There is probably a very easy approach to this little challenge:

For our customer we have various dashboard templates with combinations of gadgets. What we need to make available to them is the ability to change the period, data fields (actual, target, forecast etc) etc. dynamically within the dashboard page.

Logically one would make parameters available to the user within a gadget (drop-down, radio etc). Then on a change event, all of the gadgets on the dashboard page must refresh. Currently we are passing parameters from the today page by using the foccache folder and writing them away to a fex that each gadget then includes.

How does one refresh an entire dashboard page?

The term broadcasting between gadgets have been mentioned (not in this forum), is this a function that is currently available or due shortly?

Kind regards,

Yes, we plan to do Broadcast in the version 5 track. It will not be available in 5.0, but will be by 5.2.

On the drawing board are also plans to give you the ability to run an entire page via the server, and pass the entire page a set of parameters that get passed to all gadgets. This means you can statically launch a page and have the entire page represent, on first display, an alternate set of contexts that those which the user saved. So it would give you the ability to run the entire dashboard as if it were a single parameterized report. The syntax would be like this:

-SET &LOCATION_LEVEL01_VALUE = 'EAST';
-SET &TIME_RANGE = 'PREV_CUR';
-SET &MEASURE_SERIES_NAME.1 = 'COGS';
-SET &MEASURE_SERIES_NAME.2 = 'Profit';
-SET &MEASURE_SERIES_NAME.3 = 'Defects';

-SET &PAGE_ID = nn;
-INCLUDE GADGET_PAGE_SHELL

This would run dashboard nn as if it were a report; it would default all gadgets to show the previous v. current time range, for the East Coast location (provided you had a Dimension called Location) and showing up to three specified Measures. Charts that are designed to show single measures of course, would have to default to showing only the first measure in the array.

It would also mean you could run an entire Dashboard as an operational drilldown and pass the drill context to the page. Sort of the way Measure Breakout works now, except for the flexible layouts used by Gadgets, rather than the fixed layout used in Measure Breakout.

Available sometime during V5 development. But not in 5.0.

thanks

Thanks again for the quick and concise update Bob.
Am I pushing my “luck” by asking when your expected release dates for 5.0 & 5.2 are?
You might want to answer that question via email ;-)
Kind regards

Target date for 5.0 is end of July.

Target date for 5.2 isn't set in stone of course. But it's going to be out during Fall this year.

thanks