Table of Contents
Ad-hoc Dashboard is a Web application that enables the building and navigation of Business Intelligence dashboards. A dashboard consists of a number of cards, each card contains different types of views, and each view presents data differently. By drag and drop and filling into forms, you can customize your dashboard views and add various tools, without the need of writing any scripts.
Behind the scene, each dashboard reads data from a Universe, which you can define in the Dashboard Properties. Ad-hoc Dashboard runs as a service and supports multiple domains. It supports multiple engines and uses a load-balancing scheduler to share the work. Ad-hoc Dashboard allows you to add additional dashboards to the system to handle higher volume. One Ad-hoc Dashboard engine can be shared among multiple domains, and also one domain can have multiple Ad-hoc Dashboard engines.
Ad-hoc Dashboard provides the following advantages to enhance business operations:
Ease of use: From literally anywhere at any time, you can view crucial information at a glance. To access Ad-hoc Dashboard, all you need are a computer or mobile device and an Internet connection.
Interaction: Ad-hoc Dashboard brings you direct interactions with crucial information. It responds to all your requests in a fast and accurate manner.
Customization: Ad-hoc Dashboard displays exactly what you need as a result of customization. Customized dashboards can be easily saved and opened in the Elixir Ambience Web Console, without repeated efforts of rebuilding. Dashboards are able to present data with the appropriate level of detail, according to the set of customized views. Dashboards can be rendered into Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word or Portable Document Format upon your choice.
Visualization: Ad-hoc Dashboard visualizes information using a full set of tools, including button, image, html, parameter, chart, report, table and more. These tools present information in an intuitive manner, making it easier and faster for you to master the information.
Scalability: Ad-hoc Dashboard enables a multitude of users to access dashboards simultaneously and receive immediate responses upon intense requests.
Flexibility: Providing complete flexibility, Ad-hoc Dashboard enables you to create and manage dashboards based on your own requirements, as well as decide which part of information matters to you. It can either run as a standalone Web application, or get integrated into the existing system of an enterprise.
Visit http://<host>:8080/elx/ to view the Elixir Ambience Web Console. Type the domain name (for example, “eno”, “foxx”, etc), user name and password to sign in. After signing into the Elixir Ambience Web Console, you can create a dashboard by completing the following steps:
Navigate to the Create tab, click Ad-hoc Dashboard, and click Blank. The drop-down list unfolds.
Select a location in the repository from the drop-down list. Enter the file name in the Filename field. Click Create. A blank dashboard opens in the Run mode.
Click Edit. The left panel displays the Cards, Tools and Data tabs for building your own dashboard. Read on for more detailed information.
When you need to save your work upon an Ad-hoc Dashboard, complete one of the following:
Click the Save button when the dashboard is in the Edit mode. The changes you made to the dashboard will all be saved into the current dashboard file.
Click the Run button to turn the dashboard into the Run mode. Click the Save As... button, and the Save As window opens. You can either select a location in the repository and enter a new file name, or choose to rewrite the original dashboard file.
If you forget saving the dashboard and close it, a message may display next time you try to open the dashboard, asking if you want to load last backup or load last save. If you want to carry on editing the dashboard and keep the unsaved changes, select Load Last Backup. If you want to discard the unsaved edits and return to the dashboard you have most recently saved, select Load Last Save.
When you need to publish an Ad-hoc Dashboard, it has to be in the Run mode. Click the Publish button. The Publish As window opens, allowing you to select a location in the repository and enter the new file name. By default, the new file name will end with ".dashboard-saved" to distinguish with the original editable dashboard. If you launch the published dashboard later by opening it from Ambience Web Interface > Repository, it displays as a read-only report in browser. Though the published dashboard is uneditable, you have the option to reset it to the last saved state or save it as another copy.
When you need to preview the result of your work upon an Ad-hoc Dashboard, click the Run button. The output of the Ad-hoc Dashboard displays in browser.