# 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.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/widgets-dashboard
Section: Widgets > Numbers and data
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-10

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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-create).
- 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-table-columns).
3. Add your rows. You can:
   - click **Add row** and type;
   - copy a block of cells from a spreadsheet and paste it in, see [Move around a table and copy cells](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-table-keyboard);
   - bring in a file: right-click the table's title bar and choose **Import CSV, JSON or Excel…**, see [Import CSV, JSON or Excel into a table](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-table-import).
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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-chart).

## 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-ai).
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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-metrics) and [Connect a number to a table](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-number-from-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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-stat-card).

> **Tip:**
> A Trend by setting gives Metrics their up and down arrows too. Without one, a number shows on its own.

## 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help).
- **Take a closer look** at one widget with **Expand** > **Focus mode**. See [Open widgets full screen and side by side](https://plexiidesk.com/help/canvas-focus-mode).

For lining widgets up and tidying the desk, see [Select, move and arrange widgets](https://plexiidesk.com/help/canvas-select-arrange).

## 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/share-live-web-view).

## 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-calc).
- **Spreadsheet** is for working figures out with formulas. Charts, Metrics and Stat cards read Tables, not spreadsheets. See [Spreadsheet widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-spreadsheet).

## 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.

## Related tasks

- [Numbers and data widgets](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widgets-numbers-and-data)
- [Table widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-table)
- [Chart widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-chart)
- [Metrics widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-metrics)
- [Stat card widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-stat-card)
- [Connect a number to a table](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-number-from-table)
- [Import CSV, JSON or Excel into a table](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-table-import)
- [Add a widget to a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/add-a-widget)