Build an Interactive Dashboard

Drag fields onto shelves, add a calculated field and a parameter, wire up filters and cross-filtering, and finish with a bookmarked story and a PNG export.

What you will build

A one-page dashboard about a table of your choosing (Titanic works well): a comparison chart, a distribution, a KPI and a slicer, with a parameter and a story.

Before you start

A dataset in the Data Hub. The Dashboard reads the active dataset.

Step 1: Pick the dataset

Open the Dashboard. Choose the dataset in the selector. The field list splits the columns into dimensions and measures.

Step 2: A first chart

Drag a Column chart from the palette onto the canvas. Drag Pclass onto Columns and Fare onto Rows. Click the Fare chip and change its aggregation from sum to average. You now see average fare by class. Double-click the title to rename it.

Step 3: Add a second dimension

Drag Sex onto the Color shelf. Each class splits into series with a legend. Try the Clustered Column type to compare them side by side.

Step 4: A distribution

Add a Histogram of Age. In its settings turn on the Gaussian curve overlay and compare it with the bars.

Step 5: A calculated field

Choose New calculated field. Name it AgeGroup and enter:

code

IF [Age] < 13 THEN "Child" ELSEIF [Age] < 60 THEN "Adult" ELSE "Senior" END

Use it as a dimension in a new chart showing the survival rate (the average of Survived) by age group. The expression is evaluated for each row, and aggregation happens on the chart.

Step 6: A KPI

Add a KPI or Card with the average of Survived. The result is a fraction between 0 and 1, which is the survival rate; use the number format settings to choose between number and currency and a display unit.

Step 7: Add a parameter

In the Parameters pane create a Number range called min_fare from 0 to 500. Put {min_fare} in a chart title, such as Passengers paying over {min_fare}, and watch the title change as you move the slider. You can also create a List parameter whose values are column names and bind it to a shelf field, so one chart can show any of several measures.

Step 8: Filters, slicers and cross-filtering

Drop Embarked into the this page filter zone and choose a value. Add a Slicer for Sex. Then click a bar in one chart: the others filter to it, and clicking the same bar again clears the filter.

Step 9: Analytics

In a column chart open Analytics. Add a reference line at the average, and try a trend line on a line chart. Add an annotation on the highest bar with a short note.

Step 10: Bookmarks and a story

Set up a filter combination worth showing and save it as a Bookmark. Save two or three of those, then create a Story: add the bookmarks as steps, write a caption for each and press Play story.

Step 11: Check accessibility, then export

Use Color Vision Preview to look at the dashboard as a colour-blind viewer would. Then press Export PNG (wait until all charts have finished drawing).

Step 12: Keep it fresh

Note the data version line under the toolbar. It follows the newest version of the dataset; pin a version to freeze the dashboard, or let a pipeline refresh it.

Building charts and dashboards and Calculations, parameters and stories.