Dashboard Grid learning center

Enterprise Analytics
User Manual

Learn how to turn Excel, CSV, API, and SQL data into reliable dashboards, reports, and AI-assisted business insights.

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01
GETTING STARTED

Create your first dashboard

Follow this workflow when using Dashboard Grid for the first time.

1

Create an account

From the public website, select Start free. Enter your name, company, email, password, and at least one industry. Registration creates your company and its protected Main workspace.

2

Open or create a workspace

Select the workspace control at the top-left, or open Workspaces. Use separate workspaces for departments, projects, clients, or business units.

3

Import data

Open Imports, select an XLS, XLSX, or CSV file, review the detected columns and rows, and complete the import.

4

Review the data model

Open Data models. Confirm display labels, measures, dimensions, time fields, filters, identifiers, and default aggregations.

5

Build the dashboard

Open Dashboards, create a named dashboard tab, then add widgets manually or use AI generate.

Recommended order: import → model → dashboard → filters → validation → export.

03
ORGANIZATION

Use multiple workspaces

A workspace is an isolated analytics area inside your company. Each workspace maintains its own imports, data models, dashboard tabs, widgets, reports, and AI context.

Create a workspace

  1. Open Workspaces.
  2. Select New workspace.
  3. Enter a clear name and optional description.
  4. Select Create and open.

Switch workspaces

  1. Use the selector at the top-left, or the workspace tabs above the dashboard tabs.
  2. Select the required workspace.
  3. The application reloads the complete data context safely.

Show dashboards on your website

  1. Open Workspaces and find the required workspace.
  2. At the bottom of its card, select Enable sharing.
  3. Use Copy link for a normal read-only page, or Copy website embed code to receive an iframe snippet.
  4. Select Stop sharing to revoke public access immediately. Generate a new link when an old link must remain invalid.

The shared page shows saved dashboard widgets using current workspace data. It does not expose imports, data models, editing controls, AI commands, settings, or raw administration pages.

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The Main workspace cannot be deleted. Another workspace can be deleted only while it contains no datasets or dashboards.

04
REAL DATA

Import Excel and CSV files

Supported file rules

  • XLS, XLSX, and CSV files are supported.
  • Interactive uploads can be up to 25 MB and 50,000 data rows per detected table.
  • Each populated Excel worksheet is imported as a separate table.
  • The system searches the first rows for the most likely header and detects column names and data types.

Import procedure

  1. Open Imports and choose a file.
  2. Wait for parsing and column detection.
  3. Review the preview, worksheet name, row count, column count, and detected types.
  4. Confirm the import, then open Data models or Dashboards.
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For reliable detection: use one header row, unique column names, no merged header cells, and consistent values below each column.

Update an existing dataset

Select Update file beside the existing dataset. When column names, order, and types match, the dataset ID and connected dashboards are preserved. If the schema differs, Dashboard Grid lists the differences and requires confirmation before affected dashboards are removed.

05
CONNECTIONS

Connect API and SQL data

REST JSON API

Open Data sources → Connect source → REST JSON API. Enter a dataset name and endpoint URL. The response can be a JSON array or an object containing an array such as data, items, or results.

SQL Server

Select SQL Server, enter the connection string, and provide a read-only SELECT or WITH query. Credentials are used for that import and are not stored.

Connected records become a persisted dataset and follow the same modeling, dashboard, reporting, and workspace-isolation rules as uploaded files.

06
SEMANTIC MODEL

Configure report fields

Open Data models, select a detected table, and configure each field before generating reports or widgets.

RoleUse it forExample
DimensionCategories used to group dataRegion, Product, Department
MeasureNumeric calculationsRevenue, Quantity, Cost
Time dimensionTrends and date filtersInvoice Date
FilterInteractive filteringStatus
Key dimensionIdentifiers and distinct countsCustomer ID
IgnoreExclude a technical or unsuitable fieldInternal checksum

Use Display name to create readable report labels. Avoid Sum or Average for serial numbers, IDs, phone numbers, account numbers, or codes.

07
VISUAL ANALYTICS

Create dashboards and widgets

Create a dashboard tab

  1. Select the required workspace tab.
  2. Select New dashboard or the plus sign beside the dashboard tabs.
  3. Enter the label users should see.
  4. Create the blank dashboard, then add widgets.

Configure a widget

Dataset

Select the imported table used by the widget.

Widget type

Choose KPI, chart, table, gauge, funnel, treemap, or another supported visual.

Measure

Select the numeric or count field and its aggregation.

Groups

Add one or more dimensions and choose row-wise or column-wise grouping.

Labels

Enter your own title and optional value-prefix text.

Appearance

Choose chart type, width, height, and widget font size.

Count versus distinct count

Count returns the number of populated records. Distinct count returns the number of unique values in the selected distinct field. For unique customers, choose Distinct count and select Customer ID—not the customer name if names can repeat.

