Live Data And Cached Data

NimbusDash can show dashboard results using Live Data or Cached Data. Both modes use the same dashboard layout, but they load data differently.

Live Data

A dashboard in live mode pulls data from the selected Saved Search or NimbusQL query when the dashboard loads.

Live mode is useful when:

The dataset is small enough to load quickly.
Users need the latest available results every time they open the dashboard.
You are building or testing a new dashboard.

Live dashboards show a green Live Data badge. The tooltip explains that data is pulled in real time and suggests cached mode for better performance when needed. Click the refresh icon on the badge to reload the live data. While a load is in progress—the first page, the rest of the rows, an export-task load, or a manual refresh—the icon spins and clicking it reloads the data when ready. The tooltip also includes Click the refresh icon to reload the data. The accessible name is Refresh the live data. If a live load uses the CSV export task and is still pending after 10 minutes, NimbusDash continues as the standard paged load; the icon stops spinning and accepts clicks again.

Cached Data

A dashboard in cached mode uses prepared data instead of fetching the full source live every time. Cached mode is useful for larger datasets, slower saved searches, or dashboards used by many people.

Cached dashboards show a yellow Cached Data badge. The badge can show whether cache data is available and when it was last refreshed.

Enable Cached Data

Click Save Dashboard.
Select Use Cached Data.
Save the dashboard.

When cached data is enabled, NimbusDash may start a cache refresh after the dashboard is saved.

Refresh Cached Data

Use the refresh icon next to the Cached Data badge to request updated cache data. While the refresh is running, NimbusDash may show a spinner or status message.

Cache refreshes can take time because NimbusDash prepares the data in the background. Users can continue working, but the latest cached results will not appear until the refresh completes.

If the source returns no rows during a cache build, NimbusDash writes an empty cache and stops serving the previous rows.

If NimbusDash loses contact with NetSuite while a cache refresh is running, you see: NimbusDash lost contact with NetSuite while the cache was building. Reload the page to see whether the build finished. The refresh icon works again after that message appears.

Deleting a dashboard removes its cache files. After an upgrade, caches are matched by dashboard name, so rebuild them if needed. Changing a dashboard’s data source clears that dashboard’s cache.

Large Result Sets

For large live datasets, NimbusDash may show messages such as:

Fetched X rows of Y. Fetching the remainder…
A message explaining that only part of the dataset loaded and recommending cached data for the full result set.

If users regularly see partial-load messages, save the dashboard with Use Cached Data enabled.

Choosing A Mode

Use live data for smaller dashboards or when current results matter more than load time.

Use cached data when performance, repeatability, or access to a full large dataset matters more than real-time refresh.