View filters, sorting and embedding
Every view carries its own filter and sort, independent of the others. A dashboard referencing a view shares that configuration, and can lay a further layer of parameter filtering on top of it.
Three layers of filtering
Between the table and the dashboard, filtering can happen at three levels. The earlier the level, the harder it bites:
| Layer | Set where | Affects | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Split | Toolbar → Split | Produces a new table | You genuinely want only part of the data and will keep working on that subset |
| View filter | Edit mode → Basic Filter, or the toolbar Filter | This view only | "Unpaid orders", "added this week" |
| Dashboard parameter | A selector or date picker on the dashboard, referenced by a component's filter | Components on that dashboard that reference the parameter | Viewers choosing their own region or month |
Sorting exists only at the last two levels: the view's sort, and a dashboard component's sort.
The view's own filter and sort
Edit mode, data tab:
- Basic Filter — Add Filter; comparators include equals, not equals, greater and less than, contains, in a list, a numeric range, and relative date ranges (today, this week, this month, last month…). Advanced Filters groups conditions with and / or.
- Sort Order — Add Sort, several columns if you like.
- Data Limit — how many rows at most. A top-ten board is a descending sort with a data limit of 10.
These settings live on the view. Two views of one table, one filtered to East and one to North, do not disturb each other.
What happens when you embed one
Put a view on a dashboard (dashboard editor → pick the table → Select exsiting views) and the dashboard component references the same view configuration. Change the view's filter in the table and the dashboard follows; change it through Edit Inline on the dashboard and the view follows. If you want the dashboard to hold a different set of settings, Create New View there instead of referencing the existing one.
A parameter sits on top of the view
In a component's filter, the value need not be fixed — it can be a Parameter, referencing whatever a selector or date picker on the dashboard currently holds. The viewer works the selector and the component re-filters. That layer applies on top of the view's own filter; both are in force. The recipe is in Dashboards · Interaction and actions.
When the chart shows the wrong data
- Check the view's own filter — very often it is a "this month" set some months ago.
- Check whether the dashboard component's filter references a parameter that currently has a value.
- Check the data limit — you may be charting the first 100 rows.
- Only then suspect the data.