Creating and Managing Dashboards


Overview

This article provides instructions on how to create Dashboards, including creating one from ServiceNow's legacy Homepage solution.

Audience

UW Connect ITSM users

A Note on Homepages

There are two ServiceNow applications that provide a "Dashboard" experience: Homepages (legacy solution) and Dashboards (current solution). Homepages were previously changed to "read only" by the vendor, and they are in the process of deprecating the functionality altogether. It will no longer be a supported feature as of the evening of 11/16/22 when UW Connect is upgraded to ServiceNow's Tokyo release.

Why Can't I Edit This Dashboard?.... Editor Basics

You can only edit Dashboards that you own, or for which you have edit rights. A simple way of knowing if you have edit rights is to look for the Add Widgets, Sharing, and Configuration icons on the top right of the Dashboard. No widgets? You're not an editor.

Add Widget, Share, Configuration icons, listed left to right

Information about adding and modifying widgets, resizing widgets, and sharing are discussed below. Shared dashboards, such as the Assignment Group snapshot, cannot be modified individually, even to resize the widgets.

Dashboard Creation

Create Dashboard Version of Homepage

If you own a Homepage, you can create a Dashboard version. To do so:

  1. Open the Homepage
  2. Click on the settings (gear) icon on the right side of the Homepage header
  3. If you have not previously created a Dashboard version, you'll see a Create Dashboard Version button located above the Refresh Interval options
  4. Click on the button
  5. Choose from the two options 1) Create new Dashboard or 2) Add to existing Dashboard, the latter of which is limited to Dashboards you own
  6. Click OK, and you'll be taken to the Dashboard

Create New

In Navigator, go to Performance Analytics > Dashboards OR My Records > Resources > Dashboards. You'll see a New button in the page header.

  1. Click on New
  2. Give it a name, and then click Submit
  3. You'll then be taken to the Dashboard, with the Add Widgets window open and ready for selection (see below for more info)

Dashboard Management

Once you are in the Add Widgets interface, you can add new widgets, modify widgets, and resize. You will need to 1) hover over the top of the widget in order for the widget controls to display and 2) select the edit icon.

Screenshot showing the steps to hover and select the editor widgets

Adding and/or Modifying Widgets

You can modify Dashboards that you own or have otherwise been given edit rights. The most common widget type is a reporting widget, which is what we cover in this section. Other widget types are available (e.g., Favorites, Filters). It is important that you know the name of the report (or filter, favorite, etc.) prior to searching for in the interface, as there can be a long list of options from which to choose.

To add a reporting widget:

  1. Go to the Dashboard, and click the Add Widgets ("Plus" symbol) icon on the right side of the Dashboard header
  2. This will default to Favorites; change the dropdown to Reports
    • This will default to reports created by you; you can change the filter to show "Anyone"  
    • Do not attempt to use the "Select a table" option as an additional filter, as there is a bug (reported to ServiceNow); you will not be able to find/select our most common task tables (e.g., Requests, Incidents). The Workaround is to keep "Any Table" selected, and search for the report name.
  3. After you've found the desired report, click on Add
  4. To add another report, click the left arrow next to Widgets and you'll be taken back to the list of reports

To add a filter widget:

  1. Go to the Dashboard, and click the Add Widgets ("Plus" symbol) icon on the right side of the Dashboard header
  2. This will default to Favorites; change the dropdown to Filters
  3. In the search bar, search for your filter's name.
  4. Click on the table your filter was built on. If you're not sure, open your filter in a different tab to check.
  5. Of the options that appear, select the filter without the parenthesis at the end.
    • Example: If my filter is named Work for Me, select the option 'Work for Me' not 'Work for Me (catalog)', 'Work for Me (default)', or any of the other options.
  6. After you've found the desired filter, click on Add

Sharing Dashboards

NOTES: If you do not see the "share" option on a dashboard you own, please send a note to help@uw.edu with "UW Connect Dashboard share" in the subject line. We can either share on your behalf, or give you permissions to do so.  If the latter, please take great care when sharing, choosing only groups or users pertinent to the content. ServiceNow allows for broad sharing (e.g., to an entire org), including notifying everyone when the dashboard is shared, and we cannot easily customize this to a subset. We're happy to do this on your behalf.

Screenshot of the Share option and email notification checkbox

If you do have permissions to do so, from the right side of the Dashboard header:

  1. Click on the Share icon
  2. Click on the plus button
  3. Type in the name of the user and/or group, repeating this as often as needed to appropriately share
  4. Message: The 'Send an email invitation' box defaults to checked. However, no message or invitation is ever sent when sharing a dashboard. This is intended behavior as the email notifications sent out are confusing and we are not able to edit or format them.
  5. Access type:
    • Can view - the default selection and allows for read access only.
    • Can edit - allows the user to edit and duplicate the dashboard.
    • You can have some users/groups able to edit, and some able to view only; to do so, repeat these steps once for read, and another time for edit.
  6. Click OK
  7. You may get the following system message, which you can X out/ignore: "When changing Dashboard permissions, Dashboard group permissions no longer apply"

Sending a Dashboard URL to Others

To send users to the exact dashboard you are viewing, you will need to open the dashboard menu (hamburger icon in the upper left-hand corner of the dashboard) and select 'Copy Dashboard URL' (see screenshot below). Copying the URL from your browser's URL bar will not take other users to the specific dashboard you viewed when copying the URL bar.

Duplicate a Dashboard

In the Dashboard header, go to the Dashboard Menu ("hamburger") icon in the page header, and choose "Duplicate Dashboard."

Screenshot showing hot to access the Duplicate Dashboard option

Rename a Dashboard

In the Dashboard header, go to the Dashboard Menu ("hamburger") icon in the page header, and choose "Dashboard Properties."

Dashboard Tabs

New tabs can be created either by selecting the configuration icon from the edit icons in the upper right corner of your dashboard, or by opening the Dashboard Menu ("hamburger") icon, selecting "Dashboard Properties," then adding tabs in the 'Dashboard Tabs' section at the bottom of the screen.

Tabs can then be renamed using the pencil icon next to the tab name.

Screenshot showing the Configuration icon and the Tab name edit pencil icon

See Also

Dashboard FAQs: KB0027740