Data dashboards let you track your agency's messaging, events, cases, clients, and payment activity in real time. Share dashboards with internal staff or make them publicly accessible.

### Overview

eCourtDate dashboards provide visual, interactive views of your agency's data. Each dashboard can display charts and tables that break down key metrics by direction, status, location, type, and more.

- **What it is:** A customizable data visualization tool that displays your agency's eCourtDate data as interactive charts and tables, organized by configurable components.
- **Why it matters:** Dashboards give your agency real-time visibility into messaging volume, event trends, payment activity, and case data, helping you make informed decisions and demonstrate outcomes.
- **Who uses it:** Administrators, managers, and analysts who need to monitor agency performance, as well as public-facing stakeholders who benefit from transparency dashboards.
- **Expected outcomes:** A live, shareable dashboard that provides at-a-glance insight into your agency's data, with options for public or private access.

### Prerequisites

Before creating a dashboard, make sure you have the following:

- Admin access to the eCourtDate platform
- Data already flowing in the system (messages, events, cases, or payments) to populate the dashboard
- (Optional) A logo and icon URL for branding your dashboard
- (Optional) A subdomain preference for your dashboard's public URL

### How-To Steps

Follow these steps to create and configure a new data dashboard.

#### Step 1: Create a New Dashboard

1. Click the **Admin** dropdown in the top navigation bar.
2. Select **Settings** from the dropdown menu.
3. Click the **Dashboards** tab (or navigate to **Reports** > **Dashboards**).
4. In the **Add a Dashboard** section, enter your preferred dashboard name.
5. Click **Create Data Dashboard**.

#### Step 2: Configure Dashboard Settings

1. Click on the newly created dashboard in the table to open its settings.
2. Configure the following options based on your preferences:

- **Subdomain:** Choose a short, unique subdomain for your dashboard URL.
- **Domain:** Select from your available domains.
- **Description:** Add a description that tells visitors what the dashboard shows.
- **Logo URL:** Paste the URL of your agency logo.
- **Icon URL:** Paste the URL of your agency icon.
- **Contact Email:** (Optional) Enter an email address for dashboard-related questions.
- **Data Source:** Select the data source (defaults to messages). Options include messages, events, cases, clients, and payments.
- **Status:** Select **Draft**, **Private**, or **Public**.
- **Simulate Data:** Enable this to display synthetic data for testing purposes.
- **Hide PII:** Enable this to hide personally identifiable information (required for public dashboards).
- **Allow Downloads:** Enable this to let dashboard visitors download source data.
- **Restrict Downloads:** Add email addresses or domains to limit who can download data (if **Allow Downloads** is enabled).
- **Social Media Links:** Add any of your agency's social media URLs.

3. Click **Save** to apply your settings.

![Demo Dashboard Settings](https://s3.amazonaws.com/ecdassets/images/articles/example-dashboard-edit.png)

#### Step 3: Add Dashboard Components

Each component is an individual chart or view within your dashboard that displays filtered data. For example, you can create components for:

- Messages by Direction
- Messages by Status
- Messages by Location
- Messages by Type
- Messages by Portal
- Messages by Judge

To add a component:

1. Scroll to the components section on the dashboard editing page.
2. Configure the following component options:

- **Type:** Select **Count**, **Sum**, or **Rate**.
- **Date Filter:** Choose the field used to filter dates (defaults to scheduled_at).
- **Group By:** Select how to group the data based on your data source.
- **Data Groups:** Leave blank to use all available options, or select specific groups.
- **X-axis Title:** Enter the label for the horizontal axis on the chart.
- **Y-axis Title:** Enter the label for the vertical axis on the chart.
- **Sort:** Choose the data sorting order for the datasets.
- **Show Legend:** Enable to display a legend on the chart.
- **Show Source Data:** Enable to display the raw dataset below the chart.
- **Filters:** Add one or more filters to limit the data shown in the component.

3. Click **Save** to add the component to your dashboard.

![Example Dashboard Component](https://ecdassets.s3.amazonaws.com/images/articles/example-dashboard-component.png)

#### Step 4: Share Your Dashboard

Once your dashboard status is set to **Public** or **Private**:

1. Click the **Public/Private Link** or the **QR Code** to access the dashboard's main page.
2. Any created components will appear under **Choose a Dashboard** for visitors to explore.
3. Share the link or QR code with internal staff, stakeholders, or the public as appropriate.

[See a Simulated Demo Dashboard here.](https://demo.courtdashboards.com/)

[![Demo Simulated Dashboard](https://ecdassets.s3.amazonaws.com/images/articles/demo-dashboard.png)](https://demo.courtdashboards.com)

### What to Expect

After creating and configuring your dashboard, it becomes available immediately at the URL defined by your subdomain and domain settings. Public dashboards are accessible to anyone with the link, while private dashboards require the specific private URL to access. Dashboard data refreshes automatically so visitors always see current information.

### Best Practices

- **Enable "Hide PII" for any public dashboard.** This is required for public-facing dashboards and ensures no personally identifiable information is exposed to visitors.
- **Use "Simulate Data" for testing.** Before publishing a dashboard, enable simulated data to preview how charts and components will look without exposing real data.
- **Create separate dashboards for different data sources.** Rather than combining messages, events, and payments in one dashboard, create dedicated dashboards for each to keep the visualizations clear and focused.
- **Add descriptive titles to axes and components.** Clear labels on the X-axis, Y-axis, and component titles help visitors understand the data without additional explanation.
- **Restrict downloads when sharing publicly.** If you enable **Allow Downloads** on a public dashboard, use the **Restrict Downloads** field to limit access to specific email addresses or domains.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: How many dashboards can my agency create?**
A: There is no limit. Each agency can create an unlimited number of dashboards, each with its own data source, components, and visibility settings.

**Q: Can a single dashboard pull data from multiple agencies?**
A: Yes. A dashboard can be configured to display data from one or multiple agencies, depending on your permissions. This is useful for regional or multi-jurisdiction reporting.

**Q: What is the difference between a public and a private dashboard?**
A: A public dashboard is accessible to anyone with the URL and does not require sign-in. A private dashboard requires the specific private link to access and is intended for internal staff use only.

**Q: Can I change a dashboard from public to private after publishing?**
A: Yes. Edit the dashboard settings and change the **Status** field from **Public** to **Private** (or vice versa), then click **Save**. The change takes effect immediately.

**Q: What data sources are available for dashboard components?**
A: You can choose from messages, events, cases, clients, and payments as your data source. Each component within a dashboard uses the dashboard's selected data source.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** The dashboard shows no data after creation.
**Symptoms:** Charts appear empty or display "No data available."
**Solution:**

1. Verify that your agency has data in the selected data source (messages, events, cases, etc.).
2. Check the date filters on each component to make sure they cover the correct time range.
3. If using **Simulate Data** for testing, ensure it is toggled on. If viewing real data, ensure it is toggled off.

**Issue:** A public dashboard displays personally identifiable information.
**Symptoms:** Visitor-facing charts or source data tables show names, phone numbers, or other PII.
**Solution:**

1. Edit the dashboard and enable the **Hide PII** toggle.
2. Click **Save** and refresh the public dashboard to confirm PII is no longer visible.
3. If PII still appears, review each component's **Show Source Data** setting and disable it for public dashboards if necessary.

### Related Articles

- [How to Create Reports](/how-to-create-reports)
- [How to Manage Clients](/how-to-manage-clients)
- [How to Create Web Portals](/how-to-create-web-portals)
- [How to Manage Cases](/how-to-manage-cases)