Overview

Important

The functions and features included in the Classic UI’s Dashboards tab have been reworked and optimized in more recent releases of Plixer Scrutinizer. They can now be accessed by navigating to Monitor > Dashboards in the new UI. To learn more about upgrading to the latest version of Plixer Scrutinizer, see the Updates and upgrades section of this documentation.

Dashboards are used to create custom views of precisely what the user or group of users wants to see when they log in. Multiple unique dashboards can be created.

  • With the right permissions, these dashboards are customizable per login account.

  • All dashboards created by any user in a usergroup are available to other users in the same usergroup. The default is read-only access.

  • Each dashboard can be manipulated and shared with others.

  • The Read-only permission (check box) is used to grant others the ability to manipulate a shared dashboard.

Dashboard administration

In the upper left-hand corner of the dashboard there are three drop down menus.

  1. Gear with down arrow:

    • If the user has permission, this option can be used to change the dashboard name.

    • Set the default dashboard when the Dashboard tab is clicked.

    • If the user has permission, the user can make a dashboard Read-Only to others whom will be viewing the same dashboard. Leaving unchecked allows them to change the dashboard which includes rearranging as well as adding and removing gadgets.

    • The user with ownership of the dashboard is also displayed with the dashboard ID. The dashboard ID can be accessed directly through a URL: https://<server>/dashboard/id/<dashboard_id>

    • A user wanting to modify a dashboard that doesn’t have permission, can copy the dashboard and make changes to the copy. Copying a dashboard requires permission as well.

  2. Dashboard name:

    • Use this menu to select the desired dashboard to view.

    • The default dashboard is displayed at the top of this menu.

    • A ‘*’ after the dashboard name indicates that it is read-only.

  3. Configuration:

    • Add a New Gadget: When viewing a dashboard, this option can be used to add additional gadgets. Select the category of gadgets in the drop down box at the top. To add gadgets, click on them.

    • Copy this Dashboard: Use this option to make a copy of the dashboard which can then be modified by the user. This requires either the “Create New Dashboards” or Dashboard Admin permission.

    • Create New Dashboard: If the user belongs to a usergroup that has permissions, this option can be used to create a new dashboard. This requires either the Create New Dashboards or Dashboard Admin permission.

    • Remove Dashboard: Use this option to remove a dashboard from the menu. Both read-only and user created dashboards can be removed and added back to the menu. This is done under Configuration > User Dashboards.

Creating a new dashboard

  1. Navigate to the Dashboard Configuration > Create New Dashboard page.

  2. Use the filter on the left to find the desired gadgets. Use the drop down box below the filter to select a category of gadgets.

  3. To add gadgets, highlight them in the Gadgets Available box and drag them to the Gadgets Added box. Use the shift and CTRL keys to select multiple gadgetsat once.

  4. Uncheck the Read-only box if the goal is to give others permission to view AND modify the dashboard. Permission can be granted to give others a read-only viewof the dashboard under the Grant tabs. Users able to view a read-only dashboard will be able to copy it and manipulate the copy.

  5. Give the dashboard a name before saving it.

Note

To add gadgets to a dashboard, one of the following is required: 1) The user must be the creator of the dashboard 2) The creator of the dashboard must have unchecked Read-Only in the gear menu or 3) the user must be a Dashboard Administrator for the user group.

Creating a new gadget

  1. From the Dashboard name menu* select the dashboard you would like to add a custom gadget to.

  2. Navigate to the Configuration > Add a new gadget page. Click on the Add a gadget > New button.

  3. Enter the new gadget name and the Gadget URL.

  4. Save the new gadget to a panel. You will now see the new gagdet on the dashboard you selected in step 1. It can now be found in the Custom gadgets list and added to other dashboards.

Note

External URLs must have an http(s) previx to avoid a 404 error. Gadgets may not load if you specify HTTP content when Scrutinizer is using HTTPS.

Gadget configuration

There are several configuration options in each gadget or window in the dashboard. Each is represented by an icon, some of which don’t appear until the mouse is moved over the window.

  • Timer: This value decrements to indicate the next refresh of this gadget. Set the refresh frequency by clicking on the gear icon.

  • Gear: The spinning gear icon can be used to rename the gadget and to set the refresh rate.

  • Refresh: Press the refresh or recycle icon to force the reload of the contents of the gadget. (Will also happen automatically when the timer runs out.)

  • Move: Click the four-headed arrow icon, hold, and drag the gadget to a new location in the dashboard.

  • X: This icon is used to remove the gadget from the dashboard. It can easily be added back later and it will remain in the gadget inventory for use in other dashboards.

  • Resize Arrows: Located in the lower left and right-hand corners of the window, these icons are used to resize the window.

User and usergroup permissions

  • User Dashboards:

Use this option to select the dashboards a user will have visible in their menu of available dashboards.

  • Select the user from the drop down box at the top. To see other users, the user must be a member of a usergroup with the Dashboard Admin permission.

  • Select the dashboards in the “Available” box and move them to the Visible box to grant permission.

  • Notice the filter on the left. If granting permission to multiple users, administrators generally use the Usergroup Dashboards option. This requires the Dashboard Admin permission.

  • Usergroup Dashboards:

Use this option to select the dashboards a usergroup will have visible in their menu of available dashboards. This feature requires that the User be a member of a User Group with Dashboard Admin permission.

  • Select the user group from the dropdown box at the top.

  • Select the dashboards in the Available box and move them to the Visible box to grant permission.

Note

Even if a dashboard is added to the menu for a specific user or for all users in a usergroup, individuals can still remove a dashboard from their menu.

Additional permission options can be found under:

  • Admin tab > Security > Users to set the default dashboard the user will see when first opening the Dashboard tab.

  • Admin tab > Security > Usergroups:

  1. Choose Dashboard Gadgets

    • Click the “Dashboard Gadgets” value for the usergroup you want to change

    • Uncheck “All Dashboard Gadgets”

    • Move the individual gadgets the selected usergroup should be able to view from the “Deny” to “Allow” box

  2. Choose Feature Access

    • Click the Configure link in the "Features” column for the usergroup you want to change.

    • With Predefined selected, add or remove the Dashboard User and Dashboard Administrator roles.

    • With Advanced selected, add or remove individual features like Create Dashboards.