The Gauge Editor window allows you to specify the appearance and behaviour of gauges that have been added to your dashboard tabs.

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The Gauge Editor window consists of the following tabs;

Data

Allows you to define the data that will populate the gauge.

Appearance

Allows you to specify settings that will govern the appearance of the gauge.

Numeric Format

Allows you to specify the numeric format used to display numbers on the gauge.

Drill Down

Allows you to add and define a drill down to the gauge

Alerts

Allows you to define alerts for the gauge

Advanced

Allows you to add advanced XML definitions to your gauge.


Gauge - Data


The Gauge Definition window Data tab allows you to specify the data that will be used to render your gauge.

 

Follow the steps below to specify the data;

 

First select the Query data set that you wish to base your dashboard object;


Then Select a Calendar if required. ( see 
here for an explanation of Calendar's )

 

If you wish to, press the filter button to apply a filter to your data set. 

 

Next, you need to define the value that the gauge will display. First, select the column that represents the value that will be displayed. Next select the summary operation that will be used to calculate the value for the gauge. Finally, if you want the values on the gauge to be displayed as a percentage, select the percentage button. (clip484)

 

 

If the gauge object you are defining supports colour ranges, you can choose to allow the minimum and maximum values for each colour range to be calculated automatically, or set manually. If you opt to allow the colour ranges to be automatically calculated, each colour range will represent exactly a third of the range for the whole gauge.

 

To define the range for the whole gauge (the minimum and maximum values that will be displayed on the range), first select the Range for the whole gauge option in the list of ranges.

 

Next we need to define a value for the minimum and maximum values. The value can be a fixed value, or a dynamic value derived from one of the columns in the data set.

 

To set a range value to a fixed value, select Fixed Value, then enter the value.

 

To set a range value to be dynamic, select the column, then the summary type that will be used to calculate the range value.

 

NB. If the value the gauge displays is smaller than the minimum value you have defined, or larger than the maximum value you have defined the range will be automatically extended to allow the value to be represented on the gauge.

 

 

Next, if the gauge object we are defining supports colour ranges, we can choose whether to show each colour range and define how it will appear.

 

To show or hide a particular colour range, select the colour range in the list of ranges and check or uncheck the Show this range option.

 

The minimum and maximum values for a colour range can be a fixed value, or a dynamic value based on a percentage of the whole gauge range, or a summary calculation on a column in the data set.

 

To set a colour range value to a fixed value, select Fixed Value, then enter the value.

 

To set a range value to be dynamic based on a percentage of the whole gauge range, select Percentage of Range, then enter the percentage value.

 

To set a range value to be dynamic based on a column, select the column, then the summary type that will be used to calculate the range value.

 

Finally, select a colour for the colour range.

 

 

 

If you are defining a Traffic Light gauge object, you can enter a label for each of the colour ranges. You can choose to display these labels rather than the value on the gauge.


Gauge - Totals


For information on the Totals Tab see Dashboard Object Definition - Totals


Gauge - Appearance


The Gauge Editor window Appearance tab allows you to specify the appearance of the gauge.

 

Follow the steps below to specify the appearance of your gauge;

 

First, select the type of gauge object you wish to display, enter a title and select whether or not you wish the value represented by the gauge to be added as a label to the gauge.

 


Next, if your gauge object supports labels, choose whether you want the labels for the gauge shown inside the gauge, outside the gauge or not shown at all.


Next Add label text if you want to display labels instead of value

If your gauge object supports tick marks choose whether tick marks should be shown inside the gauge, outside the gauge or not at all. Next enter the number of major and minor tick marks, and the frequency of labels on the gauge.


If you are defining a Traffic Light gauge you can choose to display range labels rather than the value on the gauge. You can also select whether to show the label or value below the gauge, inside the gauge or not at all.




Gauge - Numeric Format 


The Gauge Editor window Numeric Format tab allows you to specify the numeric format used to display numbers in on the gauge.

 

Follow the steps below to specify the numeric format on your gauge;

 

First, select the maximum number of decimal places you want to show. If your values are currency values, select force trailing zeros. 

 


Next, if you want to format the numeric values, select the format option.

Select the maximum number of decimal places you want to show. If your values are currency values, select force trailing zeros.

 

You can apply scaling to your numeric values in a dashboard object. Scaling provides notation for large values, so for instance 1340 can be displayed as 1.34K, and 2345263 can be displayed as 2.35M. There are a number of scaling units pre-defined for you, however if these do not fit your requirements you can define your own.

 

 

To define your own scaling units, select other from the scaling units list. Next supply a comer separated list for the scaling units and the scaling values. Each entry in the scaling units list will be displayed as a suffix to your values. Each entry in the scaling values represents the amount the value will be divided by from the previous scaling unit to achieve the display value.

 

For instance, you could set your scaling units to "Thousands,Millions,Billions" and your scaling units to "1000,1000,1000". In this example, 1340 will be displayed as 1.34Thousands, and 2345263 will be displayed as 2.35Millions.

 

If the scaling units list has one more entry than the scaling values, units will be given the first entry in the list as a suffix. For instance, for time scaling units, you could set your scaling units to "minutes,hours,days,weeks,years" and your scaling values to "60,24,7,52".

 

If you require it select a currency symbol (value that will be displayed before your numeric values). If the value you want is not in the list, select other and enter your desired value. You can also enter a number suffix, a string that will be displayed after numeric values.


Finally, if you wish to suppress the thousand separator for numbers, select the Suppress thousand separator check box.



Gauge - Drill Down


For information on the Drill Down Tab see Dashboard Object Definition - Drill down


Gauge - Alerts


For information on the Drill Down Tab see Dashboard Object Definition - Alerts


Gauge - Advanced


For information on the Drill Down Tab see Dashboard Object Definition - Alerts