issues when using the menu layer in the dashboard

#1

Hi,
I have several issues when using the menu layer in a dashboard.
If I don’t click on “View” (it doesn’t work when doing only a sandbox view) before moving a filter connected to a parameter from the main layer to the menu layer, the filter is showing up with no values.
If I modify whatever in the graph (labels or whatever else), same issue, even if it was working previously.
Each time I have to end the design process by building the filters in the main layer, click on “View” , then edit again the dashboard for moving them to the menu layer, and if I modify something in the graph properties, remove the existing ones, recreate them from scratch, click on “View” and edit the dashboard for moving them to the menu layer.
And each time I edit the dashboard, I have to recreate the filters using this procedure.
Why can’t the filters be built directly in the menu layer? And why are they not showing whatever value when a modification is done in the graph properties after moving them to the menu layer?
The Ids of the graph and the filters are the same ones, the filters are showing as still being connected to the corresponding parameters, but it seems that something prevents those connections to work, if I don’t proceed as described above.

What have I missed?
Thanks in advance,
Olivier

Saving multiple pages of dashboard at a time
#2

Correct me if I’m misunderstanding the issue here. But when you add a component/filter/visualization to a dashboard, it will be placed onto the currently selected layer. So you would need to make sure the menu layer is selected in the UI - a selected layer will be outlined in blue on the UI.

image

Any component you add to the dashboard at that point will be placed on that layer. It’s similar in principle to something like painting in Photoshop - the paint will apply to the layer selected.

#3

Hi Christian,
Yes, but the filter has to be created on the “main layer”, and then be moved to the menu layer, as far as I know, in order to prevent its exportation with the rest when an export is performed. Just as defining a color painting in Photoshop on the main layer and then moving it on a layer that will not be printed.
And when it’s created in the menu layer directly, even if it’s linked properly to a parameter of a metric set corresponding to a graph that is on the “main layer”, not only there is no interaction, but the filter doesn’t show whatever value too.
And as I explained, even when creating it on the “main layer”, there are issues occurring at least to me, that’s why I described them and I’m asking if I missed something in the procedure that explains those issues.

#4

Hi Olivier

Do I understand that the only reason that you want the filter to be on the menu layer is to prevent it showing up when you do the export?

I don’t know if filters are designed to work in the menu layer - I’ve never tried that myself. However, if you don’t want the filter control to be exported, you can hide it with a ‘before export’ script.

On the canvas properties, you can add a script in the ‘before export’ which will simply be the script name of the filter control(s) and set visibility to hidden.

parameterHierarchy1.hidden = true;

This will not affect any design or viewing of the dashboard, but when you export an image or PDF of the dashboard that filter won’t be there.

#5

Hi David,

Thank you for your answer. This should be reversed (I mean setting parameterHierarchy1.hidden = false;) once the export has been performed, isn’ t it? Is it on the “Loading” action that this has to be done?

That is the behaviour of the filters when putting them on the “menu layer”, at the end of the process I described above, without any scripting, when you manage to have it working…

#6

Hi Olivier

No, there is no need to reverse it.

To explain - when you do an export, it creates a behind the scenes copy of the dashboard. This copy gets the ‘before export’ script applied to it, then it gets exported and then it disappears. The original that you are looking at stays the same as it was.

#7

Hi David,

Thank you very much for this tip. I’ll use it for sure, it’s really good to know that there are settings that can be done thru script “on the fly”, without having to reverse their effects.

If someone from Dundas could reply to my original request, I would also appreciate it. The layer menu is a feature, and I may not use it properly, but it sounds like an integrated version of what can be performed thru script using the tip you shared, without scripting.