2.3 Using a Dashboard
Style Intelligence dashboards encourage end-users to freely explore and experiment, guiding users toward asking questions that return valuable and actionable information.
This section illustrates how end-users can interact with a sample dashboard to generate new knowledge. The example uses the sample Viewsheet you designed in Creating a Dashboard. To explore data using this Viewsheet, follow the steps below.
If the server is already running, just point a browser window to http://localhost:8080/sree/Reports.
1. On Windows, launch the User Portal from the Windows 'Start' menu: Start > All Programs > Style Intelligence > Style Intelligence Server. This opens the browser to the server home page.
2. On Linux, run the InetsoftServer.sh file in the bin folder of the installation directory to start the server. In your browser, enter the URL http://localhost:8080/sree/ to access the server home page.
For more information on the User Portal, see End User (User Documentation).
3. Select the 'User Portal' link to open the Portal.
4. In the Portal, select the Report tab.
5. In the left panel of the Portal, expand the 'Repository' tree click the 'Sample Viewsheet' to open this dashboard.

As a user, you can interact with the Viewsheet by manipulating the graphical controls. The Viewsheet in this example has a Selection List, Range Slider, and Table.
• The Selection List lets you to specify which states are displayed.
• The Range Slider lets you focus on a specific time period. The period can be as short as two months or as long as the full available range.
• The Table displays the results of your selections.
Note: The dashboard interface operates in a slightly different way on Apple iPads and iPhones. See Using Dashboards on a Mobile Device in End User (User Documentation) for details.
Often, components of a Viewsheet have their own toolbars and modification options. For example, hover the mouse over the Selection List's title bar to see the available tools.
To begin the analysis, use the Viewsheet to address the following question: “Which clients are in Colorado?”
1. Select Colorado (CO) in the Selection List. (Use the scroll bar on the right side of the Selection List, if necessary). The table now shows the results for Colorado.

“OK, but we want to see only January 2011 through January 2012.” Change the time period:
2. Click-and-drag on the right handle of the Range Slider. Drag the handle to the left until the dates listed are '2011 January – 2012 January'.

The table automatically updates to display the new data selection. Use the scroll bar on the right edge of the table to scroll through the data.
“The data is all there, but we want to see it sorted according to the name of the company, rather than by the date of purchase.” Change the sorting column:

3. Hover the mouse over the right side of the 'Company' header cell in the table. The 'Sort Column' button appears in the header cell.
4. Press the 'Sort Column' button once to sort the column in ascending order (indicated by an up-arrow). The table is now alphabetically sorted by company name.

“Now we want to see the purchases for January 2012 through January 2013.” Shift the date range:
5. Click-and-drag on the body of the Range Slider. Move the slider until the date range selected is '2012 January – 2013 January'.

The table is immediately refreshed with data only for the range you selected.
“Who was our best customer in the first half of 2012?” Look at the results for all states over this six month period:
6. In the Selection List toolbar, press the 'Clear Selection' button to remove the existing filter.
7. On the Range Slider, drag the right handle until only the range '2012 January – 2012 June' is displayed.

8. To sort the table according to total purchases, hover the mouse over the right side of the 'Total' header cell in the table. Press the 'Sort Column' button twice to sort the results in descending order.

“We want to show this data to our colleagues in the meeting later.”

9. Press the 'Export' button in the top toolbar to open the 'Export' dialog box. The dialog box provides two tabs, Content and Location.
10. Make the desired selections, and press 'OK'.

For more information about interacting with Viewsheets in the User Portal, see Dashboards in End User (User Documentation).
See Also
Using a Report, for information on viewing a report in the Portal.
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