--- url: /guides/build-a-dashboard.md description: >- Put charts, counters and task lists on one dashboard to see how the work is going. --- # Build a dashboard Build a dashboard when you want to see how the work is going at a glance, for example: * how many tasks are open; * what is overdue; * what got done this week. A dashboard is a [view](/concepts/views) of the **Dashboard** view type, filled with widgets. [**Dashboard V2**](/reference/views-compared#view-types) is a separate view type for task charts, including a single **Number**. ## Before you start Decide which tasks the dashboard should count. They come from the view's sources: * a [list or a folder](/concepts/hierarchy); * several workspaces, in a [personal view](/concepts/personal-and-work). The dashboard counts the tasks from those sources that match the view's filter. Change them in the view's header: * the **Sources** chip: which lists, folders or workspaces the view draws from; * **Filter**: which of their tasks count ([Filter, sort and group a view](/guides/filter-sort-and-group-a-view)); * the **Slice** chip: whether [subtasks](/guides/break-down-with-subtasks) count, with **Tasks**, **Tasks and subtasks** or **Subtasks only**. By default a dashboard counts **Tasks and subtasks**. ## New dashboard view 1. Open the **…** menu of a list, folder or workspace and choose **New view**, or click **+** (**Create**) → **New view** for a personal one. The new view form opens. ::: warning A shared dashboard needs view permissions A dashboard in a list or folder can be shared or private. Creating either requires **Edit** access to the list or folder and a permission set that can create views; editing it later requires **Edit** access to the view and a permission set that can update views. A personal dashboard needs neither. See [Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access). ::: 2. Type a name in **Name**, such as `Weekly`. The view carries this name in the sidebar. 3. In **Display Mode**, choose **Dashboard** (what each view type shows: [Views compared](/reference/views-compared)). **Dashboard** is selected. 4. In **Source**, pick the workspaces, folders or lists whose tasks the dashboard counts. From a list, the source is that list and can't be changed. 5. Click **Create**. The view opens with **Empty dashboard**. ## Add widgets 1. Click **Add widget**. The **Widget Store** opens on **All**. Each section and each widget carries a line on what it shows. ![The Widget Store open on All: the category tabs, a section with its description, and the widget cards](/shots/guides/build-a-dashboard-1.light.webp){.light-only} ![The Widget Store open on All: the category tabs, a section with its description, and the widget cards](/shots/guides/build-a-dashboard-1.dark.webp){.dark-only} 2. Pick a widget, such as **Total tasks** or **Completed per week**. It lands on the board. Some widgets, such as **Note** and the blank charts in **Without presets**, open **Widget settings** first: set them up and click **Add**. ::: info Ready-made widgets count every task in the view Done tasks count too, and so do subtasks when the view's **Slice** includes them. To count only open work, give the widget the filter [**Stage**](/concepts/statuses) **is not** **Done** ([Widget settings](#widget-settings)). ::: 3. Drag the widget by its header to place it. A widget with no header, such as a note or an image, drags from anywhere on it. The other widgets make room. 4. Drag its edge to resize it. The dashboard saves as you go. ![A Dashboard view with four widgets, Total tasks, Tasks by Status, Completed per week and Latest tasks, and the Add widget button](/shots/guides/build-a-dashboard-2.light.webp){.light-only} ![A Dashboard view with four widgets, Total tasks, Tasks by Status, Completed per week and Latest tasks, and the Add widget button](/shots/guides/build-a-dashboard-2.dark.webp){.dark-only} ## Widget settings 1. Click the widget's gear (**Widget settings**). **Widget settings** opens on the **Widget** tab, with the widget's title and description. 2. Open the **General** tab. For a chart you see **Chart type** and **Group by**, among other settings. ![Widget settings of Tasks by Status on the General tab: Group by, Measure and Filter, with the chart's preview](/shots/guides/build-a-dashboard-3.light.webp){.light-only} ![Widget settings of Tasks by Status on the General tab: Group by, Measure and Filter, with the chart's preview](/shots/guides/build-a-dashboard-3.dark.webp){.dark-only} 3. Change what it counts in these settings: | Setting | What it does | Choices | |---|---|---| | **Measure** | what the chart measures: a task count, or a sum or average of a field | **Count**, **Sum**, **Average** | | **Field** | the field a sum or an average is taken over | **Time estimate**, **Tracked time** | | **Bucket** | the step of the time axis, when you group by **Created date** or **Completed date** | **Day**, **Week**, **Month** | The widget's preview updates as you pick. 4. On the same tab, under **Filter**, narrow this widget further, for example to **Stage** **is not** **Done**. The rules work as in a [view filter](/reference/view-filters). The preview shows only the matching tasks. ::: info A widget counts only the view's tasks A widget has no source of its own. It starts from the view's sources and filter, and its own filter can only narrow them. ::: 5. Click **Save**. The dialog closes and the widget redraws. The widget's **⋯** menu has more: | Item | What it does | |---|---| | **Widget settings** | opens [Widget settings](#widget-settings), as the gear does | | **Duplicate** | adds a copy of the widget, with the same settings and size | | **Move** | moves the widget a step at a time, without dragging; greyed out in a narrow window, where the board is one column | | **Size** | resizes the widget a step at a time, without dragging its edge; greyed out in a narrow window, where the board is one column | | **Remove widget** | takes the widget off the dashboard | ::: danger Removing a widget can't be undone **Remove widget** acts at once, with no confirmation, and the widget's settings are lost. ::: ## Task charts in Dashboard V2 Use **Dashboard V2** for quick charts of task counts or estimates, each set up in one dialog. A chart groups tasks by one of: * **Status**; * **Assignee**; * **Priority**; * **List**; * **Tag**; * **Created date** or **Completed date**. Use **Dashboard** for notes, task lists, clocks and full widget styling. The two view types keep separate grids: switching a view between **Dashboard** and **Dashboard V2** does not move widgets between them. 1. Create a view as in [New dashboard view](#new-dashboard-view), choosing **Dashboard V2** in **Display Mode**. The view opens on an empty grid with the line *Add a chart to explore tasks from this view's source and filter.