Updating Dashboard Data with Forms

Dashboards are an excellent way for administrative users to display information in a tightly controlled environment. To make targeted updates to the data displayed in dashboards, you can add a link on the dashboard to a form. With forms, you have access to powerful conditional logic and mapping tools, letting you customize the experience based on the user and the record being updated.

Create the Form

1. From the main navigation, select Forms.

2. Create a new form. Give it a title like Dashboard Update Form.

3. Click Edit Form.

4. Add form fields that correspond with the fields displayed in the dashboard. In this example (based on the Dashboards article), we use Entry Term, Major and Staff Assigned.

5. Follow the breadcrumb navigation back to the form's main page. Keep the form's URL handy: we'll be using it later.
   

Create the Dashboard Link

1. Navigate to Database → Records and Datasets → Dashboards.

2. Select your dashboard.

3. Click the Edit Query tab.

4. Select Export. Select the record GUID. Because this example dashboard appears on person records, we've added Person GUID:

   

    

5. Click the Edit Dashboard tab.

6. Move your cursor to the location you'd like to insert the link, then click the Link button in the WYSIWYG editor.

7. In the Display Text field, enter a name like Edit Information.

8. In the URL field, paste the following:
   

   /manage/form/register?id=&person={{Person-GUID}}

   Where the ID is the section of your form URL.
   The person query string parameter {{Person-GUID}} will pre-populate the form using the GUID of the record you're viewing.
   

Important

Make sure you use a relative link: do not include your Slate domain. Using a relative link will prevent you from accidentally linking to a production environment form (and changing production data) while working in Test.

7. Click OK, then click Save. 

8. Test your new link on a record that displays your dashboard:

Optional: Add Styling to the Link

For an extraordinary experience, style the link to appear as a button or other call to action. For example, you can apply a dashboard_button class to the link. Include the following CSS for a basic button, and feel free to customize the colors and shape as desired:

.dashboard_button {
text-decoration: none;
background-color: #EEEEEE;
color: #333333;
padding: 2px 6px 2px 6px;
border-top: 1px solid #CCCCCC;
border-right: 1px solid #333333;
border-bottom: 1px solid #333333;
border-left: 1px solid #CCCCCC;
}