--- title: "How to Use Dashboards" slug: "use-dashboards" updated: 2026-05-11T10:06:38Z published: 2026-05-11T10:06:38Z canonical: "support.controlup.com/use-dashboards" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.controlup.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # How to Use Dashboards ## Getting Started When you first open **Dashboards**, the **Getting Started with Dashboards** onboarding page appears. You can start using dashboards in the following ways: - [**Use a pre-built dashboard**](/v1/docs/custom-dashboard-overview#dashboard-gallery): Select a dashboard from the **Dashboard Gallery** tab. These dashboards are provided by ControlUp out-of-the-box and can be viewed and used directly. If needed, you can customize these dashboards with the **Customize** button. - **Import a dashboard**: If someone sent you a dashboard file, click the import icon![](https://cdn.document360.io/098100b7-b9da-4bea-b4b9-017140ab863e/Images/Documentation/image-ZZYFJTH3.png) next to the **Build Now** button. In the file picker, select the dashboard’s JSON file. You can then start using this dashboard. - [**Build a dashboard from scratch**](/v1/docs/dashboard-builder#widget-builder) : Click **Build Now** to enter a name for your dashboard and start fresh. Click **Add Widget** to open the Widget Builder, where you can build widgets from scratch using your preferred data sources, metrics, and visualization settings. To learn more, see [Widget Builder](/v1/docs/dashboard-builder). - **Use shared dashboards**: You can also start by going to the **Shared Dashboards** section and viewing dashboards shared within your organization. > [!NOTE] > Permissions > > The Dashboards actions that you can perform depend on your role permissions. ## Manage Your Dashboards **Dashboards** is separated into three sections: **My Dashboards**, **Shared Dashboards**, and **Dashboard Gallery**. Each section has its own options. ### My Dashboards and Shared Dashboards tabs The **My Dashboards** and **Shared Dashboards** tabs display a list of dashboards, including their type and last modification date. From these tabs, you can **Import** (![](https://cdn.document360.io/098100b7-b9da-4bea-b4b9-017140ab863e/Images/Documentation/image-ZZYFJTH3.png)) a dashboard or create a new one by clicking **+ New Dashboard**. Each dashboard includes an **action** (**⋮**) **menu** on the right. You can: - **Mark or unmark as favorite**: Dashboards marked as favorite are always displayed in **My Dashboards**, including organizational or ControlUp dashboards. - **Share or unshare**: Sharing a dashboard moves it from **My Dashboards** to **Shared Dashboards**. Unsharing it moves it back. You can also mark a shared dashboard as favorite to keep it in **My Dashboards**. - **Duplicate** - **Rename** - **Delete** > [!NOTE] > Dashboards Actions > > Not all actions are available for all dashboard types or permissions. ### Using Dashboards To open a dashboard, click its name in the list. The dashboard opens and displays its widgets and data. #### Widget basics - Each widget starts with an icon representing the product from which the data originates, for example ControlUp for Desktops or ControlUp for VDI. - While a widget is loading data, it displays four dots next to its name. - The three-dot (**⋮**) menu in the top-right corner opens the widget’s options menu. Available widget actions depend on your permissions and may include: - **Edit**: Opens the Widget Builder, where you can modify the widget. - **Duplicate**: Creates a copy of the widget on the current dashboard. - **Rename**: Changes the widget name. - **Query**: Displays the raw query behind the widget, which is useful for reusing the data through the Query APIs. - **Export**: Exports the widget configuration as a JSON file for use in another dashboard. - **CSV**: Exports the widget’s raw data as a CSV file. - **Create Alert**: Opens the alert page with the widget’s metrics prefilled, making it easier to create an alert. - **Delete**: Removes the widget from the dashboard. #### Date and time In the top-right corner of the dashboard, you can use the date and time picker to choose from a wide range of predefined time ranges, or select **Custom** to define your own timeframe. By default, dashboards are set to the **Last 7 days**. Next to the picker, the selected date and time range is displayed, showing exactly what data is being used. Time series widgets automatically adjust their data granularity based on the selected timeframe. For example, selecting the **Last 7 days** displays one data point per day, while selecting the **Last 24 hours** displays one data point per hour. #### Live Data and refresh Next to the date and time picker, you can find the **Live Data** / **Paused** toggle and the **Refresh** button. When **Live