* ::: warning Saving charts needs Edit access On a list or folder view, saving needs **Edit** access to the view and a permission set that can update views ([Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access)). Without them you see "Failed to save dashboard", and the grid goes back to how it was. Get them from a workspace admin, then make the change again. ::: 2. Click **Add chart**. A bar chart of **Task count** by **Status** appears. 3. Drag the chart by its header to move it, or drag its edge to resize it. The grid saves both. 4. Click the chart's gear (**Chart settings**). **Chart settings** opens, with the chart under **Preview**. 5. Under **Chart type**, choose **Pie**. The preview becomes a circle divided by status. ::: info Only valid combinations are offered **Group by** offers only the choices that fit the chart type, and **Number** has none. If the current choice doesn't fit, **Line** switches it to **Created date** and **Pie** to **Status**. ::: 6. Under **Metric**, choose what the chart measures: * **Task count**; * **Total estimate (min)**; * **Average estimate (min)**. The chart's header shows the metric you chose. 7. Under **Widget filter**, add a rule, for example **Stage** **is not** **Done**. It narrows the view's tasks, as in [Widget settings](#widget-settings). The chart under **Preview** shows only the matching tasks. 8. Click **Save**. The dialog closes and the chart redraws. Each chart type takes these **Group by** choices: | Chart type | Group by | |---|---| | **Bar**, **Horizontal bar** | any of the options above | | **Line** | **Created date** or **Completed date** | | **Pie** | **Status**, **Assignee**, **Priority**, **List** or **Tag** | | **Number** | none: one number for all the chart's tasks | ## Weekly dashboard for one person A personal view set up like this: * **Display Mode**: **Dashboard**; * **Source**: every list you work in; * **Filter**: none. | Widget | Setting | Answers | |---|---|---| | **Total tasks** | filter: Stage is not Done | How much is open? | | **Due date outlook** | filter: Stage is not Done | What is overdue or due soon? | | **Completed per week** | — | Am I keeping a steady pace? | | **Created per week** | — | How much new work arrives? | | **Tasks by List** | filter: Stage is not Done | Where does open work pile up? | ![The personal dashboard Weekly with five widgets in two rows: Total tasks, Due date outlook and Completed per week above, Created per week and Tasks by List below](/shots/guides/build-a-dashboard-4.light.webp){.light-only} ![The personal dashboard Weekly with five widgets in two rows: Total tasks, Due date outlook and Completed per week above, Created per week and Tasks by List below](/shots/guides/build-a-dashboard-4.dark.webp){.dark-only} Open it on Friday during your [weekly review](/recipes/weekly-review). ## If it doesn't work * **A widget shows fewer tasks, or tasks from the wrong place.** Every widget reads the view's **Sources** and **Filter**, then its own filter; it has no source of its own. Check the view's sources and filter ([Filter, sort and group a view](/guides/filter-sort-and-group-a-view)), or [make another dashboard](#new-dashboard-view) with other sources. * **Total tasks shows more than the list has.** The view's **Slice** counts subtasks too. Set the view's **Slice** chip (in the view's header) to **Tasks**; see [Before you start](#before-you-start). * **Due date outlook counts finished tasks as overdue.** It counts every task with a past due date. Give the widget the filter **Stage** **is not** **Done** in its [Widget settings](#widget-settings). * **You removed a widget by mistake.** [Add it again](#add-widgets) from **Add widget** and set it up again: removed widgets keep no settings. * **You see "Failed to save dashboard".** The change didn't save, and the dashboard went back to how it was. On a list or folder dashboard, the usual cause is access: **Add widget** or **Add chart** shows, but saving needs **Edit** access and a permission set that can update views ([Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access)). Otherwise, make the change again. * **A chart or a widget says "No tasks in scope".** No task passes the view's **Source** and **Filter** and then the chart's or widget's own filter. Loosen the chart's **Widget filter** in **Chart settings**, the widget's **Filter** in [Widget settings](#widget-settings), or the view's filter ([Filter, sort and group a view](/guides/filter-sort-and-group-a-view)). * **A chart says "Could not load chart data".** The request for the chart's data failed. Reload the page; the chart asks for its data again. * **On a phone, the dashboard doesn't open.** Phones don't show Dashboard views. A list's dashboard shows "The “Weekly” view is not supported yet"; a personal dashboard opens a list instead. Open the dashboard on a computer, in the browser or the [desktop app](/guides/install-the-desktop-app). ## Related * [Views as lenses on tasks](/concepts/views): a dashboard is one more way to look at tasks. * [Build a lead's dashboard](/recipes/lead-dashboard): a dashboard for a team lead. * [Filter, sort and group a view](/guides/filter-sort-and-group-a-view): the view filter every widget starts from. * [View filters](/reference/view-filters): every rule a view or a widget filter can use.