With multiple elements available to visualize data, dashboards inform the end user at a glance. In its default configuration, the information a dashboard displays changes only when the underlying data refreshes. To provide a more interactive and immersive experience, you can configure actions in dashboards. Actions allow you to give your dashboards a more focused context.
Actions describe what happens when the dashboard's URL parameters change, or when an end user interacts with the dashboard's elements. Actions are initiated by events, and there are three types of supported events: URL parameter change, map extent change, and selection change. The dashboard and many of its elements support different events (and some elements do not support any events). The following table lists the event sources and supported events. Note that the event sources include selectors. These are dashboard elements that can further enhance the interactive capabilities of a dashboard. See Selectors for details.
| Event source | URL parameter change | Map extent change | Selection change |
|---|---|---|---|
Dashboard | Y | ||
Map | Y | ||
Operational layer from a map | Y | ||
List | Y | ||
Serial chart | Y | ||
Pie chart | Y | ||
Category selector | Y | ||
Number selector | Y | ||
Date selector | Y |
Tip:
- Always assign dashboard elements a unique and meaningful name on the General tab. This is helpful when configuring actions.
- Finish adding elements and make visual refinements to a dashboard before configuring actions.
Actions have a source and a target. An action's source can be the dashboard or one of its elements. An action's target is always one of the dashboard's elements. If the source and target are based on different data sources, the relationship between these sources must be established. This can be either an attribute relationship or a spatial relationship. In an attribute relationship, a field or value from the source element is used to match field values of the target element. In a spatial relationship, feature geometries from the source element are used to intersect geometries of the target element.
Note:
If the source and target are based on the same data source, you don't need to take any steps to establish their relationship.
The following actions are supported:
- Filter—Reduces the number of features available to the target element or operational layer when it's rendering
- Set Extent—Sets the extent of a target map element
- Flash Location—Flashes a geographic location on a target map element
- Zoom—Causes a target map element to zoom to a specified location
- Pan—Causes a target map element to pan so a specified location is centered
- Show Pop-up—Displays an information window on a target map element
- Follow Feature—Pans target map elements to stay centered on a particular feature. Only one feature can be followed at a time.
The following table summarizes what can be the source of actions and what can be targets. Some dashboard elements, such as a map legend and rich text, can be neither the source nor the target of an action and are not listed here.
| Dashboard element | Action source | Action target |
|---|---|---|
Dashboard | Y | |
Map | Y | Y |
Map's operational layer | Y | Y |
Serial chart | Y | Y |
Pie chart | Y | Y |
Indicator | Y | |
Gauge | Y | |
List | Y | Y |
Details | Y | |
Embedded Content | Y | |
Category selector | Y | Y |
Number selector | Y | Y |
Date selector | Y |
Note:
- The Show Pop-up action is only available on an element when it's configured to show features, and its data source represents an operational layer from a map already added to the dashboard. When configuring Show Pop-up, its target is automatically selected to be the map the element's data source is from.
- Follow Feature is only available on an element when it's configured to show features, and its data source represents an operational layer from a map already added to the dashboard. Additionally, the data source must be point geometries and have a refresh interval set. When configuring Follow Feature, its target is automatically selected to be the map the element's data source is from.
- When Follow Feature is triggered, tools appear in the upper left corner of the target map element. These allow the end user to control various aspects of the follow action (for example, pause and resume, show info window, and cancel).
- When a feature is being followed on a map, manually panning or zooming the map will pause the follow. It must be restarted using the tools in the upper left corner.
For more information, see Configure actions on dashboard elements and Configure actions on URL parameters.