The topics in this section describe the features available in the Grid dashboard item and provide information on how to create and customize grids in the dashboard.
Providing Data
The image below shows a sample Grid dashboard item that is bound to data.
To bind the Grid dashboard item to data, click a placeholder contained in one of the available data sections and select the required data source field in the Binding section of the invoked data item menu.
The table below lists and describes the Grid’s data sections.
Section |
Processed as |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Columns
|
Dimension or Measure (depending on the selected column type)
|
Contains data items that provide values for grid columns. The data item menu allows you to select the column type and specify their options. |
Sparkline |
Dimension
|
Contains a data item that provides arguments for sparkline columns. To learn more, see Columns. |
Column
The Grid dashboard item supports five-column types:
-
Dimension Column
Displays grouped values from the bound data item and allow you to provide discrete categorical information.
-
Hyperlink Column
Allows you to display hyperlinks in the Grid dashboard item.
-
Measure Column
Displays summaries calculated against data in the bound data item.
-
Delta Column
Bound to two measures. Calculates summaries for both measures, and displays the difference between these summaries.
-
Sparkline Column
Displays values in the bound data item using sparklines.
When you select a field in the Grid’s Binding menu, it automatically determines the column’s type based on the data.
To change the column type, invoke the Binding menu, click the column to invoke its menu and select the required column type in the Type group.
Interactivity
To enable interaction between the Chart and other dashboard items, you can use the interactivity features, as Master Filtering and Drill-Down.
Master Filtering
You can use the Grid dashboard item as a filter for other dashboard items.
The Grid dashboard item supports filtering by rows.
When Master Filtering is enabled, an end-user can click a grid row (or multiple rows) to make other dashboard items only display data related to the selected record(s).
To enable Master Filtering, go to the Grid’s Interactivity menu and select the required Master Filtering mode.
To reset filtering, use the Clear Master Filter button (the 
icon) in the Grid’s caption.
icon) in the Grid’s caption.Drill-Down
The built-in drill-down capability allows end-users to change the detail level of data displayed in dashboard items on the fly. The Grid dashboard item supports drill-down for rows. To learn more about drill-down concepts common to all dashboard items, see the Drill-Down topic.
When drill-down is enabled, an end-user can click a grid row to view the details.
Drill-down requires that the Columns section contains several dimensions at the top, from the least detailed to the most detailed dimension.
Totals
The Grid dashboard item enables you to add a summary value (a total) calculated against displayed values of an individual column and to show the result under this column. For dimension columns, the Grid groups data by a set of unique dimension values and calculates total by these grouped values. Measure columns are calculated by values.
Note that you can add any number of totals for each column. For example, you can obtain the number of column records, average or maximum value, etc.
You can use the following summary functions when creating totals.
Name |
Description |
|---|---|
Count |
The number of records. |
Sum |
The sum of the values.
 |
Min |
The smallest value. |
Max |
The largest value. |
|
The average of the values.
 |
|
Auto |
The total is calculated using the type of summary function specified for the measure corresponding to the current Grid column. Note that in this case, the total is calculated based on values of the corresponding data field from the underlying data source. |
Create and Edit Totals
To create a total, open a data item menu and go to the Totals section. Click “+” to add a new total.
You can change the total type by opening the drop down list and selecting the required type.
To delete the total, click the Delete button (the 
icon).
icon).
Layout
The Grid dashboard item allows you to customize its layout in various ways. You can manage the width of grid columns, specify the visibility of column headers, enable cell merging, etc.
To access the layout settings, use the Layout section in the Grid’s Options menu.
The following settings are available.
- The Horizontal Lines and Vertical Lines options control grid line visibility.
- The Banded Rows option is used to paint the background of odd and even rows differently.
- The Column Headers option allows you to toggle column header visibility.
- The Word Wrap option enables the capability to display cell content on multiple lines if the size of a dashboard item is insufficient to completely display the cell content on a single line.
- The Column Width Mode option allows you to manage column widths of the entire Grid using different modes. To learn more about column width modes, see Column Width Modes.