[UA] Create and customize Dashboards [Legacy]

Every view in Analytics comes with a default "My Dashboard." While the default Dashboard may suffice, the real usefulness of Dashboards lies in your ability to create and customize them the way you want.

Dashboards contain one or more widgets (up to 12 per Dashboard) that give you an overview of the dimensions and metrics you care about most. The steps outlined in this article will teach you how to create and customize a new Dashboard. (You can follow many of these steps to edit existing Dashboards, as well).

Create your Dashboard

To create a Dashboard:

1. Sign in to Google Analytics.
2. Navigate to your view.
3. Open Reports.
4. Click CUSTOMIZATION > Dashboards.
5. Click Create.
6. In the Create Dashboard dialog, select either Blank Canvas (no widgets) or Starter Dashboard (default set of widgets).
   You can also import Dashboard configurations from the Solutions Gallery.

   

7. Give your Dashboard a descriptive title, then click Create Dashboard.

Add widgets to your Dashboard

A Dashboard can have one or more instances of the following kinds of widgets:

• Metric: displays a simple numeric representation of a single selected metric.
• Timeline: displays a graph of the selected metric over time. You can compare this to a secondary metric.
• Geomap: displays a map of the selected region, with the specified metric plotted on the map. Hover over the map to see the actual metric values.
• Table: displays up to 2 metrics describing the selected dimension, laid out in tabular format.
• Pie: displays a pie chart of the selected metric grouped by a dimension. Mouse over a slice to see the specific metric values.
• Bar: displays a bar chart of the selected metric grouped by up to 2 dimensions. Mouse over a bar to see the specific metric values.

Standard vs. Real-time widgets

Some of the available widgets can display their data in real-time. These widgets update the metrics automatically (standard widgets, by comparison, update when you load or refresh the Dashboard).

Real-time widgets can display only the Active Users or Pageviews metrics, depending on the widget. The following widget types are available as real-time widgets:

• Counter: displays a count of the active users on your site. You can optionally group these users by a selected dimension.
• Timeline: displays a timeline graph of pageviews on your site for the past 30 to 60 minutes.
• Geomap: displays a map showing where your active users are coming from.
• Table: plots a table of your active users against up to 3 selected dimensions.

To add a widget to a Dashboard:

1. Create a new Dashboard and select Blank Canvas, or click + Add Widget on an existing Dashboard to open the widget editor.
2. Select the type of widget.
3. Configure the widget’s dimensions, metrics and other options. These vary depending on the type of widget. Scroll or use the search box to locate the specific metric or dimension you want.
4. You can limit the data shown by the widget by clicking Add a filter. Filters let you include or exclude data in the specified dimension that match your filter criteria. You can add multiple rows to your filter definition. All conditions must be met for the filter to work.
   Report and Dashboard filters are not the same as view filters. View filters permanently change your data, while report and Dashboard filters only limit the data displayed in the report or Dashboard. Dashboard filters are specific to the Dashboard in which you define them.
5. You can link the widget to a report or a URL. Doing so makes the widget title a link, taking you to the specified report or web page. To link to a report, begin typing a report name. Analytics will autocomplete your entry, trying to match it to an existing report. Alternatively, you can copy and paste the report’s URL into this field.
6. Enter a Widget Title or accept the suggested title.
7. Click Save.

Edit a widget

To modify an existing widget, mouse over the widget title, then click the Edit (pencil) icon.

To delete an individual widget, mouse over the widget title, then click the Close (X) icon.

Note: you cannot undo deleting a widget.

Clone a widget

You can create an exact copy of a widget using the Clone widget link. This is convenient when you want use one widget as a base for another.

Add segments to your Dashboard

As in Analytics reports, you can add segments to your Dashboard, allowing you to compare and contrast metrics generated by different session or user groupings.

To edit an existing segment, click the segment label at the top of your Dashboard. To add a segment, click the empty +Add segment label.

Learn more about segments.

Customize the Dashboard’s layout

Click the Customize Dashboard link to change how your widgets appear and how they are arranged on the page.

Delete a Dashboard

You can remove a Dashboard entirely by clicking the Delete Dashboard link on right side of the page, under the date picker.

Related resources

Share your Dashboard with other users.

Learn more about segments.