Manage xDM Dashboard applications

Applications expose the dashboards and charts designed in xDM Dashboard to business users.

When you connect to Dashboard Builder, the dashboard applications list appears:

  • When this list is empty, a Create Application button appears to create your first application.

  • When this list already contains applications, you can click any application in the list to open it and start working. You can also create or import new applications.

The Semarchy xDM REST API exposes capabilities to support scripted management for dashboard applications.
Managing applications requires the Dashboard Management privilege. Refer to the privileges for more information.

Create an application

To create an application:

  1. In the application list, click on the Create Application button or click on the floating action button in the lower-right corner of the screen.
    fab button

  2. Enter a Name for your application and then click Create.
    Your newly application opens in the Application editor.

  3. In this editor, configure the application properties:

    • Title: The label that appears for this application in the welcome page and navigation drawer header.

    • Visible: Select this option to make the application visible on the welcome page. Un-select it to hide the application from the welcome page. An hidden application remains available via its URL.

    • Required Role: Select a role required to access the application. This role must be configured in the Semarchy xDM platform.

    • Avatar, Cover, Favicon and Title Color define the look of our application.

    • Select a Palette Type (Monochrome or Colorful), and then a color or shade. This palette is applied by default to all dashboards for which a specific palette is not defined.

    • Click the Save button in the toolbar to save your application.

You will configure the application navigation later, after creating the charts and dashboards.

Close an application

To close an application, click on the user menu at the right end of the header and select:

  • logout variant Logout to leave Semarchy xDM.

  • close application Close Application to return to the application list.

  • apps All Applications to return to the welcome page.

Export, import, and copy applications

You can export and import applications as a way to move them across environments, or use export as a way to backup your applications at a certain stage of their design.

To export an application:

  1. In the application list, select an application and then select import Export in the more menu action menu.
    A export file containing the application is downloaded.

The export file is a compressed (zip) file containing one YAML file for each object (chart, dashboard, query, etc.) of your dashboard application.

To import an application:

  1. In the application, move your mouse over the Fab button (lower right corner) and then select the import Import Application action.

  2. Click in the Import Dashboard Application dialog to browse and select an export file, or drop an export file in the dialog.
    If the file selected or dropped is a valid export file, the dialog shows its name.

  3. The name that you enter in the dialog allows to replace an existing application or create a new one.

    • Enter a new name and then click Create to create a new application from your export file.

    • Enter an existing application name and then click Replace to replace the application with that name with the one from your export file.

To copy an application:

  1. In the application list, select an application and then select copy Copy in the more menu action menu.

  2. Enter a new name and then click Copy to create a copy of your application with this new name.

Use the export/import and copy features to manage application versioning and deployment.

Delete an application

To delete an application:

  1. In the application list, select an application and then select delete Delete in the more menu action menu.

  2. Enter DELETE in the confirmation dialog and then click the DELETE button.
    The selected application is deleted

Deleting an application is an operation that cannot be undone. Use the export feature to create a backup of the application before deleting it.

Rename an application

In Semarchy xDM Dashboard, an application is uniquely identified by its name, and all inbound links or references to the application and to objects of the application use this name.

The name is used to refer to the application from Semarchy xDM, and is part of the URL to access the application, or dashboards and charts in the application.

To rename an application:

  1. In the application list, select an application and then select rename Rename in the more menu action menu.

  2. Enter a new name for the application and then click the RENAME button.
    The selected application is renamed.

You cannot rename an application with the name of an existing application. To replace an application using the rename action, you must first delete the target application.
Renaming an application may be used to promote an application to production. For example, if you have a CorpDashboard_work application that you want to promote to production to replace the existing CorpDashboard application, first rename the CorpDashboard application to CorpDashboard_old and then rename CorpDashboard_work to CorpDashboard.