK.
The Select a Report dialog box opens.
3 Navigate through the report folders and select the MicroStrategy report or reports to use as datasets. To select multiple reports, hold the SHIFT or CTRL key while selecting the reports.
If you select multiple reports, all the selected reports are added to the dashboard. The first dataset in alphabetical order is defined as the grouping and sorting dataset. You can sort and group the dashboard using fields from the grouping and sorting dataset only.For instructions to change the grouping and sorting dataset and background information on using multiple datasets in dashboard, see the Document Creation Guide or Desktop Help.
4 Click OK. The Document Editor opens.
The datasets that you chose are displayed in the Datasets pane.
5 Add data fields, auto text codes, text labels, images, panel stacks, selectors, widgets, and other controls. For instructions, see:
• Chapter 3, Layering Data: Panels and Panel Stacks
• Chapter 4, Providing Interactivity to Users: Selectors
• Chapter 5, Providing Flash Analysis and Interactivity: Widgets For procedures to add any other objects, see the Desktop Help.
6 Arrange the controls as you like. For instructions, see the Desktop Help.
7 Format the various controls and sections, as well as the dashboard as a whole. For descriptions of the various formatting options, and
instructions to apply them, see the Desktop Help.
© 2012 MicroStrategy, Inc. Creating a dashboard: the Blank Dashboard template 53 8 Group and sort the data. For instructions and background information,
see the Desktop Help.
9 Add totals, if desired. For instructions, see the Document Creation Guide or Desktop Help.
10 Save the dashboard by selecting Save from the File menu.
11 You can now preview how the dashboard will display in MicroStrategy Web. This is useful to help you size and place objects. You can also manipulate the data in some of the ways that are available in Flash Mode.
• Use Flash View to preview the document as it will look in Flash mode in MicroStrategy Web. You can use selectors and perform some manipulations such as pivoting and sorting. To open the dashboard in Flash View, from the View menu, select Flash.
• Use HTML View to preview the document as it will look in other MicroStrategy Web modes. To open the dashboard in HTML View, from the View menu, select HTML.
12 For a list of actions that you can perform in Flash View and HTML View, see the MicroStrategy Document Analysis Guide or the Desktop Help.
13 To print the dashboard, use PDF View, as described in Printing a document, page 4.