Adding Slicers to Dashboards and Widgets

Slicers enhance interactivity, personalization, and clarity in your MSPbots reports and dashboards by giving you and your clients an easy way to filter data based on key fields from your professional services automation (PSA) tools. These features enable dashboard users to drill down into specific data segments to compare or gain targeted insights. 

When to use slicers on dashboards, reports, and widgets

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Slicers facilitate customizations in your reports and dashboards like the following examples: 

• Filter the dashboard data according to active and non-vendor clients 
• Filter or focus widget data on specific user segments, account types, or date range 
• View reports according to user types. i.e., employees and contractors 
• Deploy the client portal to external client users, but also limit access to only the data applicable to their company 
• Send custom reports to all instances and variations of a company's name in the database 

You can browse the Template Slicers for one that suits your requirements, or create a custom slicer. If you are creating client-facing dashboards and reports, or want to give selected companies access to reports, you can use the Company Slicer (Automated Client Mapping). 

Prerequisites

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You need the following to perform the steps in the succeeding sections: 

• A dashboard with widgets 
• At least one slicer (custom or your chosen template slicer)
• Admin role  

How to add a slicer to your dashboard  

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1. Navigate to Dashboards on the MSPbots app.
2. Search for the dashboard that needs updating.  
   
   
   
   
3. Click the dashboard to open. Let's use the dashboard below as an example. We will add a company slicer to filter the device count for each company.
   
   
    
4. Add a slicer. Start by clicking the Design button on the upper right section of the screen. 
   
   
   
   
5. Next, click Add Widget.
   
   
   
   
6. On the Add Widget window, click Slicer List then search for the slicer you want to use. You can search from either the My Slicers or Slicers Template tab.
   
   
   
   Refer to How to Create Slicers for instructions on setting up slicers.
   
   

7. Select your chosen slicer and click Add.  
   
   
   
   The slicer is now added to your dashboard. 
   
   
   
   

   For the slicer to function in the other dashboard widgets, add it as a filter in each of the widget's setup. If you are using the Automated Client Mapping Slicer query param mapped_client_names_slicer, you don't need to add the slicer to the widgets. You can find more information in Using the Company Slicer (Automated Client Mapping) for Client-Facing Reports.

How to add a slicer to a widget

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 To add the slicer to the widget using the New Widget Builder.

1. Find the widget, click the ellipsis ... icon, and select Edit.
   
   
   
   
2. Click the + Click to Add button.
   
   
   
   
3. In the Filter window, select the AND button. 
4. Next, select the column name for the slicer (Example: company_name), and IN as the query string.
   
   
   
   
5. (Optional) Fill in the value field of the filter. 
6. Click the ellipsis    button and turn on the Slicer switch. 
   
   
   
   
7. Click the blank box to configure the Slicer.
   
   
   
   
8. Enter and select the slicer you added in the dashboard. 
9. (Optional) Select the Ignore Filter checkbox. When selected the value field will be grayed out. Only the column field and query string need to be filled in, and only the slicer will be effective.
10. Click the Save button in the Filter window.
    
    
    
    
11. Click Save in the New Widget Builder window. 
    
    
    
    
12. Finally, click Save in the Save window.
    
    
    
    
13. Repeat these steps for all the widgets on the dashboard to apply the slicer (e.g., company_name) and ensure it works on all widgets.

How to add a slicer to a widget using the Widget Builder (previous version)

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1. Find the widget, click the ellipsis ... icon on the widget, and select Edit.
   
   
   
   
2. Click the Dataset icon, then click the ellipsis ... and select Edit.
   
    
   
   
3. Go to the Filter section. Add a new condition by clicking the add + icon and selecting + Add Condition.
   
   
   
   
4. Next, click the AND tab and do the following:
   1. Select the column name for the slicer. For example, company_name.
   2. Select IN as the query string. 
5. (Optional) Fill in the value field of the filter.
6. Select the Slicer checkbox.
7. Click the blank box to the right of Slicer.
   
   
   
   
8. Enter and select the slicer you added in the dashboard. For example, ConnectWise Automate Client Name.
   
   
   
   
9. (Optional) Select the Ignore Filter checkbox. When selected, the value field will be grayed out. Only the column field and query string need to be filled, and only the slicer will be effective.
   
   
   
   
10. Click the Save button to save the changes.
    
    
    
    
11. Finally, click Apply in the Widget Builder window.
12. Repeat these steps for all the widgets on the dashboard to apply the slicer (e.g., company_name) and ensure it works on all widgets.