Chart Interactions And Layout
This article covers how grid-linked charts interact with dashboard data and how chart widgets fit into the dashboard layout.
For creating and editing chart configuration, see Adding And Editing Charts.
Arrange Widgets
Section titled “Arrange Widgets”The dashboard workspace uses movable widgets powered by a grid layout. You can drag and resize the main grid widget and chart widgets to organize the page.
- Drag a widget by its header grab bar.
- Resize widgets from the widget edges where resize handles are available.
- Place multiple chart widgets beside or below the grid to build a visual dashboard.
When you save the dashboard, NimbusDash saves each widget’s position and size. The next time the dashboard opens, the layout is restored along with chart configuration.
New chart widgets start at a default size and can be resized after creation.
Link Or Unlink A Chart
Section titled “Link Or Unlink A Chart”Grid-linked charts can follow the current grid, or stay fixed at the view they had when unlinked.
Use the chart menu and choose:
- Unlink from Grid to freeze the chart at its current grid state.
- Link to Grid to reconnect the chart to live grid filtering and data changes.
Linked Charts
Section titled “Linked Charts”When a chart is linked:
- Chart output reflects the current filtered and sorted grid data.
- Filter changes update linked charts automatically.
- Row range limits from the original selection are normalized so the chart can use the full filtered result set.
Unlinked Charts
Section titled “Unlinked Charts”When a chart is unlinked:
- NimbusDash captures the grid state, column state, and filter model at the time of unlinking.
- The chart keeps its own snapshot of the data view instead of following later grid changes.
- Unlinked chart settings are saved with the dashboard so the chart can be restored correctly on reload.
Use Unlink from Grid when you want a chart to preserve a specific view while you continue exploring or filtering the grid.
Cross Filtering
Section titled “Cross Filtering”Cross filtering creates a drill-down path from a chart back to the grid.
- Open Settings and enable Cross Filtering.
- Save the dashboard if you want the setting to persist.
- Click a chart segment such as a bar, column slice, or pie segment.
NimbusDash applies a grid filter for the selected category value. This is useful for drilling into a customer, region, status, product category, or other grouped value shown in the chart.
Cross filtering applies a set filter on the chart category field. Clear grid filters when you want to return to the broader dataset.
See Dashboard Settings for the cross filtering option.
Display Chart Data As A Grid
Section titled “Display Chart Data As A Grid”Some charts can show the aggregated values behind the visualization.
Use either:
- Display as Grid from the chart menu, or
- The table icon in the bottom-left corner of the chart widget.
NimbusDash overlays a grid inside the chart widget showing the aggregated chart data. The overlay:
- Groups rows by the chart category column.
- Aggregates numeric series values, typically using summed totals.
- Shows chart title and subtitle text above the grid view.
Click Back to Chart from the chart icon in the overlay to return to the visual chart.
If the chart was showing as a grid when you saved the dashboard, NimbusDash restores that view the next time the dashboard opens. The grid view also refreshes when dashboard filters change.
Remove A Chart
Section titled “Remove A Chart”Use Remove Chart from the chart menu, or the close control on the chart widget header, to delete a chart widget.
NimbusDash asks for confirmation before removing the chart. Removing a chart deletes the widget and destroys the chart configuration from the current dashboard session. Save the dashboard after removal if you want the change to persist.
Exporting Charts
Section titled “Exporting Charts”Grid-linked charts can be included when exporting a dashboard to PDF. The export uses chart images from the current dashboard charts.
The dashboard must contain at least one grid-linked chart before Export to PDF is available. See Exporting Data And Reports for export details.
AI Charts Vs Grid-Linked Charts
Section titled “AI Charts Vs Grid-Linked Charts”Dash AI charts are separate dashboard widgets with their own edit modal and refresh behavior. They are documented in Dash AI Charts.
Grid-linked charts created with Add Chart use the chart menu, link/unlink behavior, and chart editor described in this section.