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Build a dashboard on a desk from a table

Turn one Table into a live dashboard. Add Charts, Metrics and a Stat card that read its rows, then arrange them so the numbers you watch stay in view.

All plansUpdated

A dashboard in PlexiDesk is simply a desk where one Table holds the data and other widgets read it. Charts draw it, Metrics show the headline figures, and a Stat card follows the one number you care about most. Every number is worked out from the table's rows, so when you add or change a row, the whole dashboard updates.

This page walks you through building one from start to finish. Each step links to the full article for that widget.

Before you start

  • Everything on this page is on every plan.
  • Give the dashboard a desk of its own, so it has room. See Create a desk.
  • Think about the columns your data needs:
    • a Number column for anything you want to add up, such as an amount or a count of hours;
    • a Single select column for the groups you want to compare, such as stage, status or team;
    • a Date column if you want to see a trend over time.

Step 1: Put your data in a Table

  1. Open the desk and press T, or click Add widget in the header and choose Table. A new table starts with two columns, Name and Done.
  2. Add the columns you planned. Click the + at the end of the header row and choose a type, such as Number, Single select or Date. Click a column's name to rename it. See Table columns and field types.
  3. Add your rows. You can:
  4. Name the table. Double-click the name in its title bar and type a name you will recognise, such as "Q4 launch plan". You will pick the table by this name in the next steps.

Step 2: Add a Chart

  1. Click Add widget and choose Chart. Its Data panel opens.
  2. Under Table, choose your table.
  3. Under Type, pick Bar, Line, Area, Pie or KPI.
  4. Under Group by, choose the column to compare, such as your Single select column.
  5. Click Add value, then choose what to work out, such as Sum of your Number column.
  6. Type a name in the Untitled chart box, then click Data to close the panel.

Add more Charts for other views of the same table: a Pie of Count grouped by status, or a KPI with the overall total. See Chart widget.

Step 3: Add Metrics for the headline figures

A Metrics widget shows a few numbers side by side, each worked out from a table.

  1. Click Add widget and choose Metrics.
  2. Click Add a number. The Data source panel opens.
  3. Choose your table. Either type its name, or the name of one of its columns, in …or search tables and columns and click it, or describe the number you want in the Describe it box and click Build. Build uses Plexii's AI, so AI needs to be set up. See AI settings.
  4. Under Measure, choose what to work out, such as Sum, Average or Number of rows, and under Column, the column to use.
  5. To count only some rows, click + Add next to Only rows where and set a condition, such as Stage is Won.
  6. Check the Preview. It shows the number and how many of the table's rows it used.
  7. Click the tick at the top right to finish. Your settings are kept as you make them.
  8. Click + Add a number for each further figure.

See Metrics widget and Connect a number to a table.

Step 4: Add a Stat card for the number to watch

A Stat card shows one number, how much it has changed, and a small line of its readings over time.

  1. Click Add widget and choose Stat card.
  2. Click Connect it to a table. The Data source panel opens.
  3. Choose your table and set Measure and Column, as for Metrics.
  4. Under Trend by, choose your Date column, then choose day, week, month, quarter or year.
  5. Click the tick at the top right to finish.

The card shows the number, the percentage change with an up or down arrow, the trend line, and how many of the table's rows it used. See Stat card widget.

Step 5: Arrange the dashboard

  • Move a widget by dragging its title bar. Resize it by dragging an edge or a corner.
  • Grow or shrink a widget with the + and − buttons in its title bar. Each + makes it half as large again, and − reverses it.
  • Pin a widget to a corner of the window, so it stays in view while you move around the desk. Click the pin in its title bar and choose Top left, Top right, Bottom left or Bottom right.
  • Group related widgets in a Section, a labelled frame that holds them. See Section widget Coming soon.
  • Take a closer look at one widget with Expand > Focus mode. See Open widgets full screen and side by side.

For lining widgets up and tidying the desk, see Select, move and arrange widgets.

Keep it up to date

There is nothing to refresh. Charts, Metrics and Stat cards read the table's rows as they are now, so when you type in the table, paste or import rows, or add rows with AI, they update by themselves.

  • Several widgets can read the same table, and one dashboard can read several tables.
  • A filter in the Table widget changes only what the table shows. To count only some rows on the dashboard, use Only rows where in a Metrics widget or Stat card.

Share the dashboard

When you publish a live view of the desk, visitors see your Tables and Charts but cannot change them. Metrics and Stat cards are shown as placeholders on a live view, so if a headline figure needs to be seen there, add it as a KPI Chart as well. See Publish a live view of a desk.

Which widget for which number?

  • Chart draws a table's rows grouped by a column. Set to KPI, it shows one big number for the whole table.
  • Metrics shows several numbers together, each with its own settings, filters and trend.
  • Stat card shows one number with its change and a trend line.
  • Calc is a pocket calculator for quick sums on the side. It does not read tables. See Calc widget.
  • Spreadsheet is for working figures out with formulas. Charts, Metrics and Stat cards read Tables, not spreadsheets. See Spreadsheet widget.

Common questions

My table is not in the list. Charts, Metrics and Stat cards list the tables in the workspace you are in. Spreadsheets are not tables, so they are not listed. Give each table a name you can tell apart.

My Sum is zero. Sum, Average and the other calculations need numbers. Check that the column is a Number column, or count rows instead.

My Metrics show no arrows. Arrows need a trend. Open the number's settings with its tune icon and set Trend by to a Date column.

Do I have to rebuild the dashboard when the data changes? No. Edit the table and everything that reads it updates.

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].