Count and Distinct count display as whole numbers without decimal places.

Choose the displayed rows or groups

Use the widget’s row limit to display Top 5, Top 10, Top 20, Top 50, or Top 100 groups, ordered by the calculated value.

Move and resize widgets

Select Customize. Drag a widget by its move handle to reposition it. Use its settings to change width, height, and font size, then finish customization to lock the layout.

08
INTERACTION

Add and use dashboard filters

Filters affect the visible dashboard analysis without modifying stored data.

  • Dropdown: select one category value.
  • Date slider: define a start and end date.
  • Number range: keep values between minimum and maximum.
  • Search: match text across the chosen field.
  • Chart interaction: select a chart group to focus related widgets.

Active filter chips show what is currently applied. Clear individual filters or use the reset action before comparing totals.

09
AI ANALYTICS

Generate and extend dashboards with AI

AI dashboard builder

  1. Import and review a real dataset.
  2. Open Dashboards and select AI generate.
  3. Choose the dataset and describe the business objective.
  4. Review suggested KPIs, dimensions, charts, warnings, and dashboard name.
  5. Select the widgets you want and generate the dashboard.

Ask AI

Use plain-language instructions such as “add a distinct customer count”, “show monthly revenue as a line chart”, or “compare loans by district”. Mention the field names when possible.

Professional analytics

The AI Analytics page provides an executive summary, KPIs, trends, anomalies, forecasts, risks, recommendations, and answers grounded in detected schema statistics. If a hosted model is unavailable, the local analytics engine continues to provide calculated results.

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AI recommendations should support—not replace—business validation. Confirm field roles, filters, units, and totals against the source file.

10
TEMPLATES

Use the Dashboard Marketplace

Marketplace templates supply industry-aware KPI and dashboard metadata. Install a template, then activate it from Marketplace or the dashboard template selector. Changing industry selections in Settings changes the relevant catalog.

Templates do not replace field modeling. Their indicators are calculated only when compatible fields exist in the active workspace’s imported data.

11
OUTPUT

Create reports and export results

Workbook reports

Open Reports → New report, enter a report name, select a detected table, and add a description. Open the generated report to review calculated measures, field roles, and source rows.

Dashboard export

Use Export on the dashboard or widget. Supported outputs include PDF, Word, Excel, HTML, and image. Dashboard export captures the widget area from the first widget to the final widget, including scrollable widget content where supported.

For the cleanest document, clear editing mode, apply final filters, wait for charts to finish rendering, and then export.

12
ADMINISTRATION

Branding, industries, and team settings

  • Use Settings to update the company name, URL slug, primary color, and logo.
  • Select one or more industries or business domains to update relevant templates and suggestions.
  • Use Team to review company users and roles.
  • Use Schedules for planned refresh and report-delivery activities.

Company branding applies across its workspaces, while datasets and dashboards remain isolated by workspace.

13
PLATFORM OWNER

Super Administrator guide

Super Administrators use a separate platform navigation. They can review platform statistics, manage companies and subscriptions, manage company administrator accounts, suspend or activate companies, review contact enquiries, and configure payment collection accounts.

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Super Admin pages intentionally do not expose company dashboard-building pages. Use a Company Admin account when validating company features.

14
DATA QUALITY

Recommended practices

Do

  • Use descriptive, unique column headers.
  • Keep dates and numbers consistent.
  • Use stable ID columns for distinct counts.
  • Validate totals before publishing.
  • Keep one business subject per table.

Avoid

  • Summing serial numbers or identifiers.
  • Merged cells in the data region.
  • Multiple header rows.
  • Mixing currency and text in one field.
  • Uploading a changed schema without reviewing warnings.
15
HELP

Troubleshooting

My columns are not detected correctly.

Ensure the worksheet has one clear header row followed immediately by data. Remove title blocks, merged headers, fully blank rows, and duplicate column names, then import again.

My dashboard is empty after switching workspaces.

Workspaces are intentionally isolated. Import the required dataset into the selected workspace, or switch back using the workspace tabs above the dashboard tabs.

Distinct count equals the record count.

Confirm the Distinct count aggregation uses the correct identifier field. If every identifier is unique, the result correctly equals the record count.

An ID or serial number appears as a total.

Open Data models and assign the field as Key dimension or Ignore. In the widget, use Count or Distinct count instead of Sum.

An updated file may remove dashboards.

This happens only when the detected schema differs. Review the listed changes. Cancel and correct the file if you need to preserve connected dashboards.

Controls are too small or too large.

Use the Zoom and A controls in the top bar. Select the percentage value to return that control to 100%.

Export does not match the expected data.

Verify the active workspace, dashboard tab, filters, date period, and widget scroll content. Wait for visualizations to finish rendering before exporting.

READY TO BEGIN?

Build your first analytics workspace.

Start with a clean source file and one business question. Dashboard Grid will help with the rest.

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