Data** is enabled, the dashboard updates automatically every minute. The **Refresh** button lets you manually refresh all displayed widgets at any time. #### Filters At the top left of the dashboard, you can find the **Filters** section. Applying a filter updates all widgets that match the selected product type. In the filter panel, you can choose a product, select a field to filter by, and then select one or more values. Values are searchable, support multi-select, and you can apply multiple filter conditions at once. You can also switch to **Query Filters** for more advanced options, such as **IS** / **IS NOT** conditions and the ability to use **AND** / **OR** logic. These capabilities make your dashboard dynamic and adaptable to your needs. #### Variables Some dashboards may include variables. While there are many built-in filter options, you may still need to filter a specific dashboard or widget by more granular values, such as processes or applications. Variables provide these additional filtering capabilities and can be configured per dashboard. They are located next to the **Filters** button in the **Variables** section. Each dropdown shows the first 50 values by default and supports search to display more options. To learn how to create variables, see [Configured Variables](/v1/docs/dashboard-builder#variables). #### Widget types You can interact with several types of widgets. When using a table or grid to display device names or usernames from ControlUp for Desktops, these values are automatically linked to the corresponding device or employee pages. Bar and donut widgets can also be made clickable. When enabled, clicking a bar or slice behaves like selecting a variable and filters other configured widgets on the dashboard. You can clear this selection at any time by clicking the **Clear Filter** button. #### Grid widgets Grid widgets display raw data, and each column can be sorted by clicking the column name. You can also apply filters to each column by clicking the filter icon. Filtering options include conditions such as **Is** / **Is not** and **Contains** / **Does not contain**. Any applied filters can be cleared by clicking **Clear Filter**. ### Dashboard Gallery tab The **Dashboard Gallery** tab displays ControlUp dashboards in a grid or list view. These dashboards can be viewed directly and added to **My Dashboards** by marking them as favorite. When you view a Gallery dashboard, you can click **Customize** to create a duplicated copy. The copy is added to your **My Dashboards** tab, where you can edit it. This copy does not receive dashboard updates from the Gallery item. #### Gallery Dashboard Tags Tags appear below each ControlUp dashboard to help you quickly understand its context. | Tag Category | Description | | --- | --- | | **Product / Feature** | Indicates which ControlUp product the dashboard relates to. Currently, only **Desktops** and **Apps** are supported. | | **Recommended Use** | **Customize** and **Use As-is** tags help you understand whether it is recommended to customize the dashboard or use it as is. | | **Dashboard Type** | Defines the dashboard’s purpose: - **Business Impact**: High-level, strategic dashboards that connect IT performance to key business outcomes. - **Digital Health**: Dashboards that monitor the overall health, trends, usage, and performance of IT services. - **Diagnostics**: Technical dashboards that help with troubleshooting and root cause analysis. | | **Target Audience** | Indicates who the dashboard is designed for: - C-Suite - Executives - IT Leadership - Desktop Engineers - IT Admins You can apply multiple audience tags. | | **Setup required** | **Zero setup** and **Has Pre-reqs** tags show if additional configuration is required. | | **Dashboard provider** | Identifies the dashboard’s creator: **ControlUp** or **ControlUp Innovation Guild**. | **Note:** - Tags are available only for ControlUp dashboards in **Dashboard Gallery**. - ControlUp dashboards can display up to four tags. Extra tags are collapsed under the additional tags indicator. To see their content, click this tag. #### Status banners Recently added or updated dashboards are labeled for visibility: - **New** (green): Added within the last four weeks. - **Updated** (yellow): Recently modified. To view all dashboards with these banners, click the status icon. This view includes each dashboard’s thumbnail, description, tags, type, and last modification date. #### Sort and filter your dashboards You can organize ControlUp dashboards by **tags**, or sort them by **name**, **creation date**, or **last update**, using the dropdown menus at the top of the page. The **Sort by** filter lets you arrange dashboards alphabetically or by time: - Recently Updated - Oldest Updated - Recently Created - Oldest Created