Creating a dashboard layout

Once your data source is prepared, it’s time to plan and build your dashboard layout. A well-thought-out layout makes the difference between a dashboard that’s easy to read and one that overwhelms.

Before opening Dashboard Publisher, we recommend sketching a quick mockup of how you want to present your data. Consider:

How many pages do you need? Will everything fit on one page, or should you spread information across multiple tabs?
What components will you use? Charts, callout tiles, comments, Text Auto Reports, or external content such as an HTML file from your File Bank (using the External Content URL component)?
How should components be arranged? Side by side, stacked, or in a grid?
What filters do viewers need to slice the data?
Should any pages be hidden when the base is too low? Plan which pages need low base blocking and the minimum base size for each.

Once you have a rough plan, create a new dashboard or duplicate an existing one to use as a starting point.

Building with containers

Containers are the foundation of your dashboard layout. While you can drop components directly onto the page, we strongly recommend using containers to organize your content — they give you far more control over spacing, alignment, and responsive behavior.

Why use containers?

Layout control — arrange components in rows (side by side) or columns (stacked vertically)
Spacing and padding — control the space between and around components
Grouping — group related components so you can move, copy, or delete them together
Responsive design — set different layouts for Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile views
Styling — add borders, background colors, rounded corners, and shadows to sections

A typical layout approach

Start with a full-width container — drag a Container from the Components Menu onto the page. This will be your main wrapper.
Set the layout direction — in the Properties Menu, set the container’s Layout to Row (for side-by-side components) or Column (for stacked components).
Add child containers — drop more containers inside your main container to create sections. For example, two containers side by side in a Row layout creates a two-column view.
Drop components into containers — drag charts, tiles, or text components into the appropriate container.
Adjust sizing — use the Fill property on each container or component to control how much space it takes up within its parent.
Check responsive views — switch between Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile in the Layout Bar and adjust the layout for each. A common pattern is Row on desktop and Column on mobile.

Nesting containers

Containers can be nested to any depth, which is how you build more complex layouts. For example:

A Row container holding three equal Column containers creates a three-column grid
Each column container can hold its own set of components stacked vertically
You can nest further to create sub-sections within each column

For full details on container properties, see Containers.

Adding pages

New dashboards start with one page. Each page you add appears as a tab at the top of the published dashboard — use multiple pages to group related content and keep individual pages focused.

Think about your page structure before you start building:

Overview pages — high-level summary metrics and KPIs
Detail pages — deep dives into specific topics or segments
Focus Words pages — dedicated pages for text analysis visualizations (Focus Words components work best when they have the full page width)

To add a page, click the Add icon in the Pages section of the Navigation Menu. You can also duplicate existing pages to reuse a layout you’ve already built.

For full details on managing pages, see Dashboard pages.

Adding filters

Filters appear at the top of your published dashboard and let viewers control which data is displayed. When a viewer selects a filter value, all components bound to that filter update to show only the matching data.

Plan your filters early in the layout process:

Identify filter variables — each dashboard filter needs a corresponding variable in your data source
Consider filter types — dropdown lists (single or multi-select), Timeframe and Period filters for dates, or hierarchical (parent/child) filters
Think about defaults — what should viewers see when they first open the dashboard?
Decide on visibility — not every page needs the filter bar; you can turn off Show Filter Bar for pages that should show a fixed view

For full details on adding and configuring filters, see Dashboard filters.

Applying styles

Dashboard Publisher lets you apply custom CSS at two levels:

Dashboard-level styles — apply across all pages via Dashboard Settings
Page-level styles — apply to a single page via Page Settings (overrides dashboard-level styles)

Common styling tasks include:

Uploading your logo (displayed in the upper left of the published dashboard)
Setting a mobile/tile icon for the dashboard card
Importing custom fonts with @import statements
Setting background colors and borders on containers
Adjusting chart label sizes and colors

For the full CSS reference and examples, see Applying styles.

Assigning roles

Roles let you limit what data each viewer sees. A role locks one or more filters to values you choose when you share the dashboard, so viewers with that role can’t change them.

Roles are an advanced feature that isn’t available to most users. If you need roles on your dashboard, contact your administrator.

For full details, see Dashboard roles.

Layout checklist

Before connecting your data sources, run through this quick checklist:

All pages are created and named with unique URLs
Containers are in place with the correct Row/Column layout settings
Components are positioned in their containers
Layout looks right in Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile views
Filters are added and configured
Styles and branding are applied
Low base blocking is planned for any pages that need it
Roles are set up (if needed)

Once your layout is ready, move on to connecting components to data sources.